I have been a regular reader of AVS forum for over 5 years. My HT gear has been fairly limited to date, so I haven't had much to add nor ask. However, I've recently decided to go all in and build a dedicated basement home theater. So my first post is likely to be a dusy!

Here's the basics of the room: It's in the center of the basement, so I will have complete light control (no windows and 2 doors to other basement rooms). The dimensions are 22' long (screen to back), 16' 11" wide and 7' 8" tall. I'm getting a small stage built in the front of the room to set apart the screen and elevate the speakers. I'm building a small closet accessed from the back of the room (4'x4') to hold my gear and keep it out of the main room. I plan to use clips on the drywall to isolate it from the studs and plan to insulate all the walls. I am building 12" riser for the second row of seats

I plan to mainly use the room for HD content (movies and sports) and the occasional video game.

Here's the gear I already have:

STR-DA30ES Sony 100 wpc Dolby Dig Receiver
Rotel RMB 985 100 wpc 5 channel amplifier
Apple TV
Xbox 360
Tivo HD
2 x Paradigm Monitor 7 Main
1 x Paradigm CC 350 Center Channel
2 x Paradigm ADP 350 Dipole Surround
2 x Paradigm Titan Bookshelf
1 x Paradigm PDR 10 Powered Sub


Here's what I plan to buy (due in no small part to many of your posts here :)):

Sony VPL-VW50 Pearl
119" Da Lite Cinema Contour with Pro Trim
Rotel RSP-1098 Surround Processor (I'll still use the Sony 30ES for 2nd and 3rd zone duty)
Sony BDP-S1 Blu Ray Disc Player
Paradigm Servo 15 Subwoofer (replacing, not in addition to the PDR 10)
Rotel RMB-1070 2 channel amp (for the L and R front channels, leaving the 5 channel amp for surrounds and center)
Salamander Archetype 5.0 & 2.0 racks
HT Authority Studio Chairs in Black leather (2 couches of 4 seats each)


I've attached a zip file that has a very basic Google Sketchup version of my room, a pdf of the wiring diagram for most things to give you all other view of what I'm thinking.

Now, here are my questions (and yes, I know some are high level and some are very detailed...I really did try to think about what I wanted to do a lot before coming here to ask for help ;-)):

Any red flags or something obviously missing from my plan? I have done very careful planning and used almost my entire budget on what I have listed above, so if there is something you suggest I get, please pair it with something I have listed that you think I can do without :)
Is shelf mounting the Sony Pear at the back of the room, 5' 8" off the ground a viable option? I've used the projector calculator and it seems I am OK on throw distance if I use just the slightest bit of zoom. However that hight put the top of the projector only ~2 inches below the top pf the screen. Will I be able to shift the image enough without having to use any keystone correction?
Generally do all my placements look right to you (you'll probably have to look at the Sketchup file or PDF to answer this one)? Again, I have tried to use all the online calculators and tools to get things right, so I am really just looking for a final sanity check on sight lines, riser heights, seat locations and any potential obstructions I should be worried about, specifically if they are hard to fix once the room is built.
What cable should I run in my wall to control the Pear? RJ-45 or Serial? And what do I have to buy on the other end to plug into it to receive signals and put them on the "wire"?


Hopefully I have given the group enough information to reasonably answer my questions. If not, cut me some slack and let me know...after all it is my first post. Thanks for all the great discussions that helped me get to this point and thanks for all the great feedback I am sure to get.

What would be great is a top-down view with all the dimensions to better help you with layout. If you have one in context with the rest of the basement, that usually helps quite a bit too. One of the things that I wondered about right away was door placement. I was also curious why you "floated" the riser in the middle of the room - I'm guessing your door must be at the back, hence my question (that is what my room is like which is probably why I noticed it).

Other things to think about:
- do you want an Acoustically transparent screen (means you need to move the screen forward)?
- do you want to go 2.35 AR? (I would highly recommend it for a dedicated theater such as yours that has height limits, but no width limit)
- what are your acoustic treatment plans? Does it make sense to hire someone to do the acoustic planning?

OK, I've attached a zip with a few more PDF's of the plan as I am thinking about it. I think I've included most of the important dimensions, if not, let me know and I can regenerate. I've also included a view of how the theater room will fit in the basement overall.

You can see where the two doors are (yes, they are in the back of the room). The overall model doesn't have the closet in it, so that adds a third door in the rear.

WRT to you questions:

1 - I was just going to place the center channel under the screen. Does placing it behind (and getting acoustically transparent) make that much of a difference?
2 - I hadn't thought about 2:35. Would I need to look at a different projector to make it effective, or would the pearl work well? Does Da Lite make a good 2:35 screen?
3 - I had through about some treatments, but after the room was built and the electronics bought. Are there things (besides the clips and insulation) I will need to build into the room?

Thanks,

Chris

1 - I was just going to place the center channel under the screen. Does placing it behind (and getting acoustically transparent) make that much of a difference?

You can do it either way. Most prefer behind the screen if that is an option. The noise comes from the image and not below it.

2 - I hadn't thought about 2:35. Would I need to look at a different projector to make it effective, or would the pearl work well? Does Da Lite make a good 2:35 screen?

Yes, the pearl can be used but you would need to purchase an anamorphic lens. Go read in the CH anamorphic forum to learn more. You want a longer throw distance for this set up (you don't want to use a lot of your PJ's zoom as it may create some image distortion).

3 - I had through about some treatments, but after the room was built and the electronics bought. Are there things (besides the clips and insulation) I will need to build into the room?

There is a world of things to consider prior to building. Such as sealing all cracks in your envelope (outlets, can lights, etc), HVAC noise, double drywall, Green Glue, staggering seams, staggerd studs, "room within a room" etc. If you read through some of the longer more popular threads you will see how all sorts of acoustic issues have been addressed. This often helps you see your room from a new perspective.

Good luck.

Get a free photobucket account (see 3rd link in my sig) and get up to 5 posts total (needed to post links). You will get more advice if people don't have to work for it.

Don't buy the PJ till the end. That tech evolves the fastest, so a better model or better price will surface if you wait. Also, as they say, hanging the PJ slows progress to a crawl.

OK, I've attached a zip with a few more PDF's of the plan as I am thinking about it. I think I've included most of the important dimensions, if not, let me know and I can regenerate. I've also included a view of how the theater room will fit in the basement overall.

You can see where the two doors are (yes, they are in the back of the room). The overall model doesn't have the closet in it, so that adds a third door in the rear.

WRT to you questions:

1 - I was just going to place the center channel under the screen. Does placing it behind (and getting acoustically transparent) make that much of a difference?
2 - I hadn't thought about 2:35. Would I need to look at a different projector to make it effective, or would the pearl work well? Does Da Lite make a good 2:35 screen?
3 - I had through about some treatments, but after the room was built and the electronics bought. Are there things (besides the clips and insulation) I will need to build into the room?

Thanks,

Chris
Ok, that helps.

If it were me, I would move the seating riser against the back wall and move the door forward so you enter just in front of the seats. It doesn't make sense to me to have a floating riser in your case.

Is that door on the right of the theater your only access to the unfinished / mechanical room? I don't think its a great idea to make your theater the "path" to your mechanical room if you can avoid it.

Moving the entrance door is a good idea. Would you put it in the middle of the two rows of seats, or in the front of the first row.

I have a walkout from the outside that I can get to the mechanical portion should I need to bring in or take out anything "messy". The door from the theater room is just there to not cut off that part of the basement from the rest of the house...and because I plan to finish that sometime later.

On the subject of acoustics, I have gone back to my drywall contractor and they have suggested installing double drywall, so I think I'm going to do that in addition to the the channel and insulation.

Moving the entrance door is a good idea. Would you put it in the middle of the two rows of seats, or in the front of the first row.

I have a walkout from the outside that I can get to the mechanical portion should I need to bring in or take out anything "messy". The door from the theater room is just there to not cut off that part of the basement from the rest of the house...and because I plan to finish that sometime later.

On the subject of acoustics, I have gone back to my drywall contractor and they have suggested installing double drywall, so I think I'm going to do that in addition to the the channel and insulation.I would eliminate the other door in the HT. Then you can run the riser across the width of the room and have room for lots of seating and a step down against the left wall of the theater. Then, I would move the equipment rack to the left side. Since you would have a walkway there for the 2nd row anyway, it would be a good place to put it. I would also put the PJ in in the equipment room.

Thanks for the tip dc_pilgrim. Here are some pics in line of my plans. Already updated with some of the advice of strange_brew.

I think I will have to move the gear closet to be able to have the riser extend all the way to the back of the room.

Here's the iso view:

http://chriskelley.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/iso.gif

And here's the side view (with new door location):

http://chriskelley.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/side.gif

And lastly here's a top view:

http://chriskelley.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/Top.gif

Would it help at all to see photo images of current (unfinished space)?

Thanks for all advice so far. My confidence is growing by the post.

Nice sized room.

As a comment, it looks like you mention accoustics then discuss sound isolation. This is a common misconception. Isolation = keep noises in and out; accoustics make the sound created as pleasing and accurate as possible. Since you are talking isolation - are the [RSIC?] clips going to be for both the walls and ceiling? Same ? for the double drywall? What about flanking paths, doors going to be heavy and sealed? HVAC? How big a deal is this to you?

Good point. I actually did know all this at one point (I did a year of graduate school studying acoustics!). I guess I am mainly concerned with isolation at this point since the way I am thinking about it, it's easier to isolate during construction than later. I plan to do some acoustic treatments after the room is built and my funds recover a little. Am I missing something in that approach?

On what I am planing for isolation, yes there will be channel, insulation and double drywall on wall and ceiling. I did plan to get solid core doors.

I guess I need to read up some more on options for sealing doors, HVAC and outlets. I'm not familiar with what to do there.

No reason accoustics can't be done later (although construction may present some opportunities). My [undone] finishing work is primarily accoustic in nature. I was mostly suggesting that you be aware of the differences, and hinting that you should consider addressing the accoustics at some point.

The ceiling and walls question was to make sure it wasn't a drop ceiling, and make sure you are getting all sides of the aquarium.

Outlets = the minimize penetration approach puts them in columns. Otherwise, I have seen people use fire putty on the back to seal them.

HVAC is tricky. if possible, dedicated runs (supply and return), flex or ductboards, design 2+ 90 degree turns, if possible, make sure the flow is adequete for the room. Don't put supplies or returns behind an accousticly transparent screen (or a false wall) as they will become a big dust filter.

Sealing doors - weatherstripping is a minimum. Exterior jam is a consideration. Zero International makes some slick seals, but spendy.

Is there any reason you need the equipment rack on the right hand side? I would put it down by the step on the left and extend the riser all the way to the wall. That way you can get more seating in at some point down the road. That way you can move your rear row back a bit and have room for the step in front of the rear seats vs. behind the rear seats.

Unfortunately the right hand side is occupied (the rear has mechanicals on the other side and the side wall will have an exercise room). However since I moved the door forwards, there's no reason why I couldn't extend the riser to the back wall and the right hand side. Something like this:

http://chriskelley.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/iso_2.gif

Is that what you are suggesting?

Yes, looks much better on the left side. Although its still not clear what is going on at the back right side of the theater?