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Mr.Tim's 15x27 Theater

69K views 608 replies 50 participants last post by  Mr.Tim 
#1 ·
CONSTRUCTION:
  1. 5/8"+1/2" GWB with Green Glue
  2. RSIC-1 and channel (both sides) between theater and adjacent mechanical room
  3. Double stud walls
  4. Pink fluffy fiberglass throughout, except mineral fiber in mechanical room wall



ELECTRIC:

(4) 20A circuits to rack to rac

(1) 15A and (1) 20A for lighting (I used an existing 20A; I would have preferred 15A)

(2) Lutron GRX-3104 from eBay. $108 (ivory) and $187.50 (white)
  • Zone 1- 3 recessed lights in adjacent walkway
  • Zone 2- 4 step lights
  • Zone 3- 4 recessed lights above screen
  • Zone 4- 6 recessed lights above seating
  • Zone 5- 4 recessed lights at rear
  • Zone 6- LED tray lighting
  • Zone 7- Track lights behind AT screen
  • Zone 8- Unused
Leviton TR black decora receptacles $2/ea
Leviton black screwless cover plates $3/ea
Halo R36RTAT 3" recessed lights $25/ea
Halo 3011BKBB 3" black trims $25/ea
Halo 3" pinhole black trims (at screen) $27/ea


LED LIGHTING
HitLights 3528 LED, 60 LEDs per meter (300 per reel) $68

Mean Well dimmable power supply $82

Lutron GRX-TVI interface $10 (eBay!)


HVAC:
Panasonic Inline 120CFM FV-10NLF1 fan in rack closet $130

- piped mostly in 4" rigid, with short pieces of 4" flex connecting to fan and end boot
LUX LV3-005L Cool-only 120v thermostat $18

- turns exhaust fan on when temperature exceeds 85 degrees (pretty much 24/7)
2-slot 24" long linear diffuser $47

- made plenum out of drywall+gg+drywall and lined with 2" rigid fiberglass insulation
8x8x7 Return box $8
Hart Cooley RHF45 Return filter grill (special order; link is for a 12x12) $25


AUDIO:

Onkyo NR709 B-Stock $394

2x Buttkicker 1000W amps (from AVS group buy a looooong time ago)

LCR- Stentorian

Surrounds- 4x Sten II

(2) Buttkicker LFE in riser, which is built on vibration isolators

(2) Cinema F-20 (behind screen wall)


VIDEO:

Optoma HD20 (new, open box; less than 1 hour on machine) $550

Panasonic Blu-Ray player


SEATING:

Seatcraft EROS |O|O|O|, |O|OO|O| $2000

Used stadium seating |O|O|O|O|O| $free



Tim
 
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#477 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/270#post_23174855


Yeah it was easier to go with one than 5 of the small ones. Total wattage per the manu specs for the 5 reels of LEDs is 121W, but when you figure for voltage drop it's a bit higher. Add in the safety factor and I'm at 180 watts or so.


The LED power supply is dimmable via a 0-10vdc control current. I am controlling that with this:




A Lutron GRX-TVI that is wired to my Grafik Eyes.


Tim

An under-cabinet LED manufacturer rec'd the Lutron GRX-TVI, for dimming with Lutron RA2, but said she'd heard that a clicking noise from the GRX-TVI may be bothersome. Can you provide any insight? Have you heard any clicking?
 
#478 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/450#post_23637110


An under-cabinet LED manufacturer rec'd the Lutron GRX-TVI, for dimming with Lutron RA2, but said she'd heard that a clicking noise from the GRX-TVI may be bothersome. Can you provide any insight? Have you heard any clicking?

There is definitely a click.. it's more like a ker-klunk. I think it is the relay in the unit that turns the 120v on and off. You are going to want the unit in a closet or basement where the noise is not an issue.


Tim
 
#479 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/450#post_23622426



Speaking of which, I must have enjoyed the theater a little too much last night, because I blew the fuse in my NU1000 :/ Replacements on the way.

Amp is dead. Just blows fuses with nothing connected. ebay special so probably a doorstop at this point. I'll just order another and put this one on the bench for eventual repair or target practice.


Tim
 
#480 ·
Took some measurements just to see where I was at. Still have some room treatments to implement, and I need to get a new amp to power the F20s. I think I did this right:





I just realized if you don't include the legend it abbreviates the Y-axis. All the graphs were 40-100 but I see they got truncated in the capture if I didn't include the legend.


Tim
 
#482 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HopefulFred  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23637673


Do you have an idea what is happening between 100 and 200Hz? I was figuring it might be related to some vertical room modes and I'm interested to see if there is prolonged decay associated with the peak in that region. Do you have data to get at that?

I looked at the waterfall and between 100-200Hz is gone by 300ms. Looks very good.
 
#484 ·
That was my hunch, but I'm not so sure at this point. Assuming you were measuring near 48 inches up, try near 30 for comparison.


SBIR due to reflections from walls near the speakers would be my next hunch, but I thought you had good absorption on those surfaces already.


Of course, don't let me make you chase it if you can't hear it or don't care.
 
#485 ·
So I took measurements with the mic at different heights:




Some things change.. but that peak is not one of them.




Then I measured LCR just to make sure it wasn't a speaker issue (well, if it is, they're all wrong):






The only no-no I am aware of is the LCR are very close to the F20s, so there will be some funk introduced due to that.. What kind of funk is beyond my knowledge.


Tim
 
#487 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HopefulFred  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23639662


Confirm please for me that the graph you just posted is one speaker for each plot only - no subs.


Does the second row show the same c.150Hz peak? I can't be sure from the plots from yesterday, but I don't think so.

Those are with subs. I did take a measurement with the subs off.. it was exactly the same in that range.




 
#489 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HopefulFred  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23639908


So the peak is the same magnitude, but lower frequency when measured in the second row. I'm still new to this, but I think this means you need to clean up the reflections from surfaces within 3-4 feet of the speakers. So that's probably either the wall behind, the front of the F20s or the floor or ceiling.

Ok, thanks!


I went to pick up the 2" fiberglass board I ordered, but it wasn't in yet. We'll have to wait until next weekend to know for sure!


Tim
 
#490 ·
Thanks for the GRX-TVI info. Ker-klunk, got it. Will be located inside a kitchen cabinet, far from sleeping people, but still a concern.


Does it run hot? Can I muffle it inside an enclosure, wrapped in fiberglass, inside the kitchen cabinet?
 
#491 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23640366


Thanks for the GRX-TVI info. Ker-klunk, got it. Will be located inside a kitchen cabinet, far from sleeping people, but still a concern.


Does it run hot? Can I muffle it inside an enclosure, wrapped in fiberglass, inside the kitchen cabinet?

No, It doesn't run hot. I have it in a closet in the theater (GG and door seals) and don't hear it. If it's possible, you can remote locate it and still have the transformer for the LEDs in the kitchen cabinet. You just need to run the 120v and 2-wire control cable from the TVI to the transformer.


Tim
 
#492 ·
Progress. I got the thermostat hooked up and tested, so the theater now has it's own thermostat. It's in parallel with the other stat in the basement, so either can call for cool. I locked it at "Cool Only", so hopefully I won't have dueling stats (one calling for heat, the other cool). I have all of my stats in the house on manual changeover, which should also help.


Finished the second bass trap in the rear. Two layers of R-30 which gives me a trap 16x24.


Many roller catches installed.


The To-Do List:


-connect the smoke alarm to the panel

-finish the roller catches (one speaker cover and the screen wall panels)

-finish the door seals on the rear closet

-IR repeater would be good.. but not on my short list

-acoustic panels (2" board should be here this week)



We've been really enjoying the theater. Watched Bourne Legacy the other night.


Tim
 
#494 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23665173


I also got XBMC up and running in the theater.


I'm running XBMCbuntu 12.2 on my Zotac box , which streams from the UnRaid server.

I also installed the Cinema Experience add-on, which allows me to start with trivia slides, followed by trailers streamed from the web, intro clips, audio clips etc. Pretty cool. Just press one button and it runs. It will even do an intermission if you want it to.


I also installed XBMC Remote on my android tablet. SO far, it works flawlessly. No lag and everything works as expected. This is why the IR control really isn't high on my list. THe only thing that needs IR is the projector and the Grafik Eye and at this point I'm happy to just deal with it. Global Cache is in the works but I don't have the time to play around with iRule right now.


Tim

THIS is what I have been looking for. If there's one area of my own theater that I haven't explored it's the streaming media clients and their management via third party control. Jon (Timelapse Theater) uses XBMC and says it is the most reliable and robust of all the interfaces.


Definitely bookmarking these links. If you had the time, I'd love to see a few more posts that get into each of these points a bit deeper with the hardware / software setup you are running for your streaming media and control.
 
#495 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23665242


THIS is what I have been looking for. If there's one area of my own theater that I haven't explored it's the streaming media clients and their management via third party control. Jon (Timelapse Theater) uses XBMC and says it is the most reliable and robust of all the interfaces.


Definitely bookmarking these links. If you had the time, I'd love to see a few more posts that get into each of these points a bit deeper with the hardware / software setup you are running for your streaming media and control.

I will expand further on the subject once I get a little more familiar with the addon.


I will say that it is not 100% plug and play. Many moons ago I was proficient in *nix (not so much now), and there were some issues to be addressed. For example, the addon installed a folder called "default". It didn't work properly until I renamed it "Default". That's documented in the CE thread, but it's far from an obvious entry.


You will definitely need to get familiar with the debug log.


Don't let that dissuade you from running XBMC.. XBMC is rock solid, never had an issue. The official XBMC Remote on android has also worked without issue.


Tim
 
#496 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23665976


I will expand further on the subject once I get a little more familiar with the addon.


I will say that it is not 100% plug and play. Many moons ago I was proficient in *nix (not so much now), and there were some issues to be addressed. For example, the addon installed a folder called "default". It didn't work properly until I renamed it "Default". That's documented in the CE thread, but it's far from an obvious entry.


You will definitely need to get familiar with the debug log.


Don't let that dissuade you from running XBMC.. XBMC is rock solid, never had an issue. The official XBMC Remote on android has also worked without issue.


Tim

If you are not running Yatse app on android instead of the official app, you are doing yourself a disservice.
 
#497 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ScAndal  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23666749


If you are not running Yatse app on android instead of the official app, you are doing yourself a disservice.

I saw demos of both on YouTube. Some different features, but nothing that was a game changer. Costs me nothing to try out Yatse.. but for a first try I thought the official app was the way to go.


Do you use yatse, and what do you like about it?


Tim
 
#498 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23666775


I saw demos of both on YouTube. Some different features, but nothing that was a game changer. Costs me nothing to try out Yatse.. but for a first try I thought the official app was the way to go.


Do you use yatse, and what do you like about it?


Tim
I use Yatse when I'm out in my yard to change music on my deck speakers. I seems much quicker and stable when navigating as my wifi signal starts degrading outside.


What graphics chipset do you have in your Zotac box?
 
#499 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Tim  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23666775


I saw demos of both on YouTube. Some different features, but nothing that was a game changer. Costs me nothing to try out Yatse.. but for a first try I thought the official app was the way to go.


Do you use yatse, and what do you like about it?


Tim

Yatse is much more polished, faster and less buggy. The official app is not awful, just not as good as Yatse. Yatse on the tablet is gorgeous. Not a game changer, just a bit better at the same cost
 
#500 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23671602


You need to hang out in the HTPC forum more


MediaBrowser also has plugins for trivia, you can even do intros (like your own custom intro) and you can also do previews. There's plenty of plugins to download fresh ones all the time, or you can run custom ones.


One guy has trivia asking questions about his build I saw - I thought that was cool. Example: How many tubes of Green glue did it take to complete this theater ? Lol.

That is freaking awesome! I wish that I could do that with my PCH.
 
#501 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG  /t/1426519/mr-tims-15x27-theater/480#post_23665242


THIS is what I have been looking for. If there's one area of my own theater that I haven't explored it's the streaming media clients and their management via third party control. Jon (Timelapse Theater) uses XBMC and says it is the most reliable and robust of all the interfaces.


Definitely bookmarking these links. If you had the time, I'd love to see a few more posts that get into each of these points a bit deeper with the hardware / software setup you are running for your streaming media and control.

You need to hang out in the HTPC forum more


MediaBrowser also has plugins for trivia, you can even do intros (like your own custom intro) and you can also do previews. There's plenty of plugins to download fresh ones all the time, or you can run custom ones.


One guy has trivia asking questions about his build I saw - I thought that was cool. Example: How many tubes of Green glue did it take to complete this theater ? Lol.


Mediabrowser3 is in beta right now, but's it's likely to be a game changer. It has support for 4k upconversion via MadVR plugins, and you should be able to do better subtitles, as well as better upconversion, frame rates, and general PQ. It's still beta testing but it looks like it will also support SVP 60frame interpolation (like the fancy high end TV sets and 4k projectors do)
SVP




MadVR is upconversion software, and it can provide better PQ than most upconversion DVD players, AVR or Projectors can do (even the ones with fancy chips
)

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1477339/so-youve-built-your-htpc-now-what-is-next-how-to-get-the-ultimate-picture-and-sound-quality-from-your-htpc-madvr-svp-xbmc-mediabrowser-jriver/0_100



Honestly XBMC is great software- but if your noob and starting fresh I would look into just starting on MediaBrowser3 at this point. It's more modern and robust than XBMC, and if your going to go through the learning curve I think you would be better served learning MB3 since it's got a better design behind it. It's not just promising to be slicker, but it's lightweight and it's now a 2 part software application. There is a server client program that runs on your server or NAS, and then there is a front end client that can run on anything- including iOS, Android, Linux or Windows. The player in MB3 appears to superior to XBMC in that you can do reclock (perfect 24p frame rates and sync audio) MadVR for 480p or 720p >1080p or even 4k, SVP for better frame rates etc...


XBMC is good, but it's a modest solution. I am not sure how technical people want to get, but after watching the pain staking effort that goes into a theater build, calibration the audio and video, picking out nice equiptment etc... I think there might be some advantage in the small bit of extra you can get- especially if your starting fresh. XBMC is only popular because it's free, and it's been around a long time. It's the choice for running when people don't want to spend any $$$ , including $$ on an OS to install it on.


Also- MB3 offers transcoding on the fly. So you can do a lot with that. Example: You have all your 1080p bluray movies stored on your movie server for instance access, but the full 1080p resolutions and HD audio is too much for your tablet, your iphone or android cell phone- and it's too big to go over WIFI without playing choppy. You can on the fly transcode the 1080p and 7.1 audio mix down to 480p and stereo on the fly and serve it out to the clients like a tablet or smartphone. 480p and stereo works much better on a cell phone- and you can even send it out over the internet. So if you are traveling or away and want to watch a movie on your laptop or cell phone you can do that from a movie you have at home. It's pretty cool (XBMC can't really do this )


720p works good on laptops and 480p works good on cell phones. Most home internet is too slow to allow you to upload and stream full bit rate 1080p bluray (50mbps speed) but can easily do 720p or 480p in stereo.


If you have a reasonable budget ($500-$1000) for an HTPC the sky is really the limit and you can do a lot with an HTPC, including not just looking slick but offering superior PQ and SQ like HD audio, and 1080p upconversion or higher/better frame rates. My HTPC looks just as good as my high end blu ray player- you could not tell the difference - unless of coarse I turned on SVP



Just a warning though- SVP is not for the modest system. It will crush a dual core CPU, and you really need a quad core + video card. But that is the only "heavy" application, the rest can run on dual core no problem including MadVR.


Another cool feature is you can launch a video playing from any location. So for example I am sitting here on my PC surfing AVS and typing to you- and my wife is crying in the living room because she wants to watch something but can't find it (like Breaking Bad from Sunday night) I can actually with a couple clicks launch it playing for her on the living room system. WIFI remotes are great becaues they have great range, do not require line of sight- and are fast. There is a Mediabrowser3 Ap for Iphone and Android, that also allows you do launch or browse media from your phone and launch on your system or HTPC.


I think this functionality has some excited advanced things to come down the pipe in the next 6 months- and if you wanted to dedicate something like and Android tablet or Ipad to your theater as a remote control you will be able to do and control everything- including browsing media or movies while another movie is still playing on the screen and launching or changing it when you find what you want to watch instead.


Some cool stuff.
 
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