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46K views 399 replies 59 participants last post by  ZLTFUL 
#1 · (Edited)
Current state of my theater:


ROOM: 17x16x10

ACOUSTICS:
DIY acoustic panels Staggered (side walls)
DIY acoustic panels (rear wall)

VIDEO:
Epson 5020UB (cinema mode)
Seymour Center Stage XD 150" 2.35 scope screen acoustically transparent
DirecTV HD DVR
Popcornhour VTen
Samsung Bluray player (older model)

VIDEO PROCESSING:
Lumagen Radiance XD
Darbee Darblet

AVR:
Denon 4520CI

AUDIO:
MiniDSP

AMPS:

Emotiva XPA3 (fronts and center)
Emotiva LPA7 (surrounds)
Behringer inuke 3000dsp (x2)
Peavy IPR2 7500

SPEAKERS: 11 total
Definitive Technology UIW RLSIII (LCR x3)
Klipsch Synergy S2 (surrounds x4)
HTD HD-65AIM (wides and heights x4)

SUBS: 12 Total

DIY Infinity 1260W 1.5 ft^3 (X8)
DIY SI HT18D4 Slim cabinet 4.1ft^3 (X2)
DIY SI HT18D4 flat pack 4ft^3 (X2)


MEDIA SERVER:

FlexRAID server 24TB (media streaming)

Protection:
Panamax M5300-PM
Panamax M5300-EX
CyberPower 850AVR UPS
CyberPower 1500AVR UPS
1 X 15A circuit
3 X 20A circuits
1 X 30A circuit

SEATING:
Coaster Pavilion 4 seat set

MISC:
Roomie Remote (iPad mini)
Niles IR repeater
Global Cache' IP to IR module
Emotiva trigger expansion (X2)
Middle Atlantic slim5 rack and custom faceplates
Insteon remote controlled dimmer
Temperature controlled A/V closet
















 

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#27 ·
oh ok. I just moved it so when I watch a movie this weekend I will see if I can tell a difference. I also do have it angled upward a little bit. Those pics were before I pulled it out (less than 8") and before I angled it. I need to make some time to build a stand for it but I was waiting for the e56ci center to go on sale so I could replace it with that. BUT, I also want to hide the speaker behind the screen and I would need in-wall speakers for that. Decisions decisions. I can't make up my mind!
 
#28 ·
Ok another flexraid question...


If I have whs loaded on a hard drive, does it need to be on its own hard drive in case that hard drive fails? That way I only loose the OS and I can just reload it onto another hard drive and install it. I figured it has to be this way because I would not be able to turn on the server and use it because there would be no OS for flexraid to even launch.


For some reason I woke up this morning out of a deep sleep with this thought. Kinda strange. Still half asleep typing so I hope that I am making sense.


Thanks
 
#29 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pain Infliction  /t/1466802/the-thompson-theater#post_23455544


Ok another flexraid question...


If I have whs loaded on a hard drive, does it need to be on its own hard drive in case that hard drive fails? That way I only loose the OS and I can just reload it onto another hard drive and install it. I figured it has to be this way because I would not be able to turn on the server and use it because there would be no OS for flexraid to even launch.


For some reason I woke up this morning out of a deep sleep with this thought. Kinda strange. Still half asleep typing so I hope that I am making sense.


Thanks

You can use WHS (Windows Home Server) on any hard drive. Any size over 60GB will do. WHS has a HDD minimum of 160GB as a standard- that means it won't install itself if the HDD is not 160GB or bigger. But there is an easy work around I discovered, and I have installed it to 60GB and 120GB SSD drives without any issues. The workaround is posted in my server thread- it's as easy as hitting F10 key and editing a note pad file.


Assuming you are willing to do that- You can use any size HDD you want.


These days most people use a smaller SSD drive because the performance of SSD is superior to HDD- which make the system work faster and provide a nicer user experience. That's what I did. Using a separate SSD for your OS does make a difference in performance- but you do not have to do it. If you wanted to share a data drive as your OS- you could partition a 160GB space and use that for your OS. Then partition the rest of the drive as another drive letter and use it for data.


You can get SSD's for $60 for 60GB if you look for a sale- and a really nice 128GB one like a Samsung840 or Vertex4/450 for $99. A cheap SSD 120GB is $79. I'd consider that and do it right once from the start.


If you wanted to use a normal HDD for your OS it should work fine. If you don't know the difference in speed between SSD and HDD then you'll be fine. If you know the difference it might annoy you.
 
#30 ·
Ok thanks! Yes I do love the SSD's. I think that I want to have the whs on that and not one of the data drives. Anything else I need to know before piecing this server together. I was looking at the Asrock mobos with10 sata ports on it and throwing in a amd phenom II quad core because I cant use anything less for a processor for that mobo. I know that is probably overkill for the server but I want as many sata ports as possible and I have no choice on the processor.
 
#31 ·
Just buy a sata card. It's a better option and allows you to get a different mobo and CPU. I'd say something more efficient with power since it will run all the time.


You can get x8 sata cards with 8 full speed sata ports for $80. Most mobos come with 6 or 8. Assuming one for SSD and another for optical drive that leaves you 12-14 for hard drives. If you needed more just add another sata card.


I have 12 in my server and about to add a second card to go to 20.


12 x 3 TB drives is 36TB. With 2 parity it's still 30TB.


It would be 40TB with 4TB drives.
 
#33 ·
Asrock is a great choice for a motherboard. I'd recommend one for your server build. I have an Asrock Extreme3 in my server. I got it for $99 and it came with 8GB of DDR3 free.


You'll need to choose a CPU for me to give you a specific model. Intel is more power efficient and also faster as a CPU. AMD often has superior GPU but that doesn't matter much in a server.


A nice budget build would be a G1610 socket 1155 CPU ($35) with a modest AsRock mobo under $99.


If you wanted to transcode on the fly you'll be better off stepping up to a z87 and a quad core. If you wanted to virtualize you'll need a server grade CPU (you probably don't want this)
 
#35 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pain Infliction  /t/1466802/the-thompson-theater/30#post_23458164


What is transcoding? Something I also thought of is, how do I tell what hard drive is failing or failed if I have a bunch on the mobo and sata card? Will flexraid tell me what slot it is on on the mobo or pci card?

Transcoding is changing the resolution on the fly to deliver content to different devices.


Example: You have a 1080p rip you want to watch on your iphone, droid, laptop, or tablet over wireless- but you can't stream 1080p over wireless because the wireless it too slow for such a huge file size and bit rate. Many front ends (plex is best) and programs can take your 1080p content and transcode it on the fly to an appropriate resolution (like 480p on your cell phone, or 720p on your laptop) It takes some CPU horsepower to transcode on the fly - and for this I would say get a quad core.

Other people use something like handbrake (program) to change the resolution before they play - but that is a ton of work. With Plex, and MB3 you can transcode on the fly and upload the video stream over the internet to play on your smart phone or tablet on the internet if you are not home.


On my honeymoon I watched a movie on my iphone in Hawaii- and my server is at my house in MA. That's freakin' half way around the world !!!


You can tell if a hard drive fails. It will tell you. Hard drives are on cables that are labeled. Usually the sata card has PORT 0 and PORT 1 (port 0 is drives 1-2-3-4 and port 1 is drives +5+6+7+8) and the expansion cables has each sata tip labeled (1+2+3+4) the second one then 1=5, 2=6, 3=7, 4=8/ It is not hard to keep track of your hard drives. I used a cheap label maker I bought at costco that prints stick on labels- and actually labeled the top of my server with drives so in the future I know which drive is where without a glance. When you install the drives you must install each one (basically give them a drive letter, sometimes windows does this automatically when it auto detects the hard drives) - The hard drive must be installed on the the operating system before you can use it for a flexraid pool, or add it in. This is the time you can label the drive- I label the HDD and the top of my server so I know which drive is which and where it is. That way in the future if one of my drives fails I know exactly which one it is and where it is.
 
#41 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pain Infliction  /t/1466802/the-thompson-theater/30#post_23480031


Sure. I will do it tomorrow. Have a bunch if family over right now. The first pic is not a movie but it is 16x9 content. The vp allows me to make it 2.35 also if you want me to take a pic of that too.

OH you re right! the second picture is exaclty what i was asking

No need for more screenshots.
 
#42 ·
UPDATE

Finally got all the parts in for my FLexRAID server build. After hours of learning and building and dialing it all in.....IT WORKS!!!!!!! Streaming a movie right now off of it in my theater.


Special thanks to Mfusick! He led me in the right direction and personally helped me out via text messaging. True stand up guy!


Also I started building my acoustic panels. I wanted to do that staggered wall concept that Landshark did, but not all the way around the room. I have all the frames built and about 1/3 of the with fabric on them. This is also a very long process the starts to hurt the fingers a little bit. To make thing go faster, I purchased some new tools such as air compressor and a nail gun. Love it too.


Here is the pic of the mess in my theater right now. Crappy cell pic sorry.
 
#43 ·
UPDATE:


Added some recessed lighting. Installed them last night and wired them this morning before the attic was too brutal. Even though I started at 7:30am, it was still really hot up there. But its done! Next I want to add a remote control dimmer to it and remove the ceiling fan. That will get taken down today. Next week or the week after, I am going to add some more AC ducts and also add one more small one into the AV closet. My server is in there with the back side of the rack and the rack's exhaust fan blows into the closet.


By the end of next weekend I will have the acoustic panels on the wall as well so stay tuned. I also got the E56Ci center, but that will not be here until Wednesday. I will have a stand for that to get the center up off of the floor.


Still have a crappy camera. I am going to pick up a dslr soon, but for now this is what the new lights look like. I have two on each side.



Ceiling fan is about to be removed!
 
#44 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pain Infliction  /t/1466802/the-thompson-theater/30#post_23571741


UPDATE

Finally got all the parts in for my FLexRAID server build. After hours of learning and building and dialing it all in.....IT WORKS!!!!!!! Streaming a movie right now off of it in my theater.


Special thanks to Mfusick! He led me in the right direction and personally helped me out via text messaging. True stand up guy!

Thanks for the kind words



Congrats on your accomplishments, there is much you can be proud of with this project.
 
#46 ·
UPDATE:

I bought a fourth seat for the new member of the family coming soon. I also have built all of the acoustic panels and regular panels. I purchased the larger center speaker from Emptek (E56Ci) and built a stand for it to get it off the ground a little bit. The smaller center was just overpowered it seemed.


Here are the panels that need to be hung. I will do that today.



Seats



I will take more pictures after I hang the panels.
 
#47 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pain Infliction  /t/1466802/the-thompson-theater/30#post_23614794


UPDATE:

I bought a fourth seat for the new member of the family coming soon. I also have built all of the acoustic panels and regular panels. I purchased the larger center speaker from Emptek (E56Ci) and built a stand for it to get it off the ground a little bit. The smaller center was just overpowered it seemed.


Here are the panels that need to be hung. I will do that today.



Seats



I will take more pictures after I hang the panels.

Panels look great.


Bigger center is always better. Having centers from the same line in both my theater and living room is far more noticeable a difference to me than the difference between towers and bookshelves between the two set ups.
 
#48 ·
Thanks. Yes the center made a huge difference and I definitely not worried about the surrounds matching. I don't think I would even notice a difference so I can't justify the cost to do that.



Just finished hanging up the panels. I am making lunch for my daughter and I right now so when we are done eating I will snap some shots. I think they came out fantastic and better than I thought they would.
 
#49 ·
Photo update!






Once again iPhone camera. dslr in a month or two.


Here are the panels on the wall. I think it turned out great! Next on the list is painting all of the trim black. The white trim is starting to show too much especially when looking at the back where the two doors are and the rack. I might get started on that tonight or tomorrow. HVAC in the av closet will be next weekend starting at 6am.
 
#50 ·
Painted all the trim black. Looks way better now. The white was too distracting. By the way......did you guys know that painting with oil based paint sucks!? If you didn't know that, painting with oil based paints sucks! That crap smells really bad and it made the entire house smell like it. Not to mention if you get it on your skin. I does not want to come off. The way it goes on sucks too. Glad that is over with. On to the results.


I took two shots of this because my camera sucks. One of the shots is with the flash on.




Side view
 
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