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How to Build Your Own Home Theater - Part 1 of 4

27K views 101 replies 55 participants last post by  lespurgeon 
#1 ·
How to Build Your Own Home Theater - Part 1 of 4
Author - Len Calderone




This is the first of a 4 part series that will walk you through the process designing and building a home theater.


Many people buy a LCD television, such as a 55 or 65 flat screen, add a $200.00 theater in a box from Wal-Mart, and call it a home theater. Of course, the couch or lazy Boy is the seating. This is as basic as it gets.


Let's step this up a notch and see how to have a large projection screen (70 or better) and a projector, as the basis for a true home theater. We will look at what's available to make a comfortable home theater that you will be proud to show off.

Read the complete article at HomeToys.com
 
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#77 ·
The post above shows the misunderstanding of screen size. It's not the screen size that matters. It's the screen size vs viewing distance ratio that matters.


Yes you can't have 370" screen, but then again you don't watch is from 60ft away. But if you have 10ft screen viewed from 10ft away than visually you'll have the same theater experience as in the commercial theatres.


A person with 50" TV viewed from 7ft away will have a more theatrical experience than someone with a 65" TV viewed from 14ft away.
 
#78 ·
Would love to go back to the mid '80s where people with a 27" TV with a surround set up (including myself) calling their set up as "home theatre". Did I enjoyed my set up back then? Yes! Did I call it a home theatre? No! Why? Because it's just NOT a home theatre!

ahhh the simple times.
 
#79 ·
Seems like semantics are causing problems...


"Home Theater" means different things to different people obviously.


Not many can afford a home (with dedicated square footage) to have the "true" Home Theater, complete with the uber expensive equipment.



I think that most people would call any area that incorporates a big screen TV and (at least) a 5.1 surround system their home theater. Sorry if this offends some but their reality is not mine or yours.



It's the experience people want to replicate in the home... not the equipment, not the screen size, and not the dimensions.



Can this experience be possible without a huge screen and projector?

Does a 5.1 system convey the experience, or is 7.1/2 or 11.3 necessary?

Opinions will vary... but that's life!


For me I want to be emersed in the movie in my downstairs family room, just like at the theater. I have a 54" LED TV with a 7.2 AVR that will do height/wide/rear. I have that emersion into the movies I watch.


Do I have a home theater? Many may say no, others will say absolutely! All I know is with the limits of the space I have, I have done the best I could to get that experience, and I am very pleased with the results!


If you are happy with your results you have acheived in replicating that experience, then I would say that qualifies as your "home theater".

Too bad if others would disagree or are insulted at such a thought.


And just to be perfectly clear, I do not call it a "home theater"... it's the TV room... with a kick ass picture and sound system! (Kinda hard to imagine "Spongebob Squarepants" or the evening news as home theater material!
)
 
#80 ·
It's interesting that people who, more than likely, are better off than others, with their dedicated "true" home theaters; would actually be insulted if people with less means(see: the majority) called their rooms a home theater. As if us lesser people aren't deserving of the title, which is only reserved for the proper class.


I'd suggest you actually read what your writing and see how ridiculous you all are being. Allow others to have their fun too. Are BMW M3s, Ferraris, Porches, etc the only cars allowed to be called sport cars?


Personally, I've always called my dedicated room either a game room or an entertainment room. But I think my simple room with a couch, TV and 5.1 will be called a Home Theater from this day forth.


Snobs.
 
#81 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by kryloc /forum/post/20910991


Snobs.

Nobody resorted to name calling until you came along. Thanks so much for your valuable contribution to the discussion. BTW, I have a full home theater with 10' screen and tiered seating. But you almost certainly make more money than I. It's not about being a snob or being in the "proper class". It's about priorities. There are many things I do without... like a wife and kids.
 
#82 ·
Money has nothing to do in terms of building home theatre and entertainment system. I know of many people whose ONE speaker cost more than my entire home theatre yet they opt to take the entertainment room route.


Funny enough, most of these type of people I know never call their system as Home Theatre because they realize what is a true definition of Home Theatre is.
 
#83 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by erkq /forum/post/0



Nobody resorted to name calling until you came along. Thanks so much for your valuable contribution to the discussion. BTW, I have a full home theater with 10' screen and tiered seating. But you almost certainly make more money than I. It's not about being a snob or being in the "proper class". It's about priorities. There are many things I do without... like a wife and kids.

So true. So true.
 
#84 ·
Quite an interesting thread to follow. I see that Part 2 is up. I'll have to go read that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thxman /forum/post/20879971


If you drove out of your way to see a home for sale that advertised a large home theater and when you arrived, it was the living room with a big screen, would you be disappointed?

I think that's an excellent yardstick to determine what a "Home Theater" is.


In my family room I have a 52" LCD and 5.1 audio. I don't consider it a Home Theater. Downstairs I have a projector (92" @ 1.78, 117" @ 2.40) and 5.1 in a dedicated room. Everyone that has seen the downstairs room (that didn't come to watch a movie, for example the HVAC repairman, or parents coming to pick up their kids in the next room), have said "Nice Theater". No one said that about our Family Room.


I think it's a matter of presentation, not of price or size.
 
#85 ·
+1


Within any conversation that ends up with me showing the pic of my HT, 100%, without exception, people will say "oh, you have a REAL home theatre"... And these are NOT A/V enthusiasts. So even the non enthusiasts differentiate between the "so-called home theatre" vs the "true home theatre.
 
#86 ·
I would have to say that the theater experience trumps equipment/materials in this debate. And since everyone's home theater experience is entirely subjective, that's a likely reason why a man who has surpassed the specs of an IMAX theatre in his own home won't ever convince a kid living in his parents' basement that his 40-incher, HTIB, and parents' old living room sectional couch isn't a "home theater". When his buddies (or girlfriend) come over and watch a movie, and the lights are out, it's a theater-like experience for them. I doubt any in attendance leave the basement thinking, "gee, that movie would've been great if only he had tiered seating, a subterranean basement, and a front projection screen". Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have a setup like David Susilo or some of the other posters above, and one day I look forward to progressing to that level. However, for now, I thoroughly enjoy movies on my puny 47-incher, 6.1, single couch system, complete with self-repleneshing Juicy Juice stains thanks to my four year old. Hey, that last "feature" counts towards having a true theater, doesn't it?
Kudos to all who have contributed to this discussion in a positive way that encourages sharing of ideas and opinions without condescension and insults. PS - Love the use of red, white, and blue, Mr. Susilo.
 
#87 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by erkq /forum/post/20911031


Nobody resorted to name calling until you came along. Thanks so much for your valuable contribution to the discussion. BTW, I have a full home theater with 10' screen and tiered seating. But you almost certainly make more money than I. It's not about being a snob or being in the "proper class". It's about priorities. There are many things I do without... like a wife and kids.

You welcome. It has nothing to do with priorities. The point is that Home Theater is a vague term that defines a theater(or movie watching) experience for the user at Home. When others actually get offended when someone calls their room a Home Theater when it doesn't live up to "their opinion" of what a Home theater should be, that is the issue.



But hey, if it makes you and others feel better to say that you have a real home theater and others don't. More power to ya. I'll be enjoying my Home Theater now.
 
#89 ·
Being brought up in the '70s and '80s, the time when the term "home theatre" starting to become popular, "Home Theatre" can only mean "a theatre... but at home". It's the English language, pure and simple.


The dilution of the term "Home Theatre" start to happen around 1997 during the introduction of the DVD format where companies (Kenwood, to be exact) start with an entry level Home Theatre in a Box (nobody ever used this term before Kenwood) package.


This results in more and more companies diluting the terms "Home Theatre" even further, down to the $59 so-called "HTiB" that includes a DVD player, 5 single-driver plastic-enclosure speakers and a fist-size "subwoofer" that doesn't even go lower than 80 Hz.


So the general meaning of Home Theatre becomes a "free-for-all" term.


Some people with old-school approach call their 100" Sim2 with 2-channel Wilson Audio system in their dedicated corner (not room) as their entertainment system, while some people with new-school approach call their 19" HDTV with the $59 WalMart HTiB set up as their "home theatre". NOTHING wrong with either approach in terms of "you enjoy whatever you want to enjoy". Often times when I'm not in the mood, I prefer my 50" plasma, BD player and sound coming from its own puny crud-tastic speakers over my dedicated room. However, what one enjoys does not change the fact that "Home Theatre" should always be a "theatre... but at home"


Another example, I drive a 2011 VW GTI 2-door with Stage 1 upgrade. Do I love my car? yes! Does it make my car a "sports car"? heck no! Can I call my car a "sports car" of course, it's my right to call it whatever I want... but still it is NOT THE CORRECT TERM because that car is NOT a "sports car"


but hey, English is my second language, so I try to adhere to the actual meaning of the words/terms, not the generalization of said words/terms.
 
#95 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Jeff /forum/post/21561150


hello All, I am brand new to DTV. I Tried the "box" (analog to digital converter) with an old antenna on a really old TV. Not so good luck as I had to reboot it 4 or 5 times a day. Now I have a new TV and a digital antenna (don't need the box). I Have good reception for 18 stations! I want to know is where is there a guide or menu available of the programming for broadcasts in the St. Louis area?

These resources will help. They will tell you what's available in your area.

Antennaweb

Zap2it
 
#96 ·
I really wanted to give him the bennefit of the doubt....but then I read this:

Quote:
At the upper end of Home Theater systems is the Bose Lifestyle V-Class system, which is easy to install using the Bose onscreen easy to follow messages.

LMAO...what a joke
 
#99 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Susilo /forum/post/21652944


how is it arrogant? having a 7.1 system doesn't magaically transform the system into a "home theatre" system.

David, no point in answering robospam. Whenever there are 10 posts by a new user in the same 5 minutes of the first day, with 3-4 embedded images that do not appear, it's not real. Just click the report button and they disappear in under 24 hours.


Case in point: these disappeared while I was writing this reply!
 
#101 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Susilo /forum/post/21655173


thank you Roger, I didn't know that he's a robospam.

Those posts are sometimes hard to tell from real ones, as they contain phrases that seem relevant. But they are never in direct response to anyone's posts, they never quote anyone, nor even mention people by name. Not sure what they hope to gain. Maybe the idea is to plant nefarious code via the attached "jpg" files.
 
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