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.
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?
Quote:
Originally Posted by erkq /forum/post/20877956
25' x 25' ?? Surprised no one has mentioned how bad a square room is acoustically. And the color of the walls... ANSI CR killers there for sure... of course I didn't take the time to read the article, so I may be blowing smoke...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgkdragn /forum/post/20871666
Theo Kalomirakis, the man credited widely as the father of modern home theater, says it is a space that recreates the experience of a commercial theater ..
That's not a multi function room, a lounge area, a living room or what not .. it is a dedicated Home Theater ..
Quote:
Originally Posted by erkq /forum/post/20877956
25' x 25' ?? Surprised no one has mentioned how bad a square room is acoustically. And the color of the walls... ANSI CR killers there for sure... of course I didn't take the time to read the article, so I may be blowing smoke...
Hmmmm....no mention of a dedicated space, just the experience.
Based on this definition, as long as your experience is theater like, then you have an HT whether the space is dedicated as such or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thxman /forum/post/20879971
If you put your equipment in your living room and call it your home theater, do you no longer have a living room?
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?
Very interesting point. If there was also another main living area (den, 2nd "living room", etc) I might not be disappointed. But if not, then yes, I would be disappointed.
I call my setup (60" TV, 5.1 surround) in my living room an "HT setup", but would not advertise my home as having a "Home Theater".
In the end if you enjoy the experience, then forget about what anyone calls it and just enjoy!
Huh... but it's not just about the subs... golden ratios, standing waves being the same from two directions and all that.... these ideas are outdated now?
That is very correct. On the other hand, I have never had a theatre experience where the projection area is open to the lobby or have a screen so small like watching a 50" TV from 10ft away.
I personally have 3 A/V setups at home. Two with 50" Elite Kuro with 5.1, one in a dedicated room with 9ft 21:9 screen viewed from 9ft away with 7.1 set up. I would not dare to call the two other set ups as home theatre because they are just nowhere from "theatre like".
For at least the first 20 years of me doing my hobby, I never called those areas (even at times the were dedicated rooms with 60" RPTV viewed from 8ft away) to be HT. I used to call them A/V room.
For all those people who have "been in the game longer" than the rest of us and object to us calling our "lesser" systems and "non-dedicated" rooms home theaters, maybe you should take a look at your system and see if you actually meet the criteria. Does your "home theater" have:
1) 35mm film projector?
2) sticky floors with popcorn spilled everywhere?
3) the annoying kids who talk and text throughout the movie?
4) someone to take tickets at the door when you enter?
5) a projectionist to run your films from a dedicated booth?
6) flat, scope, and academy lenses with mattes for other ratios (not some stupid anamorphic adapter that slides in front of a lens, deteriorating picture quality)?
If you are missing these elements, you do not truly have a "home theater", as these are all essential parts of having a real theater.
I've been to plenty of theaters (especially the independent ones that show foreign and indie films) that have alternate seating (couches, tables), have food (pizza, beer, etc), stages for Q&A's, host video game parties, and serve other functions that aren't just watching the movie. I'd wager that these are more legitimate theaters than the ones some of these elitists have in their houses, despite serving more purposes than just projecting films. I'll also bet that some of us that have multi-purpose video rooms (not dedicated theaters) have better picture and sound quality than some of the $1 theaters I've been to. So why all the hate if we feel like we also have a "home theater"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by erkq /forum/post/20881213
Huh... but it's not just about the subs... golden ratios, standing waves being the same from two directions and all that.... these ideas are outdated now?
This article was not meant to be a "only one way approach" to home theater, but meant to give ideas and maybe prevent mistakes by a beginner when building a home theater. Everyone is different. That's why there are so many variations of projectors, sound systems and movie formats. I also believe that the article was discussing the use of small rooms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabba359 /forum/post/20882851
For all those people who have "been in the game longer" than the rest of us and object to us calling our "lesser" systems and "non-dedicated" rooms home theaters, maybe you should take a look at your system and see if you actually meet the criteria. Does your "home theater" have:
1) 35mm film projector?
2) sticky floors with popcorn spilled everywhere?
3) the annoying kids who talk and text throughout the movie?
4) someone to take tickets at the door when you enter?
5) a projectionist to run your films from a dedicated booth?
6) flat, scope, and academy lenses with mattes for other ratios (not some stupid anamorphic adapter that slides in front of a lens, deteriorating picture quality)?
Hehehe........I was thinking the same thing. For me my "theater experience" at home is better than at a "real theater" for some of the reasons you mentioned above.
The only advantage the "real theater" has over mine is screen size.
And if you sit at 1sw, your screen is plenty big. I sit 10' back from a 10' wide screen for 2.35 material. It's a little overwhelming for 16:9 material, though, so I move back to the second row for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by megalen /forum/post/20884350
This article was not meant to be a "only one way approach" to home theater, but meant to give ideas and maybe prevent mistakes by a beginner when building a home theater.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyinokc /forum/post/20872248
A Ferrari is an automobile. A Volkswagon is an automobile. They are both automobiles, but what a difference in style and performance.
Bottom line, the guy with the HTIB setup and the LCD TV does have a home theater. Just a big difference in style and performance with the guy that spent $50,000 on equipment and room decor.
Thats right. And the equivalent of the commercial theater would be a bus. I wouldn't want a bus just like I don't want my "home theater" to be like a commercial theater. And although a Ferrari is a nice car, it is mostly for showing off, and I wouldn't pay that amount of money just for show off purposes.
When buying a car you choose one that fits your needs and budget and you do the same when creating a "home theater". It is not useful to tell people that they need certain things in order to qualify for a mere title - "Home Theater". What is useful is to help people get the best experience for their needs within their budget.
For me going to a projector with a screen had a vast positive impact on the way I experience movies. My projector is some years old now and I would really like to upgrade to one with higher contrast. On the other hand my relatively cheap KEF satellite speakers and sub are perfectly fine for me. I never felt the need for something better and listening to speakers of much higher price didn't make me feel that I want to spend that amount of money to get what for me was only marginally better.
Originally Posted by Zoom123
I never felt the need for something better and listening to speakers of much higher price didn't make me feel that I want to spend that amount of money to get what for me was only marginally better.
An IB sub with 8 AE IB-15 woofers is not just "marginally better" than your KEF sub. I do get the point you are trying to make... but I mean... really...
BTW, I love KEF speakers... one of my all time faves... up there with Dynaudio (what I have).
Originally Posted by thxman
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?
This is the key to what a Home Theater is. When you hear the term, what do you envision in your mind? I would say most people envision a dedicated space with a riser for each successive row of seating, a projector, surround sound, etc.
Originally Posted by cybrsage
This is the key to what a Home Theater is. When you hear the term, what do you envision in your mind? I would say most people envision a dedicated space with a riser for each successive row of seating, a projector, surround sound, etc.
It makes me think of a room with a banging sound system with a projector or very large screen tv. Nothing else.
Woot! I found my dvi>15 pin connecter from my old Power Mac. I'm going to get a dvi>hdmi and see if it works with my brother's In Focus projector. If it does we have the making of a real low budget home theater.
You guys can call your "true home theaters" what ever you want. Though, I believe that the description "true home theater" is a little misleading in the first place and is causing much confusion. The majority of the people here that claim that their setup is a "true home theater" are logically attempting to replicate a theater itself, and not just for the experience.
In my room I use a 22" HD Monitor with a TV Tuner, a PC streaming 5.1 PCM audio to my Yamaha RX-V663 with Polk Audio 2xM40, 2xM30s, CS1, & a JBL PS-1200W. When all of this hardware processes a movie in 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD it sounds better and is a better experience than any movie "theater" that I've been in. That being said, it would be silly for me to consider my setup a "home theater".
I am not trying to replicate a theater or create a "true home theater" in any way. What I did try to do was create a higher quality sound experience for which I have succeeded to my taste. For me, that is a "true accomplishment". I would rather watch movies on my setup than to attend any "true theater" any day! That is all that matters to me and I am happy.
So if I have a 20" CRT with an old dolby receiver in a dedicated room, does that make it a home theater? Or if I have a 70" projector with 5.1 surround sound but somebody else has a 120" projector with 7.1 surround sound both in dedicated rooms, does that not make mine a home theater since the other person has a bigger setup? How can any Home Theater compare with a properly setup commercial theater with stadium seating, 40' wide screen, 20'+ ceilings, multiple speakers arrayed around a large space?
A home theater is just a place in your house where you have a nice TV and some sort of surround system that you enjoy watching movies in. Yes, some are better and more expensive than others but they are all home theaters, just at different levels.
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