Show me your COMPLETED Theater! - Page 21

The Final Pics for the Valley Theater & Game Room.
Doubt I will make any significant changes to this theater. Well maybe a new projector

2nd Row


Front Row


Projector


DVD Case


Behind the DVD Case


Next to the 2nd Row


Back Bar


Entry


From the Bar


"Kitchen" behind the theater


Kinect & Kids Game Room behind the theater.


Looking towards the Rack & DVD Case Doors


Other Screen View


Fan & Lights


Seats


Showing the Arches


Entry looking towards the Rack


The Plan


SketchUp

Nice space, Jroyv. I like your acoustic panels. Suede? What made you decide to skip the velvet on the screen frame? I imagine you get quite a bit of reflection off the aluminum.

Do you have plans to trim out the rack to match the trim on the adjacent bookcase/door?

Very nice work roy!

The panels were a kit, I'll have to dig up the link but the material is really nice.

As for the aluminum frame on the screen it is ridged/textured I assume to avoid glare like they do on good sights. You don't even notice it when the movie is going and with the light up it kinda gives it a "flat-screen" look.
The real reason though, by the end of the build money was pretty tight and I found it on sale for significantly cheaper than the full black version...

I hadn't really though about trimming the rack, tba the trim around the doors is to hide the fact they are doors

Could you send me the link too? That's an awesome ceiling!

Jroyv, I love those acoustic panels. What kind of trim do you have around them?

The Panels are basically a DIY kit version of these:

http://www.readyacoustics.com/acoustic_panels.html

from Ready Acoustics.

Frames are metal and my favorite part is the fabric is basically just "Slip Covers" designed fit over a standard size sheet of acoustic insulation, 24"x48"x2" in my case.

No stapling or channels...

The room in its entirety (INCLUDING the DIY gaming computer/Desk & furniture down the every last screw) cost me approx $5600. Without the computer and desk that figure for just the theater is approx $4500. I am telling this because it took many hours of research and comparison to figure out that you don't have to spend 15k+ to build a high end room for high end results. I have an Optoma HD33 for my projector, Sony 3D receiver, & a 7.1 Onkyo Speaker system. The ikea bar is a custom made bar from 3 pieces of Ikea furniture that I got the idea from ikeahackers.net. For a full list of everything I have included a youtube link as well below the picture. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. Also, the video does not do the true projector picture justice. This was prior to calibration as well. The screen is a 135" DIY Blackout Cloth screen.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAv7c-alHBQ&feature=plcp

Very nice setup South. Love the dark blue and black color scheme. Very clean and classy setup indeed. Have you considered adding a dimmer switch to the room? They are very inexpensive. I bought a Lutron Maestro for maybe $40 at Lowes. You can set it to slowly fade the lights off over 20 seconds. Just gives it that nice theater touch. The image looks great even from your camera. Very vivid colors.

I do actually have a Lutron Dimmer system. There are 2 zones; x1 over the computer and x1 are the 5 bulbs in the room. =)

Not Really A Theater But A Big TV Room. Last picture is my old 142".

Equipment is:

Seymour 174" AT Scope Screen
Epson 6010 3D Projector
Paradigm Sub 2
Paradigm S8 Mains
Paradigm C5 Center
Paradigm ADP 590 Rears
Paradigm Mini Monitors Surrounds
Anthem Statement D2v
Anthem MCA 50 Amps x2 Bi-amped across the fronts
Popcorn C200
Xbox 360
PS3
Direct TV Satellite
Shaw Direct Satellite
Velodyne SMS-1 Sub EQ







Edited by studlygoorite - 9/23/12 at 7:19pm

Studly, I would venture to say that many would dream of having your "non" theater room. With a screen size of 174, if you had it in the kitchen, I would still call it a theater room. LOL Awesome job.

How do you find the viewing angle with the screen that low to the floor? I was planning a low screen, but wasn't sure how low I could go and still be comfortable

Thanks youthman

tbraden32,

I enjoy it, racing games on the Xbox feel better especially with a transducer in the chair and movies are fine too. If I had a larger room I would still go wall to wall, ceiling to floor. Also, it's just me here pretty much, no kids running around. I added a pic with my old screen.

John

The theater is great and all, but those slippers look reeeeeeally comfy!

Nice job Studly - looks great!

174" screen...WOW!!!

lol, they are.

Jroyv - LOVE your theater. Particularly the bar/look through and the secret room behind the DVD case. Wish I had that much room to be able to do stuff like that.

Studly - love your theater. Is your screen curved or is that just the picture messing with it? If so, how much from side to middle?


Southkhaki19 - Very nice theater... I love that you did a very budget minded theater vs. all these guys that spend unGodly amounts on theirs (some almost as much as their house). Anyone could build a ridiculous nice theater if they had $250,000 to spend on it. In my opinion, the real genius minds of this forum are the guys who can build something super nice with limited monetary investment. I bought my house with a finished basement knowing full well that I wanted to have a dedicated home theater. While I wish it was larger (particularly wider), my 21' x 11' x 8'6" room in the house I found was one of only a few in my budget. Houses with basements in NC are not in high demand and consequently difficult to find.

Total, all inclusive, like yours, I would guess I spent about the same amount of monetary investment (somewhere in the $4500-$5500 range.) This is greatly due to the fact that my wife and I just purchased our first house and having a mortgage and issues that need fixing have soaked up most of my slush money. I have only spent about $1500 in construction costs so that left me with more room for equipment which will come soon (projector, screen, and seating) and that is also the reason I have not made an official post in this thread yet.

If I had some constructive criticism for your theater I would say that with all the stuff you have that its about time to upgrade your speaker setup. If thats the Onkyo speaker system I'm thinking of (one that came from an Onkyo HTIB setup) then they sound ok but your room and projector/screen is worthy of better. A nice Polk Audio speaker setup (monitor 70 fronts ($350), monitor CS2 center ($100), monitor 40 rears ($150), monitor 30 surrounds ($100), PSW-505 sub ($250)) would be economical and make a big difference. Total would run about $1000 and give your setup a real kick! And you could tweak that however you wanted if you wanted to spend less you could go with 60's instead of 70's, 30's instead of the 40's, a diff sub. etc etc. Message me if you have any questions about that suggestion.

Next for me is upgrading to a projector and screen from my 73" Mitsubish DLP. I would have bought a pj and screen when I started the project had I not already had the tv (only a year old) before buying my house. I just could not justify spending money on a front pj and screen(until now). Any advice on doing a DIY screen? I think 135" is about where mine will be based on my room size.
Edited by ten8yp - 9/26/12 at 5:58am

AV Noob, "How many inches is your screen?"

Studly replies, "Inches? You mean how many feet, right?"

Hey ten8yp, my screen is curved 10" not sure if you meant another set up speaking of the bar/look through/secret room though.

Studly - OH YEAH... that was jroyv that had the DVD bookcase and bar look through... but I love your setup too... I'm very curious about the low screen. What are the advantages/disadvantages of doing that? Will most projectors not have any problems or will it help? I'm looking at an Optoma HD33 and about 135" screen.

Not sure there are any advantages, I just bought the largest screen that my room would take with the throw that I have. That said, I do like it and would do it again if I move with a larger room.

Interesting thread and good to see the variations on the HT theme. The readers digest version of my DIY multi-year saga began several years ago. I started with a dedicated space and a firm commitment to a multipurpose room with light walls and windows for natural light. Audio has always been my focus with video as a secondary consideration. I had fairly good light control but far from perfect for optimal FP video.

This was the first cut: Powered FP Screen and 58" Plasma, Revel Speakers and JL Fathoms subs:


The seating:


This was a nice setup and versatile with the dual screens but I found myself watching 95% movies and was getting a crick in my neck splayed out on the sectional sofa watching movies. A friend had HT chairs in his HT and the comfort delta was considerable. Also, the Revels were fantastic speakers for music and normal volume HT viewing but when watching concert videos they simply would not play as loud as I wanted without distortion. Another friend had purchased some Pro Audio derived HT speakers and I went for a listen. THAT was the sound I had been looking for so out went the sectional sofa, the plasma, the audiophile speakers and in came two rows of HT chairs, a bigger AT screen and lot's of very big speakers:

My version of a screen wall:

Behind the screen (not pretty ):

The seating:


While the room is far from perfect, it is exactly what I need it to be. A comfortable place to watch a movie with friends and family. It sounds great and the projected image is all I need it to be. The modifications that were made to the room could be undone over a weekend returning the space to it's original state to be used for another purpose by a new owner. My house is large by modern standards (3700sf) and to dedicate 400sf to HT would be for many, a misuse of space. For me, it was a no brainer. and I am very happy I did the project.

I have a 135" screen that is 8" from the floor and ceiling. The only disadvantage is that you'll want short chairs for the front row or a very high riser for the rear row so that the rear seats can see the bottom of the screen. Also, the short chairs in front help with your feet obscuring the view of the bottom of the screen if you put them up. The advantage is that you can get a larger screen in a smaller/shorter room.

WOW... very nice. Is there a reason I should potentially KEEP my 73" DLP down there and go dual screen with 135" AT?

Thanks,

If you like to watch sports and other non-movie type material then having the dual display is great as you don't have to have a dark/black room for all occasions. For me, the other issue was the fixed acoustically transparent screen. I found that I much preferred having the LCR speakers behind the screen real movie theater style. Having the front stage sound truly emanating from the screen is ideal and once you have it, there is no going back. That setup pretty much eliminated my having a large plasma or DLP on the front screen wall.

Of course, it's all about preferences and priorities.

After a lot of hard work, I'm glad I finally qualify to contribute to this thread.

See my build thread in my signature for additional photos and detailed photos during the build.

I'll save someone from having to put pics of their HT in the next post. Now THAT is a hard act to follow! Hats off to you Mario!

I’ll say.

Mario, have you done a shot with the lights low and the star mural charged? I know you have done the composite to get a feel for the mural and the room but I’d like to see what you see when a movie is playing from the different rows.