Alright, you've fooled around long enough...go build something! - Page 11

dc,
The price of the GE includes custom, non-metallic finishes. Hank's has a drop down listing of all of the available colors and includes pricing for metallic finishes.

Thanks fotto. The budget was a consideration, but I also wanted speakers that fit the scale of my smaller room. The QS8s are very nice but felt a bit pricey to me. Even the QS4 was a bit higher than my second choice - the Emotiva surrounds. But, I wanted speakers that highlighted the trim work.

Well, it doesn't seem that CEDIA has narrowed my list of potential pjs as I had hoped. In fact, the list has expanded. Initially, I planned to choose between the panny AE3000/4000 or the Sony HW60/70/85. Now, I've added the JVC RS15/25 to the mix.

While I really like the memory zoom feature of the panny, I've come around to realize that I won't be changing AR that frequently. After PQ and price, of course, the most important feature for me then is motorized zoom/focus/lens shift, not necessarily memorized. My loosely defined ranking currently has the JVCs #1, followed by the Pannys at #2, then the Sonys close behind at #3.

Off to do some more research. I need to track down some reviews of the AE4000?

Thanks Jason. I actually decided on a new pj last week and picked it up Monday (got the "UPS exemption" email and jumped into action). Installed it just before MNF and I haven't had much sleep since! I'll post some pics and screenshots later tonight.

Oh yeah. I picked up a JVC RS25. It will replace my 5 year old 720p Sony. It did not stay in the box for very long.











Here are a couple of pics of the new RS25 and the outgoing HS51

Here are some screenshots of the RS25 in action. I used a tripod, but any suggestions on how to take good screenshots are welcomed.










The picture is good enough out of the box that I haven't tweaked any of the settings yet. Now I need to decide on a universal remote to control everything. Any suggestions?

oman and dc, thanks for the feedback.

I've looked closely at the 900 with its RF capabilities. Came close to buying one at the local BB. But, I'm trying to get educated and comfortable with the capabilities of the new RF extender and IR emitters. Most of what I've read indicates the IR signals bounce around inside of an equipment cabinet to hit the IR receiver on your gear. But, if you have a open rack, how reliably does the IR signal bounce around the entire room? I've been surfing and grinding on that question for a couple of weeks. I may have to buy one to test and perhaps return but that would be a pain.

Alternatively, during construction, I ran CAT6 from the equipment room to the screen wall and pj box and I ran PELV wiring from the equipment room to the GE QS's IR port. It will take a bit of noodling to figure out what, exactly, I need to do. But, I think I can use the prewire to set the whole system for IR control. That would make the One more attractive. The concept seems logical, but I haven't been able to put all of the pieces together in my mind.

I need to spend some more time on the remote control forum. Any suggested resources for learning a bit more about this stuff?

Thanks for the links oman. I'll check them and jamis' thread out.

Thanks Dradius. I do like the picture. I haven't had a chance to tweak the settings yet, though.

As I think about it a bit, that is probably a good thing at this point.

I'm still trying to figure out my universal remote and I think I've crossed most questions off the list. All, except for couple, of course.

I'm planning to get the Harmony 900 for the RF/IR blaster. The 900 comes with a main RF/IR blaster and 2 mini blasters. Here is what I have figured out so far:

Components to be controlled include:
- MEDIA PLAYER: Oppo BDP-83
- AVR: Sony STR-DA3400ES
- HD SAT BOX: Directv HD20
- PROJECTOR: JVS RS25
- LIGHTING CONTROL: Grafik Eye QS6

I'll control them like this:
- I'll use the main IR Blaster to control my satellite box
- The main blaster has 2 ports on the rear for IR mini blasters. I'll use port 1 with an IR mini blaster to control the projector
- I'll use port 2 with an IR cable to control the AVR from its IR IN jack
- I'll use one of the two IR OUT jacks on the AVR to control the Oppo from its IR IN jack

At this point, both the AVR and the Oppo have an IR OUT jack available. Here is my first question. Does it matter which IR OUT jack I use, the AVR or the Oppo, to connect my Grafik Eye?

The Grafik Eye IR control cable has two 18 gauge wires while all of the IR jacks use 2.5mm or 3.5mm plugs. Here is my second question. How do I terminate the two wire Grafik Eye cable to plug it into the IR OUT jack on the AVR or the Oppo?

I could simply control the GE with the 900 IR as I have line of sight to the rear of the room. But, it seems like I should be able to control the lights with everything else from the RF blaster. Then, I wouldn't need to point the remote anywhere. Does this make sense? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks.

Thanks Mike. I'm headed out to BB and RS for the 900 and the adapter bits. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks CJ.

When roughing in the conduit, I wanted to mount my surrounds just above ear level (where Dolby recommends). But, I thought that location exposed the side surrounds to potential damage from people walking in the aisles. So, I raised the sides about 1' to their current location where people's heads pass by the speakers, not their arms and shoulders. The rears are at the same height just to maintain aesthetic symmetry.

Despite having a narrow space, we wanted to fit 8 seats. Optimal surround location was one of the compromises to achieve that.

BTW, your space is really taking shape.

I'm just a little giddy at the moment. Even though it took considerably longer than I thought it would (like 4 hours), I got the Harmony 900 set up; programmed and working the way we want it to. Yes.

I still have to tweak the GE QS page to select scenes and to mount the main blaster in front of my rack instead of sitting on a box, but the remote and RF is working as expected.

Speaking of the QS, I thought that it wasn't working with the 900 (primarily because the web set up said the 900 couldn't control it). As I was flipping through my QS manual, my son walked in. He picks up the remote, presses a couple of buttons and turns up the lights! Then he says, "Didn't you tell me not to read in the dark?" or something. "How did you do that?", I asked. He knew he had me so he clears his throat and says, "Dad, it so simple, 'Devices, Lights, +Brightness'.

He'd never seen the remote before and walks in and teaches me something new in 3 seconds. I felt so old...and grateful.

It also felt good when my wife took the 900 for a brief testdrive by pressing the 'Watch TV' button.

No more running to the equipment room to pause the movie or change the channel.

Thanks Mike. I ended up using the main blaster for all of the components in my rack. Then, I connected the GE and the pj to the main blaster. No need to use the IR ports on the rack components.

Thanks for the help.

Hey Jamis - I really like the Harmony, too. I think my son is amused at my fascination with one touch control. I look forward to a chance to tweak it for the lighting scenes.

I took a long look at the Powermid when I was considering the Harmony One. I calculated that I could save some cash with the H One + Powermid combination compared to the 900 alone. But, without additional emitters, I believe I would have had to point the One at the pj and the GE to control them. Not a huge deal, but not needing line of sight for any component was a big draw for the 900.

Good to hear that the PS3 adapter works well - I may revisit adding one at some point. The PS3 does not sit in the rack but is connected to the HT through the riser I/O plate. The official comment is that the PS3 is a temporary visitor to the HT with a permanent home in the kid's playroom. After a few 4 player sessions of "Little Big Planet" on the big screen, a new vote would likely be 3-1 in favor of keeping the PS3 in the HT. Oh, but the power of that 1 vote.