Scopeguy's 'Scope Theater - Page 6

Thanks Josh

I hope I use it as much as I think I will. There are some advantages of a non dedicated room, in that it may get more use.

Kjlewie

I think your probably right, once I start using the room I likely won't worry about things like the base board. I will be using a panamorph lens with the automatic slide. I chose a SMX curved screen to correct for 'pin cushion' distortion. I wanted to use the slide mainly because I didn't really want to waste pixels in either mode. I'm now wondering if maybe I should have gone with a fixed lens mount because of the curved screen and whether there will be a noticeable distortion in 16:9 mode. I guess I will know soon enough.

I did some more measuring in the theater to see what I had to work with.

From the screen to the front of the soffit is just shy of 14'
From the screen to the back of the soffit is 16'
The soffit is 28" wide and the projector/lens is 24"
The screen is 120" wide making a 94" 1.85:1 image or 7.8 feet wide
If the projector is supposed to be about twice as far back as the 16:9 image width then the projector should be 15.75 feet back.

So it looks like my installer is probably right, but maybe it will still work a bit closer. If I can get away with having it almost 2 feet closer then I could tuck it into the soffit (which was really my hope in the very first planning of my theater).

We will see tomorrow.

Well the projector is now tucked safely in the back of the room.



It actually looks really good back here and will disappear better, especially when sitting in the front of the room.

The lutron shade is also in and looks sharp.


I hope this is the last week of work (fingers crossed)

Greg

Thanks RT

I'm just waiting on a few parts for the automation system so it can be completed. Then I will need the final paint done. I also need to figure out what to do with the vent I was going to use to exhaust the projector in the soffit. I think I will get a metal diffuser for there.

Greg

Thanks Pocoloco

It blocks 100% of the light. Well actually right now it needs a small bead of caulk because my window casing is ever so slightly bowed, but after that it will be perfect. There are little brushes to complete the seal on the sides. I'm not sure exactly what happened to my budget on this one. Initially when I was planning with my installer I though the shade was too much money and I was going to get the non-motorized version. He said to run the cables to make it work (because I did all the prewiring) in case I changed my mind. After a time it seemed like it was just assumed that I was doing the motorized one and I never corrected that. At this point, the project has gone so retardedly over budget that the extra money for the shade is just par for the course. Someone's signature says everything costs more and takes longer than expected and that's been my experience too. It's a good thing (or maybe a bad thing) I don't have a wife to answer to. The truth is, given the location of the window, if it wasn't motorized I would never open it. When I'm not using the theater it is very nice having some natural light down there so this worked out really well and looks cool.

With my tactile transducers, my installer has been trying to figure out the best way to get a signal that includes all the audio (except possibly the center channel) to each transducer. He is going to get a multichannel pro-mixer that should allow us to combine all the signals to mono and adjust the level of each for optimal performance. This should allow me to use the crossovers in the anthem for my speakers (rather than having to run them full range and taking the signal from the left and right like I had planned). I'm hoping this will work well.

dc

I used 4 inch wood screws with plastic washers from a pack of screws used for holding foam board to the exterior of a house for stucco. The first 3 sheets were screwed into the wall and the the next 3 sheets were screwed into the first set. The final fabric wrapped panels are mostly a friction fit, running floor to ceiling means they don't have much play. the four inch screws seem to bite into the fiberglass quite well and the second 3 inch layer doesn't seem like it will go anywhere.

Blackcatt

Here are some close up pictures. It's still difficult to get a good one because of all the black fabric.

I am using a curved screen, this is the corner.


Shooting from below

You can see the plywood blocks that the posts to mount the screen attach to. The 2X4 supports are behind the fabric.

In the center of the screen (from below)


From the center looking to the side.


So my front speakers are 6.5 inches deep and my screen is 7.5 inches from the front wall at the center and 11 inches at the sides.

As you can see from this mid construction photo there is very little structure in this wall with just a 2X4 brace to hold the screen screwed to the front wall. The little green washers and screws can be seen holding the fiberglass.


I had a chance to fire up the system for a little demo with WALL-E, Master and Commander and the Two Towers. It looks impressive and the 2.35 screen is definitely the way movies were meant to be shown. There were a few pops from the pre-amp on changing signals and the speaker levels need calibration but it was nice to finally play with some of the toys!

Greg

One thing I forgot to mention Dave. The paradigm speakers have to slide to the side to attach to their mounts. Behind the fabric wrapped finishing panel the six other layers of fiberglass have `plugs` cut out of them beside the speaker so that in the event a speaker has to be replaced or a connection comes loose, you don`t have to dismantle the whole wall. They hadn`t been cut at the time of my in-progress pic. I`m not sure how your speakers attach but if you do a baffle wall try to make sure you have a way to change the speakers without destroying the whole wall.

Greg

Yeah the curve is really quite subtle. There is a way to calculate the radius of curvature you want to correct for the pincushion distortion causes by the anamorphic lens. The formula is buried somewhere in a thread in the constant height forum. Mine said a 34 foot radius would do and SMX makes a 40 foot, which I thought would be close enough. In my recent testing I did not see any pincushion, and thought the picture looked sharp all the way to the edge. I don't know whether it's the quality of the projector and lens, the 'broadcast' quality scaling of the anthem, the screen material or the curve, but the image seems very film like (smooth, yet sharp and detailed)to me.

Greg

I got a little bit of work done this weekend. I finally moved my PC that I use for music serving downstairs and my server and external harddrive collection for it as well.


When the last parts arrive for the system, the installers will return to finish it, and I can use my PC for updating the Anthem processor and doing the ARC room correction as well. I will be using my projector as the monitor and a wireless keyboard. Does anyone have a recommendation for an air mouse?

Greg

You make a valid point CJ. There is not much available on how to design one of these. I mostly went from the diagrams on the THX site and living within the constraints of my room. I figure the purpose of the baffle wall is to provide broadband absorption, which according to Ethan in one of the threads about acoustical treatment 6 inches of OC703 should be able to do. The most important benefit (as I understand it) is to avoid distortion caused by edge diffraction from the speakers. This is the same reason Paradigm recommends keeping the speaker grills on their speakers, to avoid edge diffraction from the drivers. Having the acoustical treatment even with the speakers should achieve this. TheBland was the guy who suggested I do it but he unfortunately wasn't able to provide much about exactly how either.

I may be bastardizing the term baffle wall by using it to describe what I've done but it's as close as I can get to one with my limited understanding and I'm very pleased with the resulting sound.

Oman

I saw the ad and if nothing else, that mouse sure looks cool so I might have to get it just for that.

Greg

Thanks Calvin

I will put the light meter to use soon.

The installers are basically done, the remote and automation have to be set up and a few bugs worked out. I'm going to be trying thinks this weekend to see if I can find problems.

I've had a chance to pick up most of the boxes, so here are some new pics.

Here is the entrance (the track to roll out the rack is now gone so I can open the doors fully).


The second row of seating is in


It was a tight fit

My wood work took an 1 1/4" on each side, which happens to be the same amount of wiggle room I had given myself when I ordered chairs.

The projector is safely tucked away on the ceiling after it's little trip.

The rack is put away

I might make them swap the Bryston and Crown amp positions as I don't think my rack is cooling like it should with the fans blowing in from the crowns.

The Beringer mixer is in place as well to provide a summed mono signal for the tactile transducers. The tactile transducers work so well with this setup. If your serious about getting good tactile sound this is the way to go.

And I picked up a toy for my 2 channel system, which was my other reason for a trip to Edmonton

A Cary SLP-98P

I haven't been able to fire it up yet because one of the 12AX7 input tubes on my V12R went down so I needed to borrow one from the pre-amp. I should have a new one by the middle of the week. Don't buy tube gear unless you enjoy doing a little tinkering!

Greg

Thanks

Got a chance to see if the HVAC to the room might be adequate. I had 8 people in the room last night for the Incredibles. The room was a little bit warmer by the end of the movie, but not uncomfortably so. The HRV still has to be set to be on continuously when the projector is on, and one or the air supply vents is painted shut, so if anything it should be better with some adjustments. That is a relief because of all my trades I thought the HVAC guys understood the least what I was trying to accomplish.

Greg

Thanks Dale; I found all the build threads here very helpful for coming up with a plan. Glad mine might be of help too.

Daredevil

1. The cabinets are custom made by Sadona.

2. Most of the electronics came from Audio West. I already had the amplifiers, the squeezebox, the SMX screen and a few other pieces. I'm not sure how much they demo because honestly I had already made most of my choices equipment wise by the time they got involved (there was a time where I was planning to do the home theater install myself)

3. My chairs are from Birchwood Furniture, a furniture manufacturer in Calgary. The model is 2495 and the leather is a color called Ranger Chocolate. I like the love-seat. It's nice to be able to stretch out even more sometimes, and I don't plan on being single forever. The size of the room very much dictated the furniture size, but I would have still chosen a love seat even if I had the extra 6 inches for another arm rest.

4. The shower glass came from (and was installed by) Clearview Glass Service in Sylvan Lake.

Sumavguy

Thanks; I can take some credit for design but the color choices all come from other areas and materials used throughout the home. A designer played some role in making these choices and I basically just choose from what was already done in the rest of the house.

The Incredibles was great. Good bass, some use of surrounds, and a great picture (for DVD). The room correction and levels have to be set, so it should get better, but honestly if this was as good as it gets I would be more than pleased!

Greg

Happy to help out Jason. If your ever passing through Red Deer give me a PM.

ljl

The seating looks really good and is very comfortable. It is not motorized but the reclining function works well and you can choose how far back you want to recline and the chair seems to stay in place. They are also full leather, which is nice (but expensive). You can get them in a huge variety of fabrics and leathers as well. You can drop by the warehouse in Calgary, they have a showroom there, if the HT company doesn't have all the samples.

The setup I have takes up 10' 9" and I had to remove the pins to fasten the sections together from one of the chairs to get it to fit. With these chairs and my screen I wanted to get the maximum I could out of the space I had.