"Hogwarts Home Theater" -- Layout Advice Needed!

Alright, I'm planning to begin the build in December, so I'm doing what I learned in the Boy Scouts -- I'm getting prepared! I could use all the advice I can get.

When I'm ready, I'll switch this to a build thread and rename it accordingly!

Proposed Theater Name: Hogwarts Home Theater
The name is the compromise I made with the WAF to pull this whole project off. She and the little one are huuuuge Harry Potter fans, and I don't mind the books/movies either -- they look fantastic in 1080p! lol.

There is a ton of Potter home decor available on the net, including framed movie posters, lighting, and every other type of accent you can imagine. So what the hell, right?! The things we do to make them happy...

Side note: One of the things I did to help sell this idea to the WAF was make a custom Sony movie intro in HD saying "Hogwarts Theater Presents." A huge thanks goes out to Blazer003 and everyone else who helped me figure out how to use blender to make that happen in this thread here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=715166

Planning: OK, now to get to the point of this planning thread. I have been staring at my basement for months trying to figure out how to make the HT happen with the existing structures. I've come up with a few ideas as to how I could go about doing this, and I could really use your advice in making my final decision for layout.

Each of these ideas comes with its own pros and cons which I will list above each sketch. If you can think of some more of each, or an entirely new idea altogether, I'm all ears!! (eyes?)

Another reason that I've been able to convince the WAF that we need a HT is because our wonderful townhouse came with wood-paneling throughout the basement. On top of that, some genius decided to add a layer of vertical textured wallpaper sheets and press-on borders that really give it that "stab-me-in-the-eyes look" he/she was apparently going for! Did I mention that that the wallpaper is sky-blue?! Needless to say, the WAF and I both agree (WOW! Mark that sh*t down!) that it's absolutely gross, so it was real easy to convince her to let me gut it completely and replace the paneling with drywall. Plus, now I can wire the entire basement...WOOHOO... SCORE!!!

Anyway, enough with the lame humor (ya right!)... let's get started!

CURRENT LAYOUT
My current layout does what we needed it to do when we moved into the house -- it's functional.

1. We have an older 43" 720P Pioneer Plasma that kicks butt with the component inputs, but the single HDMI input burned out on me somewhere along the way. (Of course it was a few months AFTER the warranty ran out... imagine that). The TV will stay in the mix until I can replace it with a newer 1080p model -- probably Something like the 54" Panny G10.
2. Audio will be handled by an Onkyo TX-NR807 7.2 AVR which comes with some awesome new features, including Audyssey DSX!
3. I'm still shopping for speakers, but their purchase will depend on what I decide to do with my layout.
4. I have yet to settled on a PJ or electric retractable screen, but those decisions can also wait until it comes time to break out the credit card.
5. I have a FIOS HD DVR, Xbox 360, Wii, and a pretty stout HTPC to round out the Rack-o-Fun(tm).

The below sketch (originally done in Home Designer Suite 8.0), but I no longer have access to that software -- I'm currently in Iraq -- so MS Paint will have to do for now -- the good news is that Windows 7 comes with a much improved version of MS Paint! But, at the end of the day, it's still just MS Paint... so please bear with me!

Fig. 1 -- Current Layout



OPTION 1: Dolby 7.2 Layout
Pros:

• Limited Renovations Required -- only have to widen door between rooms to make it symmetrical. Everything else stays where it is.
• Speaker placement is very natural (easy) for the room at ear-level
• Playroom remains separated by doors -- a.k.a. "noise-B-gone" -- possibly "French Doors," or something similar. If I get real crafty, maybe I could put in two pocket doors.

Cons:

• Sliding glass door results in horrible glare during daytime viewing, since the WAF doesn't like to shut the curtains. Apparently, a little bit of sunlight is good for you... who knew?!

Fig. 2 -- Proposed Dolby 7.2 Layout



OPTION 2: Audyssey DSX 7.2A ("Wide") Layout
Information on DSX here:
http://www.audyssey.com/technology/dsx.html

I discovered this lovely new concept while researching speakers and receivers. It turns out that the Onkyo receiver I am almost 99% ready to buy has this wonder new technology built right in... yep, that's right, the magic is apparently in the little black box.. somewhere in there... hiding... just waiting to be unleashed... and stuff. (+10 Bonus for anyone who connected "magic" to the Harry Potter theme )

Bottom line: it's intriguing new tech, and I'm a sucker for new feats of engineering wonder. (Have you ever seen the toilet seats that close real slowly instead of slamming down, even if you try to slam them down? THEY'RE F'N AMAZING!!)

Anyway... sorry about that.

Pros:

• One huge open room, and open space is neato. (See also: Cons)
• Cutting edge tech with potentially amazing soundstage
• No Glare from single door on the new HT side of the room
• I get to annoy my crazy neighbor in the townhouse next to me with big booms!
• Wide open play area behind HT makes it easy to watch our kid(s) break stuff
• Adding wiring for future might lead to some cool 9.1 options when the tech and media for 9.1 eventually show up mainstream.

Cons:

• (Big problem) The Left-Wide (LW) speaker sticks out from the wall in path between door and rest of room -- right next to the door! -- so my speaker selection for the wides is extremely limited to those with no depth!
• More extensive renovations required -- moving closets, removing center wall, relocating breaker box
• A future switch to traditional Dolby 7.2 (if DSX doesn't cut it) would require hanging rear surrounds from ceiling -- not optimal.
• One huge open room, and open space means there's no way to hide from my kid(s) -- especially their noise! AHHHH! (See also: Pros)

Fig. 3 -- Proposed Audyssey DSX 7.2A Layout



CLOSING:
First, I'm sorry for the lame jokes... not really. Second, I really look forward to any/all advice you can give me. This will be my very first HT, so I'm pretty stoked to have options and being able to wire it properly is rad. (Yes, I said "rad"... Why? Because I really miss that word).

Whatever happens, the adventure has already been a blast. Being in Iraq has given me the opportunity to get very -VERY- bored late at night when I'm not working, so I've had a ton of time to dive into the research for this project. Wonderful tech like Skype has allowed me to bounce my ideas off the WAF in real-time and watch my kid while I'm doing it -- too cool!

My goal with this entire project is to leave my guests and kids spellbound by their time spent in these rooms, and ultimately to create an amazing place to spend 90% of my time at home with the fam. (See what I did there with the witty word choice? "spellbound"... HA!)

(+20 for those who read the entire thing and aren't thinking about punching me right now)

Let the heckling begin!!

-TSF-

reserved.

LOL, as a matter of fact, I've been considering the size of that storage room for a while now. Problem is, the WAF isn't cool with that, plus we have a TON of stuff to store -- where the heck does it all come from!? It also doubles as a work room for my tools and a bench.

So, the two rooms I have drawn in the OP are the only two I get to work with. I can move walls around, as I have shown in both options, but only in those two rooms. I have 13'x29' total space to work with to create two distinct, but somewhat open, living areas -- a playroom and the HT.

That sliding glass door is also giving me headaches trying to pick a PJ screen... too many darn textures to choose from! And the official WAF-approved PJ mount location(s) -- ceiling only -- are limiting the types of surfaces I can pick from for the manual or electric pull-down screens I want. GOOD TIMES!

But, for now, I'm still trying to figure out the best possible layout with the space I have.

Thoughts?

LOL!!

umm, wait a minute, she has this link... HEYYY, THAT'S NOT FUNNY MISTER!

OK, wow... that's not a bad option at all. My primary concern would be maintaining support for the floors above (load-bearing issues).

My townhouse is wide -- 30 ft by 30 ft square -- so I think some of the walls in the basement might be critical. Of course, I could probably solve that using beams and columns.

hmmm... I like it. I'll have to bring a pro over to assess the structure, and I'd need to find a new place for the stored items. Perhaps in my unfinished attic? I really love the bar and refreshments center... and the play area looks like it could handle a pool table / poker table further down the road. There were some amazing basement setups very similar to this idea -- with 3-seat bar behind seating area -- in some of the threads around here. I need to go back and look for those to help sell it to the WAF.

OK... damn, THANK YOU for the idea! I'm going to run with it and do another mockup. bbl.

Actually, strangely enough, the storage room is the only room in the basement that already has finished drywall! Seriously, what's up with that!?

Unfortunately, since I'm in Iraq at the moment, I can't take pictures. But, maybe I can convince the WAF to do it... hell, I might even do the unthinkable and have her join and participate in this thread!

As it stands right now, she put a foot down on the storage space when I showed her your idea. So, unless I can find another arrangement that includes plenty of climate-controlled storage for our growing pile of useless kids' toys, I might not be able to convince her to move that wall.

I -really- like your ideas though... so... I just gotta think outside the box to figure out how to box up my stored boxes and place them somewhere else...

yep.. it's a semi-decent 1/2 bathroom right now. The only unfinished room in the basement is the Utility room, which is fairly untouchable for this project given the HVAC/Water Heater/Laundry facilities, storage, etc, that hang out in there.


The width of the hallway does lend itself to a nice shelf system. When we first moved in, the previous owners had a small ugly ikea shelf system rigged up to that wall. I will certainly add a nicer one to my list!

Also, before I forget to tell you, THANK YOU for all of your help and ideas. If you're still in/near DC, I could even invite you to the grand opening someday!

I'll drop your ideas into the all-powerful MS-paint and see what I can come up with...

I'm at the stage now where the WAF challenged me to produce a full-scope cost estimate, including all new equipment, and a timeline for the construction. Little does she know that I've been building a spreadsheet and word document with all of that info the entire time I've been researching!

I'm waiting on CEDIA to come and go so that I can make the final decisions on the new equipment, and I'll probably have to hire someone to do much of the actual construction just to meet the WAF's strict timeline requirements (she doesn't want to lose the basement for more than 4-6 weeks).

I'm more than halfway there gents... convincing the WAF that is... so wish me luck!

I know what it means, and I don't know who the "we" is in your statement -- some sort of AVS Ruling Elite? lol -- but I happen to enjoy referring to her as "the WAF." I've even taken to calling her WAF whenever we discuss the project. She laughs. It works.

LOL! Well played young wizard, well played. Thanks for the good wishes!

Gawd I'm a geek... Can I blame the WAF for that too?

I got bored and decided to make a couple of custom backdrops for my MediaPortal "Movies" menu item (I use MovingPictures and customized StreamedMP plugins).

I basically just photoshopped the last frame of my custom intro video onto the movie screen of some high-res photos I found with Google.

If you have a theater name, I'd be glad to make you a background image and tell you how to install it in MP. Just tell me what you want the logo to say and if you prefer color or B&W background image, and I'll do the rest. I also attached a generic 20th Century Fox version if you'd prefer that one.

I can even provide you with my custom XML files that make the home screen look like mine (See the attached image below -- please note the wonderful weather description for Iraq! )

Do you still have that HP theme sketch handy? We could use any help we can get with theme ideas!

Last, do you happen to have a link to the HP trivia slides? The WAF would be stoked if I add those!

I have finished a 1080p version of the custom theater background for you in all-color. If you want to use a picture of your own theater instead, post it up and I'll get to work. (sorry for the delay btw, I was a bit wrapped up with work for a few weeks).

I just need an email address where I can send the files (send your address to me in a PM here, and I'll send the files right away). The PNG version is roughly 2.6 MB, so I can't post it here.

I attached a custom logo for your theater to this post just as a teaser... hehe.


I love those ideas man... just need to figure out how to implement them to be "temporary," so that we can take them with us if/when we move and return the walls to a "normal" state when we sell the house. Very cool though, and your ideas really have my WAF excited to get this project started.

She also gave me **** for not discovering and taking her to this mysterious "HP exhibit" you mentioned, so now I need to figure out how to make up for that... (it turns out that she is regularly checking this thread... so that means I need to stay on point, and we ALL need to be careful with the great ideas from here on out! )


Cool, I'm on it. $7 seems very worth it to me. (In other words, the WAF said "I want them")

LOL.. thank you for the encouragement and kind words!

I'm not sure the rest of the folks here appreciate you encouraging me to continue with the lame jokes, but I'm going to assume you speak for everyone in the entire WORLLLLD... and continue on with my bad self and bad jokes.

Email sent with the PNG background image.

As for StreamedMP vs. XFactor, I may need to give up MediaPortal altogether. The reason is the newly authorized use of CableCARDs in custom PC's -- CableLabs no longer requires expensive OEM PC's to use their certified HD cableCARD tuners, but they still won't work with anything other than Windows Media Center. DOH!

So, I may need to switch back to WMC with the MediaBrowser plugin to have my movies, TV, music, and PVR, all in the same interface. Finally being able to record HD broadcasts without hacks is just too tempting... and some of the new tuners will even allow four HD streams at once using a single tuner card! Nuts!

In the meantime, though, my trip home is fast approaching, so I need to start compiling these HP-theme ideas into something realistic and as cheap as possible.

As of right now, it looks like I'll be going with some version of "Option 1" in my first post here -- a traditional 7.2 setup with very few room modifications. My biggest challenge will be the light coming through the sliding glass door, but hopefully I can find some good curtains to solve that problem during the day. (Gryffindor colors perhaps?)

Anyone know where I can find a set of sliding glass doors with some sort of internal black-out function between the panes of glass -- not internal blinds?

Wish me luck!