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The Cinemar Home Theater Construction Thread - Page 85

post #2521 of 2773
12/11/12 at 2:53pm
I may have missed it but what did you do on the walls for acoustic treatment. I found where you used denim, did you go all the way to the ceiling or did you stop above ear height? My wife loves how you did all the lower panels with trim, and she has me now using this for the lower 2 feet.
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post #2522 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel Chaves View Post

could you post a few pictures of what the screen looks like when you have those magnetic panels on it to change the aspect ratio? with and with out something being played? Im curious to see how that looks.

Here ya go Daniel. My panels are Seymour's acoustically transparent ones. If you don't need them to be acoustically transparent, then they use a darker material.







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post #2523 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by allybuck64 View Post

I may have missed it but what did you do on the walls for acoustic treatment. I found where you used denim, did you go all the way to the ceiling or did you stop above ear height? My wife loves how you did all the lower panels with trim, and she has me now using this for the lower 2 feet.

The denim covers the upper walls from about 30" to just below the crown. Basically anywhere you see the Red GOM fabric.

At some point, I plan to do some testing and remove some of the denim. I have some of the larger wall panels divided into two sections so I could remove about half the denim per panel, so my theory was to put denim on the west side of the wall up high, then don't put denim on the east side of the wall up high. So they alternate treatments on each side. That may bring some liveliness to the room.
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post #2524 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
BTW, I just listed my Pansonic PT-AE4000U Projector for sale on the AVS Classifieds if anyone is interested.

I've got upgrade-itus.

Under 200 hours on the original bulb at the moment.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1444736/for-sale-like-new-panasonic-pt-ae4000u-190-hours-on-original-bulb
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post #2525 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:27am
What are you getting?
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post #2526 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

I've got upgrade-itus.

What's the prescription to cure your illness? Runco or Epson with anamorphic lens? Panny 8000? Dare I say JVC?
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post #2527 of 2773
12/12/12 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

BTW, I just listed my Pansonic PT-AE4000U Projector for sale on the AVS Classifieds if anyone is interested.

I've got upgrade-itus.

Under 200 hours on the original bulb at the moment.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1444736/for-sale-like-new-panasonic-pt-ae4000u-190-hours-on-original-bulb
It was inevitable smile.gif. Offer stands.
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post #2528 of 2773
12/12/12 at 12:58pm
thanks for posting those photos, I will keep those in mind smile.gif
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post #2529 of 2773
12/13/12 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Hey Guys.

I'm leaning towards a Panasonic PT-AE8000U at the moment.

It seems like it would be an easy transition for me and a good improvement over my existing AE4000U.

I know the JVC-RS45U is supposedly better at 2D than the AE8000U but I'm curious to give 3D another try to see if it's gotten any better over the years. I think with the larger screen, it may actually be a lot better than my 65" Panasonic Plasma. Based on reviews, they seem to be pretty positive on the AE8000U and it seems to have a big edge on the JVC-RS45U.

I really didn't look hard at the Epson 5020UB just because it's casing is white? It would seem odd to put a bright white projector in a dark room. Maybe it's just me. smile.gif

Lens Memory is important and I want to stay away from anything that requires an Anamorphic Lens to keep my costs at a minimum.

Am I leaving any other options in this price range out?
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post #2530 of 2773
12/13/12 at 9:04am
Have you looked at the Sony VPL-HW50ES?
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post #2531 of 2773
12/13/12 at 9:14am
Not IMHO. There's always Sony's projectors, the VPL-HW30ES and the VPL-HW50ES. But I don't see anywhere in their specifications that they have the lens memory features of the JVC and Panasonic.

I will say that for the width of your screen, the 2400 lumens of the Panasonic 8000 just can't be beat vs. the 1300 lumens of the JVC. You may be able to calibrate to 16 ft. lamberts in 2D on both projectors, but if you are curious to give 3D another try, you can never seemingly get enough brightness as that seems to be the key to making the effect work well.

Just my 2 cents.

EDIT - The Epson folks know that 99.9999% of their projector customers want a black housing, so they intentionally reserved that for the 6020 and offered extra "value" in "free" 3D glasses, extra warranty, extra bulb, etc. for $1000 more than the 5020 despite the internals being exactly the same. Darn marketing people!!
Edited by TMcG - 12/13/12 at 11:05am
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post #2532 of 2773
12/13/12 at 10:52am
Good point. I was thinking of something in that range that had decent 2D & 3D but forgot about your need for lens memory. Carry on.wink.gif
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post #2533 of 2773
12/13/12 at 11:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman View Post

Good point. I was thinking of something in that range that had decent 2D & 3D but forgot about your need for lens memory. Carry on.wink.gif

We were actually writing posts at the same time....I just had to take a work call before I finished my final sentence. I didn't even see your post until my screen updated after your post. I guess great minds think alike.....
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post #2534 of 2773
12/17/12 at 10:57am
Thread Starter 
We recently started carrying the Dune HD Media Players and I finally had a chance to test the Dune HD Max out in the theater over the weekend.
I had played with network media players in the past and have always been disappointed.



But I must say I'm really impressed with this one.

The packaging it comes in and solidness of the unit was even impressive.

I only played with the onscreen navigation using the supplied IR remote for setting up the unit since my main objective was to launch movies on it using MainLobby.
After getting it networked and obtaining the IP Address, I had it configured within MLServer in a few minutes and was controlling it from my iPad. I also updated my Harmony remote to support the transport controls. I like the fact that the HD Max has IP control. This provides me with bi-directional control and feedback of the unit. I'll be enhancing my MainLobby Movie Poster LED TV to show some more details while the movie is playing including things like time code, playback status, percentage complete, etc.

One of the challenges with the HTPC has always been that it will only output sound on one channel. The Dune HD Max outputs both sound and video on all available ports. This works out well for me where I'm feeding the Onkyo via HDMI and can get TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio sound, plus feed my D-Box motion platform via Coax or Toslink (which requires 5.1 to sync), plus feed my Russound Whole House Audio system via the stereo outputs. I also feed the whole house component matrix switcher via the Dune HD Max's component video outputs.

The video also looks great and upscales standard DVD's making them watchable even in the theater at 136" wide.

I connected my Watt's Up? Pro to the HD Max and found it's only drawing 14.5 watts while streaming a Blu-ray movie to it. So I'm really impressed with its energy efficiency as well.

For anyone who is tired of dealing with the complexities and ongoing maintenance of an HTPC, the Dune HD Max is a great low price option.
This one's a keeper. smile.gif
Edited by mcascio - 12/17/12 at 12:07pm
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post #2535 of 2773
12/17/12 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

We recently started carrying the Dune HD Media Players and I finally had a chance to test the Dune HD Max out in the theater over the weekend.
I had played with network media players in the past and have always been disappointed.

But I must say I'm really impressed with this one.
The packaging it comes in and solidness of the unit was even impressive.
I only played with the onscreen navigation using the supplied IR remote for setting up the unit since my main objective was to launch movies on it using MainLobby.
After getting it networked and obtaining the IP Address, I had it configured within MLServer in a few minutes and was controlling it from my iPad. I also updated my Harmony remote to support the transport controls. I like the fact that the HD Max has IP control. This provides me with bi-directional control and feedback of the unit. I'll be enhancing my MainLobby Movie Poster LED TV to show some more details while the movie is playing including things like time code, playback status, percentage complete, etc.
One of the challenges with the HTPC has always been that it will only output sound on one channel. The Dune HD Max outputs both sound and video on all available ports. This works out well for me where I'm feeding the Onkyo via HDMI and can get TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio sound, plus feed my D-Box motion platform via Coax or Toslink (which requires 5.1 to sync), plus feed my Russound Whole House Audio system via the stereo outputs. I also feed the whole house component matrix switcher via the Dune HD Max's component video outputs.
The video also looks great and upscales standard DVD's making them watchable even in the theater at 136" wide.
I connected my Watt's Up? Pro to the HD Max and found it's only drawing 14.5 watts while streaming a Blu-ray movie to it. So I'm really impressed with its energy efficiency as well.
For anyone who is tired of dealing with the complexities and ongoing maintenance of an HTPC, the Dune HD Max is a great low price option.
This one's a keeper. smile.gif

they say yo can get gigbit speed but it is experimental, is your house wired for gigabit? and if so i wonder if you would see any improvement when streaming a movie over it as apposed to 10/100
Edited by snickers1 - 12/17/12 at 3:08pm
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post #2536 of 2773
12/17/12 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1 View Post

they say yo can get gigbit speed but it is experimental, is your house wired for gigabit? and if so i wonder if you would see any improvement when streaming a movie over it as apposed to 10/100

Yeah I do have a Gigabit network. I'm streaming Blu-ray without any issues. I've had multiple movies streaming to the Dune and HTPC's all at once without issue.
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post #2537 of 2773
12/17/12 at 4:52pm
A couple more tidbits of information on the Dune HD Max...I had an in-depth discussion with one of their company reps a couple of months ago regarding the technical aspects of this piece of equipment. Not to go into boring detail, but there are two main deficiencies to this unit: 1. The 10/100 support vs. full gigabit which may or may not matter based on your network topology and the storage devices feeding the HD Max; and 2. HDMI 1.3a output which means that it does not support 3D. There will be an update to address both of these issues by next summer so I am told, plus a few upgrades (i.e. better DACs, etc.) to really take this device to the next level. I have one of the newer ones earmarked for my rack if / when it is available.
Edited by TMcG - 12/17/12 at 6:26pm
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post #2538 of 2773
12/18/12 at 7:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG View Post

A couple more tidbits of information on the Dune HD Max...I had an in-depth discussion with one of their company reps a couple of months ago regarding the technical aspects of this piece of equipment. Not to go into boring detail, but there are two main deficiencies to this unit: 1. The 10/100 support vs. full gigabit which may or may not matter based on your network topology and the storage devices feeding the HD Max; and 2. HDMI 1.3a output which means that it does not support 3D. There will be an update to address both of these issues by next summer so I am told, plus a few upgrades (i.e. better DACs, etc.) to really take this device to the next level. I have one of the newer ones earmarked for my rack if / when it is available.

Yeah - I haven't noticed any issues with only 10/100 support on the Dune HD Max although I've only watched a couple movies. I've launched about 20-30 and haven't seen any hiccups yet when watching any of them for a few minutes at a time.

When the 3D version comes out, I'll be using the Dune HD Max as a dedicated whole house movie player. I bit the bullet and ordered the Panasonic PT-AE8000U Projector.
Based on the reviews and forums I've read, it seemed like the clear winner to me in that price range and having all the functionality I needed.

Honestly, I'm still extremely happy with my PT-AE4000U. Given that it's a light controlled room, it seems plenty bright to me. But my curiousity to so something better has gotten the best of me. Especially during some of the promotions going on.
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post #2539 of 2773
12/18/12 at 8:29am
Having a Pana 4k as well I'd like to see your review of the 8k to see if you feel the increased performance is worth it. I'm sure I'll have my 4k for years, I'm hoping to wait until Ultra HD (4k res) is available at below $3,000 beofre I upgrade.
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post #2540 of 2773
12/18/12 at 10:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMcG View Post

A couple more tidbits of information on the Dune HD Max...I had an in-depth discussion with one of their company reps a couple of months ago regarding the technical aspects of this piece of equipment. Not to go into boring detail, but there are two main deficiencies to this unit: 1. The 10/100 support vs. full gigabit which may or may not matter based on your network topology and the storage devices feeding the HD Max; and 2. HDMI 1.3a output which means that it does not support 3D. There will be an update to address both of these issues by next summer so I am told, plus a few upgrades (i.e. better DACs, etc.) to really take this device to the next level. I have one of the newer ones earmarked for my rack if / when it is available.

What's the latest with Cinavia and these players? It's been quite a while since I looked into it, but back then everyone was predicting nothing but doom and gloom in the future for media streamers like the Dune. I haven't seen much about it lately, though.

I've been using a Dune for several years now, and I've been very pleased. I finally bit the bullet and bought one after I got tired of the endless fiddling with the HTPC. I'll probably pick up another one for the theater when it's finished.
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post #2541 of 2773
12/19/12 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by J_P_A View Post

What's the latest with Cinavia and these players? It's been quite a while since I looked into it, but back then everyone was predicting nothing but doom and gloom in the future for media streamers like the Dune. I haven't seen much about it lately, though.
I've been using a Dune for several years now, and I've been very pleased. I finally bit the bullet and bought one after I got tired of the endless fiddling with the HTPC. I'll probably pick up another one for the theater when it's finished.

If HDi keeps a few models without a built-in BD-ROM then we should have a few without Cinavia enabled. It is only mandatory on players that have both BD-ROMs and support BD menus. This is why some of the lower priced Dune models are dropping BD menus altogether in favor of BD-Lite.
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post #2542 of 2773
12/20/12 at 6:37am
Good to know! Can they retain lossless audio. I only vaguely remember that there are more tradeoffs than just losing the fancy menus with BD lite. This is one of those things that I just have not kept up with as much as I would like to.
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post #2543 of 2773
12/20/12 at 7:02am
how tall are you wall MDF panels? And I think I read somewhere on here that you used 1/2'' for the walls and 3/4" for the columns is that correct.
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post #2544 of 2773
12/20/12 at 7:49am
I used 1/2" MDF (out about 2" from the wall to allow for treatments behind) in my theater and it worked great.
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post #2545 of 2773
12/20/12 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by allybuck64 View Post

how tall are you wall MDF panels? And I think I read somewhere on here that you used 1/2'' for the walls and 3/4" for the columns is that correct.

Hi allybuck64,

The majority of the room wall panels are 30" tall. They are made of 3/4" MDF. The columns are the same thickness.
The very front section is about 36" tall.
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post #2546 of 2773
12/21/12 at 7:19am
Mario,

I'm looking at the columns you made for your side surrounds. Since you are using Dipoles, any issues with your speakers since you have a fair amount of MDF blocking them?
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post #2547 of 2773
12/21/12 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScAndal View Post

Mario,
I'm looking at the columns you made for your side surrounds. Since you are using Dipoles, any issues with your speakers since you have a fair amount of MDF blocking them?

Hi ScAndal,

My Side and Back Surrounds are actually set to Tripole mode.

I never really took the time to see if I was loosing anything after constructing the columns. I know when I built the columns I did my best to make sure the side openings (fabric area) would accomodate the placement and angle of the speakers. This wasn't too difficult to do taking accurate measurements of the speakers and putting them into my 3D software.

The only way I could think of to measure the results was to measure the volume of the tripole sound coming from the sides of the speaker. So I pulled the speaker out of the cabinet and placed a sound level meter a couple inches away from the tripole speaker and measured 97 dba.

I put the speaker back in the column and measure again just outside of the fabric and it measure 95 dba.

So from this test, it appears I'm loosing 2 dba through the side tripole's because of the columns. Although the front of the speaker should be producing the same level of sound since there is no MDF blocking it.
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post #2548 of 2773
12/21/12 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
Since adding the Dune HD Max - it pushes out a bit more information that I wanted to add to my LED MainLobby Movie Poster.

I've added a progress bar at the top above NOW PLAYING and also the time code just below NOW PLAYING.

Not sure I'm sold on it and may reorganize the look again, but it's pretty cool to see the time updating as the movie is playing.

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post #2549 of 2773
12/21/12 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcascio View Post

Since adding the Dune HD Max - it pushes out a bit more information that I wanted to add to my LED MainLobby Movie Poster.
I've added a progress bar at the top above NOW PLAYING and also the time code just below NOW PLAYING.
Not sure I'm sold on it and may reorganize the look again, but it's pretty cool to see the time updating as the movie is playing.

how about add another row at bottom and have the progress bar and time left also maybe move dbox icon under the movie rating?
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post #2550 of 2773
12/27/12 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1 View Post

how about add another row at bottom and have the progress bar and time left also maybe move dbox icon under the movie rating?

Yeah - i'm gonna have to play around with some more ideas. I liked the idea of it at the top since that's where the start time / end time was located.

But by shrinking the height of the cover art, it will give me some more room.
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