Theater Build and 1880's Full Reno - Before and After - Page 33

Hah there'll be no upgrading of speakers anytime soon! What I've got will last me until my next theater. And my next theater will be all DIY.

I'm gonna build all my own speakerss...much like someone else i know...

Cool News!

I'm getting an upgraded reciever! Wewt!

So I've been using a Denon avr 1803 a very long time.

A buddy of mine has an AVR2307cl, he used it mostly in college. I'm helping him move back into the area, and he said i could have it! Yay!

The catch is...he said the video side of the HDMI switching doesnt work.

NOT a deal to me at all because im setup with a stand alone switch thats about 6 years newer technology anyway. But the audio side of that receiver is a really big setup forward for me.

WOOT!

I do too. My brother in law who original introduced me to home theatering was a denon guy.

I bought the receiver i have almost 10 years ago. Its served me well, but I'll be happy to get an actual 7.1 receiver (my 1803 is 6.1) that decodes all the new audio formats.

Plus the 2307 have Pre Outs...so even in my next theater if i get really crazy, i can add addition amps.

Super exciting.

Lol doh. I just realized...it doesnt decode the new Audio formats...apprently it was released before that, it decodes the same 6.1 audio formats as my 1803...but its got 7 power channels vs. the 6 on mine...oh well...still an upgrade.

Lol! yeah what the heck....but seriously still excited.

ITS ALIIIIVVEEE!!!!! Sorry I just realized I hadn't posted in over a year! Super sad.

IUSTEVE I would NEVER delete you! I see you pop up all the time on live. The Mrs. and I are just usually watching netflix.

I did just pick up Halo 4 so you're playing that at all hit me up...but if i remember right you are a COD guy right? A buddy of mine is trying to get me onto black ops 2...but...halo 4 is still so fresh and new :-)

So ACTUALLY Halo 4 spurred me to FINALLY, after a year, finish a couple things.

I finally put blocking behind my fabric frames on my screen wall so they frames all line up when pushed flush. Secondly, I finally got the gumption to put some dark cloth behind the screen...OMG what a difference. I wish i had done that ages ago.

I new i was getting some light reflection off the back wall...even though its painted nearly black with a flat paint, but I didnt realize how bad it was killing my contrast in bright scenes until i put that dark cloth up.

IF anyone is using AT screens and doesnt have anything other than an absolutely black no reflection wall behind their screen...invest is the backing cloth. Its totally worth it.

BTW Steve, Just looked at my bulb...up to 2k hours now and still ticking strong. Infact, I'm FINALLY going to buy a PJ mount this holiday season and get rid of the jakey looking temp shelf i built.

I know! My apologies. Life just hit like a ton of bricks. I've got TWO yes count them TWO children now. Elizabeth Rae was born on MY BIRTHDAY this August. So now we've got a 2 year old and a 4 month old. I've also spent some time pursuing my other passions, acoustic fingerstyle guitar, and oddly enough...aquariums...lol. Just setup a 72 gallon bow front freshwater aquarium. I got it free from a neighbor who couldn't take care of it anymore. I would post a picture of it...but I can't seem to get the link to work...? weird.

Anywho, I'll get some pictures of the HT up once I get my curtains done and the PJ mounted. Not a huge project but part of the last 5% that never seems to get done!

So whats the deal with HD OTA set top boxes....why can't you find one for less than like 120 bucks? Is it just because they know there is such a small market of people that need them and almost all of them are because they are using PJ's or want to DVR live TV...?

I really want to add HD OTA programing in my HT, but seriously, I can't really shell out the money for an appropriate tuner....I bought a 30" LCD TV for the kitchen last year that has a built in tuner for like 150 bucks....and its a WHOLE TV....grrrrrrrr

So after a lengthy hiatus from any progress in the theater....

Quick update!

I mentioned earlier that i finally put a backing material behind the screen, which made a pretty significant difference in contrast.

Finally got LOTR on blu ray, here is result of that purchase and the backing material...just eye candy...not bad for a Panasonic handy cam! I heard that Santa maybe bringing a new camera for Christmas...so we'll see.



I've got the material cut to make enough curtains for two of the windows. I've already got blackout material for them, but I've got black velvet to cover the trim and the white black out curtains.

and finally, I ordered a ceiling mount for the PJ, so I can get rid of the hideous plywood shelf i made just to get it up...lol.

Its true what they say...don't put the PJ up till your "done"

PJ is finally mounted...after...oh..i don't know...almost a year and a half...lol. Pictures tonight!

I bought a super cheap 20 dollar ceiling mount for 20 bucks. It was cheap and had the extention i needed...just a fuzz over 2' to get down to where i needed it. (i have very tall ceilings.)

THIS is the mount I bought. (its gone up 5 bucks since i bought it i see)

You get exactly what you pay for...setup was easy enough, the "cable management" system is a joke, if you've got anything more than an HDMI cable and power cable you might as well forget about it. Plus the way its setup, the cables go in the back at the bottom, and then out the front at the top...which doesnt make much sense to me.

The mount itself though was OK...its pretty shaky fully extended...but it adjusted easy enough and is doing its job. So kudos for that.

The worst thing about it is the mounting hardware that came with it was absolute trash. The screws stripped out immediately...i mean that...first hint of resistance and they totally rounded out. Lucky they were hex heads to i could still use a wrench to finish setting them.

It also came with drywall anchors that didn't work. Drill the hole to proper size, insert anchors, put screw in....nothing...no bite what so ever. I just threw together a mounting plate real quick out of some finish grade plywood i had laying around, so it worked out in the end...the whole thing was 20 dollars delivered to my house and it looks fine...so all in all, I call it a win.

Shameless unrelated bump

If anyone was wondering what I've been doing in the last year or so, I've been playing a lot of guitar. I bought, sold a traded, my way up to my most favorite guitar I've ever played.

A Japanese made Morris S-91(Google if for the boring details only acoustic players get excited about), bought second hand from a guy in nashville. Got a great deal, and it fits my style like a glove.









One of these days I'll get some videos of me playing on youtube. I just play for fun and like to share with anyone who will listen.

Anyone else a fellow finger picker?

I said FINGER...I'm sure there's plenty of NOSE pickers out there...you I don't need to know about...

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose...but you shouldn't pick your friends noses...just sayin.

I didn't have time to clean up and manage cables etc. last night...so excuse the mess. But as promised...progress in the theater.

The PJ has officially been mounted.



I've got patching and painting to do where the shelf i had it on came down...and I still need to patch up the holes in the soffit where I had to move the SR and SL wiring. I'm hoping by new years I can have everything pretty well buttoned up.

Lol. You're lucky! I know a few guys from acousticguitarforum.com...if you picked one of their guitars up at a party you'd be lucky to come away without a broken nose! As passionate as we are about HT there are some guys out there who get just a little kookey over their guitars....of course...im not one of those guys...noooooo....

Craigslist find today....Crossing my fingers that these are still available...





They are asking next to nothing for the pair. Almost exactly what I've been looking for and would be a fantastic addition to the ol HT. Waiting on reply from email....come on....big money, big MONEY, BIG MONEY, NO WHAMMIES....
Edited by premiertrussman - 12/11/12 at 11:17am