ccotenj finally gets a projector... :) - Page 2

^^^

Gotcha. I like the idea of either a conduit or a built-in rack if possible. You and I both have old houses so I completely get that one has to work with some compromises. Swmbo is very kind indeed to even make the offer for some HT invasion into her dressing room.

I really like what you've done here. It's all very sensibly planned and the end result looks frickin' amazing. Just like a giant Kuro, huh? Damn it.

Chris

Great stuff ccotenj!

I used to be all about my plasma. But since setting up a projector I never watch movies on the plasma. And certainly all my pals and I want to watch sports on the Big Screen as well.

Wow about your wife wanting to see equipment!!!

Mine hates seeing equipment. And nothing bugs her more in the world than cables and cords. Sometimes if a buddy of mine is phoning she'll answer the phone with "House of Cords..."

Well, I actually don't like seeing cords and too much gear either, so I went for as clean a look as possible for my room. Glad I did. My wife is happy. As husbands in China apparently say: "Happy wife; happy life!"

Wow that looks awesome! I love the black wall and how it helps focus on the screen. Great job man!

Ok...now just when you might be getting comfortable it's my job to make you more paranoid.

Those speakers, I suspect, are relatively reflective. Most speakers have a veneer so even if they are dark wood, the veneer is reflective. As close as they are to the sides of your image it may be having some effect on the image, reflecting back to the screen.
It certainly would with a white screen, and I know the BD screen is good at rejecting light from top/bottom, but I think less so from the sides.

Even if that weren't the case, I personally find speakers right near the screen somewhat distracting as even in the dark they get lit up right near the screen.
That's why I made black velvet covers for mine. Once those speakers disappear it really is another step into "whoa" territory.

But...I'm one of the rare folks who go that far. Most people have no problem living with visible speakers...so don't listen to me.

No.

Don't listen to me.....

;-)

^^^

Rich,

You are right on; it would be distracting. IIRC, velveteen shrouds are on Chris's to-do list. It'll be kinda cool to cover them at night or for critical viewing but still be able to remove them for the bling factor when the mood strikes. Carolyn will insist on it!

At least they won't be permanently hidden behind a baffle wall.

Chris

How about ordering up a set of matching black GOM "corner" bass traps? You could even make your own. Or not.

Even if it didn't have quite the absorptive qualities of the big boys in the side corners, one long shallower superchunk style ceiling-to-wall corner trap is possible. This could be custom-cut to integrate cleanly with the side wall corner traps and would give the appearance similar to that of a picture frame or an angled "tunnel" toward the viewing screen wall. A black wool runner running side to side under the LCR's would further integrate the black hole look. lol.

Chris

hmmm, he put a no no to the idea of installing a false wall to hide the speakers behind...

but he has to live with his choice.

given the size of the subs, i would of gone lcr for front personally..

but hey as long as he is happy with it who are we to judge hudda & r.harkness

I'd planned from the beginning to make everything disappear around the image but doing it happened in steps. First velvet on the center channel, then on the L/R speakers which are monitors on stands. It got better and better. The last step for me was wrapping the same black velvet around the L/R speaker stands, which were still slightly visible during movies. It may seem like a small thing, but once that last bit of visual information was removed, leaving the whole front wall perfectly pure of anything but the picture, it made the effect complete. Like a magic window.

You can click the first link under my name and see how neat it makes the area around the screen and movie images.

Another benefit of making your speakers disappear from view is it tends to help your brain map the sound to the image more easily. When you can see the sound source your brain can be telling you "sound is coming from those speakers." But if they are gone, your brain will tend to just hear the sound and associate it with the image, mapping it on to the image. At least that's my experience.

I know a lot of people think "why bother?" doing anything more once you've thrown a screen up and you've got your equipment around the screen. But paying attention to the "crazy details" is really what separates one home theater from the rest, and which elevates the experience.

In my living room/theater I also have dark velvet curtains that are pulled along the side walls well into the room, to make the walls mostly "disappear" as well during movies. I've had plenty of guests comment that they've watched movies on other friend's projectors/HTs....but that for some reason it was much more involving and amazing watching movies at my place, "Like you are actually IN the movie!"

Not being "in" to this hobby they sometimes can't place their finger on why that was the case. But I know it's because I've paid attention to the little details that really do, whether people realise it or not, impact the viewing experience.

Same with when my installers came to view my finished home theater in action. They are the city's biggest AV installers and sell my exact projector, so they've seen it in plenty of rooms, and have set up hugely expensive home theaters etc. But when they watched some movie clips on my set up they sat there with their eyes like saucers, constantly saying "Wow" to each other and they couldn't believe it. To them it was simply the best they'd ever seen...even talked about how it raised the bar and made them realise things can be taken to another level.

And that is all simply due to noticing which details can be addressed to improve the viewing experience...it's not as if I had some different super projector.

The point isn't to brag (ok, I don't mind a little); just to hype you on possibilities.



Very clever. Sounds like it would work.

I ultimately made some velvet panels that fit each speaker exactly. I attached Velcro out of sight underneath each speaker, so the panels are stretched and fitted neatly. If guests even notice the speakers they often ask "what type of speakers are those? They are really nice!"

However, I started off with something closer to your idea. I just had velvet panels I cut to the width of each speaker, and then cut to a length so that when draped on a speaker it would hang to cover the sides...hanging a fraction of an inch lower than the sides to ensure seeing no wood. Since a good velvet is pretty soft and hangs well it form fits the speakers as it hangs. The effect was very close to what I have now: very neat, and makes the speakers totally disappear. No dowels were needed at all: it was ridiculously easy. Just plop the velvet on the speakers when watching a movie and lift them right off afterward.

Which actually brings in one more suggestion: the use of Ottomans! First, it's awesome to have an ottoman in front of the viewing chairs/sofa to put your feet up. My guests all use them at my place. But the other benefit is easy storage. There are plenty of ottomans which have a lid, so you can store stuff inside them out of sight, like blankets etc.

I use mine to store extra pillows and blankets, but also any extra room treatment stuff that I throw on for movies. So I used to just throw those velvet panels into one of the ottomans, so they were always sitting just a few feet from the speakers, which again helped make the process effortless.

Anything you can do to make things easy pays off big over the long run.

FWIW....

Cheers,

Chris-nice job on the room!

Well, at least I know why I haven't heard from you lately

Chris, that room looks fantastic! That said, I'm kind of glad my current room doesn't really lay out well for a projector - less temptation.

One minor complaint though - if you are going to use shots of a race in your posts, how about F1 instead of NASCAR

Does the PJ support 3D? It would be cool to see how 3D looked in large format compared to my puny 65" plasma....

No way - it won't work in my room
No way - it won't work in my room
No way - it won't work in my room Trying to convince myself, particularly given I can already see a 2012 pre/pro (and maybe an amp) coming.

Monaco sounds great - what would really be cool would be to run a driving sim on that screen!

F1 2010 for the PS3 might be worth buying - The PC version is quite realistic. Mount up a good wheel/pedal set and you won't be able to get me out of your new room

I was thinking the same thing. If I was going to do this, Chris's approach would be a "drop fit" into my room and criteria.

Chris- Would you mind giving a mini breakdown of what cost what? Why did you go with this particular PJ?

TIA,

Chris