How to Build Your Own Home Theater - Part 1 of 4 - Page 2

Sure they are - they're just not dedicated home theaters.

Arrogance at it's best. As for your wife. Before she got to her "elite" status of being in shape she had to start somewhere. Even the smaller triathlons are still exactly that. Like it or not your example was poor. If I go out and do a triathlon and it isn't an IRON MAN one then so be it. It is still in fact a triathlon. Ones clearly much bigger then the other.

Is high school football not football because of the NFL? Same thing goes with any sport for that matter. Your answer. Yes. It's the same thing. One is clearly more advanced then the other.

Like it or not. An LCD or Plasma set with a decent sound (including HTIB) is still a home theater. Is it as classy or pro as others? Maybe. Maybe not.

I agree with this statement.
What is a theater. Some theaters have a full dining experience where others don't.
I fall back on the components, here is a blurb from The Last Castle about the General saying what makes a castle. Never one says what each component is made from or should be.Last Castle Script


[Man] Take a look
at a castle, any castle.
Now break down the key elements that make it a castle.

They haven't changed in a thousand years.

One, location. A site on high ground that commands the territory...
living room, den, downstairs, dedicated room
as far as the eye can see.

Two, protection, ; big walls. Walls strong enough to withstand a frontal attack.
seats so people can enjoy, couch, theater seats so on


Three, a garrison. Men who are trained and willing to kill.
speakers 3, 4, 5, 6 7 how ever many
Four, a flag.
You tell your men,

"You're soldiers and that's our flag."
this is your TV


You tell them nobody takes our flag.
[Man]
One step forward. Forward!



And you raise that flag so it flies high where everyone can see it.
Now you've got yourself a castle.
turn it on and enjoy it, Now you have yourself an HT

Christ on a cracker! Relax guys. So defensive of what a home theater is or is not, based upon what it is you own.

As I stated previosuly. A tv and speakers and reciever, no matter what level of quality, is just that, a damned TV!

Before I built my dedicated theater, I never had the gall or arrogance to call my system a "theater". Even though it was all Pioneer Elite electronics, Boston Acoustics VR and 2 monstrous Dayton Titanic MKIII 15" subs.
At that point, yes, it was a very impressive system, but was not a theater until I built a dedicated room with a projector and large format screen, made SOLELY for the purpose of watching damned movies.

Im sure you greatly wish to pump and shout from the rooftops the quality of what you have built, but dont detract from the people that have worked and sacrificed to create a very real "home theater" by claiming youve done it too.

A big bunch of crybabies, in essence.

I have a dedicated theater with a 136" wide screen and JVC RS20 projector. Buy I don't deny others the right to call their room a home theater just because it doesn't have a projector.

We can discuss word play all day .. the fact remains that a Home Theater is an area that replicates a commercial theater .. you can can call your own viewing space whatever you like, including Home Theater if that's what you want to call it ..

I have a Home Theater .. a dedicated area that is used exclusively for viewing content and nothing else .. just like a commercial theater .. and replicates the commercial cinema experience as closely as my budget allowed .. containing a projector, a screen, 7.2 sound .. although the equipment may vary from what I use, the intent is the same ..

To declare otherwise does a diservice to the many of us that have been in this hobby long before it even had a name or went mainstream ..

Well, none of us posers want to do a disservice to those with a real Home Theater.

So what do we officially call a "home theater" set up in a non-dedicated room? Can the owner of such a system be considered a "home theater" enthusiast or is that also deemed offensive to the elite? If he uses a PC to control media in his non-dedicated room setup, is it offensive to call it a HTPC?

I keep my posts unemotional, and ask others do the same when replying .. so, please take a moment and actually read what I wrote ..

"you can can call your own viewing space whatever you like, including Home Theater if that's what you want to call it .. "

There is no elitism here .. I am talking about the definition of the term .. if you care to debate, then do so .. I am not debating ..

Both your quotes, and you claim no elitism. Your points and stance are ridiculous and not worth debating.


EDIT: This will be my last post on this. I'm off to go run an Iron Man this evening.

Or is that really just an Iron Boy? ;-)

An HDTV movie uses 16:9 format, as the article said. 'scope movies use 2.35:1, and there are a half dozen others aspects too.

My 65 inch plasma and 7.1 surround sound are a home theater and just because your ignorance says it is not shows how little you know. It is called a home theater because in the home we try to create a theater like experience which is personalized to each individual taste. You can take your arrogance and stick it in your better than thou ass. You come across as an arrogant jerk then wonder why people are mad.
You are not the home theater god, you do not dictate to others what is and is not a home theater, i do have a home theater in my living room that i enjoy as much, if not more that you enjoy your "real theater" (lmao) it is a home theater suited to my needs and preference and if you do not like what i call it, well then you can k.m.a.

When i walk into my living room and put in Black Hawk Down my living room then becomes my dedicated room to watch "damned movies" in. When i go in there and watch the ball game then it is my living room. Does that make your highness feel any better? If not i don't care.

scope or die

this is a sticky topic. I mean my version of a True home theater is a dedicated room for watching movies and even sports in. I havea 50" 1080P Plasma on the wall along with a Samsung 1000w blueray system in my living room. Which is awesome to watch tv and movies on.. However I just spent about 9 months converting my basement into a true home theater. Now as far as money goes, I was and am on a shoe string budget.. And when I say shoe string I mean shoe string.. I have spent no more than $600.00-$700.00 for my whole setup down there at the moment(projector, sound, seats, decor..etc). That's half the reason its taken me 9 months is because I couldn't spend it all at once. But it looks pretty cool to me and those that see it, and the experience is top notch when it comes to watching movies.

In my humble view you don't always need to spend $10,000-$40,000 on a home theater to have it sound and feel and look like it. Later I'll post some pics of mine. And some of you may laugh when u see it, and that's fine by me. I said all that to say there should be 2 categories of "home theater". Dedicated and not.

Obviously there are many interpretations here of what 'Home Theater' is and that's fine but for those that do not buy into the recreation of an actual cinema experience where do you draw the line... if the term is used so loosely then even a 32" monitor with a sound bar can be called an HT (I'm sorry but there is nothing THEATER like there). I would have to guess that what has happened here is simply a transition of time, those that are older and been in the hobby for a long time know the term was not tossed about for anyone having a tv connected to a stereo system. As far as I am aware when the term was coined it meant creating a theater like experience in the home. Over the years it has become a term that gives any one with just about any sort of display + external sound the right to say they have a 'Home Theater'. While there is obviously a huge range of systems that can be considered home theaters we as AVS'ers (being enthusiasts/purists of the hobby) should know it is not elitist to use the term as it was initially intended. Obviously there is no harm in calling your 50" hdtv + 5.1 surround system a home theater but at the same time realize that is not what the A/V industry would term a 'Home Theater'.

I have multiple systems and only one do I call a 'home theater' even though they all have displays that are 42"+ and all have at least 5.1 surround (one is 3D).

Not debating with anyone here just adding some reason and logic to the discussion.

Jason

25' x 25' ?? Surprised no one has mentioned how bad a square room is acoustically. And the color of the walls... ANSI CR killers there for sure... of course I didn't take the time to read the article, so I may be blowing smoke...

simply put window shopping and window dressing comparisons for this article, I wouldn't say it was good or bad just a very and varied interpretation of what is classed a ht system is all the article alludes too..

My opinion a very broad scope in this case..

Personally id say my sub $500 home theater is better than any commercial theater in a 200 mile radius. Main specs are 65" Sony rear projection tv, $200 jbl bass550esc that's been heavily modes, $30 including the mods, Sony preamp and eq, $20 onkyo sub and rear channel speakers, $20, and an xbox 360 streaming hd from netflix and playing dvds, free as a b-day present. The sound is amazing with the onkyo pumping out deep chest pounding bass and the jbl pumping mid bass with brilliant mids and highs provided by the jbl front speakers and onkyo rears. The picture is good but I need to get around to setting my colors to a standards disc of some sort. And mind you this is all framed in the livingroom of a trailerhouse so its about as big as it gets. People are amazed at how good the sound and picture are compared to the local theater so its not just my opinion. Point is you can build a great home theater anywhere and at any price point if you are patient and take your time. It took about 5 years to piece together with the last upgrade being the tv. A home theater is just that, a HOME theater. If what you want is a livingroom by day and theater at night, you compromise and buy what works for you.

Id use the white pages but the dog peed on it

couldn't agree more. "HOME THEATRE", not "MULTI PURPOSE ROOM that can also be used as a gaming room, family room, watching movies, exercise, reading, studying". Even as a hobbyist of more than 2 decades, I never claimed I own a home theatre until I have a dedicated room with front projection although prior to that I have a very similar set up with an Pioneer Elite 50" plasma viewed from 7ft away in a dedicated nook of the house.

If you put your equipment in your living room and call it your home theater, do you no longer have a living room?

If you drove out of your way to see a home for sale that advertised a large home theater and when you arrived, it was the living room with a big screen, would you be disappointed?

of course! Because it's a family room / living room, not a home theatre.

That was actually my first thought. 2 of the 3 room dimensions mentioned in the article are square.

he is known for building super expensive Home Theaters, why would he say anything else, that is how he makes his living .

that is a great point, dedicated our not those dimensions suck

Floyd Toole does not agree, if handled properly with multiple subs, which is also necessary in most room of any shape.

So who has the ultimate authority to define HT?

Here's what I found from one "official" source of defining words.

From dictionary.com;


Hmmmm....no mention of a dedicated space, just the experience.

Based on this definition, as long as your experience is theater like, then you have an HT whether the space is dedicated as such or not.


Very interesting point. If there was also another main living area (den, 2nd "living room", etc) I might not be disappointed. But if not, then yes, I would be disappointed.

I call my setup (60" TV, 5.1 surround) in my living room an "HT setup", but would not advertise my home as having a "Home Theater".

In the end if you enjoy the experience, then forget about what anyone calls it and just enjoy!

Huh... but it's not just about the subs... golden ratios, standing waves being the same from two directions and all that.... these ideas are outdated now?

That is very correct. On the other hand, I have never had a theatre experience where the projection area is open to the lobby or have a screen so small like watching a 50" TV from 10ft away.

I personally have 3 A/V setups at home. Two with 50" Elite Kuro with 5.1, one in a dedicated room with 9ft 21:9 screen viewed from 9ft away with 7.1 set up. I would not dare to call the two other set ups as home theatre because they are just nowhere from "theatre like".

For at least the first 20 years of me doing my hobby, I never called those areas (even at times the were dedicated rooms with 60" RPTV viewed from 8ft away) to be HT. I used to call them A/V room.

For all those people who have "been in the game longer" than the rest of us and object to us calling our "lesser" systems and "non-dedicated" rooms home theaters, maybe you should take a look at your system and see if you actually meet the criteria. Does your "home theater" have:

1) 35mm film projector?
2) sticky floors with popcorn spilled everywhere?
3) the annoying kids who talk and text throughout the movie?
4) someone to take tickets at the door when you enter?
5) a projectionist to run your films from a dedicated booth?
6) flat, scope, and academy lenses with mattes for other ratios (not some stupid anamorphic adapter that slides in front of a lens, deteriorating picture quality)?

If you are missing these elements, you do not truly have a "home theater", as these are all essential parts of having a real theater.

I've been to plenty of theaters (especially the independent ones that show foreign and indie films) that have alternate seating (couches, tables), have food (pizza, beer, etc), stages for Q&A's, host video game parties, and serve other functions that aren't just watching the movie. I'd wager that these are more legitimate theaters than the ones some of these elitists have in their houses, despite serving more purposes than just projecting films. I'll also bet that some of us that have multi-purpose video rooms (not dedicated theaters) have better picture and sound quality than some of the $1 theaters I've been to. So why all the hate if we feel like we also have a "home theater"?