The Austin Home Theater - Page 9

I'm not going to lie Ted-I'm not really sure what you are referring too.

Are you suggesting building a small riser under the seats so that people can sit up against it?

Thanks!

I can do a lot of things...... but don't let me sew or cook!

Thanks Ted!

All AP exams are finished!! I now consider my 13 years of schooling to be complete (unless you count watching movies and playing board games all day as actually learning something since technically the last day of classes isn't until mid-june ).

Tonight we made some trips to a few carpet stores. While I was impressed with their selection, I kept going back to the Stainmaster Silver Lake that I've seen used in other builds (bzbase and damelon). I saw many similar styles at the other carpet stores, but Lowes was always a little cheaper than whatever I could find there. So we decided to head back to Lowes to check it out and, long story short, I convinced my mother that that carpet was the one for us and we scheduled a time to have someone come and measure the room.

I love the texture and the "checkerboard" look. I'm very excited!

I'm still debating between two colors. Here is the lighter gray (pewter basin):



Here is the darker (gothic suite):



And here are both next to each other:



Right now I'm leaning towards the lighter, but would appreciate anyone else's thoughts/opinions. Those of you that ordered the Silver Lake, which color did you choose?

Installation is about three weeks out which is, admittedly, a little longer than I'd like to wait. None of the other carpet stores could do any better though, so I'll just have to be patient.

I also picked up a black marble threshold and now need some advice on the best way to attach it to the concrete. I'm thinking that some thinset may be the best option but obviously I don't need very much of it. The threshold fits nice and snug between the sides of the jamb so I'm not really worried about it pulling away. Any reason why just some liquid nails wouldn't work?

Thanks for following along!

Thanks for your input RTROSE!

Yeah I'm having the same thoughts as you regarding the color. I like the lighter gray as well.

I spent quite a bit of time in some other carpet stores tonight, but just couldn't come up with something that I liked as much as the Silver Lake. Your recommendation for checking them out was excellent though and I encourage others to do the same. For my case, however, Lowes just happened to fit best.

Thanks Ted! That is a very good point about the darker color helping picture quality.

Well after talking with Big and Damelon about which color they chose in the Bacon Race, I'm now starting to lean towards the Gothic Suite. If you look at a picture of the bacon race, you'll see that the carpet looks like a dark gray with an even darker (almost black) checkerboard pattern. Damelon told me that the small sample doesnt really show how the pattern will look once it is spread out across the whole room. Once the light shines on the different textures it takes on that two toned look that I'm going for. That coupled with Ted's comment about possible improved picture quality is making me lean heavily towards the Gothic Suite.

I think in all this talk about carpet my question about attaching the marble threshold kind of got lost. Does anyone have any advice about this?

Thanks Pete! I will go with that then.

Whew!! It's been too long!

Well the musical was a massive success, but now it's time to get this theater wrapped up!

I was able to get a little done today after opening the pool. First I painted the light trims for the 3" cans on the ceiling black.



I popped them in and am very happy with how they blend in with the black ceiling.

Next I put the last coat of gray on the door and got it re-hung. I'd like it to be known that I hung the almost 150 pound door by myself. That was a very fun task.



I replaced the wimpy hinge screws with some 3" long ones that go all the way into the studs for extra strength. I was also very pleased with the fact that I didn't have to use wide throw hinges to compensate for the extra 1/2" added to the door. I had run a few tests with some scraps of drywall before adding the MDF to make sure it would close but I was still a little worried that it wouldn't work and I'd have to buy different hinges.

Next I need to add the door stops and weatherstripping.

After the door I did some touch up painting on the molding before.... duh, duh, duh.... hanging the projector!



Don't worry though! I had to get it in place so that I could determine the size screen that I would build. That doesn't mean I didn't watch about 20 minutes of a movie with no sound though. It actually looks pretty good projected on the black wall. I can't wait to see what it looks like on the actual screen.



I neglected to realize until hanging the projector that since the lens is not located in the middle the whole thing would not be centered in the hole. The perfectionist in me wants to see that projector centered, but I'm starting to get over it and know that it is more important to have the lens centered on the screen.

Speaking of screen size, that brings me to my next question for all of you aspect ratio experts.

The projected image that I have on the wall is 44 inches tall. Putting that in an online calculator gives me a 90 inch diagonal 16:9 image that should be 78 inches wide. My problem is that the image is about 81.5 inches wide. I did have to use some keystone correction to get all of the corners square, but I'm still confused about why my measurements don't add up to the correct 16:9 aspect ratio. Could it be distortion from how the projector is placed and moving it around a little will correct the issue? I guess what I'm trying to determine is whether I should build my screen to the true 16:9 dimensions or purposefully make it wider. Any thoughts?

So carpet should be installed either later this week or early next week. The LED strip lights are coming next week. I've got to finish up a little bit of touch up painting, build the screen, install the outlets, replace the 4-gang switch box with a 3-gang and install the dimmers, install the LED strips, get shelving put up in the equipment closet, and then connect and install all of the electronics and speakers.

I don't really like to set dates since then it's disappointing if you don't reach them, but right now I'm hoping to have opening night on Saturday, June 9. Buckle your seat belts people, because I'm planning on moving things along fast.



It's the final countdown!

Thanks!! I originally had some concerns with ventilation in the box, but after talking with some other forum members (Ted White and BIGmouthinDC) I decided to give it a shot and hope for the best. The exhaust for the projector is out the front so it isn't filling the box up with hot air. I had it on for about an hour last night and didn't notice any significant temperature increases in the box. I'll run some tests with a thermometer a little later once I have the screen up but at this point I don't see it being a problem.


Thanks vanice! I agree with you on the projector placement. Image quality comes first and you make a very good point about allowing for future upgrades later.


I guess it is coming back then! I thought that it captured the moment best and was a nice way to end the post and get myself psyched up for the finish line.


Thanks Fred! I checked the case for "Avatar" and it says that the movie is in 1.78:1. Just to be sure I threw in "Modern Family" on DVD since I know that that is 1.78:1. I got the same result as "Avatar" (44 inches tall and about 81.5 inches wide). Then I tried "Mall Cop" which is 1.85:1. The image was a little bit shorter at about 42.5 inches tall. In addition to this I selected 16:9 on the projector remote to force it to that aspect ratio.

So it seems that the projector is throwing a 16:9 image, but the dimensions don't line up.


Thanks Tom! A 2.35:1 screen would be cool, but unfortunately my projector (Optoma HD20) doesn't allow for that. I bought the projector to use at my old house before I became a member of this forum and learned so much. Don't get me wrong, it throws a beautiful image, but if I had known more then I would have spent a little more money for some other features (lens shift, better zoom, etc.). Oh well I guess. I can always upgrade someday.

Good point about the keystone correction shortening the image height Fred. After thinking about it more I'm almost positive that that is the problem.

I know that keystone correction should be used as a last resort, but unfortunately in my situation it is unavoidable due to the fact that the only way to eliminate it would be to mount the projector higher. That is impossible due to the fact that the soffit is directly above the projector.

At this point I guess I'll build the screen 81.5 inches wide to make the most of the projected image even though it won't be the perfect aspect ratio. If I want to make it the true 78" I could always move the screen border in to mask it off. In this case I think it is definitely better to build the screen bigger and then mask it rather than have it be too small.

Exactly Fred. You beat me to it.

In my case that would put the projected image way too low on the wall, so as a result I have to tilt the projector up, which means I have to fix the image with keystone correction.

Interesting idea Fred. I'd think that that would have some negative impact on the viewing experience if the screen was tilted too much, but I'll have to look into it a little more and determine just how much I'd have to angle it. I'll put it on the list of things to think about.

Thanks for stopping by RTROSE!

I completely agree with you on how useful lens shift is, but I'll just have to live with what I have for now. There's no way that a new projector purchase will be made after the money that went into the room. I'd have no chance arguing that one.

Honestly it doesn't look that bad and if I didn't measure it I probably never would have noticed the slight change in the aspect ratio. I will press forward with building the screen to the dimensions of the projected image as it is. Even on the black wall I'm thrilled with how it looks, so I'm sure that it will be very adequate for the time being with the actual screen in place.

Today I finished up all of the touch up painting on the trim. I insisted on going through and painting the top edge of the baseboards and chair rail with a small artists brush. It took quite a bit of time but looks perfect now. My mom came in at one point and found me laying on the ground meticulously painting the baseboards and said something along the lines of "I doubt anyone will notice that small bit." I just laughed and kept painting.

-perfectionist-