Calvin's Games & HT construction thread - Page 2

Finally received my mount for the 333 and put it up - I've taken down the 900 now as the new owner will be bye to pick it up later this weekend and I'm done with my comparisons of the 2 PJ's now that I've done the lumens comparisons above.



I've also cleaned out a ton of the A/V gear I had stored in the temporary HT and put them on the other side of the basement. This cleans up the area some. I primed, sanded and then repainted the wall which will be my new temp screen until I get into the new house to build the much larger one. I added some black cloth drops to minimize the reflections and the photo below is the new look for my temp HT.





More to come soon.

*OTP * current HT shots*

Added a top & bottom frame to spruce up the current HT a bit.



Here is a photo with the new frames


Looks alot better. I should be able to live with this till I get into the new home now.

* Back to the construction *

Future basement HT



You may notice the hole in the floor - That will be my electrical plug for the powered seating it is 18' back from the screen wall.
I will have a ceiling mounted surge protected plug right above that one as well for the PJ which will be mounted around 18' back from the screen wall.



The shot above is the bathroom in the theater room.
As in the plans in post #1 it is just off to the left of the seating position.



Above is a shot of the radiant flooring jutting out of the concrete floor.
These will tie into more headers and the boiler once the framing is done.
At that point my installer will come back in and finish up the radiant portion of the home. With the radiant on all 3 levels of the home it should be pretty warm and comfy to watch a movie in any of the 3 planned locations.



With the basement poured the insulators and drywallers will be coming soon.
The whole place should have a dramatic change when I do my next walk through and pictures in 10 days time.

Here are some updated photos of the bonus room HT area. Light is going to be an issue if my wife doesn't pick blinds that do a good job of blacking out the room during the day.
My plans are to use the 61" Toshiba in by the largest window where you see the 2 wall plates side by side (orange plastic rectangles in the photos).

Left side:



The cut out section in the photo above (just to the left of the smaller window) is just to feed the drywall through and will be "walled" over once the drywallers move their product in upstairs.

Right side:


Center:

I broke down and ordered a Toshiba HD-DVD AX-1 today. I was going to wait for the 360 add-on or the 2nd generation players but the wait was just to long. I was told over the weekend that no 2nd gen players would likely be out till near 07 so I went ahead and ordered one.
I purchased a few movies as well to start off my new HD collection.
Picked up
The Last samurai
The Perfect Storm
Training Day
Pitch Black
The Chronicles of Ruddock
Apollo 13
Serenity
Aeon Flux
The Bourne Supremacy
& Van Helsing.

Will post up a few photos once I have it in my hot little hands and all hooked up
Should be August 25th - 26th when I return home from work again.

*Edit * added the Bourne Supremacy and fixed some typing errors (damn spell checker - changed HD-DVD to YD-DAVID !)

The big question now is what to watch 1st ?

Not much going on inside the house lately I'm waiting for the framing to start in the basement and for the insulation and drywall to begin.

The only thing new is the the outside of the house is getting done so I figured I would post up a shot of the exterior.

I let the wife pick all the colors both interior and exterior and I just worried about the mechanical end of things. I'm not too excited about the blue and tan she's picked but I'll get used to it I guess (or it will grow on me likely, once it's done and the stone work is finished I'm sure it will look better. The blue is just lighter then I remember when she was looking at the little samples during selection)

Posted this in the Infocus 333 thread as well but figured I'll ask it here as well might get lucky in one of the 2 forums (I hope).

Have another question here I'm trying to get all of my cabling straightened out and this damn M1-DA cable confuses me I've never seen this beast before and I've got some questions I hope someone can answer.

Is the M1-DA = DVI-D ? are they same or can you interchange them or is the M1 larger, more pins - different?

If I'm hooking up my Toshiba HD-AX1 player to the PJ directly I can go with a HDMI to M1-D cable

But..

If I purchase a Lumagen HDQ then I have to go HDMI to DVI-D to the Lumagen then DVD-D to M1-D to the 333. The cable run I need from the Lumagen to the player will be 35' to 50' depending on where the equipment settles out in the racking. I'm hearing that anything over 35' feet is dangerous territory - I do have a 50' HDMI cable I used with my Toshiba HD-850 and Panasonic 900 for a few months without issue perhaps I can just buy an adapter for that cable?

Some thoughts and help here please.. Is this going to work what do you think is the best way to set this up?
To confuse the matter I also have a Sherwood Newcastle HSB-600 HDMI switcher in the mix which I may or not may not have to use

Thanks for any insight fellas.

Scott,

Thanks for the visit. I'll try to answer any questions you may have. Regarding radiant flooring I was very lucky and picked one if not the best installer in my area. He is a 20+ year veteran and has pretty much done it all. I chatted with him at length in the beginning of the project as I was worried about doing in-ceiling speakers with the glycol tubes so close to the speakers and the wiring. He assured me there would be no problems and has done many of these types of jobs in the past. His only concern was the A/V installers poking a hole in the PEX tubing when they were doing the A/V installation. They've run wires so far and no issues yet but the insulator and drywallers are still to come and then the speaker installations will begin. How my radiant installer is insuring there is no leaks (and you can see it I guess from the pictures if you really look and are a plumbing type of fellow) is he has pressured up the lines (Hydro test) and then shut off the water supply with a pressure gauge attached to the line. Basically he's filled the lines to 100% capacity and is keeping them under pressure to see if there are any leaks in his work 1st this will also make it easier to find any holes that the other trades may inflict as well as the pressure will drop as soon as there is a breach. Once the pressure drops he knows there is a problem and then he can fix it. It is much harder after the insulators and drywalling of course but still saves me worrying about having to replace a roof or floor 6 months after moving in.

What are you doing as far as A/V installations for your set up? I would like to do more but sadly with my work schedule I have to pay the professionals to do it for me. Good and bad I guess I would really like to take my time and do the basement like some of the other members on the forum but I'm so busy it would take 10 years for me to finish it. As I have more $ then time in this case I've just paid to have the basement finished and everything installed and tested so when they turn over the house I'll pretty much have 3 working HT one on each level. I'll most likely have to plug everything in and turn it on but that is about it. Once I'm in the house I'll have everything tweaked audio wise and the basement treated for sound as required (with in reason and keeping it looking clean aesthetically as looks are just as important as sound to me I don't wool hanging off the walls and roof I'm not that much of an audiophile). I also plan on getting the basement PJ (333) ISF certified once it's all set up.

Cheers

Update:

I'm becoming more and more convinced that I have an ex-girlfriend working at Fed Ex that hates me.
I've been expecting 11 packages from Florida for over a month and they have been bouncing between Portland, OR and Toledo, OH like a bad tennis match for a few weeks.
I've called them several times and it's been a bit of a horse and pony show but a fellow assured me and the shipper the a few days ago that I would be getting these priority shipped to my home by the 15th.

Fast forward to yesterday. Well I received 5 of the 11 boxes my wife went to pick them up for me as I'm in camp sadly.
She asked about the other 6 boxes and got some blank looks so I'll be back on the phone Monday again
She had called me and said the boxes didn't look so good so I've asked her to take a few photos for me.


Here is sample of one of the boxes. Not so good but at least my receiver and HDMI switcher seem to be ok my wife is telling me.
The articulating arm I guess had the box ripped open and is missing parts and there are some damages (hard to see in the photo but my wife not a photographer )

The small piece on top of the support in the picture is apparently damaged my wife tells me.
I don't have the stuff in front me so I can't really tell how bad it all is but I guess I'll find out Thursday night when I get home.
I'm already making arrangements to ship some of the stuff back to the vendor like the articulating arm for replacement.
I guess I should count my blessing considering how many things I've had shipped over the last year but this was one bungled delivery !
The worst hands down for me to date. I'm thankful my HD-DVD player will be double boxed in case they decide to play hacky sack with it.



The last photos is an ongoing quest I have that has been such a gong show I can't help but laugh.
On the box is 5.1 wall plate. What is so funny about that you ask?
Well I've been asking for a 7.1 wall plate for over a year. I've sent the vendor product numbers and even photos (of the one he sells no less).
The 1st time around he sent me the wrong wall plate I thought no biggie I'll use it in the bonus room.
The 2nd time I was like damn ! well ok I guess I can use it in the living room.
Now this is the 3rd time and I don't have anything left to order and I don't need a 3rd - 5.1 system wall plate (unless I start putting in a 4th HT in another room ...Nah, not going to happen).

Anyways my quest for a 7.1 wall plate continues and I'm thinking I'm off to another e-tailer this time - 3 strikes your out for the last guy.

Some new shots inside the home (the wife did a quick run through with the camera again)

The A/V installers were by and moved the sub hook up in the living room HT which is good. They had it set up for a powered sub in the far corner now they've made it for a passive sub which is correct. The only issue I see is placement - it is not ideal in that location and also the sub back box for the Proficient in wall is huge !!
I don't have a picture of it but I'll have to take a photo of the monster when I'm home. It's is 16" wide and about 60" high so I'm not sure it will work with the set up in the photos due to the wiring along the joists that is presently installed.



They also finished installing my 2nd A/V plug that will feed from the distribution panel into the master bedroom. I added a second one along the back of the laundry wall in case the wife move the furniture around I'll still have at least one open port to get my A/V needs addressed in the MB.

deleted

Looking for some help selecting my HT seats

I'm getting closer to ordering my HT seating for the basement as it takes 6 to 8 weeks for them to arrive after I order and my tentative move in date is November 30th (Although I'm hopeful I am expecting that to slide).
Like to know your thoughts on which of the 4 seats below you like best. I'll be going over color and fabric once I select the model but for now just the model of the chair needs to be decided.
I'm just looking at these 4 as my vendor of choice only carries these 4 models. There are lots of other chairs out there that are probably better but these are in my budget for seating and I want motorized. I also can't get Berklines sent up to Alberta, Canada unless I'm willing to pay almost $2000 cdn a chair and I am not.
I'm looking at 8 seats or 2 rows in this configuration:



1st model:



2nd model:



3rd model:



4th model:



Let me know what you think. Once I decide on the model I can get back to figuring out whether I want micro fiber or leather and then which of the 30 to 40 colors they offer to go with.

These are Pallisar Chairs out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. If anyone has or had previously owned any of the models above please let me know what your experiences are / were please. That information will certainly help me make the selection.

Thanks

Thanks for stopping by. I'm a pretty young guy still (only 33 )and I didn't actually own anything until I was 25 (other then a car) so in the last 8 years I've done alot with a little. Best thing I did was get a trade and stay away from the bars worked hard and now it's paying off big.

Alberta, Canada is booming right now as well so you can't help but make a lot of money up here (for eg: Burger king pays $18/hour in Fort McMurray). Things are going well and wages are way up across the board so like most people I'm stimulating the economy to the best of my ability

Thanks for the input. I've been working on a possible deal with the HT seating company doing the powerbuy this month here at AVS so I just may be getting the Berkline 075 or "Enterprise" seats instead of the 4 pictured. I would rather have the Berk's for sure but I've got to see if they fall into the price range I want.

Update:

More stuff arriving every day. I still have the nightmare order from Fed ex that I'm trying to sort out and the wall mount showed up today for the articulating arm. Sadly I still have 6 wall speakers, my sherwood newcastle R-771 and some other stuff missing in action somewhere out in the great wide world

My wife did however pick up a box so I'd have it when I got home. I was very excited when I realized it was my HD-DVD player. I was less then excited when I realized it wasn't the HD-AX1 that I had ordered and paid for



I talked to the owner of the company I bought it from the next day and he has sent out the XA1 today so hopefully I'll have it soon. We were trying to figure out what to do with the A1 I have now and he offered me a pretty decent price (his cost) so I decided to just keep it as well and I'll use it for one of the other HT in the new home (perhaps the bonus room HT).

1st movie we watched was Apollo 13. Wow sound is just amazing the image is great to but I'm sure I'll be even more impressed on the larger screen on the 120" I'm just not blown away from a SD upconverted DVD (just my opinion it is however better so I'm keeping it).

I did more digging in the packages that did come as well and I discovered not just 1 but 2 - 7.2 wall plates so my vendor did come through after all (came through very well considering those are free throw ins for me A - I guess I have spent several thousand with him this year so he can give me the odd bonus).


Some updated pics of the testing HT below.
Click on images to enlarge:









I am having some issues with the MA-DA1 connection from the 333 to the HDMI on the HD-DVD player and I've posted in the 333 thread hoping to get some help with that issue. I've also ordered some new cabling and will be updating to the new 2.0 firmware when it comes out to hopefully help.

I'll be doing another walk through in the home tomorrow so there will be new photos to follow (if anything was done that is I'm not sure the insulators or drywallers have started).

Cheers

Thanks for the kind words Fabeasy. I'm hoping it will go smoothly and I'm pretty excited to get into the new home and actually see everything I've been buying actually in use.

I've purchased some items like the Harmony 890 RF remote below almost a year ago and I still haven't even opened the box.

(Click to enlarge)

Update:

Some interior shots of the basement. They have started to install the ducting and place the furnace (I'm just using the furnace and ducting for air movement as the radiant heating throughout the home will be the "primary heating" for comfort.)

The furnace is still been hung at this point and will be moved in the corner of the room for it's final placement.

(Click to Enlarge Photos)







I'm still waiting for the framers to do the basement then the insulators and dry wall crews will come to finish up the entire home all at once.

Here is a shot from the kitchen looking at the living room and the HT on the main floor.

This floor has only the walls in the 1/2 bath by the kitchen other then that there are no retaining walls on the main floor making it a very "open" concept home



In the photo you can see the "sunken" living room has a step down making the ceiling in that room 10' compared to the 9' throughout the rest of the main floor.

The 5.1 System to be used in this room will have 4 ceiling speakers, 1 center channel under the flat panel above the fireplace and 1 in wall sub.
I've some pictures below of the In-wall subs Back box. It is a 10" Proficient In-wall sub and back box compared to the 4 in wall Thors I will be using in the basement (the thor's do not have back boxes but are one complete unit in the housing as pictured above in the thread).

Click to enlarge photos:

Back side of BB.



Front side of BB with a regular sized DVD / Game case on it to give you a perspective of size.



Bottom of BB with inputs.



Top of BB with inputs.



The back box should help the sound of the inwall sub considerably but will require some extra work by my A/V installers as it's set up for 16" studs and my living room is 24" centers.

I'm still looking at chairs and I may have a deal worked out on a new model from Berkline (actually found a seller that will ship them to Canada for a reasonable price).
They are called "The Adagio" and I kind of like them. The light in the cup-holders stands out to me (I like it - shiny ! )
Anyways here a shot of them in black leather with a blue light.


Just working out the details on the $$ but it's likely these are the ones
I'm going to go with. The berkline 075 series or the "Enterprise" seats
were a close second but I think I'll go to the light instead

Let me know what you think.

Here is a mock up of the Back box for the sub placed in the Living room HT.
I'm still working out placement and I think this will be the best
location due to the wiring located on the other side of the room closer to the kitchen.
I also think I should get a better sounding bass with "full" wall side vs the other side
where I just have a small section jutting out from the wall.



Thoughts?

Gah !!
I was so close to ordering the chairs with the shiny lights in the cup holders today and then I stumbled on the picture below.
These chairs were my second choice but now that I've seen them in the red leather - Grey micro fiber in the same configuration that I was thinking of ordering (x 2 ) I'm not sure about the other chairs now.
I think these chairs look amazing as well.



Have to talk to the wife tonight but it is going to be one of these two for sure just need to get off the fence and pick one

The black ones are pretty plain other then the lights in the cup holders and I think the red and grey would look pretty darn good in the room I'm building

I'm hoping the wife will help me choose but she will likely say she thinks they are both nice and to choose what I want

I think this would be a lot easier if I could actually go and sit in these darn things - anyone have a Berkline dealer close by that can go and do a sit test for me??

Anyone that has sat in or owns either the 075 or "The Adagio" chairs want to share your thoughts or experiences with me?

Hello jwakaruk,

Thanks for stopping by. I'm building in the SW side of the city in the river valley (Terwillegar area). I know where MacEwan West is located. That is a nice area I chose Terwillegar as I wanted to be closer to the airport as my business has me in the skies 6 to 8 times a month.
I wouldn't mind coming over to check out your system sure sounds pretty sweet. My system likely won't compare to yours audio wise as I'm using inferior In-walls that are a fraction of the cost of your B&W's but I sure would like to hear them. I likely won't be hearing my in-walls till Dec or Jan at the rate things are going.
I was originally going to just keep the A1 but I could bring it over. If your impressed with it I'm sure we can make a deal on the extra unit.
Your description of the Cannon ball scene alone obligates me to at least come over for a bass demo
Your whole system sounds great so send me a PM and I'll definitely try and set up a visit with A1 - pick a movie out of my limited collection listed above and I'll head over with it when I'm back in town (Sept 8th, 9th & 10th).
I can let you know my thoughts on a PJ with what you currently have. If you have light control in your HT then with out even looking at your room I'd suggest a FP and the Panasonic 900 for entry level under $3k cdn is pretty hard to beat price/performance wise. I'm partial to a big screen though
Send me a PM and hopefully I can swing by for a movie next weekend.

Thanks for stopping by Im A TV Newbie,

Not sure about the crazy part but I like to think I've got a few people interested.

Still hoping for a mini review on the Berkline's I'm looking at before I decide and order later this week.

The wife likes the Adagio chairs in Black leather but I'm not sold on them yet

Well today was the day. I ordered the Berkline 45004 "the Adagio" Chairs.

I talked to the wife and she liked them just as they were in the picture black leather with the blue lighted cup holders.
We discussed lots of different scenarios and colors and I ended up agreeing that black was probably the best as it works with just about anything
(I was very close to ordering navy blue or a deep maroon / purple color).


Ended up getting them with the AVS powerbuy here on the forum from Carolina Interiors - Kyle was very professional to deal with and I'm happy with the price (not thrilled but happy as they are still pricy to get these darn things up in Canada with the cost conversion and shipping )

Ended up getting:
4 recliners with arms on both sides
2 recliners with left arm only
2 recliners with right arm only.

All chairs are Full Leather with power recliner and with the built in Light in the cup-holders.

This way I can do two rows of
Chair+Love seat+Chair or
Love seat+Love seat or
Chair+Chair+Chair+Chair or
any combination of the 3 for the two rows. Gives me some flexibility.

I should see them in 8 to 12 weeks (not that it matters as they will be going into storage until I get into the house anyways.)
I ended up ordering as they have a powerbuy on and I saved a pretty good chunk plus I can finally get Berklines up here to myself in Canada which up until now has been a extremely costly endeavor.

Anyways that ends my HT chair shopping so I can go back to working on getting sound treatments, picking a flat panel for the living room and a few hundred other items on my list of things to do

Cheers