Meyer Home Theater construction - Page 9

Ok, I'm officially stalled. However, my RS20 is on order, so I've got a December deadline!

My current stall is carpet. There are just too many millions of options! I'm not all that limited:

- base color: black, dark gray, dark brown, or dark red (leaning black/gray)
- highlights (if any) red/gold/brown (warmish)

- not too eye catching with the lights down (or do separate black on the stage)
- not too expensive
- short nap/easy to vacuum

That only leaves about a million carpet samples at each store to chose from!!!

Part of me is thinking of going wild and picking this:



I'm taking the day off tomorrow and setting a strong goal to set a carpet direction by the end of the day! My leaning right now is to go with the Silver Screen or go with some kind of basic sculptured gray. I just need to pick something and go.

Has anybody got examples of folks that went with highly patterned 'novelty' carpets? Was it too much? Distracting? Cool?

Help!

Linking in my carpet search thread HERE

I've got a company coming out to measure for carpet today! I settled on Masland Quadrate, Times Square (aka black). It's the same carpet as in Big Mouth's HT. His is gray, I went black. I went searching for pictures of the black version and found that Sandman had used it. Pictures Here

I was waffling over the Couristan Miami (aka Marco Island), but in the end I decided that I was looking for a less interesting/eye catching look. My theater is going for a relatively 'spare' look and the carpet would be one of the more eye catching elements if I went with Miami.

I'll have to carpet companies come out to measure and let them bid against each other (unless the low bidder doesn't instill confidence...)

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I spent this weekend preparing for carpet measuring. I built the extension from my riser to the back wall (I'd delayed building that until I had the riser electrical done...).

I also went around the theater thinking like a carpet installer. I wish I had done this in the first place. When I build my riser and my stage, I had the top surface extend 2" over the structure to create a lip at all the steps. However, I didn't do it all around the edges.

Looking at it now, I realized my carpet would look better (and be easier to install) if there were lips everywhere. Something that would have been trivial to do when I put in the riser/stage became a full day project: ripping and routing 2x4's into 1.5" x 2" lips, then gluing/nailing them to the riser and stage.

Lesson for next time...

Picture tonight, I hope.

Just bought my receiver! Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH. Basically the 1018 + 2 year warranty, 12v triggers, THX modes and certification.



I've been measured for carpet twice now... First quote was $3500 (68 yards at $47/yard + some extra stuff). I'm hoping the second comes in a bit lower. I think I can do it with 62 yards, so I think in the end it'll come in around $3200.

I'm on a roll. I bought my Grafik Eye! 6 zone QS, plus a 5-button see-touch wall controller. Both in black.

I've selected my carpet bid. I just need to decide how much slop I need. I'll close the bid today or Monday. ~$3400 with everything.

I was hoping for more like $2000.

I feel pretty good about it, though. I got two quotes that both came in the same ballpark. I've done all the geometry myself so I understand the number of yards they are ordering (actually, I shaved off four yards by doing it myself and getting them to agree my was was better).

One advantage of the Quadrate over your diamond pattern: The Quadrate has a pattern repeat of <5". Makes pattern matching less expensive.

Not getting much done this weekend. Relatives in town. If they weren't, I'd likely be up installing trim around the window/doors, or in the attic wiring speakers.

I have managed to figure out two things, however:

1) Covering this window:



I hadn't spent too much timing thinking about it before now. I had three goals in mind:

a) complete blackout
b) usable as a fire escape
c) usable for light/air as needed

I had complicated ideas about a hinged cover or some sliding panel contraption over the whole opening. Complicated, so I ignored the whole problem.

Now that I'm ready to do it, I realize I've overlooked a very simple, elegant, obvious solution: Put a black board (1/4" plywood, painted black, wrapped in GOM) flush up against the glass in the window frame itself. Paint the wood window frame and the trim around it black. Done. The panel can come out (maybe a couple of pegs) if I want light, and the whole window can open if I want air or escape.

The other thing I figured out:

I have planned to hang my projector from the ceiling 14'-15' back from the screen. That puts it near the soffit half way between the two rows of seats. I've been waiting for my projector (RS20, due in 1-2 months) before finalizing it and putting in my power/wiring/etc.

However, that means when my projector comes I won't be immediately ready to hang it. Also, access to the ceiling right over the proposed projector spot is dicey.

Rerunning the numbers at Projector Central, I've changed my plans. I'm going to go for a shelf mount above/behind the rear seats. That would put the lens about 19' from the screen.

Pros:
- aesthetically more pleasing (easy to do a box around it, easy access)
- Much easier to wire (there is already power back there, and I have easy access to that back wall
- longer throw = higher contrast

Cons
- some decrease in light
- if it's too low, then potential shadow as people walk around in the back row.

I'm not too worried about the shadow part.

So, I'll hack together a quick shelf mount before my projector comes. If I have enough light (cranking down the iris a bit to emulate some bulb dimming), I'll make that permanent. If I want more light, I can hang the projector from the ceiling at a later point.

So, I didn't get much work done this weekend, but I've made two decisions that will simplify my life and shave days off of my work schedule.

Other progress:

- Got my receiver (Pioneer Elite vsx01txh) on Friday. Haven't played with it much yet.

- Ordered three rack shelves (Receiver, cable box, PS3)

Crunch time!!

Jason posted in the projector forum that the first RS20's will be here early December. I was betting on late December or early January.

My carpet will be ready for install next week. I was betting it would be after Thanksgiving.

That leaves me this week and this weekend to finish up anything that will raise dust or drip paint!
- window/door trim
- touch up black paint (walls/ceiling)
- install jbox for my grafik eye
- bass trap over the door (if I have time)

I may be watching movies by Christmas!

I'm not too worried about the lumens. Definitely, if I'm projecting 16x9 100" diagonal screen, the RS20 should be fine, even from 19'. Even if I zoom out to 120" wide 2.35:1 I should be fine.

Also, don't forget I'm not stuck with the shelf mount. I'll just put it there to start. I'll move it to a ceiling mount 5' further forward if I need a bit more light.

As for the RS20 vs. the AE3000, I think the RS20 should have about the same light as the the Panasonic AE3000 when calibrated. Cine4home has samples of both the RS20 and the AE3000. Calibrated to D65, the RS20 is delivering 24k:1 native contrast at 840 lumens. The AE3000 gets 800-900 lumens for them calibrated to D65. To get to 1600 lumens, cine4home had to go to dynamic mode:

Since you are fine at 140" diagonal, I'm hoping I'll be ok at 130" (120" wide). We'll see...

Those look perfect!! $14 for the chip. I'll have to try it out.

For now, the masking controller will be a bit more manual (me getting up and sliding over the masks...)

Thanks!

I was going to work on window trim tonight, but I'm feeling sick. Instead I researched remote controls. Harmony One was looking good. I don't need RF (I've got an IR receiver/repeater ready to go in the front of the room, and an IR2BT ps3 adapter). Reading the end of the avs remote forum thread on the Harmony One, I saw Amazon had a $30 rebate on the One until today. $184-> $154. And here I'd been thinking that the 'good' harmony remotes were $250!

$154 is under my impulse threshold. Sold, free shipping, on it's way...

My wife will love it. PS3, receiver, projector, cable box all controlled from one remote with real channel logos for the channels! It's so 21st century. I'll get a lot of mileage from this one.

I'm currently set up to do all IR in the HT. I'm setting up an IR repeater in the front that will feed the back of my Grafik Eye QS as well as blasters on my rack.

I also have a fallback. If my IR repeater in the front doesn't work well (or it's too much of a pain to keep the remote pointed at it for the required length of time for the macros), I'll switch to a Harmony One RF if/when they make one, and use this Harmony One in the other TV room. My current 56" Pioneer Elite 610HD RPTV will be the center of an entertainment system more designed for kids/treadmill/casual TV watching.

I actually think I have a greater need for the Harmony One or something comparable in the TV room than in the HT. Because my Marantz 8001 in that room doesn't switch component video, it takes many more button presses to switch between sources on that system.

I've got an IR2BT, which apparently works great with the Harmony One. I haven't hooked it up yet. It was $50.

Unfortunately, the IR2BT has just been discontinued. They've replaced it with the IR2BTci, a nicer looking box that adds 'power state awareness' of the PS3 and macros and such, but costs $150!!

Check out the PS3 forum here, I think there are multiple solutions available.

Got my rack shelves yesterday and installed them. They fit perfectly. No real surprise (since I bought some blank cover plates to set the spacing), but satisfying nonetheless.

My Harmony One is 'out for delivery'. I get to program it up tonight. I'll set it up for my current TV and redo it once I get the projector set up.

The list for this weekend:

1) Final floor prep (cauking seams, smoothing everything, go wild with the nail gun anyplace I find a creak, dust, sweep, sweep, sweep)

2) trim the doors.

3) install junction boxes for my GE and see-touch door controller

4) touch up paint

I'll try to get them tonight. Nothing that thrilling to anybody but me: just a swivel rack with three empty shelves. A few more weeks and I can load it up.

I'll try to post some tonight, if I can get my wife to cooperate.



(I'll need somebody to hold the rack steady so it doesn't swivel.)