[travis4710]

I've just started finishing my basement to turn it to a home theater and bar area. From looking at all the great rooms on here, I thought that maybe you guys could give me a few hints, tips, things to avoid, etc. I've attached a rendering of what I want the area to look like but I'm open to suggestions. Just so you know,m the room was already partially finished when I bought the house, so therefore I can not access the walls behind the columns for insulation purposes. The suspended ceiling is 7' tall, so I thought I would raise it 6" over the seating area. Maybe put a fiber optic star ceiling there if I can find a cheaper way to build one. Also, I'm thinking of running a 5.1 surround system at first with Ascend HTM 200's in the columns for the rear surround, and as the front left and right. The center channel would possibly be an Ascend HTM 340EC with a Harmon Kardon 247 or 347 as the receiver. I cant decide between a Mitisubishi HC4900 or a Panasonic AX200U to project on the 100" DIY laminate screen. Like I said earlier I'm open to all suggestions, so let me hear what you think on the room setup, sound system, projector or any of the above. Thanks in advance!


One more thing, what should I do to the room as far as acoustical treatment. It's just me and my wife, so I'm not worried about sound escaping, but I would like it to sound decent in the room. Thanks again!

 

[Lisalynn]

We just laminated our screen onto a 1" thick fiberglass acoustic tile with a hardend surface on the face, and Z-clips on the back. We painted the edges black and it looks great. I bought the screen on Ebay (84") for around $50 from feature presentation.

 

[frorule]

A couple things to help the sound is to install carpet in your theater area. (I see you have hardwood in your drawing.) Another simple thing to do is to add decorations on the wall that will serve to scatter sound waves.


As for the PJs, they are both excellent. Don't fret that decision, it's really a no lose situation with either. If you are going to have parties for sporting events, perhaps the extra brightness of the ax would suit you better.

 

[travis4710]

The wife wants the wood laminate floors, so I know there is no way to talk her into carpet. What about an are rug? Would that help much?

 

[travis4710]

And it looks like Projector People made the decision for me on the projector. Couldn't resist their low price plus rebate on the Mitsu 4900.