[Terminator840]

Well after 6 years of dreaming and reading posts on this great forum, I am now able to have a dedicated Home Theater space. Our house sold last month and we were able to get a really good deal on a foreclosure that is only 2 years old. The new house has more than double the space of our old house, with a full finished basement.


The old house: Here is a pic. of my old setup that was in the great room of the old house. I hated having the HT in the middle of a open floor plan.

The new house: Basement area where I am planning my HT, premove-in.

Looking back:

Possible bar/concession area:

The work so far: The basement is already fully finished, which is both good and bad. The house is only 2 years old and has been lived in less than a year so its practically brand new. So I am reluctant to do start hacking up dry wall ripping up carpet. So wiring is going to be a pain, especially when I upgrade to a front projector. The bad part, this will limit my customization of the HT.


For now I am going to use my current set up from the old house in this room. Later I want to add a projector and screen.


Coming down the stairs

It was so nice to finally get my framed movie posters up. They had been in storage in the garage in the old house and haven't been hung on a wall since they came down out of my old office which was in a movie theater.


The entry

I picked up these really nice curtains on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I picked up some cheap speaker mounts for my rear surrounds at Wal-Mart. I regretted it after I got them up. Even though it said on the pkg. they support up to 10 pounds. My small Sony speakers that I use for the surround back channels only weigh 3 or 4 pounds each, it was too much for the plastic speaker mounts. That is why the speakers are uneven.

My first priority is getting proper home theater seating, then paint

 

[Terminator840]

I attached some blue rope lights to the top of the curtains for some accent light.

I got the DVD/CD/Blu-Ray storage up and organized.

Here is the color scheme I am thinking about going with. The top color will be the ceiling and screen wall. The bottom color will be the wall color and the others will possibly be accent/trim colors.

 

[imjay]

I can't tell for sure from your pictures but it looks like for now you are planning on using a tv. Are there plans for the future that include a projector and screen?


Our personal experience is that the visual effect of "Home Theater" can't be achieved with a relatively small tv display.


Please understand no offense intended and my post is not a criticism. We tried to achieve Theater in our Home with a large TV but we learned that a TV just can't give that "WOW, this is just like being at the movies" experience so we had to rearrange some things and shop carefully and stay on a rediculously small budget but we were able to finally get a Theater sized screen and decent HT projector. We don't have the interior space for a dedicated room but we, our family and friends all agree that we do have the WOW of Theater.


Decorations are nice and a lot of fun - posters and curtains and fancy lights and a popcorn machine and all that other stuff but when the lights go down and the big screen lights up the decorations simply aren't part of the experience. (You can't see them anyway).


So our suggestion is to enjoy what you are using which is really nice while being on the lookout for the basics - a projector and a screen that will step you up from watching television to something more of a creation of Theater in the Home.


Prices are really falling on very nice 720p HD projectors and we found our Da-lite fixed wall screen in a close out store for just $50 that had a MSRP or $900 so we can assure you that you can have true Theater while on a small budget and you truly won't believe the difference.


Very Best Wishes

 

[Terminator840]



Quote:
Originally Posted by imjay /forum/post/15511464


I can't tell for sure from your pictures but it looks like for now you are planning on using a tv. Are there plans for the future that include a projector and screen?


Our personal experience is that the visual effect of "Home Theater" can't be achieved with a relatively small tv display.


Please understand no offense intended and my post is not a criticism. We tried to achieve Theater in our Home with a large TV but we learned that a TV just can't give that "WOW, this is just like being at the movies" experience so we had to rearrange some things and shop carefully and stay on a rediculously small budget but we were able to finally get a Theater sized screen and decent HT projector. We don't have the interior space for a dedicated room but we, our family and friends all agree that we do have the WOW of Theater.



Decorations are nice and a lot of fun - posters and curtains and fancy lights and a popcorn machine and all that other stuff but when the lights go down and the big screen lights up the decorations simply aren't part of the experience. (You can't see them anyway).


So our suggestion is to enjoy what you are using which is really nice while being on the lookout for the basics - a projector and a screen that will step you up from watching television to something more of a creation of Theater in the Home.


Prices are really falling on very nice 720p HD projectors and we found our Da-lite fixed wall screen in a close out store for just $50 that had a MSRP or $900 so we can assure you that you can have true Theater while on a small budget and you truly won't believe the difference.


Very Best Wishes

Go back and re-read my post, I stated twice that I will be upgrading to a front projector and screen in the future. My room is nowhere near complete since we just moved in a few weeks ago.


I've got a 130" screen that will be given to me from a friend that has recently changed setups and I 've been looking at the Panasonic PT-AE3000U for the projector.

 

[Stew4msu]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Terminator840 /forum/post/15502573


The work so far: The basement is already fully finished, which is both good and bad. The house is only 2 years old and has been lived in less than a year so its practically brand new. So I am reluctant to do start hacking up dry wall ripping up carpet.

Is newer drywall harder to rip up?


I'd do it right from the get go. Figure out the best way to make the basement and do it. For the time being, just place your TV and equipment somewhere else and start working on that space. I wouldn't bother painting or hanging curtains or anything else until you were sure what you wanted to do with the space.

Run your wiring correctly and plan where you want everything to go. Those speakers in the rear are not even close to where you'd want them to be.


How big is the space? Can you put a 130" screen in there? Do you have adjoining spaces? Is there a way to remove a wall and make it a bigger space with tiered seating, etc.?


PS. Until you know exactly what you want to do with the space, your last priority should be seating.

 

[Terminator840]

I thought I would do a update on my HT thread..... Its been over a year and a half since I've updated, I can't believe that much time has passed.


I've just about completed my front projection conversion. I went with a Panasonic PT-AE4000 and DIY 132" screen. My DIY screen is painted drywall with Ultra White paint mixed with Polyurethane. I built a frame out of 1x3 lumber and covered with black velvet.


I went with the Essential Home brand of reclining theater chair that Kmart sells. 3 chairs in the front row and 2 for the back row. I built a simple riser for the rear seats and got some carpet from a outlet center to cover the riser with.


I painted the HT a dark burgundy, ceiling black, and trim gray. The carpet is staying for now, but sometime in the future I will change it for some dark gray or black carpet.

I built a cover for below the screen, to cover the cable and electrical outlets and wiring. I used 2x2s for the frame and covered it in black velvet. I also attached a shelf to the frame for the center channel speaker.

I recycled my old TV stand/equipment rack, but it doesn't exactly fit in that space so I've been looking for something new but haven't come across anything I like yet, or its not big enough for my equipment, or its to big for the space.

The PT-AE4000 mounted with a mount from monoprice.com

 

[Terminator840]

Screen shots!........ I love the PT-AE4000

Star Wars Episode IV: DVD upconverted to 1080p

 

[Terminator840]

Movie Posters in the "Lobby"

 

[Quantum_Man]

Nicely finished! The screen is a huge upgrade from the TV, definitely home theater level now.

Great job!

 

[pias]

Now you have "it". Very nice!

 

[Terminator840]

Thanks for the compliments. Even though I have a working HT I still have a lot of work to do, mostly finishing touches. Having a working HT really slows the work down unfortunately

.


Things on my to do list include:


1. Finish some touch up painting.


2. Replace my side surround sound speakers with some less bulky units that will blend into the wall better. Currently using some Infinity Primus 150s and I am looking at some Klipsch VS-14s or RS-10s as replacements.


3. Replace equipment console with a unit that will fit into the space properly, has to be under 54" wide and have enough room/shelves for all my components.


4. Hang crown molding around HT, thinking about going with a goldish color. I think it will really give the room some "pop". Plus crown moldings will cover up my speaker wire conduits


5. Replace some outdated components, I need a new AVR with HDMI and universal disc player like Oppo.


6. Dress up the two black panels that cover the windows in the HT. My wife doesn't like the way these look, so I am trying to think of a way to dress them up.

 

[snickel]



very nice I hate you

 

[snickel]

All you need now is a glow in the dark star ceiling, or better yet fiber optics

 

[Terminator840]

A few updates......


Hung a few more posters.

Disney Movie posters

Home theater library and memorabilia display.

Star Wars pewter X-Wing from NATO Sho-West 1996.

MI:2 Cyrstal Mug and base.

Old A/V console is now a temp concession area.

Udated sign

Added a few shelves to my old A/V rack unit, so now I am re-using it. Updated to a Pioneer Elite SC25, and a Oppo BDP-93