My Very Modest H/T

[hyghwayman]

Hi All,

I am new to DTV and H/T, HDTV and receivers. Untill just last year is was stuck in the world of Analog TV viewing.

It all started last year w/ my first receiver and a Digital TV. Then I bought a Sony KD-34XBR970 just this year. I'm into gaming w/ my boys and also needed something that could handle OTA analog, SD and HD signals due to not having cable or sat. at this time. I got the Xbox360 at the same time I bought XBR970. The speakers hooked up to the receiver at the moment are cheapo HTIB type (40w). The sub that came w/ the HTIB set was a passive type and couldn't be used though. A friend had a (40w) powered sub he gave me and it works great w/ the tiny sat speakers too. In the side view picture you can see the sub. My room is very small 6' x 8' w/ only 1 window right above TV, so I do get a lot of sound (noise) from the cheapo speakers.

You can also see a indoor antenna on top of the A/V stand in the 2nd picture. It worked ok w/ my old analog TV but had some trouble w/ Digital OTA reception ( would drop signals every few min. and was driving wife nuts) so I built my own. I have it outside on roof top. My signal strenth is at 98 out of 100 now w/ no drop outs at all (wife is happy) and now I can use the top shelf of A/V stand for a new upconverting DVD/VCR Recorder w/ATSC tuner. Currently using the 360 for watching DVD's.

I have been out of work on disability for two years after being rear-ended in 2004, so money has been very tight. Maybe in a few years after I complete the PTA course I'm taking at my local community College I will be able to up-grade the whole system, untill then I'm loving this over my old 26" analog TV and mono speaker!

hyghwayman

 

[hyghwayman]

Oh, by the way...

The TV stand that is holding that 2oolb beast of a TV is a $59.oo WalMart special and the A/V rack is identical. I looked all over for a good stand and rack, all over priced and only a few would hold more than 150lbs . If you notice the TV sits perfectly on the stand, no over hang at all (frt, back or sides)!

hyghwayman

 

[j_garcia]

Looks like a decent rack for $59. As long as it supports the weight. I have an older Sony 34" 16:9 set and I am quite pleased with it except when it came time to move it...

 

[Seth=L]

That TV is a nice one. I really wish I could get one before they are completely gone, but I don't have enough money at the moment.

 

[hyghwayman]

Thanks Seth=L and j_garcia

Looks like a decent rack for $59. As long as it supports the weight. I have an older Sony 34" 16:9 set and I am quite pleased with it except when it came time to move it...

The A/V rack is doing great not sure what the capacity rating is and the TV stand is holding that 2oolb beast of a TV w/ no problems at all (the satnd is rated for a total weight of 365lbs Top/240lbs, middle shelf/25lbs and bottom shelf/100lbs ) The name it is sold under at WalMart is 'Get It Together'.

That TV is a nice one. I really wish I could get one before they are completely gone, but I don't have enough money at the moment.

Yes it is a awsome TV, just wish I had know about the XBR960 and had the $$ before it was discontienued . Maybe in a few years I will up-grade to a larger screen size, at the moment though this is perfect for the size of my room.

Did you see my geto antenna? It works better than any store bought I've ever used. and my cost were under $1.00 (had all supplies laying around house).

 

[Seth=L]

The antenna made me laugh silently, but in a good way. I like the DIY stuff that works well.

 

[hyghwayman]

Yes it is.

The antenna made me laugh silently, but in a good way. I like the DIY stuff that works well.

Nice when the DIY project actually works. My 2nd antenna was a total flop, after it was sugested that I cross the top and bottom connecting wires and put a reflector behind for improved signal strength. I think it may have been a defective transformer now.

hyghwayman

 

[johnb554]

Great reciever for the price hey?

I have the same one and i love it.

 

[hyghwayman]

It is!

Great reciever for the price hey?

I have the same one and i love it.

I have been in 7.1 surround sound heaven for almost a year . I got it on sale at CC, prices are just now getting close to what I paid .

My HTIB speakers are so much better than the Mono TV speaker I had been stuck with before. I just wish I had some nice speakers to compliment it .

hyghwayman

 

[johnb554]

I have been in 7.1 surround sound heaven for almost a year . I got it on sale at CC, prices are just now getting close to what I paid .

My HTIB speakers are so much better than the Mono TV speaker I had been stuck with before. I just wish I had some nice speakers to compliment it .

hyghwayman

Yeah. I got mine for about 400 dollars (CDN) and I am running it on JBL speakers and a 150 watt JBL sub. Sounds awesome. You can check out my setup at

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30938


John

 

[hyghwayman]

Updated pictures

Howdy everyone,

I just got a new camera and too a few pictures of my HT.​

New in the picture is 360 Elite, replaced my 360 Pro after it overheated (system meltdown), no RRD thought. Also gone is the indoor antenna from the original picture, my DIY outdoor antenna is still working great. This winter (Ohio) will be a true test of how good it can hold the signal strength!
I still havn't aquired a new 5.1 speaker system, still using my old HTIB 40W cube speakers. I was able to find a 40W powered sub that works w/ my system (HTIB sub was passive and wouldn't work at all!).

My Sony XBR970, Xbox360 Elite w/ cube spear to the right, Pioneer VSX-816 and RCA 4 Head VCR

Side View of my Gear

Homemade HD Digital Antenna

My small collection of DVDs on top shelf and to the left of 2nd shelf down.
On the right side of 2nd shelf down you will see my even smaller collection of Xbox360 games.
On the 3rd shelf down you can see my 3D glasses.

The 3rd shelf down has my 3D glasses, under which are OXM game demos/HTIB cube speaker and to the left are my org. Xbox games.
The bottome 2 shelves hold my some of my VCR tapes. (that is about a 1/4 of the VCR tapes I have, the rest are put away for safety)
On the floor you can see my mighty 40W powered amp.​

 

[hyghwayman]

Here are my.....

surround sound speakers.

I had these speakers positioned on top of my couch for a long time, then found some cheep wall mounts. The sound is sooooo much cleaner sounding with them off the couch, wish I had spent the money a long time ago!

 

[Seth=L]

what is the subwoofer?

 

[hyghwayman]

You asked so I looked

what is the subwoofer?

Howdy Seth=L,

Since you asked I took a few pictures, I had never looked or asked because it was given to me for free from a friend.

Front-----Back​

Close-up of back​

Have you ever heard of this Sub before or for that matter KLH speaker systems?

Thanks,
hyghwayman

 

[Adam]

I dig that homemade antenna! I thought of doing that, too, but I opted to save my sanity and just buy a Channel Master for $80. I'll bet that it doesn't work any better than yours, though!

 

[hyghwayman]

I dig that homemade antenna! I thought of doing that, too, but I opted to save my sanity and just buy a Channel Master for $80. I'll bet that it doesn't work any better than yours, though!

Cheers Adam,

My HM antenna holds a signal better than any store bought I've ever owned!
98 out of 100 strength
If I added a signal amp I wnder if it would go up or down?


hyghwayman

 

[Rickster71]

Hyghwayman,
I really appreciate things like your home made antenna.
Something that works better than anything you could buy, nice!

Do you have it in your attic, or outside?

 

[hyghwayman]

It is....

Hyghwayman,
I really appreciate things like your home made antenna.
Something that works better than anything you could buy, nice!

Do you have it in your attic, or outside?

Outside, here is where and how I have it mounted.

The way I have it now gives it some stability on windy days and a 98 signal lock out of 100.

The old location here was not so good in the winds and the signal was much weaker.

hyghwayman

 

[hyghwayman]

5yr Update

Hi everyone,

It has been over 5yrs since my last post and a lot has changed, house, receiver, speakers, IP = more speed and our 1st grandson . My wife and I bought our 1st house in 2009 (3br/2br - brick ranch) and my loving wife gave me the living room to do as I wish for my HT/gaming room (not the best layout but it works). I ended up going with 2 shades of brown paint for the walls but have rearranged the layout and will be painting the wall behind the TV with the darker brown sometime (heck I may even rotate my setup 180* and paint all walls the darker brown).

Gave away my HTiB gear to a friend with young children and bought / upgraded to the 1st gen Pioneer speakers (5.0) by Andrew Jones in 2011 and in early 2012 added the Bic F12 sub. Man, the upgrade bug bites hard! My older Pio VSX receiver played well with my new speakers but lacked any HDMi so when the new Pio receivers started showing up in the spring of 2012 I couldn't resist the urge and bought the VSX-2211 and love it. I do wish I had held out a little longer and got the SC-1222 with the class D3 amps. Also added a Sony BDP-S590Blu-ray player to the mix, had been using my Xbox 360s for all my audio/video needs. The BR player along with the 2211 have me re-watching all my DVD's and now my 360 is only used for gaming.

Still using the same TV, couch and my HM HDTV antenna . Next thing I would like to do is some kind of acoustical treatments and add a 2nd or better sub.

As soon as I can I will take some pictures with a better camera but until then these are all I have, taken with my Droid2 Global phone.

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