Home Theater is the PROJECT for 2009.

[SportsNut]

Ok. First off I wanna thank everyone for looking and taking the time to offer their help/constructive criticism. Its time for the big time and a big time theater.

Dimenions of the room are about 12ft in W, 9ft H and 19.5ft Deep. the right side is slanted. Off to the back right of the room there is a small opening in the back for a nice case to house everything.

PROJECTOR 2k-4k:

I am leaning right now towards the Panasonic PTAE3000U but I am open to other options if someone knows of something better within the allocated budget or a new projector coming out this year.

SCREEN: 1-2K

Ok here is a lot of my trouble. I kinda figured around 106" for a screen, maybe Carada. I want it to be big and mounted on the wall and have it very clean looking but not too big wth the slanted wall. Also, I don't know what aspect ratio is best to go with. This is where I know the least about.

USES:

This room is going to be used for BD watching as well as some minimal HDTV sports watching all of this in 7.1

Speakers: under 3-4K

This is something I'm going to change but lets have a little fun. What are your ideas for a 7.1 system with a Denon receiver pushing 100W a channel.


Again thank you for your time and input. I love to see other people's home theater. I think its a great way to get ideas that other people have not though of yet.

 

[AVRat]

Pj: Panny 3000 or Epson 6500
Screen: Carada Criterion BW 106”
Speakers: Ascend Acoustics CMT-340/340C/HTM-200 (RS), Def Tech BP-2X (SS)
Sub(s): SVS Plus(1), PB12-NSD(2) – HSU ULS-15(1), VTF-3 MK3(1), VTF-2 MK3(2) – Epik Dynasty(1), Sentinel(2)

 

[jostenmeat]

Ok. First off I wanna thank everyone for looking and taking the time to offer their help/constructive criticism. Its time for the big time and a big time theater.

Awesome. You will be floored, particularly if you think ahead about light control, and darkening the walls and/or controlling light reflections.

Just like with audio, where midlevel speakers in a properly treated room will be much superior to top of the line speakers in a poor room, a midlevel PJ in a well designed room will blow away a top of the line PJ in a poorly designed room. There is room for interpretation, but you get my drift.

Dimenions of the room are about 12ft in W, 9ft H and 19.5ft Deep. the right side is slanted. Off to the back right of the room there is a small opening in the back for a nice case to house everything.

I wish I had a 9ft ceiling. Lengthwise setup is desired, not just for audio, but it gives you more flexibility in playing with viewing angle, let alone in adding more rows.

ROJECTOR 2k-4k:

I am leaning right now towards the Panasonic PTAE3000U but I am open to other options if someone knows of something better within the allocated budget or a new projector coming out this year.

JVC. No doubt IMO. New, you basically only have the RS10 as a choice, and it will be right around the top of your limit. You can find a used RS1 for $2200-2500, or an RS2 for several hundred more. Now, if you said your budget limit was 2.5k, definitely the Epson. The coolest thing about the 3000 is the programmable focus/zoom presets. This can let you put up a wider AR screen, without needing the processing, nor a sliding (and possibly very expensive) anamorphic lens.

The best benefit, IMO, of a wider AR is for better center speaker placement when using a non-AT screen. You have a taller ceiling, so I don't think 16:9 will be difficult to implement. If you do use the zoom function, I recommend a black front wall, so that there is less chance of having distracting visible light, when overshooting the zoom.

Otherwise, JVC. Your jaw, everyone's jaws will hit the floor.

SCREEN: 1-2K

Ok here is a lot of my trouble. I kinda figured around 106" for a screen, maybe Carada. I want it to be big and mounted on the wall and have it very clean looking but not too big wth the slanted wall. Also, I don't know what aspect ratio is best to go with. This is where I know the least about.

Carada seems to be the best value in fixed frame screens. If you happen to go supersized, like I did, I will recommend Dalite High Power. What I have basically looks like a 75 sq ft plasma, using this material. The JVC provides super high fill. There is absolutely no pixelation that I can possibly detect at 42 deg viewing angle. The black levels are simply fantastic. They won't be quite as good as the current Pio Kuro's, but the better JVCs happen to have better or similar black performance as previous Kuro's, according to people that own both.

**** Most Important Advice: Buy the PJ first. Spend at LEAST three days firing at a blank wall. Then you will be assured of the desired screen size.

I predicted** a 120". After more than a week of firing at the wall, did I get 176% the predicted screen size. This is one of the most easily avoidable "mistakes", and I demand that you follow my instructions. Heck, one person was so sure on his predicted size, he built custom cabinetry into the front wall. Shortly after obtaining the setup, he knocked out the cabinets to go bigger. True and recent story.

USES:

This room is going to be used for BD watching as well as some minimal HDTV sports watching all of this in 7.1

BD is absolute must. It is, IMO, the reason why we finally can even go big now.

Speakers: under 3-4K

Refer to my second paragraph. I'd compromise speaker budget to treat the room. HT's are desired to be pretty dead, and I find it is with HT that the volumes get pushed more than usual. I also find that it's at higher volumes where room acoustic issues really raise their ugly heads in a big way.

This is something I'm going to change but lets have a little fun. What are your ideas for a 7.1 system with a Denon receiver pushing 100W a channel.

If you don't ever add an outboard amp, something that is relatively easy to drive.

Again thank you for your time and input. I love to see other people's home theater. I think its a great way to get ideas that other people have not though of yet.

Good luck man, we'll be watching you . . .

 

[lsiberian]

Start with fixing up the room.

You want to make this a theater. So I suggest we start by turning the room into one.

GIK acoustics has some great packages. Or you can DIY by lining the room with rockwool or fiber treatments. Then hanging some nice curtains over it. There are other ways to do this, but I find this to be a pretty low cost solution. I'm sure our experts in that area would be a great help though.

Next you will want to get that theater sound.

Since this is a dedicated room. I suggest the Behringer 2030p for all your speakers. get 4 pairs. They are amazing speakers and can be easily modded to hifi quality if necessary. But this is a theater so this probably won't be necessary.

Then you will need subs. I suggest you build 4 Infinity Kappa Perfects. Place one in each corner. This will make your room even for LFE and give you unbelievable sound.

Now for your PJ setup I suggest the Epson and the Carada BW screen.

For chairs look for the most comfortable with stain resistance and cup holders.

These are just some ideas. There are limitless options for this place. But do start by fixing the room up.

 

[jostenmeat]

Since this is a dedicated room. I suggest the Behringer 2030p for all your speakers. get 4 pairs. They are amazing speakers and can be easily modded to hifi quality if necessary. But this is a theater so this probably won't be necessary.

I believe WmAx's suggestion works when you have the subs close enough to the speakers themselves. Doesn't the modded 2030 only go down to 90hz? So, with four subs, you can put three subs as the front soundstage, and then put the bookshelves on top of each. Might look funny to some. I'd also want to figure out what to do about grilles since I don't want the reflections off of the speakers.

Then you will need subs. I suggest you build 4 Infinity Kappa Perfects. Place one in each corner. This will make your room even for LFE and give you unbelievable sound.

I thought the Harman paper called for the 4 midwall points, at least for best response?

Now for your PJ setup I suggest the Epson and the Carada BW screen.

I would also suggest the Epson if the OP is looking to upgrade in a couple of years. Otherwise, why wouldn't you suggest the best projector for the budget?

If willing to buy a demo with very low hours, you can actually spend less than a 6500 and land a RS1. No dynamic iris. Contrast numbers are native.

 

[AVRat]

More Speaks: PSB Image T55/C60/S50/B15

 

[SportsNut]

I would also suggest the Epson if the OP is looking to upgrade in a couple of years. Otherwise, why wouldn't you suggest the best projector for the budget?

If willing to buy a demo with very low hours, you can actually spend less than a 6500 and land a RS1. No dynamic iris. Contrast numbers are native.

I would not be opposed to buying a demo projector with very low hours. Do you know where I can purchase one of these?

 

[mperfct]

I'd check Visual Apex, Projector People, and I think a few of the guys here run stores (or at least work at them). They could probably help you out.

I'm amazed at the quality of suggestions you have so far. There are some pretty smart people on this forum, and very helpful too!

My only suggestion is design for sound first, then PJ 2nd. It's a lot easier to start with a good sound design and fit a PJ into it than it is to design everything around the PJ/screen.

You might consider an acoustically transparent screen. I have one and love it. At least check it out, it makes perfect sense. There are some tradeoffs, but the gap has been narrowing between AT and regular PJ screens, imho.

 

[SportsNut]

YES I would completely not be opposed to purchasing Demo equipment such as a projector and new speakers to keep down the overall cost of the project.

 

[jostenmeat]

I would not be opposed to buying a demo projector with very low hours. Do you know where I can purchase one of these?

Welp. Demo is not the only way; I would consider used products. The scary thing, of course, is the unit might be defective. So what I would do is buy from someone who seems trustworthy. For instance, a frequent and helpful poster from any certain forum. With all the help I try to give people, I'm always fighting off upgraditis. The JVC I have is simply the greatest picture I have ever seen. I have advised a pro installer to check out Sim2 products for a massive job he's doing, and he's promised to take me along for a demo. So we will see about opinion at that time. Anyhoo, if I was to sell my unit, I bet you would trust me...

I'd look at AVS classifieds.

If new, I'd call AVS directly; they had the best new prices I found when searching. I indeed bought mine from them, an open box special, only 3 hours on mine, with mftr warranty intact. Saved 1.5k or more, but they sold all of them out in one single day.

Videogon is another possibility. This JVC is asking $2,250 with extended warranty.
http://cgi.videogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?projlcda&1244759477

Mine has extended warranty, I think 6 yrs, but not sure if it's transferable.

You can see what your local dealers have. I believe a member here got a killer deal on an RS2 from such a source.

The key complaints about JVC, at least the earliest models, are high saturation and color accuracy (either red or green push). But, it's still just phenomenal. Remember that even recent Kuro's were also said to have red and green color accuracy issues. Doesn't make them not jaw dropping. Also, some people believe that motion doesn't look as good. Not sure there, and scientifically, others have pointed out that this doesn't make sense. I think it's more source dependent than anything. Just watched a UFC bluray, and it was just amazing.

The JVCs deinterlace extremely well. Even better than some Lumagen products.

I don't think comcast is going to look so hot.

I have very good experiences with Projector People, where I got my screen and mount, at different times.

Man, upgraditis is something serious though. Seriously. My projector is just amazing. It's the stuff of dreams for most people. Yet, even after a little over a year do I start mulling over the very expensive JVC Rs20. With this in mind, I'd like to advise you in one of two paths:

Get the very best you can possibly afford.

or

Go for a compromise with the intent of upgrading in the relatively near future.

Once you put something like a JVC in your theater, and finally get used to it, you then start thinking REALLY BIG . . .

Well.... I hope this helps...

 

[mperfct]

Jostenmeat knows a thing about PJs. I would recommend JVC products as well. Sim2 stuff is phenomenal, as is the price. If cost be damned, that's what I would have. But I have a Mits HC6500, and it's terrific. I won't trade it for anything (not even a JVC), and won't upgrade until a major leap (LED/Laser/etc) occurs in PJ technology. You can even see them at BB Magnolia's usually. Check them out, and read, read, read.

Good luck!

 

[jostenmeat]

Also, some people believe that motion doesn't look as good. Not sure there, and scientifically, others have pointed out that this doesn't make sense. I think it's more source dependent than anything.

I just ran into this post, by a fellow who actually owns both an Epson 7500 and JVC RS20.

He actually uses the JVC for all his film, and the Epson for all the video and sports.

Some people, man.

I'm thinking, just going by your handle of "SportsNut", the Epson may actually be the better choice for you. As for Panasonic, I don't know how it compares with either.

 

[SportsNut]

I just ran into this post, by a fellow who actually owns both an Epson 7500 and JVC RS20.

He actually uses the JVC for all his film, and the Epson for all the video and sports.

Some people, man.

I'm thinking, just going by your handle of "SportsNut", the Epson may actually be the better choice for you. As for Panasonic, I don't know how it compares with either.

I am a huge sports nut this is very true but this is going to be pretty much just for the movies and occasional TV watching but I have an entire LCD /Canton setup downstairs for TV and Sports. Thank you for the sugguestion though.