Need Suggestions for Home Theater Layout

[UMD_terp]

I am trying to get suggestions on a home theater setup that would work well given the space I have to work with. This is in the basement of my townhouse. I have included a simple layout with dimensions below:

I am starting with nothing... no TV, no reciever, speakers, etc... Given this, I want to get a big screen TV first off. Given the setup and dimensions of the room above, and that the optimal seating location will be at least 11'-12' away, I am thinking that a 50" or 56" TV would do.

In the picture above, the 'X' marks represent where I would place speakers for the sound setup. The 'X' on the TV is the center channel and there is a shelf above that can hold it. Location-wise, does this setup seem to work? The room itself is carpeted with medium pile carpet and the sofas are cloth and rather thick. I haven't put a whole lot of thought into the audio setup, but I was looking at the Yamaha RX-V2400 receiver to start with. Does this room setup seem to work? The room can be rearranged in nearly any fashion as it stands currently.

Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mudcat]

How much do you plan on using the fireplace?

Can the TV, electronics, front speakers, and sub be place on the 16 foot wall, and all seats facing it? Put the surrounds opposite each other on the left send of the 8.5 foot wall and right side of the 11.25 foot wall. Put the back speakers on the 6 foot wall. This would give you a wider viewing area, better stereo seperation, and use of the alcove for other purposes like storage or book/DVD shelves. You will most likely need opaque shades and curtains for the windows. The four surround speakers may have to be wall mounted.

 

[UMD_terp]

The firplace isn't used much, so I could place one of the sofas in front of it facing the 16' wall. By placing the TV on that wall, I would have to put one of the sofas in front of the fireplace so that all the seating would face the TV. I already have bookshelves in the alcove where I drew the TV in the layout currently. I'll have to think about the fireplace... I don't know if I should block it out... If I wanted to keep the fireplace free, would there be a better setup than the one I drew up?

I forgot to mention, the ceilings are 8 feet high... giving a total room volume of approximately 2500-2600 cubic feet. Would a 120wpc receiver be too much for the room volume? Thanks!

 

[Mudcat]

Don't know what kind ot TV you want to get, but if it is one of the realitively light weight LCD or Plasma flat screens it can be mounted high and one sofa could be behind the other and the fire place would not be blocked. The sofa's could be moved/rotated to suit the event (i.e. watching a movie, watching a tree die a glorious death).

 

[UMD_terp]

I am looking at getting a DLP... they are lightweight for their size, but not really something you could mount on a wall. I have a TV bench that is 50" wide and stands 29" tall... just enough to hold a 56" set... HD Plasma set would be like $8k for that size and an LCD would not work well since I plan on hooking up video games to the thing.

 

[perato]

Audioholics said that plasma screens are subject to image burn in and are unsuitable for video games. LCDs are not subject to burn in and are alright for video games.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/displays_LCD_DLP_plasma8.html

 

[Audioholics]

That is correct. You'll burn the game heads-up display into the plasma if you're not careful.

 

[UMD_terp]

Plasma is pretty much out of the picture given the cost and burn-in possibility...

LCD is out because it inherently does not do the best with fast-moving scenes that a game would require... it's response time is not good enough... that pretty much leaves DLP as the choice since it can't burn in and can handle fast moving scenes with relative ease...

 

[RLA]

This room is a prime candidate for an entry level front projection system
And although I say entry level will outperform many of the so called
high performance displays that are 1/2 its image size
Look at the soon to be released Infocus 4805 this coupled with a
Da-Lite Cosmo-Electrol electric screen and mount would street for around
$2875 The other thing I would like to point out using your 2-D drawing using your set up is That your surrounds are located in front of the prime listening position and should be in the "Null" your EX channels are ok. It is very hard to give advice based on 2-D pictures it may be that your room would be better if you re-arranged your listening/viewing position a posted photo of the room would make it easier to give advice I see several problems a DIY'er
could encounter with this room when setting up a conventional system
Cheers

 

[UMD_terp]

I'll try and post a picture of what the room looks like... thanks for the suggestions. I haven't researched front projection systems at all, but I think it would be worth looking into. As for the surround placement, it is hard to tell from the picture, but they can be moved further back and the main viewing spot of the room (the big sofa) can be moved forward so that the surrounds are no longer in front, but rather at the side. This would put some distance with the rear speakers as well. Thanks again for the suggestions!