New theater build out...

I

IDversusEGO

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
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I am moving into a new house this weekend. I have free reign over the basement. So I have 2 large finished rooms, 1 small/medium finished room, 1 small/medium unfinished room, 1 closet, 1 small unfinished room. Here are my plans fo rhte rooms...

large finished room 1 - dedicated front projection theater. Will have 1 meedio/sage box
large finished room 2 - pool table and pub style seating. will have 1 sage client split to 2 ceiling mounted LCD displays.
small/medium finished room - poker room. Will have a 52" tv and 1 sage client.
unfinished room 1 - exercise room. will have one sage client with LCD screen
small unfinished room - Equipment/build room. going to use this one to keep the office clean. this will have my test bench and spare parts. will have 1 sage client to keep me company on all these builds.
closet - will house the file server and sage server. also all networking equipment.

all displays will have a switch box to alternate between the attached client and a direct feed from the server. this will allow all displays to show the same thing at the same time or operate seperately. This is an aggressive build and will take some time, but should make for a little more in depth work than my last "work log". Feel free to offer any opinions or helpfull hints. I am always open to improvements. I should have some pics of the space as is by tomorrow.
 
Wow, that's a nice bit of space. I have a few questions....

Is the front projection theater going to be 4x3 or 16x9 and if 16x9 are you going with a 720P projector, or waiting for the 1080P guys coming out late october? Me I am waiting for the Mits HC5000 or the new Panasonic AE-1100 (or whatever the call it) something with 1080p and C2Fine.

Also can you sage HTPC handle HD?
I can understand that you don't need HD in every room, but for the Theater...

Did you consider your sound dampening so that you are not pushing sound all over the environment?

Wiring wiring wiring. Please tell me this is already in place.

Otherwise, it sounds rather interesting. I will look for the worklog, but I still think this may be more for AVSforum that the [H]
 
Treyshadow said:
Wow, that's a nice bit of space. I have a few questions....

Is the front projection theater going to be 4x3 or 16x9 and if 16x9 are you going with a 720P projector, or waiting for the 1080P guys coming out late october? Me I am waiting for the Mits HC5000 or the new Panasonic AE-1100 (or whatever the call it) something with 1080p and C2Fine.
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I currently have an x1 that I run in 16x9 mode with the PC running at 1280x720 res. works OK for now. I will either be gettign one of hte 1080p PJs or grab a 720p if the price drops drastically.

Also can you sage HTPC handle HD?
I can understand that you don't need HD in every room, but for the Theater...
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it can handle HD res playback just fine. I will be doing some upscaling ont he DVD playback, but no HD tv for now.

Did you consider your sound dampening so that you are not pushing sound all over the environment?
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I am looking at some wall treatments. That will be the best I can do as the walls are already constructed.

Wiring wiring wiring. Please tell me this is already in place.
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power is there, but that's it. The ceiling is a drop ceiling and I plan on buildign some columns to containt he surround speakers and their cables.

Otherwise, it sounds rather interesting. I will look for the worklog, but I still think this may be more for AVSforum that the [H]
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It will be on AVS, but that forum moves so fast that It will drop unles I have pics. as far as whether or not it belongs here or not, a whole house multi-source distributed audio/video system sounds like something that would be right up the [H]ard alley to me. We will see just how many clients mys erver can run. Also keep in mind I will probably have to add more than my existing 4 tuners to support everything. correct me if I am wrong guys...
 
You better post pics! :p

Sounds like a helluva project. I wish I had a basment like that.
 
IDversusEGO said:
I am looking at some wall treatments. That will be the best I can do as the walls are already constructed.
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How about the ceiling panels? Also, if it's not already there, you need carpet.
It will be on AVS, but that forum moves so fast that It will drop unles I have pics. as far as whether or not it belongs here or not, a whole house multi-source distributed audio/video system sounds like something that would be right up the [H]ard alley to me.
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Yep. I will be watching closely. Will this thread serve as your worklog?
We will see just how many clients mys erver can run.
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I've probably seen your specs 5 times, but remind me what kind of juice your server packs?
Also keep in mind I will probably have to add more than my existing 4 tuners to support everything. correct me if I am wrong guys...
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I'm no Sage expert, but AFAIK you are correct.
 
valve1138 said:
I wish I had a basment like that.
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I wish I had something bigger than my apartment to even think about setting up something like that. :)

Keep us up to date on the project, ID. Sounds like you're going to have a busy few months setting it all up.
 
ceiling panels are in place and will be painted a more nuetral color to match the rest of the room. Carpe tis also there. a light berber. I will be doing a large area rug at the least to try and darken it up some. I haven't landed on the wall colors yet. All I know is the lower half o the wall and the trim will be a dark brown. Deciding about a dark red or a lighter brown for the top half. My original idea for a fabric wall covering in a black and grey color scheme was nixed by the WAF squad.

My server is a 2.66 P4 with 1024mb RAM and about 320gb of TV storage. My tuner cards consist of 1 Nvidia dualTV and 2 PVR150s. I have an avermedia 180 and a fusion 5 lite collecting dust but probably won't use them. Might try and move them to ad more SD tuners, I also have somewhere around 1.8tb of movie storage on a seperate file server.
 
i am building a Athlon XP 2800+ barton with 512mb of ram and a 250gb hdd... with a diamond pvr550

i am going to get a pvr-550 dual or a nvidia dual for it at some point...
 
allright, initial measurements are in. screen wall is 162" wide. that is a mx screen size of about 162x91 for a diagnal of 186ish. That is far too large for this close of a viewing spot. so I will wittle it down some. it does limit my seating to rows of 3 if I want centered seating.
 
Sounds like a sweet setup, even if you only get half that stuff!

Care to lend me some cash? ;)
 
Wow that is a bit over the top for a screen. I tend to be a purist, so that is too large for me. I currently have a 114" carada screen for my Mitsubishi HC3000, and I think that is a bit large (a little light in the room). Only 2 rows of seating, as my room is 20x24 ( a little square, but nicely sized) and I don't want to put fixed seating in the front as I have a little one and friends with little guys too. They need a place to roll around during the sporting events (or kids movies).

What kind of screen are you using? A DIY vinyl, Goo Screen, paint on Dry Wall?

Is it fixed? Is it constant Height, or do you not care to change the curtains for different sized materials?

Still it sounds like great fun!
 
I was giving max sizes. I haven't decided on an actual screen size yet. I'll eyeball that. Right now I think my throw ratio will limit me to a 114" diagonal. My planned upgrade is a z4. It's throw would put me at around 135". So far my plan is to make a large size screen and use an adjustable curtain system to mask it to the right size. That way if I change projectors and my throw ratio changes I can just draw back the curtains for a larger screen. I think I am going to start with a manual masking and maybe add powered masking later. much later.

as for the screen material, I want to use SMX acoustically transparent screen, but I am going to sample Coated Celtic Cloth first, as it is MUCH cheaper.
 
bahh. I am not going to be able to start for another week. The closing has been delayed. People can be so annoying. I will be so glad when this is all done with.
 
IDversusEGO said:
bahh. I am not going to be able to start for another week. The closing has been delayed. People can be so annoying. I will be so glad when this is all done with.
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Did ya tell 'em there's several a/v geeks needing this deal to go through... did ya?? ;)
 
I'll be sure to let them know. If I can get her email address I'll post it here and everyone can just contact ehr directly :D
 
IDversusEGO said:
I'll be sure to let them know. If I can get her email address I'll post it here and everyone can just contact ehr directly :D
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the [H] army has your back :D
 
mutazx said:
the [H] army has your back :D
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as do the wives, children and siblings of former nigerian presidents.



;) i'm looking forward to this build, keep us updated...
 
If you see a Winebago in your driveway dont worry. It's just me spying on your build. :D
 
I'd like to hear more about your plans for your theater room. Seating? Audio? You mentioned the Z4 and you certainly cannot go wrong with it. If you want 1080p, the Sony Ruby is quite a beauty and is pretty affordable as far as 1080p projectors go, lol. I wouldn't expect prices to come down much this year, but by the beginning of next year we might see some price cuts. Hopefully, it'll be just in time for you to start installing your equipment. What is your timeframe for getting all of this done?
 
well, 1080p is probably ot of the question for a bit. A 720p upgrade would be nice, but I am upgrading my audio first. Here is the equipment I have now that will be going in right away with the next upgrade path in parenthesis...

Pioneer 1014 receiver
three Athena AS-F1.1 towers for front stage (three Ascend CMT-340SE)
two Athen AS-R1.1 for L/R surrounds (two Ascend CBM-170 SE)
two Onkyo bookshelf speakers for rear surrounds (two Ascend CBM-170 SE)
Klipsch KSW-12 (HSU VTF-3)
InFocus X1 (Sanyo z4)
HTPC
Xbox 360
Nintendo
Parkland Plastics DIY screen (SMX acoustically transparent screen)
2 rows of 3 Coaster Studio series HT seating

Timeframe for completion is tricky. First phase will be wall coloumns, wall treatmeants, windows treatments, seat platform, HT seats, and install of current equipment. That is on schedule for completion within 4 weeks of move-in. Second phase will be wall sconce lighting, stage construction, and some decoration. I will start this after stage one of my distributed a/v is done so probably 6 months out. Last stage is the audio upgrade. that is undetermined at this point. Of course, there is really no "last stage" on the [H] is there?
 
That Z4 looks nice. Especially at that price point.
 
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For those still following....

well, after much bitching and delaying, Our house is sold and the new one is ours. we are movign the stuff in tomorrow. I even made the first purchase towards this project. A 4 channel startech VGA/Audio distribution amplifier.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7598431877&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

I am also working out a server upgrade at the same time. Bought a Aerocool Masstige for the new server to live in. For those of you that don't know it's bsically a scaled down CM stacker knockoff.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811196011

Fry's just posted Seagate 400gb SATA drives for $120 so I am going to grab 3 or 4 of those for the movie array and retire all these 80gb drives I have now. Should allow me to combine the file server and sage server to one mega server. Almost forgot, I picked up a couple of APC 750va UPS units. one for the server, one for the theater equipment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16842101002

one design change. the theater is going to be modeled after our favorite AMC theater. carpet/fabric treamens ont he walls in traditional grey, black and burgundy theme. will be trimed out with some light trim accents.
 
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minor progress...

selected 2 of the 3 materials I am using for wall coverings.

swapped server to new case. love the masstige. Also added four 400gb seagate SATA drives to replace all of the 80gb arrays I had. So now my server consists of one WD 80gb SATA (12gb partition for the OS, rest for data), one WD 250gb SATA, two Seagate 300gb IDE, and four Seagate 400gb SATA drives for about a little more than 2.5tb of data storage on 8 drives.

DirecTV installed my dish at the new house so I can get sage back up and running.

the Startech A/V DA arrived. It is more solid than I expected. metal case and a little bit of heft to it. Now I have to measure for the cable runs.
 
This sounds pretty cool. How come you put carpet on the walls? Just for looks, or is there some kind of reason related to the sound?

IDversusEGO said:
Fry's just posted Seagate 400gb SATA drives for $120 so I am going to grab 3 or 4 of those for the movie array and retire all these 80gb drives I have now. Should allow me to combine the file server and sage server to one mega server.
Click to expand...

Sweet.. Thanks for pointing this out.. I just grabbed one of these too. How did you set them up, RAID?
 
Sounds good. Keep us updated. I picked up one of the last components of my apartment theater a few weeks ago. Still need a good UPS, lol. Do you plan on keeping photos of everything you are doing? I'm sure many of us would like to see the progress. :)
 
Wasn't the spec 216ft or something like that on the possible cable runs you could make with that av amp?

My wife and I are planning a build and now but still in the beginning stages, however a Theater room has always been in my mind. You'll have to keep us updated b/c I'm looking forward to seeing your system up and going. Also some good explaining of sage server/client would be great. Maybe go into license and what gets installed where whenever you get that far. I'd appreciate it b/c that would be really nice to have all my hardware inside a single server and then spread that to small htpcs throughout the house.
 
yeah...I just have to find my digicam. It is still in a box somewhere :mad:
I had a friend take some pics of the basement on move in day but I haven't gotten the jpegs yet.

r5000 mod? I will have to do some reading. I haven't changed my Dtv setup in so long. If you have a link to a good discussion on it, hook me up.
 
codename47 said:
Wasn't the spec 216ft or something like that on the possible cable runs you could make with that av amp?

My wife and I are planning a build and now but still in the beginning stages, however a Theater room has always been in my mind. You'll have to keep us updated b/c I'm looking forward to seeing your system up and going. Also some good explaining of sage server/client would be great. Maybe go into license and what gets installed where whenever you get that far. I'd appreciate it b/c that would be really nice to have all my hardware inside a single server and then spread that to small htpcs throughout the house.
Click to expand...

I have some of the client/server stuff explained in my first little worklog. search for "directv project underway". It outlines getting the first system I had/have up and running. basically you put all the tuner cards and all the media storage ont he server. then the clients just get the client software and any video codecs you need installed. easy.

and yes, the cable spec is in the 200 ft range for this box.
 
Starting to sound good, just get us those pics.

For the projector, I would skip the Z4, its not as good as many of the upcoming projectors and still slightly more expensive.

Look at the Mitsubishi HC1000, or the panasonic PT AX100, or the Optima equivelant
 
well, it will at least be a few months before a projector upgrade is considered, so I am not ruching anything.
 
Some more baby steps.
1) Got the new server running the sage network again. New server consists of the following:
P4 2.8
1024 PC2100 DDR
40gb OS drive
two 300gb Seagate IDE drives
one 250gb Western Digital SATA drive
four 400gb Seagate SATA drives
Nvidia Dual TV
two Hauppauge PVR150s
so 4 tuners, 2450gb of advertised space. I almost popped in an 80 just to tip the scales to 2.5TB, but decided not too. Maybe later I will upgrade the 250 to 400 and break the barrier.
2) I just ordered all of the cable I should need for the distribution of the audio/video feed.
3) Also successfully ran most of the network cable to the rooms other than the theater.

I have run into 2 small hiccups.
1) a small power outlet issue, but I am getting quotes on adding additional jacks in the ceiling for the projector and LCD equipment.
2) original moutning location for touchscreen isn't going to work. There are far too many studs behind it because it is at an intersection of walls. looking for alternate mounting spot.

oh, and I found my old digital camera so I will get some pics tonight.
 
i was just reading your thread here,
i was thinking about sound dampening in the walls.
if you havent started anything and the rooms are bare, you might want to consider blown in wall insulation. it's not really expensive and i bet you could do it in a day with a helper.

the only thing you would want to do is make sure to run any wiring first, because once it's in, your gonna make a mess trying to dig through it.
 
That is something I will have to look at. Most of the walls are sheetrocked, but I should be able to get access them from the top if i remove the ceiling tiles.

I had a small setback last night. My dishwasher drain hose sprung a leak and dumped a bunch of dirty water under mys ink, which then ran down into my basement. destroyed 2 ceiling tile and damaged 2 more. Also soaked the floor and insulation with some not so fresh water. And My wife but a bad thought in my head. I was wishing I had about 5 more feet of depth in the theater and she said sarcastically that we should knock a wall down. Of course I was like, "that's a great idea" and now she is regretting it. I am going to bring a contractor in and see how much it would cost to get rid of a wall that seperates 2 rooms. Even if I had to leave a column or 2 it would give me more room.
 
My only thought is that if your going to install new power to the room that it should be a deciated "new" line directly from the main power box of your home, this will be more expensive but I learned that it far out weights the add on type you will have clan direct power with no other items trying to hog it - you get the point - in the house I am building I am having 8 main direct power lines to the computer room and the theater room - one line just for projector and one for TV (plasma) one for each computer and it will give me a lot more options in the long run

Just my two cents worth

Starship Warrior
 
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