Planning to make my first home theater

A

arnemetis

2[H]4U
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Hi everyone, I've been doing some reading and I'm really overwhelmed with all the information out there. I'm going to try and break this up for everyone's sanity.

Background: Until now, I consume all my movies and tv shows on my computer, almost always just using two speakers. I have a 5.1 Logitech speaker system for my pc that generally only gets used during games to their full extent. My media is all stored on my file server, which runs plex. Most of my content has 5.1 dts or Dolby digital in up to 1080p mkv format, that my computer just converts to stereo.

The space: I've got a basement to work with, and I'm planning on a 12' x 14' room. Ceiling will be 7' high composed of standard 2' x 2' tiles. Tv will be on one of the 14' walls.

The tv: I'm looking at getting a 55" (or bigger with the right sale,) and I am mainly looking for tips on what to watch for. Given it will be almost exclusively for movies and tv shows, what actually matters? 60Hz vs 120Hz vs 240Hz, 4:4:4 chroma, panel types? It looks like I might get a 4k set as well as the prices are getting reasonable, and I'm not interested in buying another tv in a few years.

The receiver: This one is a real problem for me. I'm pretty sure I'll want one that can handle dts and Dolby digital 5.1 as previously mentioned, but I'm not sure I need video switching, as that seems to add a lot of cost. The tv will be receiving content via my Chrome box running openelec plex, or the Verizon fios tv box. Won't I just be able to run an optical audio cable from the tv to the receiver to handle the audio streams? Again, what really matters to me given my usage scenario and room setup?

The speakers: These can get stupid expensive! I don't feel the room I have in mind is very large, but at long last I'm in my own home and the neighbors are far enough away that it won't be an issue. I don't need wireless. I'm looking for a decent 5.1 system, that won't easily distort. I'd like it to be all inclusive, rather than buying individual components. I know this has to coordinate with the receiver so that neither is lacking power or is too much for the other. What should I really look for?

Thank you for reading. I'll appreciate any feedback, both tips on what to look for as well as product suggestions.

TL;DR
1) First home theater, I'm a noob
2) 12 x 14 planned room size
3) help with tv, receiver, speaker choices
 
Get a projector. Screw going with a TV, you can get a projector that will smoke most TVs and do an easy 110 inch display for under $1000. Basements are perfect for projectors, you usually have plenty of space, you can hang shit from the ceiling with no issue, and you have complete control over the lighting. Once you start real big screen gaming and movies there is no going back.

You want to run audio over HDMI if possible. HDMI can do 8 streams of uncompressed audio Linear PCM, optical is much more limited for newer formats. Damn near any receiver you can buy now will do DD 5.1 and DTS with zero issues, and do automatic HDMI switching.

For speakers you should list a budget, the sky is the limit with speakers :)

I have a 100 inch setup in my basement. It's freaking incredible compared to anything I could manage in the upstairs of my house.
 
Thanks for the quick response! I guess I didn't pick up that optical is more limiting, so I'll have to get a receiver with input switching. I hadn't considered a projector, my friend can only suggest to avoid dlp as it isn't good for fast movement found in movies? As for a price, I suppose I'd rather not spend more on speakers and the receiver combined than the display, and the display may be a projector and screen in this case. I'd like to stay under $2500 for everything?
 
DLP is significantly better than 3LCD projectors at motion handling as the technology has essentially zero motion blur due to how it works. DLP also has significantly better real contrast ratios while most LCD projectors are bullshit "dynamic" contrast ratings that fair far worse in actual viewing so they suck at dark scenes until you spend more than you want I would suggest you go read up on the differences on a forum like AVSForums. Personally I've had three 3LCD projectors and recently switched to DLP and I feel like an idiot for not switching sooner.

With a $2500 budget I'd likely break it down a bit like this...

$1000 projector
$200 screen
$200 cables, hardware, tools, mount
$350 receiver
$750 speakers and subwoofer

The audio gear will outlast the projector, however you can easily spend less on audio gear. For projectors, there aren't a lot of models (compared to TVs) so you can't always just throw another $100 into it to get something better. Often the steps between models are $200 and $300.

Anyway I feel the immersion factor with a 100+ inch screen far outweighs going with a much smaller 4K TV you need to sit six feet from to appreciate. And most content isn't in 4K anyway at this point. I am sure some people will jump in here and recommend TVs soon.
 
ocellaris said:
DLP is significantly better than 3LCD projectors at motion handling as the technology has essentially zero motion blur due to how it works. DLP also has significantly better real contrast ratios while most LCD projectors are bullshit "dynamic" contrast ratings that fair far worse in actual viewing so they suck at dark scenes until you spend more than you want I would suggest you go read up on the differences on a forum like AVSForums. Personally I've had three 3LCD projectors and recently switched to DLP and I feel like an idiot for not switching sooner.

With a $2500 budget I'd likely break it down a bit like this...

$1000 projector
$200 screen
$200 cables, hardware, tools, mount
$350 receiver
$750 speakers and subwoofer

The audio gear will outlast the projector, however you can easily spend less on audio gear. For projectors, there aren't a lot of models (compared to TVs) so you can't always just throw another $100 into it to get something better. Often the steps between models are $200 and $300.

Anyway I feel the immersion factor with a 100+ inch screen far outweighs going with a much smaller 4K TV you need to sit six feet from to appreciate. And most content isn't in 4K anyway at this point. I am sure some people will jump in here and recommend TVs soon.
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I've had the opposite experience. I've had 2 DLP's and 2 LCD's...I always felt the LCD's did a better overall job. But, I was also in a different price bracket. For $1k..I could see why you say DLP. In that area...DLP's perform better overall. Anything above $2k-2.5k LCD (and its and its variants) do a really nice job (better than DLP in most cases overall). Above $5k..well, that is a whole different animal. I'm running a Sony 50ES right now (bought it B-Stock for $2400 from AVS) and could never find a DLP in that price class that competes.
 
I am with you on that, I really like some of the LCD/LCoS setups I've seen, however the projectors were over what I had in my price range. I've always been in the $1K and lower range, my comments were specific to the listed budget.
 
I really appreciate all the comments, I'm sorry but work has been hell today. I'll hopefully be able to make a better post tonight, maybe with some placeholder pieces to continue the discussion.
 
Sorry for the delay everyone, between work and watching a friend who is on hospice care, I've had little time to work on this. Additionally, I had composed a longer reply but when I hit submit the forum said the token had expired, I just don't have the energy to do this all again on my phone. Here are my current thoughts:

Projector: BenQ HT 1075 ($795) Even bumping my budget up to $1200 didn't find need anything better. I hope the faster color wheel prevents the rainbow effect.

Sound system: Onkyo HT-S7700 ($735) I know going all in one isn't the best, but this setup seems pretty solid ava has gotten good reviews.

Please feel free to pick apart my findings, consider this a baseline for me, at least better than the empty head I came in here with. Thank you again.
 
arnemetis said:
Sorry for the delay everyone, between work and watching a friend who is on hospice care, I've had little time to work on this. Additionally, I had composed a longer reply but when I hit submit the forum said the token had expired, I just don't have the energy to do this all again on my phone. Here are my current thoughts:

Projector: BenQ HT 1075 ($795) Even bumping my budget up to $1200 didn't find need anything better. I hope the faster color wheel prevents the rainbow effect.

Sound system: Onkyo HT-S7700 ($735) I know going all in one isn't the best, but this setup seems pretty solid ava has gotten good reviews.

Please feel free to pick apart my findings, consider this a baseline for me, at least better than the empty head I came in here with. Thank you again.
Click to expand...

I have a W1070 which is almost identical to the HT1075. I would be surprised if you can see the rainbow on these models, and the projectors are fantastic. You need to get up to the Espon 3xxx series to find something I'd consider comparable (and those are $1200+).

That home theater setup should be great, I used an Onkyo setup for a long time without and issues, still using some of the speakers now too even though I've upgraded my L/R channels.

I'd highly recommend you get these for whatever you buy:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007QUYQSY/
They make connections on the back of the receiver sssooo much better. And everything looks cleaner. And there is a near zero perfect chance a stray wire can cause a short with these. Get the 12 pack if the speakers will accept plugs.
 
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Onkyo has had reliability issues lately with their HDMI boards. I bought a TX-NR609 from them four years ago for my aunt's home theater- and I had to RMA'd twice. It failed a third time outside of warranty life and I had to replace it out of pocket.

FWIW I've installed other Onkyos before that 609 that worked fine. Never again.
 
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Having moved into the budget and "post-budget" home theater realm years ago, I can give you some of my impressions.

First, I 100000% agree with those recommending projectors over TV. There are some minor drawbacks (such as black levels, space requirements, setup time, etc) but the benefits are huge, literally. You can easily get a large screen for much lower cost and the projectors today are far better than they were when I first got in over a decade ago. There is just no comparison when you can be sitting watching a 100+" screen.

Secondly, when building your home theater, I would work on the basics of what is most important to you. Some people prefer stellar sound stage, some prefer excellent color quality, some prefer motion performance, etc. What you should figure out is what is it that really makes the experience most enjoyable to you and start with that. Over the years you can always build up the other areas, but spending more on the area that matters the most to you will help give the best experience on the tighter budget.

Third, everyone can spout the advantages/disadvantages of various technologies. I hear arguments all the time about what things are "the best". I prefer to go with what works the best for what I am paying. In this area, I will speak briefly about my experience with DLP vs LCD projectors. It is a bunch of BS to me. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but the biggest difference will be the quality of the projector itself. What I will say on the topic, is I have typically found the cheaper DLP projectors to be a bit better than the cheaper LCD projectors (sub 1200), and then the mid quality LCD to be better than the mid quality DLP (sub 5k). But rather than the technology, look at reviews of the projectors themselves. I suggest AVS forums and Projector Central to help you make a decision on projectors. Both of those sites have reviews of projectors in various budget ranges. Even better at AVS you can see all the advantages and disadvantages of various brands/models/technologies and how people are actually coping with them.

Now that all that is out of the way, a bit more on my own personal experience. I started with a cheap Panasonic 5.1 all in one setup, that I just felt wasn't good enough, and went up to an Onkyo 7.1 all in one setup which was decent. TBH, I still use the Onkyo speakers, but I did have problems with the HDMI board on my receiver (which apparently there is an easy fix for if you have some soldering skills), I also ended up having problems with the subwoofer, which was a shame since I actually thought it performed well for its price. I upgraded my receiver to a Marantz and I can honestly say it was a huge improvement. I also found a manual pull down screen to be a big improvement over the white wall, and now I have a fixed stewart grayhawk screen which is just ridiculous and worth every penny I paid for it (which unfortunately was a lot of pennies even at 50% off). For projectors I started with an Optoma HD72 which was great for bright rooms and video gaming, but I upgraded to a Panasonic AE8000u which was also a great investment. So what is the point of all this? The point is, you can get a really good experience at budget prices and then gradually work your way up over the years improving your experience as you go. Once you lay down the groundwork, it's just a matter of upgrading certain components.

Suggestions:

Projector -- On your budget, the BenQ is a great choice. Personally I am a fan of the Epson Home Cinema as well, mostly because I have had a lot of friends purchase it and love it. I would give the edge to the BenQ here though.

Sound -- I would suggest first focusing on a good receiver and then on the speakers. You could also go the other way around, but sometimes good speakers can be hampered by a lower quality receiver. My personal preference is Marantz, but Denon also seems to be a very popular affordable choice these days. Note, I have seen a lot of posts about problems with just about all receivers that are sub $500. I would love to recommend Onkyo, as I did have some good experiences with it initially, but personally I just ended up with too many issues.

TLDR;

Projector -- BenQ HT1075 $800

Screen -- Silver Ticket 100" $200

Receiver -- Denon AVR-X2100W $400

Speakers -- Pioneer SP-PK52FS $550

That is roughly $2k with room for cables, clips, etc.

EDIT: searching around I saw a lot of love for this subwoofer with that pioneer set. So you could get the pioneer speakers without the sub and get a Dayton Audio subwoofer
 
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As others have said a projector is the way to go assuming you can control the ambient light in the room. Since its a basement this should not be an issue. The BenQ is an excellent choice as are some of the Epson Home Cinema Projectors. You will need to calculate the distance from the projector to the screen to make sure your projector of choice has an adequate throw distance (should not be an issue for projectors in the $1K range). This, along with the size of your room, will also impact the screen size. There are calculators available online to determine all of these measurements.

Get a fixed screen if at all possible. They can be had for as low as $250-$300 and will provide a much better picture then a retractable one (assuming you aren't spending north of $2500 on the screen).

You really need to take into account the construction of the room as well. You can have a $100K A/V setup in your theater but if the room was poorly constructed and doesn't contain adequate insulation, soundproofing, reflective and absorptive surfaces, etc. then it will sound like crap. You don't need to go crazy on the buildout but doing some basics like soundproofing drywall, green glue, pre-wiring and adding some soft and hard surfaces to the walls and floor will not put a huge dent in your budget and will provide a high return on investment.

After these things I would focus next on your center channel speaker and subwoofer. I feel these two components are most critical from a speaker standpoint. Next would be the AVR - previously mentioned Denon and Marantz (owned by the same company) are excellent choices and there are also some very good offerings from Yamaha and Pioneer.

Spend some time on avsforums.com It can be dizzying at first but with some proper research you can build a great home theater on a small budget.
 
deadlift1 said:
As others have said a projector is the way to go assuming you can control the ambient light in the room. Since its a basement this should not be an issue. The BenQ is an excellent choice as are some of the Epson Home Cinema Projectors. You will need to calculate the distance from the projector to the screen to make sure your projector of choice has an adequate throw distance (should not be an issue for projectors in the $1K range). This, along with the size of your room, will also impact the screen size. There are calculators available online to determine all of these measurements.

Get a fixed screen if at all possible. They can be had for as low as $250-$300 and will provide a much better picture then a retractable one (assuming you aren't spending north of $2500 on the screen).

You really need to take into account the construction of the room as well. You can have a $100K A/V setup in your theater but if the room was poorly constructed and doesn't contain adequate insulation, soundproofing, reflective and absorptive surfaces, etc. then it will sound like crap. You don't need to go crazy on the buildout but doing some basics like soundproofing drywall, green glue, pre-wiring and adding some soft and hard surfaces to the walls and floor will not put a huge dent in your budget and will provide a high return on investment.

After these things I would focus next on your center channel speaker and subwoofer. I feel these two components are most critical from a speaker standpoint. Next would be the AVR - previously mentioned Denon and Marantz (owned by the same company) are excellent choices and there are also some very good offerings from Yamaha and Pioneer.

Spend some time on avsforums.com It can be dizzying at first but with some proper research you can build a great home theater on a small budget.
Click to expand...

Why spend money on a fixed screen that isn't AT?

Just tack 4 boards on the wall wrapped in velvet and paint the inside.... 50 dollars tops.
 
Verge said:
Why spend money on a fixed screen that isn't AT?

Just tack 4 boards on the wall wrapped in velvet and paint the inside.... 50 dollars tops.
Click to expand...

Having painted a few screens and as a current user of a blackout cloth screen... There is something to be said for using a good screen with proper materials. I've gone though damn near every flavor of the month screen paint. I have a sheet of MDF and a can of Glidden Snowfield paint in my basement right now to make yet another screen...
 
ocellaris said:
Having painted a few screens and as a current user of a blackout cloth screen... There is something to be said for using a good screen with proper materials. I've gone though damn near every flavor of the month screen paint. I have a sheet of MDF and a can of Glidden Snowfield paint in my basement right now to make yet another screen...
Click to expand...

my screen surface cost me 30 bucks in materials from hobby lobby and home depot, you can't match it with anything from a store for under 500, maybe 1000.

It's hot, if i had one of these single chip dips it would probably melt my retinas.
 
Verge said:
my screen surface cost me 30 bucks in materials from hobby lobby and home depot, you can't match it with anything from a store for under 500, maybe 1000.

It's hot, if i had one of these single chip dips it would probably melt my retinas.
Click to expand...

I could not disagree more. I have seen the same projector on all kinds of format, regular white wall, special painted walls, manual screens, fixed screen, various screen materials. There is a huge difference between using screen with special materials vs the paint. Of course as with most things dealing with projectors, lighting and light angles are the biggest factor.
 
Check out reviews on AVS Forums, don't just go by what Amazon commenters are saying.
 
Verge said:
my screen surface cost me 30 bucks in materials from hobby lobby and home depot, you can't match it with anything from a store for under 500, maybe 1000.

It's hot, if i had one of these single chip dips it would probably melt my retinas.
Click to expand...

You would be rich if out could figure out the magic paint formula to do this. I suspect you are running a screen with metallic flake in it?

And screens arent supposed to melt retinas... That implies a high gain reflective screen, which would be true if you went the metal flake route.
 
Hi guys,

All this help has been great! I really feel like I'm in a better place now. NoOther, your suggestions are excellent and just what I was looking for! I'm definitely going with a screen, I have been looking at all you can do with the room, and it's truly overwhelming. I didn't plan on doing much beyond regular 2x4 walls and a standard 2x2 ceiling, without even covering the concrete basement walls on two sides! I'm going to get some photos and the floor plans I have uploaded, so we can continue the discussion.
 
arnemetis said:
Hi guys,

All this help has been great! I really feel like I'm in a better place now. NoOther, your suggestions are excellent and just what I was looking for! I'm definitely going with a screen, I have been looking at all you can do with the room, and it's truly overwhelming. I didn't plan on doing much beyond regular 2x4 walls and a standard 2x2 ceiling, without even covering the concrete basement walls on two sides! I'm going to get some photos and the floor plans I have uploaded, so we can continue the discussion.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, when you start going down the rabbit hole of everything you can do, it starts getting deeper and deeper. That is why it is good to be thinking and planning ahead like you are doing now, so you can get everything laid out and build a good foundation. After you have that foundation, you can always upgrade or add things here and there down the road. All of my setups so far have been done in rented spaces, so I was limited on some of the things I could do (although to be honest, every place I have rented has been perfectly fine with me drilling holes, running cable, etc.). I can't wait til hopefully the market changes a bit and I get my own place and do an all encompassing mancave project.
 
Projector with a real screen (not wall paint) is the way to go. This is the setup I have in my living room:

Projector: Epson 5030UB (started with a Benq W1080ST and it was great)
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V477
Front: Yamaha NS-333
Center: Yamaha NS-C444
Rear: Yamaha NS-B310BL
Sub: Yamaha YST-SW216BL
Screen: Elite Screens 120" retractable M120HSR
 
arnemetis said:
Hi guys,

All this help has been great! I really feel like I'm in a better place now. NoOther, your suggestions are excellent and just what I was looking for! I'm definitely going with a screen, I have been looking at all you can do with the room, and it's truly overwhelming. I didn't plan on doing much beyond regular 2x4 walls and a standard 2x2 ceiling, without even covering the concrete basement walls on two sides! I'm going to get some photos and the floor plans I have uploaded, so we can continue the discussion.
Click to expand...

Cover the basement walls. Bare concrete/cinderblock will wreck havoc on the sound in your room. At least throw some 2x4s, insulation and drywall up there.

Do yourself a favor. Spend a few months planning this out. You will have some major regrets later if you don't. For what you want you don't need to spend 10s of thousands of dollars.
 
Cover the basement walls. Bare concrete/cinderblock will wreck havoc on the sound in your room. At least throw some 2x4s, insulation and drywall up there.
Click to expand...

I am running fine with concrete walls on 2 sides of the room. It isn't optimal, however the cost of doing sheet rock and shit around the room isn't cheap. And there isn't much point to me putting insulation on my basement...

Separate from my current setup, I am working out building out a room on the other side of the basement. I will move my gear over when that is done, however I get to enjoy the theater now.
 
ocellaris said:
You would be rich if out could figure out the magic paint formula to do this. I suspect you are running a screen with metallic flake in it?

And screens arent supposed to melt retinas... That implies a high gain reflective screen, which would be true if you went the metal flake route.
Click to expand...


Why, there are many posted on avs for free. They would be rich not me.
 
soupcxan said:
Projector with a real screen (not wall paint) is the way to go. This is the setup I have in my living room:

Projector: Epson 5030UB (started with a Benq W1080ST and it was great)
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V477
Front: Yamaha NS-333
Center: Yamaha NS-C444
Rear: Yamaha NS-B310BL
Sub: Yamaha YST-SW216BL
Screen: Elite Screens 120" retractable M120HSR
Click to expand...

You realize many don't consider elite screens "real screens."
 
Verge said:
You realize many don't consider elite screens "real screens."
Click to expand...

Sure, those people can go drop $2k on a black diamond screen. I'm very happy with Elite for the price. A cinephile also wouldn't have a non-tensioned retractable screen but this works for my setup.
 
Verge said:
Why, there are many posted on avs for free. They would be rich not me.
Click to expand...

I've done a few of them, it is a lot of snake oil and trading one downside for another. I am on my 5th screen or so, I drink the Kool Aid too :eek:
 
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soupcxan said:
Sure, those people can go drop $2k on a black diamond screen. I'm very happy with Elite for the price. A cinephile also wouldn't have a non-tensioned retractable screen but this works for my setup.
Click to expand...

+1 on this. I've had an Elite Screen for years and it's been great. fixed mount, great tension, $250 shipped from Amazon. If I had a $20K projector I'd get a $5K screen to go with it but I don't.
 
soupcxan said:
Sure, those people can go drop $2k on a black diamond screen. I'm very happy with Elite for the price. A cinephile also wouldn't have a non-tensioned retractable screen but this works for my setup.
Click to expand...

..and for the price, you can obliterate a cheap amazon pulldown in an afternoon of painting. Don't knock it till you try it.
 
Hey guys, I'm cleaning up the basement enough for some photos right now. There's still a ton of stuff here, the kids are making one last stop this weekend and then what's left is being disposed of.

I'm certainly going to throw up some framing and gypsum board on the concrete sides, not sure I'm going to bother with insulation. There's no worry of disturbing anyone else when I'm in here, and nothing else will be going on during a movie to disturb us. We're just not going to do laundry or dishes when we want to use the room.

The walls need to go up soon, as the other side of the theater will be my office, and I can't put that off any longer than I already have. Need to run a new circuit breaker and outlets into the wall separate from the rest of the basement.

Basically, I need to get far enough along in the design process to at least get the correct size for the room established. Hopefully these photos will help shed some light on my situation.
 
Verge said:
..and for the price, you can obliterate a cheap amazon pulldown in an afternoon of painting. Don't knock it till you try it.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's nice, except there's a large window where my pulldown screen is. And sometimes I like to see out of it...which is hard when it's painted over.
 
Ok I've finally got some images of the existing conditions! The photos I had before were so filled with junk that you couldn't even tell what was going on. First up three photos documenting the planned space:




Now let's take a look at the plans showing the existing conditions and the basic idea I want to go with:




It's pretty obvious there's some things in the way. The columns aren't going anywhere, and that central beam sits exactly 7'-0" off the concrete, so I'd like to make that my ceiling height. The sagging dryer vent through the window absolutely has to go, that will vent out of the house properly on the other side where it belongs.

The drain pipe is a problem. It isn't going anywhere, but it runs right down the middle of my would be room's ceiling. I can hug it tightly with 3/4" board on three sides and attach it to hanging 2x4 framing, but it still cuts a 5" wide by 4" deep box out of my available projection area. Also with it being so close to center, it also pushes the height of my ceiling mounted projector down, and in turn, my screen as well. I'm going to prepare a front facing view to see what my options are for the screen.

I'd like to keep that large pocket in the corner under the stairs, where the existing photo shows a folding chair. I'm going to frame in and drywall the upper portions of the stair so it isn't open anymore, and I was thinking the low part under the stair could be some shelving for the cable box, receiver, and blu ray player. I'll be applying framing and gypsum board over the concrete walls and the underside of the stair. I don't think I'd be fitting seating in there, at best I could throw a bean bag chair over there, maybe a fridge?

The overall layout probably isn't ideal, but those columns and the underside of the stair make things challenging. The front speakers will flank the screen, and the rear two will be further apart as the back corners are more spread out. I was thinking of either putting the rear speakers on a 45 degree with the corners, or facing them towards each other vs facing them frontwards. Should I align them with the front speakers?

I think that's enough for now. Next I need to work on the screen view.

In case imgur eats itself, here's a link to the photos and plans in jpg and (old) pdf on dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/26fhlkqjh4snse9/AADaxmdrHKBXaz_CT3paWKuxa?dl=0
 
You face the rear speakers towards the center of your listening position and preferably have them angled in a bit since you won't have your back directly against the read wall. You don't need to align them with the front speakers, and modern receiver will automatically adjust all of the timing and the levels so they blend right in as rears.

I have to work around a support column (directly behind the couch) and an air duct for my setup:

CBFCkOD.jpg


2pzoTyM.jpg


As you can see I never bothered with a ceiling. I am redoing the opposite side of the basement to have and extra wall and will more the thresher setup over there.
 
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Ok I laid out the projection wall and learned that I need more space! I updated the floor plan to reflect this. To explain the colors of the elevation (doesn't always apply the same to the plans...)
Cyan: 100" projected image area
Blue: 2 1/2" border around image, representing frame
Green: columns beyond, for reference
Yellow: ceiling level / boards
Red: floor
Purple: wall edges
Magenta: projector




For a 100" projection, the offset is 2 1/2", which is shown on the elevation. I also left 1' on each side of the frame for speakers. No clue where I'll put the sub now. ocellaris, thanks for the pics!
 
Put the sub by that Katie and Alexis spray paint?

I am not a huge fan of a black screen border. The wall around my screen reflects damn near no light, for all intents and purposes it is a black border around the screen when the overhead light is out. I didn't paint the wall black because that would just make the basement dreary. You do want a dark matte finish wall around the screen though, it helps with perceived contrast and bouncing less light back into the room.

Also you could out the door to the right instead of right by the screen (around the corner?). Plus you don't want people running in and out of the room inches from you right speaker.
 
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Moving the door to the right I've considered, but that then eats into my office space. The office was actually the original intent, this movie room was an after thought. It's only three feet, I'll have to think on it.

*edit* I was talking to a friend this morning about it, and it occurs to me that I could just swap the office and movie rooms around. This would eliminate the piping issue, and present a 12'x12' space plus the rectangle next to the oil tank. He's suggesting to use a blackout curtain around the oil tank, I'll need to explore that idea more. I'll prepare a new drawing soon to show this, why didn't I think of this before?!
 
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Hey everyone,

Here's a small update with an alternative placement for the room. To be honest, I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner, I must have just been put off by the oil tank. That's the real puzzle, is how I can enclose the oil tank in something movable/temporary. I could frame out the upper third in wall and hang a curtain around two sides, or I could look into a folding wall to just throw around it. I'm very open to ideas with this one.

I feel like it's really taking shape, there's almost room for a bigger screen now! I'm also taking a stab at showing the speaker layout. I think I may have a small table next to the sub to house the receiver, cable box, and blu ray player. The door placement may not be ideal, but it currently works well with my office layout. If the door is moved, it must go in the left wall somewhere, which would force the orientation of the room to rotate. Any comments are welcome.



P.S. So I may as well mention the flooring is already bought, we got them on sale for $15 a pack last month, hopefully it isn't a problem - http://www.amazon.com/Best-Step-Interlocking-Flooring-Anti-Fatigue/dp/B00BN3OTQ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1438304394&sr=1-1&keywords=best+step+flooring
 
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