I have gotten permission from Supra to make a Home Theater form of LOG. I hope to inspire some of you who are looking to put their DIY projectors to use in a DIY Home Theater.

I suppose I should mention before hand what I consider a Home Theater. I have always distinguished a Media Center from a Home Theater by how it is implemented into the surroundings. I feel that a Media Center is implemented into the room, where as the Theater is the other way around; the room is implemented into the Theater. I hope to be able to incorporate both of these ideas into one solution.

Here are a few pics of what I hope to accomplish (using the Google SketchUp program):






I was hoping for a more livable area with yet a tactful look to it. If I had my way this room would have more of a techy futuristic look. I wanted to have one row for viewing, as making a raised deck for a 2nd row (which was something my dad mentioned, but his WPA on that notion would not be great [sorry if I took the WPA meaning out of context ]) would expand to far back. I wanted couches so that if I ever have a significant other we aren't seperated by an arm rest :angry: ; or in many instances where I would like to lay down and watch a movie. I think I would rather have recliners on the sides because it would make up for having to sit to the side a bit.

I thought it would be cool to have a universal remote for doing just about everything you could need to, even dimming the lights . I have a touchscreen monitor where the remote would be because I couldn't find any 3D models of remotes that worked. I also will have my xbox 360 and HTPC under the table so that inserting DVDs and controllers for MAME wouldn't require a trip off of the couch. It depends if I can get my external hard drive to work with my 360, but I was hoping that I could get all the movies I wanted on the hard drive and play it through the 360.

In the back of the room we hope to have a bar and some sort of foosball table or ping pong table for leisure. I hope to get a popcorn maker (the ones that can do big batches of course ), a pizza oven (maybe my bowling alley boss can help me out here ), and a cooler for beer (for my bro and their friends of course) and pop.

Eventually I hope to get some nice speakers for the surround sound (currently I have my Logitech z5500s that I would like to keep in my room for my other projector I am working on ), maybe some JBL's and either make my own couch bass shaker or buy some of those cheap ones I've been reading about. My older bro knows what brands and models to buy because thats his life, so I trust him.

The projector is obviously a DIY PJ that I am currently waiting to build until we move into the new house on June 16th. It is a 1024x768 resolution projector with a very bright bulb (If you wish to see my PLOGs for both my HT and Spare ones, you can check my signature. Sorry for those who aren't members, but for a $10 it is worth it, as there is much to learn from the experts). I will be counting down until that day. Though we have to move all of our stuff that day, I can't wait to get started on this Theater.

I'll put up some sort of table of contents for easily accessing certain areas of the HTLOG (I'll be creative with it ).

id move the sub into a corner of the room. It will sound better

Depends on the power of the sub.
If you "corner load" a powerful sub you are going to drown in thick, muddy bass and boominess.
Then again with a setup like this, Im sure he will get a tuning disk and play with it!

SJ

yea thats true, with two of my particular setups, the corners always sounded the loudest and deepest.

I already have a list for things to be getting for the Home Theater. I have no idea what the budget is, but at this time I really don't care .

Media Center: ($500)
Xbox 360 [X] ($400)
Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive [ ] ($200) (supposedly comes with a Universal Remote but I have only heard this from one source)
Xbox 360 Univeral Remote [ ]
(4) Xbox 360 Controllers [X] [X] [X] [ ] ($100)

Media: ($160)
Call of Duty 2 [X] ($55)
PGR 3 [X] ($50)
Oblivion [X] ($55)

Visual:
My Home Theater Projector [ ]

Audio: ($679)
Center Channel Speaker [X] ($100)
Front Pair Speakers [X] ($92)
Rear Pair Speakers [X] ($92)
Subwoofer [X] ($160)
Receiver[X] ($235)
Bass Shakers [ ]

Miscellanious:
IR Remote Light Dimmer [ ]
Wall Plates for Ethernet, VGA, Speaker Wire, etc. [ ]


Current Total:
$500
$160
$679
_____________
$1339

This is all I have for now. I can get the Klipsch stuff for real cheap through Bestbuy. I'm not sure if I'll have an HTPC because the 360 should take care of most everything I am going to need. I'll get up a to-do list later on also.

This is just a test to see if I can get this navigation thingy working.
clicky

Looks like it works, I'll be putting up a table of contents or something later on. Moving day in 2 days by the way

Finally got to an internet connection as our connection doesn't work quite yet at our new house. Thats right, we finally moved and an announcement for some pictures in the upcoming days. Its a 27' x 19' room so it is bigger than I expected. Once I get our connection to work, I'll be putting up those pictures and some more info.

Having a bit of trouble finding the camera, so hopefully tomorrow.

On a good note, I did manage to figure what is going in that back section where the foosball table is. I've always been a fan of Hydro Thunder and loved those arcade machines that had the seating, speakers, steering wheel, etc. all for that game. Now to go out on a limb, literally an arm and leg worth of money to purchase one is out of the question. I have done much reading in the past about arcade cabinets and such and I actually hope to implement my DIY skills into that task as well.

I will be covering this in a different section, with a link to it, to show you my progress with it. I hope to begin working on that soon enough as the Home Theater is a giant project in comparison to this.

I also may be working on a normal arcade cabinet later with normal arcade joystick and a light gun.

TOMORROW, PICTURES!!!!!!

Basement Layout

15' 6" x 14' (Projector Area)


The stairs down to the basement


The Bar area


Picture taken from the Half-Bath area to the Arcade area


The fence, wall, whatever you wish to call it, possibly to come down

Picture taken from the Bar are to the stairs


Picture taken from by the Arcade area


The Projector Area

Looks nice. I've been playing with SketchUp, it's cool.

Finally got the Projector area cleaned up. I think I may be going with some theater seating, maybe more couchy. I'm still undecided about the positioning of everything but I think a 100" screen would do well, which would put the projector back to about 9 feet away. The seating should be about 10-12 feet away.

We still have lots and lots of extra storage stuff down there that need to be put away. Once we do that, we could actually start getting wires running around the walls and such. I wanted to do something cool with the projector area, like having light strips that run along the walkways.

On the issue of the woofer, I would highly recommend putting the sub in the corner. I have a sub with a decent amount of power (Velodyne servo driven ~2000/~4000 rms/peak watt if you need to know) and it is in the corner, it sounds great and it was moved to different spots in a few rooms when it we first bought it and it sounded the best there each time. The corner is going to provide the most out of your woofer for you I think. You may run into SJ's 'thick, muddy, boomy' bass if the woofer can't handle what is being thrown at it and all it is doing is "moving air". Either way (enough power or not), placement in the corner will probably allow the woofer to sound it's best for the entire room. I believe it will help especially in a room shaped like the one you have posted. Just wanted to comment, I know this isn't a diy audio forum and I don't mean to butt heads with you SJ, your projector is a work of art .

I'm sure it will end up in the corner, its not on our immediate agenda but it will get its attention later on.

We are starting to put up wiring and stuff so if anyone has any ideas or experience with any precautions on wiring, that would be great to know. I'm sure we will have: VGA, Composite, Speaker Wire, etc. (anything else you guys can think of). I want to get anything that the receiver can handle in the wall.

We are also deciding on where the projector will be going. As of now, I may be getting an N6 so I can turn a 17" LCD into a smaller than 15" HD widescreen LCD. I'm hopeful I can find a cheap N6.

If you require a building inspector to check off on your wiring, careful consideration must be given to the wiring being "in wall" rated for fire codes... (basically so in the unlikely and unfortunate circumstances in which the wires burn, they don't release noxious smoke)

A buddy of mine also left nylon pull line inside walls and ceilings for pulling wires in the event he wanted to add lights/wires in the future.

I just love "a blank canvas" as you have... look forward to seeing your progress.

cheers,
gs

Looks like the basement will have an HD Widescreen after all as I was able to find the N6 for $110 shipped thanks to Leonidas !!! I'll be stripping the 17" panel soon enough and throwing it in a frame and onto the sled. I did test a DVD on it in partial widescreen (for some reason I get a weird 16:9.6 aspect ratio but I'm guessing that is because of the pixel pitch horizontally versus vertically, I'll be playing around with it to get a perfect 16:9 ratio), and the DVD's look fantastic none the less.

I finally got my discount at BestBuy, my first purchase was Oblivion of coarse . I'm looking at getting those speakers and sub soon enough. As of now, it solely rests on my projector on how fast we can do this. I need to finish the projector ASAP, so we can work around that.

You have such a deep basement.

I have a dilema that needs answering. I figure for those of you who are witty, this could be a chance to exercise your brains. I want to keep as many things widescreen as possible, but there may come a point when we want to watch TV. We are looking at getting a commercial screen at request of the mother, not sure as the reason.

What I want accomplished is the ability to switch between widescreen and standard 4:3. I'm guessing that the mother doesn't want extra screen on top and bottom when watching widescreen. I would have a fullscreen image using all of the screen, and a letterboxed screen when watching widescreen material. I had an idea to get something built into the entertainment center that will contain the screen that would be able to raise and drop black bars to put onto the screen. I am going for as black a border around all images as possible because I do not trust my screen and projector to work hand in hand to produce a perfect black on the screen. Any other ideas?

I will be getting some updates on the placement and arrangement of the basement as we finish up the details. My dad is building a custom entertainment center for the projector screen, components, and center speaker.

It does look like the wall is coming down so there will be a possible problem with audio drop off. In essence, the surround sound is suppose to come from every direction; you aren't suppose to be able to determine the direction of the sound when all speakers are go. Without the wall, the reverberating feature of an enclosed theater to produce this submersive audio technique could be troublesome. The sound that has to go to the next wall after the temporary wall won't be as strong as the sound coming from the left. The left side would sound stronger and you would start to determine the direction of sound. Now, we are putting up a bathroom next to that wall so there will only be about a 6 foot drop off. Would this present a problem?

I did think of a solution to the second problem this wall removal would cause, ambient light. I know at our elementary school, we had a heavy duty wall curtain that could be folded or unfolded, it would fold into the wall perpendicular to its target position.


It is something like that except it is an entire wall. It would have to be a bit sound insulated but it would sound much better than no wall and also solves the ambient light problem. The only reason why we are getting rid of the wall is because it would seem to small if we had a bathroom to the left, then bar, with virtually a hallway down to the end of the room, with a right to the theater area. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks

The only way to have a format change that I can think of is: 1) Have two screens, one 4:3 and one 16:9 or 2) Use an adjustable screen border like this one, which only "masks" the letterbox or pillarbox "boxes" behind the black border. ? In all honesty, it would be best if you tried to convice you mom that accepting black boxes (either letterboxing or pillarboxing) is just what happens with differing formats in TV and Film. Keep in mind, there are 3 major Film Formats, so even with a 16:9 screen, many movies are shot in 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 as well, both of which still have a bit of "letterboxing" boxes when viewed on a 16:9 screen ! If they are insistant on not having black boxes, you can use the adjustable screen border, but even then you'll have big black "screen border" bars... but they will likely have a deeper, true black, that would be the only benefit.

JMHO.

cheers,
gs

I wish I had been reading this earlier because you have likely completed wiring by now. But for anyone wanting to do this in the future.

1) Get plenum rated wire if you are running the wires in the ceiling. The inspector will probably require it. If you don't need an inspector, then do it anyway, it's for your safety.
2) Where power and audio/video signals run parallel to each other, separate them by at least one foot, go for 18" or better spacing if practical. Minimizes crosstalk between the audio/video lines and the power lines - think no hum in the audio and no video anomalies in the projected image (assuming everything else is right, think grounding and ground loop problems).
3) When power and video/audio must cross, have the wires cross at right angles. Same comments as #2.
4) Go for 12 gauge wire for your speaker wire. You may not need it to handle the power you have now but if you ever upgrade to a really high power amp and speakers that want that power, you won't be having to pull a new set of speaker wires. It also has another benefit now. The damping factor will be a lot better on the long runs than it would be with 18 ga wire. By the same token, go for the best quality video cable you can afford. The problem here is distinguishing from reality and advertising hype. I don't know how to help here. I made up my own video cable with a giant overkill factor. It will support a run of over 100ft with no noticable degradation when my run is on the order of 30 feet. Think 5 big separate coax lines for the VGA cable.
5) If you are going to get an HTPC, run an ethernet cable to where the HTPC will be. If you think you might host a networked PC gaming session, then get an ethernet switch and run cables all over the room. WiFi is good for just a few PC's but for several all running lots of traffic, do it hardwired.

I will add to this list as I think of other things to add.

I think we should get that info pinned, and get a library of HT stuff added to it.

I actually have not gotten to the wiring as we have been waiting for the parent to get into the home theater gear (finally ). I do work at BestBuy so cables are cheap. I know I can get 50' coaxial for really cheap (regular $23). I am currently running component and optical from the 360. Ethernet will be run from the room right by the basement from the router. The TV signal is already running through the area as well as the power. I don't see that BB has 12 gauge speaker wire, but I'm not sure if the current setup will get close to using that (We won't be upgrading because by the time we could, I would be out of the house and on my own.)

Is it better to have the N6 running a longer cable to the projector or is it better to be running a longer cable from the 360 to the N6? I've heard about amplifiers for at least splitting signal, but I'm not sure if that would apply to length.

We will be hopefully running the wires this next weekend, as I should be able to get my prototype projector running since my fresnels have not yet arrived. If I get time I want to do some detailed sketches of the room, maybe get a camera that can get the detail this time . I'll at least shade them if I don't color them so you are not completely lost.

It looks like we will be getting a custom built entertainment center for the projector and some weird seating for the area. It's been a while since I've done any fancy artwork but I'll see what I can whip up.

Thanks again chickwhite!!!

So here's my opinion about where to put the N6. I have the N6 back at the stereo cabinet and not near the projector. I have an a/v receiver which switches most of my video signals and provides them as composite or s-video or component video signals. That is three different signals to the N6, well OK, really only two. I don't use the composite. Then I have the VGA pass-thru signal from my PC which adds moves us back up to three sets of cables. On the other side, I just have the VGA out from the N6 to the projector. So I have only one long run of video cable (into the wall, up to the ceiling, across the ceiling and out to the projector), instead of three long runs, four runs if you count the composite signal.

OK, about that coax--max run for RG58 or RG59 (I forget which one is the right impedance) is 30 to 35 feet. I used the big thick stuff which is good for 140 plus feet - RG6 or RG8 (again I forget which one is the correct impedance). I'll look it up later and update this. Those distances should be very conservative.

As for the speaker wire, for short runs even 18 gauge should be good for just about any power - I can hear the audiophiles howling now. For longer runs, you want to get the thickest wire you can find/afford. A long run can waste a lot of power in IR losses. Maybe I'll get out my old handbooks and calculate some examples in another reply.

I need to get back to my theater project.

The only reason I asked about the N6 was because of quality degradation over distance. I wasn't sure if the signal strength the N6 sends is better than, say, a graphics card. It shouldn't be much of a problem though. The area is quite small for a theater, so signal strength shouldn't be an issue. If I'm creative, I might be able to get my computer working in the theater as it will have to stay in my room. A figure I'll need a KVM switch, maybe one that also includes USB so I can use my wireless controller for it (Its an Xbox one but it works great as the joysticks function well as a mouse).

I did a quick check and it looks like the 50' Acoustic Reseach Coaxial cable is RG6, so that should be great for a VGA mod. I'll probably need to make a composite one also eventually because I do record some of my Halo 2 footage.

The speaker wire will be short, 25 feet max.

I'll get an update once we get something going on with the basement, which should be in a few days, hopefully.

UPDATE: We've been making a bit of head way during the day with the HT. I did, however, gain a new PC to add to the downstairs. This will eliminate the need for running the composite cable upstairs. I also may put that computer in my room (850Mhz Duron, 320MB RAM, 30GB HDD, ...) It should do fine for the occasional Internet, Music, and Word Processor usage. I would love to game on the projector downstairs, as well as record my 360, record live TV, and play movies and music. Otherwise I could simply put the old computer downstairs, throw the TV tuner in it, have my external 250GB HDD hooked up to it, and simply sacrifice the gaming. I'm afraid that playing only Half Life 2 and FEAR with a keyboard and mouse would become a hassle after a while.

PS Chickwhite - What was that plenum you mentioned? Is it just the insulation the wiring is wrapped in or is it wire made from safe materials?

My brother and I ran into town yesterday to pick up some Monster In-Wall rated Speaker Wire. We got a 100' spool for relatively cheap (too bad monster doesn't mention what gauge wire they are trying to sell. I also ordered some Cat6 cable (2x 50ft) and a 25 ft. VGA cable. I ordered them around noon and they have already been shipped [Chris Carley]"Holly Shnieckys"[/Chris Farley] LOL .

I actually have wired everything out with yarn in the basement for all of the speaker wire, VGA cable, and ethernet cable. Apparently the power cable is the main thing that needs to be watched out for, but everything is at least 1 ft apart and crosses at 90 degree angles if needed. Does the Cat6 produce a noticeable increase in signal over Cat5 or is it even faster? (I know Cat6 is 500Mhz and Cat5 is 350Mhz, which I'm guessing is speed)

About the N6, I have mine separated by by about 35 feet of cable (5 coax cables in the wall). It has no problem driving the cable to the LCD. Just make sure your cables are solidly terminated. For what a bad cable does to the picture see my plog. Go down to near the end of that page (link below) and then read the next several replies.

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...=2646&st=40

Plenum rated cable has insulation that is supposed to create less smoke and poisionous fumes in the event of a fire.

So it was one of those component cable that was causing the yellow though, not the N6? I'm very cautious with the cabling and have already prepared a layout for all the wiring in the basement via yarn, to avoid power wiring specifically. Component cable (Microsoft 360 ones) from the 360 to VGA cable from the N6 (Monoprice, heard only good things, thick. Most people are running good 10ft more than I am that I have read on about the Monoprice VGA cable so I should be good).

The speaker wire I got has a transparent but thick insulation around the actual speaker wire. So their is two levels of insulation between any one wire.

I did order my VGA cable on Friday morning I believe it was and Monoprice shipped it that afternoon so I am waiting this week for it (2-3 business days). I ordered a 25ft VGA cable and two 50ft Cat6 cables for the basement. I'm not sure if they offer more speed or efficiency (mention that Cta6 is 500mhz and Cat5 is 350mhz) I'm guessing this means more speed though. Not sure if you know much about ethernet cable? Just wondering though.

I'm actually setting up the futon downstairs as well as the surround sound (Logitech z5500 I have currently in my room), all as motivation to get the LCD stripped and framed today. I know I shouldn't be playing around with the LCD as it is one of the easiest components to break, but I kinda wanna watch something .

Long Overdue UPDATE:

- We got all of the speakers for the basement, yes they were worth every discounted dollar we got off of the retail price. Seriously though, you could watch this stuff without the sub and it would still feel like you were in the movie.
- I still believe we are having an opening to the right of the viewing area, so we have decided to bounce the sound off of the floor and ceiling instead of the walls, otherwise I want to find some speakers we could put in as a 6th and 7th channel or that are fed off of the rear channels that could go directly above the seating area.
- I have the projector working with a new LCD and everything is going great.

It shouldn't be long until my projector is finished and we can start putting in sound insulation and wiring. And for those of you who know a bit about programming:

If camera = POS; Then
Print "No Pictures until camera > POS"
End

So yeah, my camera won't start up even with new batteries.

Figured I would at least update this thread since it may be the last one I will keep up to date. If some of you havent heard or read, I'm putting this projector hobby aside with no sight for return. Though this thread will not discuss why, I will continue on with what I am choosing to replace it. BestBuy Friday Sale Projector - this projector is suppose to be $399 next friday so I am going to try to get my hands on one of these. It is only 1024x768 which is a step down from 720p, but I don't intend to notice a difference because I have really bad eyes in terms of catching specific detail unless I am looking for that detail. Otherwise this will mainly be for the parents once I leave for college. I think for the 360 and any movie watching, this will do great. The bulb will probably last more than 2 years anyways which may mean replacing either way. I plan to use it a lot while I'm still in High School but once I'm out, I imagine no more than 6 hours a week with my parents using it.

I was contemplating the Optoma HD70, which is the cheapest 720p projector commercially, but I couldn't justify $600 for a bit more resolution that I may not miss. I think we will just about 3 gears in this Home Theater project however, since I won't be tinkering with my hobby in the basement (I've got plenty of hobbies that I can do elsewhere, though the basement is nice for breakdancing!) I may wait with pictures until I get the place cleaned out and have the new projector down stairs.

Wednesday night we decided to go down to BestBuy and get the HD70. I ended up paying $500 for it and the parents paid the rest, came out to $900 with a 10% off coupon + $200 for replacement plan which covered one bulb for 4 years so it was definitely worth it. I must say it is very impressive. I could watch content with our basement fully lit, though the darks weren't really there. Yesterday we had it running for 20 straight hours. Its great because it has HDMI (something I wish our projectors had but there are ways around it I guess). I'll get some pictures up soon. We might be running wire this weekend so we can get going on finishing this basement. More later...

Time to tweak...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=729665

Victor