NNZ1991
I am going to design a theater for the house we just bought but and having a little trouble deciding. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips. I will have pictures of the room up a later.
Answer
Since you have a dedicated room to work with, you have some considerations before selecting equipment. The difference between a good theater and an amazing theater is 50% room and 50% equipment.
Decisions to make:
1. Sound proofing. If the room is big enough you can build a room within your room by staggering new studwalls, floor and ceiling and placing special material between the walls. Floors are suspended much like motor mounts in a car.
2. Splaying the side walls. If you build an inner-room you should make the side walls unparallel. A 20 foot deep room should be two feet wider at the back as a minimum.
3. Breaking up the ceiling. Whether you build an inner room or not, you should change the shape of the ceiling from flat to? I like to build a lattice framework that looks like the swells of a wave from below, and then have it drywalled, but there are endless possibilities here. My curved ceiling hangs from the actual ceiling and doesn't extend to the walls in any direction. This allows for stunning lighting designs.
4. Raised seating. If you are planning rows, you will want to pick your seat now so the proper wires can be installed for hardwire control from Crestron, AMX, etc... Best choice is to have your eyes even with the center of the screen vertically and horizontally. If you're married, you might want to split the difference and share the best seating position.
5. Before any construction begins, equipment should be chosen so the correct wiring cna be installed in the walls. I would not use 16/2 or 16/4 in a dedicated theater. That's surround family room wire. I would recommend 12 or 14 gauge non oxydizing high strand count speaker wire.
6. The most important components in any system are the speakers, the display and the remote control. Those are the items that we interface with and hence will show the best return for dollar spent. The rack full of boxes is far more forgiving than mediocre interface devices!
7. Projectors and screens are available now that will adjust to the full width of a 2.35:1 motion picture and the films can be displayed at 24 fps, just like at the theater. This is a substantial improvement over standard 16:9 fixed with 30 fps limitation. Several companies are making projectors like this now. I like Runco, Vidicron and JVC with anamorphic lenses.
8. Speakers can be hidden behind a faux front wall, even if you don't build an inner room. Side and rear speakers can be hidden in architectural detail walls. Picking speakers is far more complex than I can write about here.
9. Controlling a theater can be a nightmare or a breeze. It all depends on the control system and the programmer. Today, I would choose between Crestron, AMX or LifeWare. There are less costly, lower performance options such as RTI, Pronto, Nevo which work pretty well.
10. Separate processors and amplifiers are great but I've had good luck with high end receivers from Yamaha, Marantz and PioneerElite also, and they cost less money. Depending on the rest of your theater, you might even be able to use Marantz's lower end line, Denon.
11. Cables don't have to be the very best, but don't buy the bargain basement stuff either. I use Ethereal for lower cost installations and Tributaries in nicer rooms.
12. Regardless of the theater you design, hire a professional for room accoustics, sound calibration and display calibration to SMPTE standards. An ISF certified tech is adequate for display, HAA certifed tech is okay and afforable for accoustics and a THX level 2 tech will be qualified to calibrate the audio. NOTE: Room accoustics costs the most, and is the most valuable!
Since you have a dedicated room to work with, you have some considerations before selecting equipment. The difference between a good theater and an amazing theater is 50% room and 50% equipment.
Decisions to make:
1. Sound proofing. If the room is big enough you can build a room within your room by staggering new studwalls, floor and ceiling and placing special material between the walls. Floors are suspended much like motor mounts in a car.
2. Splaying the side walls. If you build an inner-room you should make the side walls unparallel. A 20 foot deep room should be two feet wider at the back as a minimum.
3. Breaking up the ceiling. Whether you build an inner room or not, you should change the shape of the ceiling from flat to? I like to build a lattice framework that looks like the swells of a wave from below, and then have it drywalled, but there are endless possibilities here. My curved ceiling hangs from the actual ceiling and doesn't extend to the walls in any direction. This allows for stunning lighting designs.
4. Raised seating. If you are planning rows, you will want to pick your seat now so the proper wires can be installed for hardwire control from Crestron, AMX, etc... Best choice is to have your eyes even with the center of the screen vertically and horizontally. If you're married, you might want to split the difference and share the best seating position.
5. Before any construction begins, equipment should be chosen so the correct wiring cna be installed in the walls. I would not use 16/2 or 16/4 in a dedicated theater. That's surround family room wire. I would recommend 12 or 14 gauge non oxydizing high strand count speaker wire.
6. The most important components in any system are the speakers, the display and the remote control. Those are the items that we interface with and hence will show the best return for dollar spent. The rack full of boxes is far more forgiving than mediocre interface devices!
7. Projectors and screens are available now that will adjust to the full width of a 2.35:1 motion picture and the films can be displayed at 24 fps, just like at the theater. This is a substantial improvement over standard 16:9 fixed with 30 fps limitation. Several companies are making projectors like this now. I like Runco, Vidicron and JVC with anamorphic lenses.
8. Speakers can be hidden behind a faux front wall, even if you don't build an inner room. Side and rear speakers can be hidden in architectural detail walls. Picking speakers is far more complex than I can write about here.
9. Controlling a theater can be a nightmare or a breeze. It all depends on the control system and the programmer. Today, I would choose between Crestron, AMX or LifeWare. There are less costly, lower performance options such as RTI, Pronto, Nevo which work pretty well.
10. Separate processors and amplifiers are great but I've had good luck with high end receivers from Yamaha, Marantz and PioneerElite also, and they cost less money. Depending on the rest of your theater, you might even be able to use Marantz's lower end line, Denon.
11. Cables don't have to be the very best, but don't buy the bargain basement stuff either. I use Ethereal for lower cost installations and Tributaries in nicer rooms.
12. Regardless of the theater you design, hire a professional for room accoustics, sound calibration and display calibration to SMPTE standards. An ISF certified tech is adequate for display, HAA certifed tech is okay and afforable for accoustics and a THX level 2 tech will be qualified to calibrate the audio. NOTE: Room accoustics costs the most, and is the most valuable!
Home Theater Help....?
Chode
I'm planning on having a home theater put into a empty room in my house. I want a projector and projection screen. I want a couch or something so me and my friends and sit on it. I want a holder for my DVDs and video games. and i want some sort of lighting. And please keep it as cheap as possible.
I don't know very much about any of this stuff. All I know is I want to be able to hook my Xbox360 up to it so i can play games and DVDs.
Answer
Although you could do the research, choose the equipment, cabling, installation techniques, system integration, calibration, and single remote control programming, this stuff has become a bit complex and there are lots of places you could make big mistakes that could be costly. If you are capable and willing to do the work and research then go for it but even then the likely hood of the end result being optimum is low unless you are very experienced in this field. A home theater system is all about enjoyment, relaxation, and escaping from the stresses of your day to day life so it had better look and sound pretty darned good, be easy to use, and you should have someone who can get you back up and running should something go wrong or if you need an upgrade. I strongly suggest you find a qualified home theater design and installation company you can trust in your area. Even then things can go horribly wrong and I have seen it all. Make sure the professional you choose is properly licensed and insured, experienced, and has plenty of references in your immediate area. Make sure that the designer AND the installer or installers that will be working at your house are experienced. Just because the owner or sales person has experience does not mean that the system will be designed to meet your needs, that you will not be oversold, that the system will be installed properly, that the products chosen will work together to produce the proper end result, or even that the company will support you after the installation is complete. These are things you definitely want to discuss with the company references and it is a good idea to talk to a customer or two who had a system installed one to three years prior to see how well the company has supported them after the initial installation.
Although you could do the research, choose the equipment, cabling, installation techniques, system integration, calibration, and single remote control programming, this stuff has become a bit complex and there are lots of places you could make big mistakes that could be costly. If you are capable and willing to do the work and research then go for it but even then the likely hood of the end result being optimum is low unless you are very experienced in this field. A home theater system is all about enjoyment, relaxation, and escaping from the stresses of your day to day life so it had better look and sound pretty darned good, be easy to use, and you should have someone who can get you back up and running should something go wrong or if you need an upgrade. I strongly suggest you find a qualified home theater design and installation company you can trust in your area. Even then things can go horribly wrong and I have seen it all. Make sure the professional you choose is properly licensed and insured, experienced, and has plenty of references in your immediate area. Make sure that the designer AND the installer or installers that will be working at your house are experienced. Just because the owner or sales person has experience does not mean that the system will be designed to meet your needs, that you will not be oversold, that the system will be installed properly, that the products chosen will work together to produce the proper end result, or even that the company will support you after the installation is complete. These are things you definitely want to discuss with the company references and it is a good idea to talk to a customer or two who had a system installed one to three years prior to see how well the company has supported them after the initial installation.
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