building home theater in new home....?

Miss Britt

we are moving ain a couple months and my dads a contractor and etc. we have a media room in the plans.
can someone show me some sights to how to design it?? thank you. and any other pointers would help
im going with a enclosed rectangular room with a rectangular projector :]

Answer
Whether you choose to hire an experienced, certified professional* or not I have taken the opportunity to provide some basic suggestions and list a few select resources below. Hopefully this will help provide some ideas or guidance when it comes to building a new home theater. *(If you would like to install any automation I highly recommended that you hire an experienced, certified professional.)

If you would like to create the most immersive, theater-like experience (depending on your budget of course) I strongly recommend that you consider purchasing a high-performance projection system consisting of a home theater projector (such as JVCâs DLA-RS2 Home Cinema Projector,) video processor, and 102- to 120-inch projection screen capable of displaying movies in a more natural anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio âCinemaScopeâ format. When it comes to fixed-frame front projection screens you would be hard-pressed to do better than Stewart Filmscreenâs GrayHawk RS G3 (or StudioTek 130 G3) screen material mounted to Stewartâs curved Cine-W frame or their flat Luxus Deluxe Screenwall frame.

If your budget allows I also recommend complementing your home theater projector with a high-performance LCD HDTV to handle the majority of your television viewing needs. One important benefit of using the two displays is that it would increase the time between service intervals when it comes to projector relamping. This not only reduces the cost of ownership but would also reduce the wear and tear on both displays.

I would like to pass on one important critique with respect to a significant number of home theaters you will see in articles and portfolios: Ideally within an observerâs field of view (FOV), especially for the more critical area commonly referred to as the âsurround,â the room surfaces should be finished or covered with spectrally diffuse and spectrally neutral materials; avoid strong hues at all costs. One of the more effective methods is to use a MATTE gray paint with a Munsell value between N4 and N8. (From darker to lighter: N4 has L*a*b* values of 40, 0, 0 and N8 has L*a*b* values of 80, 0, 0; Note: some prefer to use Kodak 18% gray as a neutral gray reference rather than the Munsell renotation.) The remainder of the room may be safely finished in your choice from any of the Munsell âNearly Neutralâ pastel colors (though a neutral gray will always be ideal.) Using this approach will help maximize the âambient contrastâ of your viewing environment while allowing the maximum color fidelity from your displays.

I also highly recommend that you install plenty of nonmetallic corrugated flexible conduit, aka nonmetallic flexible raceway or innerduct, for all your A/V and structured cabling requirements. Where applicable use low-voltage wall brackets (or boxes,) to which the innerduct may be connected. This will allow you to use a variety of custom and keystone style wallplates, which will provide a high quality, professional finished appearance for all of your A/V and structured cabling connections.

By the way, whenever you are working with exposed wood wall framing, i.e., no gypsum board, it is very important that you ALWAYS install nail-plates (aka Nail Stoppers¹) wherever you drill holes in wood wall framing for the purpose of routing conduit that will be carrying wire and cable. Nail-plates are intended to protect all wire and cable in the conduit from being pierced and damaged by nails and screws that will be fastened to the wall framing.

Good luck.

######## RESOURCES ########

Looking to build a two movie theatre - any suggestions on where to start?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080104135319AA1OR89
I am building a house and want some advice on a home theater?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080130050846AAWFUfS
Web forums with pictures of home theatre rooms?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071116161409AA716dT

How to determine BEST screen size for home theatre projector viewing?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071121170743AAnVZ3T

Should I paint the media room all black?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070316073203AAKB1Go
Suggestions on color to paint walls of home theater?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070716204430AAjTjus
Home Theater Suggestions for back wall?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080402220142AAfn096

Whatâs the best position for TV lighting?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080128174452AAKVNmP
Where should light source be placed/located in the living room relative to the TV?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071005181157AAaIVzd

Pre-wire help....what are the green and white wires for?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080322111924AAVVn7P
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Media Environment Design
Design Samples
http://www.medesign.tv/Design_Services/Documentation.php
Paradise Theater Design Samples
http://www.medesign.tv/Paradise%20Theater/PTSamples.php

Audio Video Interiors How To, Page 1
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/howto//index.html
Audio Video Interiors How To, Page 2
http://blog.audiovideointeriors.com/howto//index1.html

WSDG Architectural and Acoustic Design
Home Theaters Portfolio
http://www.wsdg.com/dynamic.php5?id=portfolio/home

THX Architectural Suggestions
http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/manuals/THXAS.pdf
TAP Theatre Alignment Program Guidelines
http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/manuals/TAPGUIDELINES.pdf

CinemaSource - Home Theater Articles
http://www.cinemasource.com/articles.html

Home Toys Learning Library - Recommended Reading
http://www.hometoys.com/learn.htm
Home Theater Design by Steve Faber
http://www.hometoys.com/article_display.php?displayid=108#Home%20Theater%20Design%20by%20Steve%20Faber

Guide to Low-Voltage and Limited-Energy Systems
http://www.mikeholt.com/documents/lowvoltage/pdf/LowVoltBook.pdf
________________________

Acoustics Research - NRC-IRC
http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ie/acoustics/
Internal Report IRC-IR-693:
Sound Transmission Through Gypsum Board Walls
http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/ir/ir693/ir693.pdf

Soundproofing Made Simple
http://www.soundproofing101.com

Soundproofing Discussion Forum
http://www.supersoundproofing.com
________________________

Carpet Cushion Council Publications
http://www.carpetcushion.org/educational_pubs.htm

Carpet and Rug Institute - Selecting the Right Carpet
http://www.carpet-rug.org/commercial-customers/selecting-the-right-carpet/index.cfm

######## PRODUCTS & MATERIALS ########

JVC Reference Series DLA-RS2 Home Cinema Projector
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/features.jsp?model_id=MDL101733

Stewart Filmscreen Front Projection Screen Materials
http://www.stewartfilmscreen.com/FrontProjection.html
Stewart Filmscreen Fixed Screen Models
http://www.stewartfilmscreen.com/FIXEDSCREENMODELS.htm
________________________

Carlon Product Brochures Index
http://www.carlon.com/Brochures.html
Riser-Gard® Nonmetallic Corrugated Flexible Conduit
http://www.carlon.com/Master%20Catalog/Flexible_Raceway_Brochure.pdf
Carlon Structured Cable Management Systems Handbook
http://www.carlon.com/Installation_Training/IT-2B56.pdf
Installation & Training
http://www.carlon.com/InstallationInst.html

Leviton Integrated Networks and Controls - Wallplates
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10411&minisite=10026
Leviton Wallplates (Industrial / Commercial)
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10985&minisite=10026

Leviton Structured Cabling Wallplates
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=15206&minisite=10027
Leviton Architectural Edition⢠Residential Products
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=15083&minisite=10023

Liberty PanelCrafters
http://www.panelcrafters.com

¹Simpson Strong-Tie Nail Stoppers
http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/NS-NSP-PSPNZ.asp
________________________

Kinetics Noise Control
http://www.kineticsnoise.com

PAC International
http://www.pac-intl.com

Acoustical Solutions
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com

ASC WallDamp/IsoDamp Soundproofing System
http://www.asc-soundproof.com/index-walldamp.htm
http://www.asc-soundproof.com/soundproofing-arch-guide.pdf

Acoustiblok Soundproofing and Sound Deadening Materials
http://www.acoustiblok.com

Acoustical Surfaces Inc. - Soundproofing and Acoustical Materials
http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com

Quiet Solution Advanced Soundproofing Products
http://www.quietsolution.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuietRock

Conwed Designscape - Submittals & Literature
http://www.conweddesignscape.com/submittals/index.html

Owens Corning Acoustic Systems
http://www.owenscorning.com/around/sound/acoustic.html
Owens Corning Quietzone® Volume Control for the Homeâ¢
http://www.owenscorning.com/quietzone/quietzone.asp

######## REFERENCE BOOKS ########

⢠Noise and Vibration Control by Leo L. Beranek
⢠Noise Control in Buildings by Cyril M. Harris
⢠Concepts in Architectural Acoustics by M. David Egan
Acoustical Society of America - Publications
http://asa.aip.org/publications.html

http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00726.htm

Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest
http://www.mhprofessional.com/contributor.php?id=12239
http://books.google.com/books?id=sgwg1Vwm9VUC
Book Review
http://www.audioxpress.com/reviews/media/403macarthur2106.pdf
 

Home Theater Sound Proofing?

Paul H

We are in the process of building a new home and it will include a "theater" room. I'm trying to figure out the best and most economical way to sound-proof the room, as it will be in the basement, below our bedroom. I've considered accoustical drop ceiling tiles, staggered 2X4 walls for the interior walls, leaving a 1" gap between the foundation wall and 2X4 wall and of course using insulation. What would be the best insulation to use and are there any other ideas I should consider? I'm already pushing the wallet on the home itself so I need some economical solutions.

Answer
It depends how you define sound proofing. The other answers will help with midrange and treble, but do almost nothing for bass ... the real issue in my view.

I faced this same issue when I built a home theatre in my basement and I read a lot and came to understand several key points:
- bass is only controlled by a combination of mass (read heavy material like doube drywall) and damping/decoupling (preventing the vibrations from travelling through a wall or ceiling/floor to the other side;
- the room must be sealed (except for air ducts which must be baffled) to prevent treble from getting through;
- sound-proofing efforts frequently fail due to either small openings left unplugged (treble) or "coupling" between surfaces by wrongly placed nails or screws ... so careful construction is essential.

I came across a product that, while not exactly cheap, works very well to decouple sound transmission. The so called Resilient Sound Isolation Clips (RSIC, See link for pictures, etc). They hold metal furring channels to which one (or for greater sound reduction two) layers of drywall are attached. They introduce an elastomer between the drywall and underlying structural member (e.g. stud, joist) and when combined with insulation in the cavity and a non-drying elastomeric caulking around edges of the drywall provide very effective "sound proofing" by decoupling the inner and outer surface and damping resonation in the cavity bewteen

I used them in the ceiling (with one layer of 1/2" drywall), but chose to use staggered studs (with the interior filled with heavyweight fiberglass insulation designed for sound applications) for the walls. I chose this approach because it gives equivalent resulys but is less expensive than RSICs since I was doing the work myself. (Note: If I had contracted it I would have specified RSICs for walls and ceiling since the RSICs lower labour costs). I also chose to use a prehung exterior door for the HT (there is a guest bedroom next door) itself since provides much better sound baffling

I'm quite satisfied with the results ... despite my use of only a single layer of drywall and no special efforts to baffle ductwork. Even when the sound is quite loud in the theatre it is not annoying upstairs or in the bedroom next door, and most important to me bass is well controlled.

Check out the specs and ratings for various construction options using RSICs on their website. They provide a wealth of useful information.

One final note, RSICs would also be a good choice for retrofitting an existing wall / room since they would obviate the need to pull existing walls apart.

Hope this helps.

Source(s):

http://www.pac-intl.com/

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