[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Main speakers are 2ft in from the side walls, Plasma is dropped to just over 3ft from the floor.

I agree with Sonnie. Move the sub to the corner, which will allow you to drop the screen some more.

So this means I need to run 2 video signals from the back of the room to the front - one HDMI from the HTPC for the High Def stuff and another from the Receiver for the rest of the video sources. The AV Receiver options for monitor out are RCA, S-Video or Component. A monitor (Plasma) connected via RCA and S-Video allow you to view the Receivers settings on the monitor whereas monitors connected via Component out don't have this functionality. I like this option as its easy to see what you are doing as the amp's little display means I would have to get out of my chair to follow the prompts.

1. How much better is the picture from composite over S-video?

Not sure what’s going on with the plasma vs. projector thing, but I’d run component and composite. Use component for viewing, and composite for when you need to access the receiver’s OSD. You’re not going to be going into the receiver settings all that often, so I wouldn’t sacrifice component just to retain that feature. No reason to run s-video just to get an OSD, so running component and composite makes the most sense.

2. whether i run the S-Video or the 3 RCA's, is it OK to run a video source cable the 10m run or should i look at converting it to Cat5e using one of these converting device?

Ten meters isn’t all that long of a run. No need to get one of those converters – it would probably degrade the signal more than the cable run would. I’m using an S-video run right now that’s probably that long or longer, and I couldn’t see a difference from when I was using a 2-meter run. (but then, I don’t have high def...) Just use good quality 75-ohm cables and you’ll be fine.

As for the positioning of the rear surrounds, I never knew that they should be near the seating position, I thought they had to be at the rear... So if i move them to be just behind the seating position should I have them maounted high up on the wall or use the current stands that would have the drivers around ear height when seated.

I definitely would not go with side mounted surrounds in your situation, especially not the ones you’re using. The room is too small. Take a look at the picture again:

The speakers will be so close to the seating that they won’t fully disperse before the sound reaches the listeners. The person in the left seat will hear only left rear speaker, and same for the person in the right seat. If you want to go with side speakers, you need to trade the direct radiators for some bi- or di-polars. Even then you may find that they’re too close to the seating.

I think I’d stick with the rear locations you were considering before. This puts some distance between them and the seating, allowing the sound to fuly spread before it hits the seating. All viewers should get information from both speakers.

But if you go that route, referring to your revised picture...

...I suggest flipping the speakers upside down. You definitely do not want your tweeters up against the ceiling!!! Flipping them over puts the woofers at the ceiling, which will improve their bass (coupling with boundaries works the same way with the ceiling as it does with the floor), and puts the tweeter closer to the listener’s ears. My rule of thumb is that anytime you mount speakers above the listener’s head, the speakers should be inverted. It’s best if the tweeters are no more than a couple of feet above the listener’s ears.

Personally I don’t see a compelling reason to move the front speakers out into the room. Away from the side walls, sure. I don’t think moving them forward is going to affect imaging at all (like moving them from the side would). The primary reason advantage to moving them forward would be to decrease their bass output (getting them further from a boundary). However, the receiver’s bass management is rolling them out below 80-9 Hz anyway, so that’s already accomplished. If your speakers happen to be really bass heavy, it could certainly help. If not, I see no reason to do it.

By the way - that program you're using for your pictures is way cool, whatever it is.

Regards,
Wayne