Not sure why my images are not showing up :doh:

Ah, the images are visible now.

 

You have 4 images that I can see.

 

Thanks, looks like the issue is fixed now. I cant wait to hear what you guys think of my design. Looking forward to some great collaboration on this thread.

 

So now that I have outlined the plans for my basement, let me go a little more in detail about my plans for the home theater area. My plan is to have a four seat recliner in the theater area. The area behind the seats would be used to display my action figures, and have a temporary office.

I plan to design the theater in phases:
Phase one: I would like to get the basement done, temporary office space, install a projector, a screen and 5.1 surround sound system. I will use my existing recliners for now, and look for deals on home theater recliners during thanksgiving.
Phase two: I would like to replace the recliners with leather home theater grade recliners. I would also like to install bass kickers on the new seating.
Phase three: I would like to add two speakers and another subwoofer to make it a 7.2 surround sound system.
Phase four: convince the wife to have two row seating.

So I need to keep the ideal end state in mind while designing the home theater. In this post I wanted to discuss the projector screen and get your recommendations (and while you are at it, please feel free to share your thoughts on my previous post).

Since I have the pole to the left of the seating, I am thinking of dry-walling it and having it house my left surround sound speaker. This works well as it helps align the right surround speaker just next to the corner. With this arrangement, the viewing area is around 13ft (4m) from the wall housing the screen.



Coming to the screen, I want to have the screen be electric and mounted on the ceiling. This way I can mount a TV on the wall, and have the screen drop down only while watching a movie or a game.
Given that the height of the room is 8ft (2.4m) and the length of the wall with the screen is 15ft (4.6m), I was thinking of using a 120in screen. More particularly, I was thinking of the 120in EliteScreen Starling Tension series electric screen. I have more or less decided on my projector: the Epson 5030UB, of course I haven’t bought one yet.

I spent most of yesterday researching the best screen size for my setup and found several recommendations. I read that the THX recommendation is that the top of the screen should not be more that 15degrees above eye level.

So in my case, if the height of the viewers eye from the ground is 3.5ft (1.07m) that would mean that the angle to the top of the screen would be 14degrees for a 120” screen and 15deg for a 100” screen (I had to refresh some high school trigonometry to calculate this). However, if the height of the viewers eye from the ground is reduced to 3ft (.91m) the angle of viewing to the top of the screen would increase to ~17degrees in the case of the 100” and ~16.7 degrees for the 120”. So recliner selection is going to be key – will drop into a couple of stores to check out the height. How high is your eye from the ground when seated on your recliner?

Based on my calculations, the 120” screen would be around 23inches (60cm) off the ground and the 100” would be around 34inches (86cm) off the ground. Is there a recommended height the screen should be off the ground?

In my case, I also have to consider the stage. Assuming the stage is around 8” (20cm) that would mean the bottom of the projector would be 15 inches (38cm) off the top of the stage in the case of a 120” screen, and 36 inches (91cm) for a 100”.

While I would love to go in for the 120” screen, I fear that there will be little or no place for my center channel and if I have enough space on either side of the screen to house my front speakers and sub woofer. Here are some mockups:





What are your thoughts? I would appreciate it if you could tell me:
Your ceiling height
Your length of the wall
Viewing distance from screen and
Screen Size

Loads more to come. Need to get back to work now.

 

Seems like that hole in the floor is just a place for your condensation line to drip into from your heating / ac unit maybe you just re-route that pvc pipe into a drain or straight outside then eliminate the need for the hole in the floor.

 

Interesting! I'll check with my plumber if that could be done. The good news is there is a egress window right over the hole.

Thanks, this is a good idea.

 

My eyes are 38" from the floor in my seating. I might have missed it, but do you plan to have a riser for your recliners? Having the chairs on the concrete floor will rob you of that awesome feel that your subs give that add to the effect. A riser will help give that tactile feel back without having to spend the money on tactile transducers. It can also serve as a bass trap.

 

I really wanted the risers, but the wife was against it. She's trying to make it as generic a room as possible, and I'm trying to make it a home theater. We are both trying to find that happy middle ground.

 

So I decided to make some changes to the blueprint:
1. According to THX guidelines, the distance between two towers, the distance between the towers and the viewer should form an equivalent triangle. Since the viewers distance from the screen is 13ft (3.9m) the two towers should be 15ft (4.6m) apart. I'm hoping I should be able to get them to be separated by this much. My wall is 16ft wide, and I hope not to loose more than half a foot on each side. What this would also mean is I would have to swap the position of the left tower and the sub. I would have ideally liked to have the sub in the corner, but I don't think that will be possible. Has anyone not placed their sub in the corner of the room? Here is the updated mockup.



2. The next change is to the stage shape, I made the center jut out so my daughter could perform for us when she grows up a little (and boy, they grow up fast).



Also, this weekend I auditioned the Klipsch Reference II speakers: The RF-82 II Towers, the RC-62 Center, the RS-52 II Surrounds and the SW-112 sub. I had to call several dealers before I found one with the RF-82's on display. It was quite a drive, but it was worth it. I loved the speakers, as did the wife. The dealer I visited had a deal where you get the subwoofer free if you buy the speakers - I doubt I'll buy it from them though as I've seen much better deals online. Looks like I've decided on my speakers, although I may go in for two subs.

 

Alrighty then, this weekend I decided on my A/V gear.

Speakers: RF-82 II Towers, RC-62 Center, RS-52 II Surrounds and two SW-112 subs with WA-2 wireless subwoofer kits.
Receiver: Denon AVR-X4100W
Projector: Epson 5030UB

I've been doing some reading on pre-wiring, and I'll be posting my design shortly. Speaking of wiring, how have you wired your subwoofers and ceiling projector? I was thinking using outlets from my power conditioner in the rack to the projector and subs, but I'm not sure of the best (and safest way) to get power to the ceiling? Also, since I'll have around eight power outlets for the subs (two on each wall, as I don't know where they would work best), how do I connect all of them to the power conditioner?

Thanks

 

That speaker spacing is not set in concrete and in some situations it's not possible to have them set in an equilateral triangle, particularly if you're sitting some distance from the screen in a narrow room..
It's more practical to keep the L&R speakers away from the side walls and angle the speakers toward your centre seat..

 

Thanks prof! Do you forsee any issues with the surrounds? The one on the right will be near a corner, and the one on the left will be on a pillar with space on either side.

 

Pre-wiring Part One

So I spent some time designing how I want to do my electric pre-wiring and have several questions. My media center will not be in the home theater, rather be in the "unfinished area" behind the door. This is depicted by "M" in the floor plan I included in my last post. I have some concerns about this location: 1) its unfinished, and 2) its near the water heater unit. I'm still looking for a better place to house my electronics, and am open to ideas.
I plan to connect a dedicated line to a power conditioner in my media rack (I'm leaning towards the Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Console). Then power the following from the conditioner:
1. Outside the media rack (this is where I have questions):

a. Projector: I was originally thinking of getting a really long power cable and directly connect the ceiling mounted projector to the conditioner, but read that its a fire hazard. Can I use some Romex cable from the conditioner to a power outlet on the ceiling, and connect the projector to that? What is the best way to power a ceiling projector?

b. TV: Here the wiring will run behind the dry wall, so can I use Romex from the conditioner to a power outlet on the front wall?
c. Subwoofers: I plan to have two power outlets on each wall - so I can move my subs around. Whats the best way to power all eight power outlets, knowing that only two of them will be in use at any given time? Can I take two Romex cables out of my conditioner, and daisy chain them to four outlets each?

2. Inside the media rack:

a. PS4
b. Apple TV
c. Butt Kicker Amp (phase two of my HT build)
d. Harmony Hub
e. DVD Player: I need a dedicated dvd player as I used to live in the UK, and I have a whole bunch of region 2 DVDs which wont play on a US DVD player/PS3.
f. A/V Receiver
g. Verizon Fios DVR



I'm working on my speaker wiring as well, will post my ideas (and questions) tomorrow.

 

All this while I was planning to have my media rack in the unfinished part of the basement. The problems with this design are:
1) I have to go into a different room to change a Blu-Ray.
2) It was very close to the water heater.
3) I would have to buy longer wires/cables.

So the wife and I spent some time this afternoon thinking of alternate locations for the rack. The best spot we found was under the stairs:



Only problem is the framing is done such that the components would not fit flush against the drywall (its around 14" between the wooden bars). So we decided on getting a couple of short media racks and have them placed side by side under the stairs. We would then have a hidden door in the dry wall which would give us access to the rack. Also, for the cabling one could always go from behind the stairs to reach the rear of the rack. Of course, there would be two wooden bars in front of the rack but I think we should be able to position the rack so that it's doors can be opened in spite of the bars. The wife also found the Sonax CR-2360 which fits nicely in the space under our stairs.



I could get one of these to house my receiver, dvd player, ps4, dvr, apple tv and harmony remote. I could get another to house the power conditioner, or I could just have the conditioner on top of the rack. The other advantage I get by moving the rack under the stairs is I can easily have the harmony hub's IR blaster visible to the projector.

As always, I am open to ideas and suggestions.


Looks like we should be good to start construction next week. Oh boy, I can't wait.

 

That should help considerably..

 

Any chance of changing the framing in that area to allow an equipment rack? It sounds like your studs are spaced about 14" apart, so it would give you maybe 26 inches or so of width, which would let you place odd sized components next to standard ones (usually about 17 or 18 inches I think).

Here's a quick pic showing the reframed area...

 

Any chance of changing the framing in that area to allow an equipment rack? It sounds like your studs are spaced about 14" apart, so it would give you maybe 26 inches or so of width, which would let you place odd sized components next to standard ones (usually about 17 or 18 inches I think). Here's a quick pic showing the reframed area...

That's a great idea. That would help bring the media closer to the wall. Do you have any recommendations on how to conceal it? I don't want to use a reflective surface as this area is to the left of the projector screen. Thanks so much.

 

I might just leave it an open type built-in shelf, but give yourself enough depth that the components can sit an inch or two back from the lip, which should help to keep them from being too noticeable when you're watching something. Here are a few references with pics

See partway down this post for a simple way to build between studs: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=30653285&postcount=46

And some good pics here of a plain, uncovered rack: http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...hack.com/forums/home-theater-design-construction/7356-build-equipment-rack.html

 

Thanks man, this was of great help. I'll be doing something similar to hold my gear.

 

So purchased most of my cables yesterday from monoprice.



The CAT6 cable is to have a network port at my desk which will be situated at the back of my basement (near the patio door). I picked up clear 12AWG cable for wiring my speakers to the wall mounts.
I spent a lot of time debating on whether I should get a 14x4 or a 12x2 cable. In the end I bought 12x2. Since I'm running 30' of HDMI cable, I went with monoprice's redmere cable. I'm interested to see how it performs.
I am expecting to get my permit to start construction this week. I'm also expecting my plumber to come in on Tue/Wed to start lowering my fire sprinkler heads. Like I had said before, they are much higher than where the drop ceiling would be.

More later.

 

I have decided to have the media rack under the stairs. I'll make wooden shelves under the stairs to hold the equipment. I'm still a little undecided on the front of the rack though. Ideally I would have liked to display it, but since its so close to the screen I don't want it to be distracting. Also, I'm thinking of options on how to conceal it: a wooden door, or non-reflecting glass.



Since I will have a drop ceiling, I am not running conduit all over the place. I will run conduit from the media rack to the top of the ceiling, and try as much as possible to run the low voltage cable along the sides of the drop ceiling. That way I should be able to access it in the future, if required.



I'll be pre-wiring the speakers as follows: four outlets for the left and right channels - that way I can bi-amp in the future. Two outlets for the center, and two for the side surrounds. I'll run speaker cable to the rear wall all the way to the ground, so I can place the rear speakers at any height. Lastly, I'll have two runs of speaker cables to atmos ceiling speakers. My X4100 supports 9 channels (with an additional stereo amp), so I could have a 7.2.2 or a 5.2.4 atmos config if I choose.

Another decision I've made is I will not be filling up the stage with sand, rather fill it with insulation. Based on my calculations, for my size of stage, I would have to carry more than sixty bags of sand to the basement. It's too much of effort, especially since I don't know if I will be placing my subs on it. I read the THX recommendations which said that in the case of two subs, they should be placed in the middle of the left and right walls. So if that works out, then fine, if it doesn't and I need to place the subs on the stage, I'll get myself a couple of sub dudes and hope that it works out.

For my remote, I plan on using the Logitech Harmony Smart control. In my next post, I'll talk about how I plan to hook it up.

More later.

 

Received the permit to start construction today, and the first thing we had to do was clean the basement. There was a whole lot of junk in the HT area, and it took much longer than anticipated. We received delivery of the insulation, lights, romex and 2 by 4s. My monoprice cables should arrive on Friday. So here are some "before" pictures:


The front of the HT room.


The rear of the HT room. The office will be on the left, and a bar on the right. I plan to place my action figures along this wall.


This is where the media rack will go.


Supplies, action figures, and a whole lot of junk. The R13 insulation is for the exterior walls.


R30 insulation for the ceiling, and inside wall.


Recessed Lighting. There will be three zones of lights: a two way switch which controls the lights on the stairs (switch on either end of the stairs), six lights in the HT room controlled by a dimmer (with IR remote), and a third of two lights controlled by a switch in the office.


Our first frame. Woo hoo.

And here is the updated floor plan:

The changes include:
1. New location for media rack.
2. New location for subs, although I'll need to rely on the "crawl" to determine best position.
3. Bar and office at the back of the room.
4. I plan on displaying my action figures in clear tiered acrylic risers in IKEA Detolf cases. It'll be interesting to see if the glass can handle the sound. If it rattles, I may have to swap out the bar and the display cases.
5. Instead of a pillar to house the left speaker, I plan to extend the left frame back. This way the left and right corners more or less align. Hopefully this improves the quality of sound from my surrounds.

 

Quick update: the framing has begun, and is looking good. The home theater room is finally taking shape.


The front, where the screen will be ceiling mounted.


The egress window is no more.


The wall along the stairs is extended to cover the pole.


The left and right walls are aligned.


The double doors to the unfinished side.

 

All this while, I was thinking of using wireless transmitters with my subs. Then a horrible thought struck me: what if they fail or are unreliable, or what if I upgrade to a pair of subwoofers that don't have a wireless transmitter option. Something had to be done; and fast!

To save the future me from a ton of trouble, I thought it best to pre-wire the subs. Two coax cables to the front of the theater, and one each on the sides. I would use a wall plate to terminate the coax cables, and hook it up with the subs using subwoofer cable.

Since I was placing an order with monoprice anyways, I bought four HDMI cables to connect the Roku3, PS4, DVR and DVD player to the receiver. Also, bought some stereo/mono cables for the Logitech Harmony remote (may get one next week). I'll post my plans on how I plan on using them in a future post. Here is my shopping cart from earlier today:

 

Weekend update:


Received my first order from Monoprice.


Framing of the office area is done.


Front wall







What do you guys think?

 

Looks like you have everything covered for power requirements..
I presume you've also included a power line for the projector..

 

Hopefully an UPS too. :T

 

Do you have all of your equipment next to your projector... If not I would get 2 UPS units, and have one for your HT Equipment and one for the projector. :T

 

No, my media rack is quite a distance away. I'm connecting my projector to the receiver via a 30' HDMI cable. I guess for now, I'll use a UPS for just a projector and look for another during black friday. What are your thoughts on the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS? I figure 600W should be enough for a projector, but I'm not sure.

 

So the wife felt that the area in the landing wasn't enough, so we pushed the frame four feet away from where it was originally planned.



The media rack is slowly taking shape.


The HDMI pre-wire is done: since I will have drop ceiling, I'm not running conduit. I'm using the monoprice redmere cable - one going from the receiver to the TV and another going to the ceiling mounted projector.

 

So last evening I called Verizon to request an additional setup box for the basement. They said it would increase my monthly bill by around $15, which I felt was okay as it gave me access to the recordings on my existing DVR. I was just about to ask them to ship the box, when the representative then gave me the new total and to my shock it was almost two times what I was paying before. On questioning the sudden and huge hike in rates, I was informed that my two year contract was just up and the new price was the best they could offer. I asked if removing our unused landline service would help reduce the cost, and I was told that removing it actually increased it. We asked if it would be possible to retain only the internet, and cancel the cable and landline, and we were told that they needed the phone line to provide internet (which didn't make sense to me). Anyways, at the end of a rather long call we knew that we had no choice: we had to switch providers.

We found Comcast a plan called "blast plus" where they gave you upto 110mbps internet, local TV channels (non-HD), and a HBO Go account for around $70 per month. Now this was less than half I was to pay Verizon, so we decided to make the switch. Since we will not be getting HD channels, I will not need a setup box in the basement. I guess I will just have to create a HuluPlus account, and watch everything on my Roku3. I am also looking at indoor antennas to receive local channels in HD.

I can have then have Comcast setup box in the living room, in case we ever want to watch something in "regular D". What this also means is I can move my LG smart TV from my living area to the basement (behind the projector screen). Of course, the 47" TV, is small for my basement but it will have to do for now. Maybe I'll find something during BlackFriday to replace it. I have an old 720p TV in the guest bedroom, and I plan to move it to the living room.

We have kept a two day overlap between the service providers, just in case we are not pleased with Comcast's internet service. I have my fingers crossed, but am rather pleased with the fact that we may actually have reduced our monthly cable bill by a hundred bucks. Is this a wise decision, only time will tell.

 

In other news, I'm putting off buying a UPS - I'll pick up a surge protector with a high joule rating, and look for a good deal on a UPS during Black Friday. Same applies to the Roku3, although I don't see it going on discount this year.

 

So quite a few things happened yesterday:
Early in the morning, we had the Comcast technician come over and swap the service. I decided to rent Comcast's modem until I find a good deal on a dual band modem. When the comcast guy left, our electric inspector arrived and we passed.

The media rack is getting more accessible:


The stage is almost ready:




In the evening, I received my first set of speakers: my surrounds. I guess they were shipped individually.


The wife and I also went to Lowe's looking for a dark carpet, but didn't find any. All the colors they had were light and pastel. I picked up a 100' coaxial cable and an IR dimmer switch while we were there. But on getting home I found that Home Depot had the same coax for half the cost. I guess I have to make another trip to Lowes later this evening.