home theater design

A good source of info would be Steve Jenkins (member here with the new F40). He has one of the best theaters ever. Check out his website.

 

Soooo, BBQ and movies at your place??

DL

PS. I believe Artherd can be another reference.

 

I've done a number of big, costly systems in various places and have learned alot about overall design, installation and system "management," including the selection of components. Let me share my hard-won wisdom:

1. The room. Figure out your traffic plan and general layout first. There will be some acoustical design issues that vary, based on layout, but i assume that the last thing you want is an unusable room, dictated soley by acoustical considerations. (Keep in mind that home video, even on a giant scale, is not "purist" audio, so while you will respect some acoustical design considerations, they should not entirely drive the exercise).

2. Rethink your decision to use a plasma TV. The cost is excessive, and the quality is low. Its was a "cool" thing to have, which is not a reason to buy it. I would seriously look at front projection, via DLP; you can get a magnificent image if you are willing to take the time to set it up right, and it will look far more impressive, and be far more involving, than a 60" screen. I raise this here, because it will affect room layout, given the need for a screen.

3. Wiring and configuration. First thing, get some good clean isolated power to the system; I went the length of installing a separate 220 step down transformer to feed the system; at a minimum, dedicated lines, polarized at the box, running heavy gauge cable with 20amp capability. Use outlets from our buddy Hubble- so-called "hospital grade." This stuff is industrial electrical stuff, so you aren't paying hi-fi retailer prices for it. A competent electrician is a must. I'd be less concerned about whether you are using the latest and greatest interconnect or speaker wire than i would be in planning a wiring "routing" scheme that allows you to make changes after installation is complete. Recessed wire troughs are a thought; cabling into the wall may be easy during construction, but you've got to rip the walls apart, or snake stuff, when you want to make a change, or god forbid, you have a wiring problem. This planning costs little to execute, and will make a huge difference in living with the system.

4. Seating. Ideally, you should have seats that are at the proper height for your front and center channel speakers, particularly if you are going to use the same audio system to listen to music. Seats with high backs are not favored for acoustical reasons; i nonetheless use Eames Lounge Chairs, largely for comfort, but also because my theatre system is NOT my music system (so i can get away with the higher back on these chairs). Risers are cool, if you aren't limiting headroom in the back row, can have them built sturdily (a creaky floor sucks, and will resonate) and it doesn't otherwise affect the use of your space.

5. Floor and wall treatment. There are numerous computer programs that can help you diagram the correct proportions of length, height and shape of walls and floor. The object is to avoid weird behavior of the sound waves. This is still more art than science, as any acoustic engineer will tell you, after they spend millions to "improve" a concert hall and all the computer programs in the world don't help them. But there are some basic laws of physics that should be observed. The ratio of reflective v. absorbative material on floors, ceiling and walls is part of the calculus. Its hard to predict in advance what you will need without looking at the overall plan, and listening to the room.
You generally want to minimize floor reflections- hence carpeting; side wall reflections are desirable for the back channels, and to a certain degree, for the left and right speakers at front. This also depends on the speakers you choose; a planar, like a Magneplanar, has totally different acoustical requirements for the surrounding area than a more conventional box speaker.

I'll be happy to share more thoughts with you. In the meantime, i'll post some pictures of my current system. Its an ok aesthetic, but not mocked up to look like a roccoco theatre. The wall behind and around the screen is blacked out, to minimize light reflections; the floor is carpeted, and the ceiling has very quirky angles, which break up reflections. The room works well for theatre; the seating area adjacent to the theatre seat up will ultimately be for the hi-fi system, which is still getting refurbished.

 

OK, in order, these show (1) Stewart screen in alcove, blacked out surround; (2) seating area for theatre-windows are covered with light-blocking shades;(3) equipment bay- mostly tube amps- yes, i am a masochist, but everything is fan-cooled; and (4) adjacent seating area for future audio only listening.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Bill has incorporated what would be my only additional suggestion: Arrange to have easy access to the back of your components. Wiring my components together is a major league pain in the a$$ because the space is so cramped.

I just helped a friend put his system together and we built his stuff into the 'front' wall of a closet. Had a carpenter build racks, but a nice front on it, and left the door in the 'back' of the room. If he wants to add or replace a component, he goes behind the system, opens the door, and viola', instant access to all the wiring.

 

As far as racks are concerned, I am largely unimpressed with the stuff that is usually sold thru audio retailers; its more cheesy furniture than functional and highly priced. Years ago, i had Billy Bags make up a horizontal rack for me; the thing is built better than your car, and weighs as much. (It now does duty as a garden shed potting bench for my wife). This time, i went with Mid-Atlantic; real rack mount stuff. Not cheap, but if you are willing to do the work yourself, the actual racks aren't terribly expensive; the accesories, like shelves, and face-plates, start to add up. But, these things are terrific because they are easy to access, truly set up for heavy duty equipment -shelves that can hold 300lbs. and make wiring a cinch. Alternatively, heavy wooden shelves may be fine, if concealed; just make sure you deal with issues like equipment heat, since the shelves will block air circulation if they are not made out of perforated steel.

 

Front projection. Go to: http://www.htrgroup.com/ As you will see, this outfit does market research for the industry. The nice thing is that they have a catalog, it should be pretty current(oops, i just double checked and the projector catalog has not been updated for over a year, but it still has all the links to various manfacturers so is still a worthwhile resource), of virtually every projector on the market; you can pull up an entry, read the specs and price, click thru to the manufacturer's website if you like, and compare three or four other similar projectors, all at the same time.
Here's my suggestion. 1 chip DLP prices are coming down; the last upgraded chip, the so-called HD 2 + chip, obsoleted a bunch of HD 2 chip machines that are more than perfectly serviceable. (Indeed, the unit i am currently using, a Marantz, replaced a very heavy, far more costly, large 3 gun NEC CRT projector and was substantially discounted, from its 12k retail price to below 8k). 3 chip DLP is the latest wave, which will make even the most current 1 chip projectors cheaper. Retailers, in my estimation, are full of misinformation, but still offer the only place where you can go to see more than one projection system operating at a time.
A couple of additional thoughts, while you are perusing this stuff: first, most DLP projectors should have a DVI input. This is a must. Second, try to buy a DVD player with a DVI output. This will allow you to hook up to the projection with a single line; more importantly, it enables you to bypass the typically poor D/A conversion occurring in the DVD player and makes a significant difference in picture quality. I mean staggering; this is where the DLP projector, if properly set up, will shine.
I have taken it one step further, and use an incredibly cheap DVD player that was "hacked" to accomodate an SDI output. The SDI output of the DVD player then feeds into a black box --called an HD Leeza (not cheap, about 4 grand)-- which processes the signal, does line doubling and so-called "native rate" scaling and outputs in a variety of output configurations, including DVI. The Leeza is the device hooked up to the projector, and accomodates a variety of other source components, including HD satellite, HD tape, etc., all of which can be processed and reallocated thru various outputs. The Leeza thus acts as a digital switcher as well. I have not watched my system on the projection screen without the Leeza in the signal loop, but i believe that, even without it, a decent DVI outputting DVD player directly into the DLP projector will astonish you. You will need light control and probably a grey, rather than white screen (It brings up the black level, which is the only arguable weakness of the DLP technology, at least of the 1 chip variety). The AVS Forum is a pretty good place to immerse yourself if you have the time and interest. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you want to see how my system looks.

 

Hey froggy: you are always welcome, i won't even make you take your shoes off. (BTW, i always wanted to have a big calibre weapon bolted onto my front porch; at our last house, i happened to be hanging around when some effete landscape designers were walking the property. I called out, in my best redneck accent: "Gee, i'm real glad you folks identified yourselves. Where i come from, we shoot anybody that trespasses on our property." )

 

Dont forget playstation 2

 

SInce you are referencing Home Theatre, I would consider Meridian and very important-an adequate sub tuned to say 17hz. That will provide the best theater experience, in addition to the above posts.

Oh, Don't forgeta good buttkicker.

BTW, I prefer a large sofa style seating for ME and tune the room to ME.

I have also programmed-as a hobby, Crestron systems-recommended.

Thank you very much

Fury

 

I work in the AV industry, so I have some biased opinions myself. On display choices--no way would I touch a plasma. The burn-in factor is just too much. I'd seriously consider an LCD display--much longer life, and the motion has gotten much better. You can get up to 60" displays now. As for projectors, DLP or otherwise, yes, these can be acceptable choices, but bulbs are expensive, and then you have the fan noise (so I would go for rear projection if you can afford the real estate necessary). The above person mentioned Mid-Atlantic racks--that's all we use. Very sturdy racks, and recommended. Lastly, something no one has mentioned here--a control system (color LCD touchpanels that control it all, very snazzy looking, and makes the whole operation much smoother). I myself prefer AMX products (www.amx.com), but Crestron (www.crestron.com) is available too.

 

certainly plasma displays are more susceptible to burn-in than any other type of consumer display that i am aware of.

that said, the burn-in issue has been grossly exaggerated in the media.

it's an issue, for sure. but don't let it scare you away. the pricing - now that will scare you away first

doody.

 

No, it's not grossly exaggerated. It's a major problem. We have customers bringing in their plasmas all the time for repair, and they simply end up leaving them here because the cost to repair so outrageous, you could buy a new one. Everyone is going to LCDs because of this reason. Further down the road is Organic LEDs--a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we think of displays. Think of a thick piece of paper, that's how thin. Wearable displays! It's gonna get real crazy.

 

Plasma burn-in is a problem. But, the bigger problem is that the picture is not natural. If you are trying to get your system to look like film, you will be disappointed.

I don't find fan noise from the DLP to be very annoying; once the movie is playing you really can't hear it, and its usually no louder than the average home a/c system. I would not go rear projection-which i think compromises the picture compared to front projection-simply to reduce fan noise. If its that big a problem, you can install the (front) projector in a sound insulated housing. (GhostRider, if you were talking about LCD projection, i haven't seen the latest ones, but they typically had alot more pixelation than the current crop of DLP projectors. I do use an LCD (Sharp Aquas) screen for our den and like it for noncritical viewing, as long as you are not too far off axis. But, i don't consider this to be a serious contender for home theatre; its just too small).

Plasma, LCD and (to a lesser degree, DLP rear projection) are somewhat size limited. For the money of a decent plasma, which is what, 60 or so inches, you can have a full-wall sized image projected, and if you do it right, you can get a much better image, assuming that you control ambient light.

As to Meridian stuff, its great, i've used (and still use) their processors, and had their first DVD player (which actually sucked). Their "all digital" systems are fantastic for home theatre, but you are committing some big bucks to a single system that is largely self-contained. For those willing to throw more than 50k at the sound system to support the video, its an option, but i usually find people can cut that corner a little more cheaply, still using very high grade component audio.

I am not enamoured of the Creston -type systems: far too complicated;most of the digital stuff is remoted controlled; i manually turn on each power amp, and once the system is running, i really only need the remote for the Meridian audio processor and the remote for the DVD player or satellite dish to control the sources.
I'd say it was my two cents, but i've spent far more than that over the years on this stuff, and just thought i'd share my hard-won wisdom, FWIW.

Oh, yeah, on bulb burn-out, i use to worry about that when i had my CRT projector- 2,000 hours. I played the **** out of it for 5 years and still had hundreds of hours left. I gave the thing away by then, since it was long obsoleted by newer stuff, at far less cost. What's the projected bulb life on my DLP? Chances are, it will be replaced before i reach that point. Not really an issue, unless you worry about things like the expanding universe...

 

On my wish list for additions to the home

 

Wow!!!

 

your customers are likely to end up very disappointed about making that switch if their usage behavior caused burn-in on their plasmas. LCDs burn in as well, unfortunately - albeit it does take more abuse to get them there.

another vote for meridian stuff. absolutely stellar. i'm a huge fan.

go projector ALL THE WAY, imo. the only reason to consider things like plasma and RPTV is if cost is an issue (latter) or you can't control the ambient light (my particular problem).

good luck!

doody.

 

Porn will never be the same