Things I wish I would have done differently in my project - Page 5

We're just weeks away from having the foundation poured in our new house. The basement will be finished by me over the next couple years. This thread will save so many headaches I can't thank all of you enough. I've learned more here in one day than I have in the past couple months of searching the web. Keep it coming and thanks for this excellent forum!

I live in an apartment so everything is limited, but I wish I had of set up my theater the way I have it now from the beginning as my overall enjoyment now is much higher than the last 2 years.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I would have had George Lucas plan it out for me.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Couple years into the thread so not much to add but here goes.
Biggest problem is lack of access to back of equipment. I would have set my cabinet up where all components are accessable from the back for ease of wiring. The additional advantage would be that the components would be behind the viewer with better ventilation.
More cable, but we were unaware of what was coming down the pipe. Wired for 7.1 plus an additional center rear channel that is still unused, but did not run DVI or HDMI.
ran a flex pipe with the plan that I could pull additional wire, but it is not accessible as it is behind the cabinets, nor is it big enough.
Set up the recessed lights on seperate dimmers for zones, but should have had the front 6 on one with the rear 3 on the other instead of the 3 front (one row) and 6 rear (2 rows) together.
Wooden platform for floor instead of on the cement slab, but low ceilings and the flow of the room would dictate that I would have to dig out to lower the basement in this portion to have the design the same. Due to the way we use the room it's got to be on a level floor with the pool room.

Is Dell home theater system any good ?

Hi Guys,

I am new buyer of HT. I am buying the system from Dell, is it any good. I will let you know what i am buying tomorrow as i will be getting a quote from Dell tomorrow.

Please reply to me. It's little bit urgent.

Thanks guys

Yesh

Budgeting for insulation

Now that I am 80%+ finished with my theater, the one thing that I missed during my HT planning was to budget for insulation. I insulated my riser, my stage, the walls, ceiling, and trays. At the end of the project I probably have $800+ in insulation. Insulation is one of those things that are easy to add during construction, but very difficult to add after the fact, so I would not recommend taking shortcuts - just make sure to include it in your budget!

Good Luck,
Bud

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I currently have a room that has the wiring wired into the ceiling for a projector. Now that HDMI is on the scene I wish that i had installed an electrical conduit pipe through the joists in the ceiling to where the projector is to be located back to the room behind this room. That way I could run the HDMI cable in the ceiling with no problem or even run better cables in the future if I had to. I have access to the room behind as it is an unfinished room in the basement.


Dave

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I was lucky enough to have found this thread and read it before I started designing my theater. Many thanks for allowing me to learn from other's mistakes.

I do have one to add.

If buying a projector and it will be fairly normally cieling mounted buy the factory cieling mount if they offer one. I could have ordered a factory cieling mount for $150 when I ordered my projector but I didn't.

I ended up using a universal mount and while it worked quite well I had to modify it slightly which involved several trips to hardwrae store looking for bits and pieces. In the end I didn't save enough probably about $40 which I would have happily spent on the right mount after fussing with the universal model.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I wouldn't have bought these crappy $20 Duals...

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm in the design stage of my HT, and this is helping me with pitfalls and ideas.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

What's the purpose of adding sand to a stage? Dose it increase the bass? I've seen pics but not shure on the purpose. Any links to sites that explain this I would really appreciate.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

The only thing I wish I had done was run a Cat 5 line for networking so all the gear that uses broadband internet connection to update firmware, online game play with Xbox 360, etc. I wouldn't need to string a network cable across the room and down the short hallway to get to my router.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

1) Technically, this is a bit off-topic in this thread; it would have probably been better to start your own thread, if you wish to get some helpful responses.
2) Even so, I will try to respond. Based on my own readings, i believe the two major reasons for sand in a stage are as follows:

Reason one -- if left hollow, that stage would be a large, empty box, made of wood, and as such it would tend to resonate and vibrate just like any musical instrument, especially when certain frequencies were played. Specifically, it would probably resonate when a subwoofer kicked in, if the correct range of frequencies were being amplified, and it would then "re-amplify" with harmonics, even worse. Someone once write that his (with no fill) sounded like "the world's largest bass drum." The result might be audio hell.

Reason two -- many people actually place their speakers (especially a subwoofer) on that stage. The subwoofer caused the top of the stage vibrate, which allowed the sound to travel to the sides, which provided a path to the walls, then to the studs, then to the ceiling joists above, etc. Similar flanking paths used the floor of the theater. Sound travels. In such cases, any attempts at sound isolation (soundproofing) might be almost nullified.

Hope this helps.

=============

Now, back to the real topic.

I wish I had installed a light to blink -- to alert me when someone is at the front door. I have had to wait to join a few of my own parties until the very last guest arrived, as I knew I could not hear the door if I went down to the home theater. It is not too late to add this, but it would have been much easier to do so during the construction of the room.

-Bruce

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Half way through building now.
Do we all think that with two fifteen inch subs and four bass shakers that i still need to build a false wooden floor off my concrete slab.
I would have thought the speakers etc would have been better on a solid foundation and use air movement and shaker movement rather than vibrating the whole floor. Cleaner tighter bass.
Ant thoughts

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I'm fortunate enough to have changed homes 3 times in the last 3 years. My first crack at building a home theater/family room in the basement was not bad but could have been better cosmetically. Ceiling was all drywall and popcorn can only hide so much :-) Things I would have done differently - hard to say because as we all know - BUDGET is EVERYTHING!!!

My second kick at the can was in my Mom's basement (yep - family in tow). We gutted the basement and replaced all the ceiling tiles and carpeting and re-painted. It was a budget reno but effective. I did learn that my system was better suited in a smaller room than the large insulated open space of HT # 1. Mom's basement we called HT # 2. Now we finally have our own place again and I'm just in the process of drywalling & insulating the ceiling and adding the halogen pot lights. HT # 3 is an 11x20 room with full 8' ceilings.

All the wiring including wiring for LR & RR surrounds are buried in the walls. The L,C,R, & SW wires will all be hidden behind the wall unit as in HT's 1 & 2. The SW will also be hidden behind the wall unit in the corner of the room. I plan on future proofing should the time come for HDMI cabling or another TV (projection or LCD????--$$$$)

Cosmetically, my wife & I are learning as the HT versions increase. We hope this to be our last move.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Read this thread and used it to my advantage. Completed my build in April, 2007. Already behind the times. Everything can be networked now, from the satellite DVR to my AV receiver to my HD-DVD player and my Blu-Ray disc player and my home theater PC. I ran cat-6 wire to my media room, but not five of them! I am using a modem-router-switch method now, but I wish I would have run more wire in the first place. My suggestion: to a media room, run at least six cat-5e or cat-6 wires from your home run room if you have one.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I wish I could start from the beginning again. At this point the room itself is finished - sheetrock and paint, no frills. The planned wiring is all in, but as I can see now, it's just a basic setup. There's no room for future technology.

Someone said upthread, "It's never finished." I can see that is so true! No way can I anticipate what I want tomorrow, so as of today, I will install the TV I bought last night, change what I have to change, and enjoy what I did right.

Why didn't I put electrical outlets in places that made more sense? Why didn't I find out about correct speaker placement before I ran the wiring? Why didn't I think about ventilation of the room, since it has no windows?

When you're building a house there's so much to think about. It can be overwhelming, especially the first time. Every day the builder called me at work to ask "what do you want to do about this, and that?" I did my own wiring setup in the HT, ran the cat5 and cable, and installed the central vacuum myself, each and every step I took was was the first one of it's kind for me. I would do it different today, but at the time it was what I thought was right.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

I installed a cooling fan in the back of the credenza my Sony 52 inch LCD sits on. Even though there are no front panels where the receiver, DVR and DVD player sit, the heat builds up. Now I can rest easier knowing these units will not over heat.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

There are a few items that I would agree with there. I’m thinking of getting a simple affordable video projector DLP type for £199.99 yeah brand new and that is nutty low price. I’m feed up of watching films with clutter in front of me.

I’ll also look into different types of white material for the screen and yes I want the screen fronts matching LCR and subs behind it!

I would more then likely build a THX baffle wall with absorbent high frequency material fitted over it to allow a more, deeper sound as well as focused sound.

Professional 19” racks will be installed in the bedroom along with 98% of the equipment while a few basic items will be kept in the room. The whole system at present for LCR is running with a (loudspeaker management crossover system) Behringer DCX2496.

Surrounds cover the whole length of the well nearly the whole length of sidewalls as well as rear wall for solid performance as possible.

I have plans to block up the main window in the room one is to reduce the outside traffic and aircraft level and also it would be great for video projector because I hate to muck around with curtains to hind the stray light getting in.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Buy a house that would contain my Home Theater on the main floor of the house without having to segregate the whole thing to the basement or a dedicated theater room where the sitting arrangement often feels like being in a church staring at the screen as if it was an altar.

Integrate my Home theater with my living space to co-exist mutually in design and decor on the main floor of the house and setup an everyday viewing area with a 50 inch TV that will accommodate a dozen people and at the flick of a remote control transform the same area into a projection theater while controlling the light sources.

Conceal all the components while making them (and all the wiring including the power wires)accessible and easily removed or retrofitted while incorporating all current technology : audio, video, satellite, internet ,games etc. and leave room for future technology to come.

Automate the house to be selfsufficient and off the grid when necessary.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

definitely soundproofing and sub floor. and acoustic isolation in the bar to keep the glasses from rattling

Re: Is Dell home theater system any good ?

The Dell home system is just like their computers...GARBAGE. I can tell you from experience.

Re: Things I wish I would have done differently in my project

Great thread, I have a question.

Some have said they wish they would have installed a subfloor because they lose the bass and feel from the subwoofer. If you don't install a subfloor and only have carpet and pad would adding a second subwoofer in the rear of the room compensate for this??

Thanks.

For starters... be rich so I could afford better equipment and a real theater room!

+1

 

Solution to the Bass issue is to get more subwoofer...I have a single Yamaha YST-1500 12" 1000Watt sub in my 16 X 29 space, corner loaded and it does the job well. My floor is slab concrete with felt/berber carpeting.
 

 

I have many things I would do different. 1st is to use sound proofing in my ceiling (HT room is in basement). 2nd is to run speaker wire, RCA, HDMI, and power to a couple of ectra spot for the future. 3rd is pay more attention to lighting, not the placement but the kind of lighting. I used regular pot lights and I should have found something that was less prone to rattling. 4th install wall plates for RCA and speaker lines.

ok