Thinking of doing a little mini home theater... (1 Viewer)

[Emowilli]

Hi All. I used to have a fairly decent home theater years ago when I lived in the states, but when I relocated for a job in the Carribean a few years ago I gave it up. I don't have a whole heck of a lot of room, and I also live in a condo complex so I can't really do the whole subwoofer thing but I'm thinking it might be fun to try and set something up, I'm pretty amazed at how far projector technology has come in the last 8 years since I last purchased one!


I've got my living room down below.... I actually don't use that TV on the right anymore. I've got an Apple Cinema 27" on the Coffee table and a Mac Pro, so I pretty much just use that as a home theater PC. I can't really make any permanent modifications to the unit as it is a rental, so I was thinking a screen that I could just take up and take down for occasional use. There is room behind the couch to put a rear mounted projector.


I was thinking something like this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/69530-REG/Da_Lite_76175_76175_Floor_Model_C.html screen and this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/117866-REG/Da_Lite_78126_Floor_Model_C_Carpeted.html stand?

I was thinking about the Epson 8700UB Projector. B&H ships here and has it for $200... off...i.e.$2000 till the 16th...although no 2nd lamp it seems... any others...I should look at?...


Then I need to think about some sort of sound system.....I'm actually afraid I may have to look at Bose lol...I'm thinking I could find something I could hide in the drapes.. Really not looking for anything spectacular as it will just piss off the neighbors..


Ryan

 

[Jim Mcc]

WOW, that's over $700 just for the screen setup. And a screen like that will develop wrinkles. Can you put any nail holes or hangers on the wall for a screen? Can you paint the wall white for a screen? I would ask about these options. There are numerous DIY screen options you could use. One would be to build a lightweight wood frame and use blackout cloth or screen material. Then you could just prop it up against the wall when in use. There are better choices than Bose for less money, for small speakers. Mirage Nanosat is one. If you normally watch alone, how about headphones? They sound great with movies.

 

[Emowilli]

Thanks, can't paint the place. The headphones are a good idea. I would like to be able to entertain, but you got me thinking perhaps I could do group entertainment with headphones! http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671076-REG/Sennheiser_502875_RS_180_Digital_Wireless.html I'm thinking I could get 4 of those and that would be quite a sound system and the neighbors would never know! Cost, with in reason, isn't much of an issue on this regarding the screen, it really comes down to the best quality screen that could be removed from the room, or perhaps something that couldn't be removed but would fit in with the decor. The wrinkle issue does sound like something to worry about.... Then, of course, anything that is heavy duty will cost a small fortune to ship here.


For my last home theater I built a screen myself...but this time I'm thinking of something portable where I can put it exactly where those glass doors are. The problem with building something is where the heck do I store it?


The room is 14' 7" wide (the entrance) and 21' 4" deep. I'm starting to lean towards the Panasonic AE4000 projector. I can think of quite a few placement options. Amazing how much more flexible these projectors have gotten! I'm just really stumped on the screen!

 

[Jim Mcc]

The screen type you were thinking of would be fine if they have a "tensioned" model. Supposedly they eliminate/reduce wrinkles.


As far as those headphones, I know nothing about wireless headphones. Does something plug into your headphone jack on receiver? Because most receivers can only power 1 headphone. If you want to power more than 1, you need to buy a headphone amp. A great headphone site is Head-fi.org