Finished Basement HT (1 Viewer)

As of 10-1-04, My basement was unfinished (block walls & one light) & we knew nothing about home theaters. My wife & I enjoy movies so she recommended that we get a big screen TV and make a TV room and a playroom. I started reading posts on the Home Theater Forum and I guess I got carried away. The theater got 2/3 of the space. My wife made the curtains and picked out the seating. My son helped me with the framing & sheet-rock. My daughter helped with the spackle and painting. We still need to add movie posters, popcorn machine and other decorations. Thanks for all the help from this forum! Click on the link to check it out.
Basement HT
Here is a list of our equipment:
Yamaha 5740 Receiver
JBL SCS160 Speakers
Sony 12” Sub
Infocus 4805 Projector
DIY Blackout Cloth Screen
TVGuardian Language Filter
Sony DVD – VCR
PS2
TV Gateway
Lane Furniture Home Theater Recliners

Very nice.
I love your blackout cloth screen!
I was going to use blackout cloth initially but went with sheetrock because I wanted a wider screen.
I ended up using my blackout cloth behind some curtains.

Glenise,
I was going to have a painted screen, but the sheet-rock wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, so I used the blackout cloth. I like all the extras in your theater. We will collect some over time.
Dave

drobbins, exactly how do you have the TVGuardian connected? It looks like you have the 201 model. I saw a few FAQ links at the TVG website mention that there are problems with Dolby Digital 5.1 and the 201 model. Have you had any? I just got a 5.1 receiver and am trying to figure out the best method to project closed captions (without using a PC). If you tried different input/output connections, did you notice a change in sound or picture? Thanks for any info.

Well my set up is a little more complicated than it should be, because my receiver does not have s-video.
I have 2 options for the video:
I have my DVD wired into the TVGuardian, with the RCA plugs and the digital optics.
I have my TV gateway wired into the TVGuardian the same only with the digital co-axial.
The guardian is run to the DVD input of receiver with the RCA sound and video as well as the digital optic. The digital co-axial is run to the CD input of my receiver.
I have the s-video out of the DVD, TV Gateway, and TVGuardian run through a separate switchbox. This way I can get a much better picture.

This is the instruction I gave my family
1) Switch Box – Start out on “4” to make sure your picture & sound are together. Then switch to either “1” or “2” for a better picture.
a) 1 - DVD player
b) 2 – TV
c) 3 – Empty
d) 4 – TV Guardian

2) Sound – “c” will give you a slightly better sound when listening to the TV.
a) DTV/CBL – Playstation
b) DVD – DVD or TV depending on the TV Guardian
i) Digital DVD
ii) Stereo TV
c) CD – Digital TV

3) TV Guardian – Use the “A/V Input” to select DVD or TV
a) Input 1 – DVD
b) Input 2 – TV

The picture is much better through the switch box than the TVGuardian, but I figure that is due to the s-video being better than the RCA connection. If my receiver had a s-video, I would not use the RCA connections.

I do not watch the Closed Captioning, but if I wanted it, I could turn it on at the DVD player, TV Gateway, or the TVGuardian.

I do not have any troubles with the 5.1 surround sound through the TVGuardian. I have used a TVGuardian for years on my TV and I am used to the muting. I believe in freedom of speech, but I don’t want to hear the foul language. The only difference in the theater compared to the TV, is the volume is much louder so I notice the muting more, especially during loud action scenes like in the Matrix. It is also easier to read their lips on the big screen. I don’t think that I would have even built a theater if I didn’t have a TVGuardian. There aren’t that many movies for the family to watch without a steady stream of four letter words.
I would definitely recommend the TVGuardian to anyone. We enjoy movies much more with it.

drobbins,

Can I ask a few questions?

1. What is the size of your room?
2. How tall is the ceiling?
3. How far back is the projector mounted?

Nice theater!!

Mike

Glenise,

You have a nice theater as well! Did you paint the ceiling black?

The room is about 12' wide by 14' long excluding the entrance way.The ceiling is 93" except for the entrance way 84". This is lower because of the main floor support and duct work. My projector is mounted on the back wall. The front of the projector is about 13' from the screen. Compared to a lot of the theaters on this site ours is a small one, but with the 91" screen and surround sound, it can feel like you are in the movie.

drobbins,

Thanks for the info. I will be building a theater in a basement soon...and I think the dimensions will be similar to yours...except I think the ceiling may be a tad bit lower. I was also thinking of getting the 4805 and I was wondering if it would work in a smaller space.

Mike

The 48050 will work fine in a smaller room. The 91" is the largest that I can get at my projector distance. The smaller I make the screen, the better the picture gets. I have not seen other projectors in action, but I am very satisfied with it. It gives me the best picture that I have ever owned.
One thing to remember though. The 4805 doesn't power down completely when turned off. The fan keeps running on a very low speed. if you are going to put an outlet just for the projector, be sure to put a switch in the circuit.
Be sure to read "Things That I Wish I Had Done Differently" post. This is my first home theater and I learned a lot from this forum. If you have questions, this is the place to ask.
Good Luck.

Wow... it'd take me a year to pull something like that off.. nice work!

Looks nice drobbins, what kind of seats do you have?

Dave, One of my bad habits is getting obsessed when I work on projects. All I did was go to work, and then work in the basement. Had to take Christmas morning off though. My family is glad to see me again, now that it's finished. They think that it is definitely worth it!

Kevin, My seats are made by Lane Furniture. They are the "Hollywood" home theater recliners. They were a little hard to close until I bolted them to the floor. I think that is the way they are designed though. They have a metal frame under them instead of 4 legs. They had a 8 - 10 week lead time, so I had to wait 2 weeks in my finished theater for them to arrive. My kids think they are so comfortable they want to sleep in them.

Dave