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What do you think of my Budget Home Theatre (1 Viewer)

Bret Miedema

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First off I would like to say my wife and I just bought a house. I am still in school and money is tight but we are huge movie fanatics and where sick of spending $40 bucks a pop to go the the movies when we can just wait for red box movies.

I wanted to build a home theater in our basement with keeping the whole thing around a $1000 dollars. Most would say its impossible but I think I did pretty good. What does everyone think.


First off is the center piece

I got a Acer H6510BD DLP 1080p projector on Newegg for $630
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009486&Tpk=h6510bd

For the Audio I got a Yamaha 5.1 System at Best Buy. It was a home theater in a box, but it came with a true receiver and none of the proprietary bullshit. It has 4 hdmi inputs and 1 output so wiring will be easy. (Good discount) $275
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Yamaha+-+5.1-Ch.+Home+Theater+System+with+Subwoofer/4566089.p?id=1218487076724&skuId=4566089

I got a 92" Projector screen of eBay for $$65 (this may be my weakest link but i figured it would be better then nothing.)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300752550544

Hardware and Cables (ex mount, speaker mounts, speaker wire, surge protector, etc) $50

Total Cost ~$1020

I already own a HTPC with a blu-ray drive and tv tuner with Windows Media center that will be my main source.

I plan on ceiling the mounting the projector and it is a relatively small room. We will sit approx 9 feet from the screen.


I haven't set it up yet as I just am getting the projector today hopefully, but what does everyone think of this budget setup.
 

Mike Frezon

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Bret:

Welcome to the Home Theater Forum! :welcome:

You have found a great place to hang out and learn how to get the most out of that system. Since you are on a budget, there are always lots of threads on how to get the best deals on software (although Redbox is already a great option) and for cheap hardware (once that disease known as upgrade-itis strikes you!). And if you hang out here long enough...it will! :biggrin:

I think you have put together a pretty good system considering your budget. I bet you and your wife will be more than happy with it. It's a damn good investment in terms of providing good quality for a hobby that the two of you both enjoy (as long as you both can agree on films to watch together!) :laugh:
 

Bret Miedema

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That can be tricky sometimes. (movie choice) Do you think that projector screen will do for the time being, that is really the only that concerns me. I feel it wouldn't matter that much but I don't know much about this projector stuff yet.
 

Mike Frezon

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I'm not a projector guy either...but we've got a bunch here (including Sam) who know their stuff.

Be patient and you'll get more responses!
 

Mike Frezon

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schan1269 said:
I'm primarily in Shelby.
That must be like when, the rain in Spain stays primarily in the plain. :biggrin:

Bret: What exactly are your concerns about the screen? Are you using it yet? Does the image look good?
 

schan1269

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I have three houses. Bought my uncles house, inheritance reasons, two years ago.The large house was being renovated, bought another house to live in during the renovation. Currently it is "for sale", but I'm asking way too much(on purpose, loophole in IN property taxes).
 

Type A

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Welcome to the forum Bret :)

I like the projector, DLP is definitely the best bang for the buck if youre flexible in the projector's location.

As for the screen its hard to say what you got there. I will say that Ive been very please with my $277 Da Lite screen and the case and hardware look exactly like mine. For all I know the screen material is the same that you would find in a Da Lite screen also. Once you get it set up youll find out quickly if your great price got you hot spots. It might also start developing waves rather quickly. Then again you may not have any of those issues and you just plain got a great deal on a good screen. It doesnt take much but it does often cost a little more than what you spent to get a good screen that doesnt have or quickly develop problems. Keep us up to date and let us know how it turns out. With that price, if it turns out good, it will start getting recommended along side Elite and Favi.

Got a chuckle out of that ebayers shipping rate for USPS. At $5000.00 theyre really not interested in shipping to Canada via USPS. :lol:
 

Jim Mcc

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Sounds good for your first, budget system. You can upgrade your screen down the road when the screen develops wrinkles, and it will.
 

Bobofbone

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Good choices. As long as you have good control of the light, a projection system is a great choice. Concerning suspending your projector from the ceiling, check out the mounts at Monoprice and the like. I have a Panasonic 7000U, and used the mount offered by the same place I got the projector, Projector People I believe. It's made by Visual Apec, and was $69. The Panasonic mount was way more. The other possibility is to mount it on a shelf on the back wall. As long as there is enough ventillation around the intake and exhaust, a shelf should work, and is even less. just make sure it's anchored in studs and the shelf is well secured.

Regarding your screen choice, it depends on whether you like it, A screen is a surface that projects light back. If the projector has satisfactory light rendition and is bright enough, a neutral white works fine. From what I've read and what I've seen, projectors are better and brighter than they used to be. If the light in the area is controlled, I'm not sure how much difference I could appreciate between screens. I saw a really expensive one earlier this month, and I wasn't greatly impressed. If your screen develops wrinkles, if you notice them while using it (a big if) or they bother you, you can re stretch it. I suspect you are more liklely to replace you screen to change size or aspect ratio. The tone of your post doesn't suggest you will derive a lot of satisfaction in bragging rights for spending lots of money on a screen.

If you decide to replace you screen, it's not that hard to make one. I made my 135" 2.40:1 screen, using materials from Lowes, a canvas stretching pliers I bought on Amazon and my trust old staple gun. I bought fabric from Carls Screen Fabric, for a total cost of between $100-$125, and my time. I put a frame around to incorporate rope light clamps that I haven't used yet. That added a bit more-but paintable molding isn't that expensive. With a bit of surface preparation and the possible addition of a pain sprayer, you can also use a painted wall surface as a projector screen. But if you are happy with what you have (I thought the image from my projector looked great on the cement wall before the studding went up-so you might take what I say it a grain of salt) go with it.
 

Mark-P

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Congratulations. I'm impressed that anyone could build a complete home theater for $1000. The specs on your projector aren't too shabby! The sound system is a little light, but probably adequate for the price. Someday you'll want a beefier sound system that will rattle your walls.

For my own home theater, the screen is where I really economized by building my own with about $50 worth of materials from Home Depot and a fabric store.
 

Bret Miedema

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IMG_7883.JPG


Updated. After about year I finally managed to get everything set up. Only change I made was getting a better projector screen. Still a manual pull down, but my old screen got waves in it. I think it turned out pretty awesome.
 

Bret Miedema

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I will post more. The theater is set up but the basement is still in progress need to paint and decorate. My wife is a Yankees fan and I'm a Red Sox fan. It's going to be a rivalry basement.
 

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