Home Theater (1 Viewer)

[anilsekhri]

I am getting new house constructed and am planning to have a home theater with front projection with around 115" screen.

The basement room size is 35 ft by 22 ft with 9 ft ceiling.I plan to finish this room with dry wall. It has concrete walls. I am budgeting around $5000.00 for projection, screen, receiver and sound system. Need guidance on equipments and any other thing, I need to watch for.

Seth

 

[Ian-Fl]

I sound proofed my basement years ago with a product called sonopan.
http://www.cascades.com/pdf/brochure_sonopan_en.pdf
It improved the acoustics in my basement by absorbing alot of the reverb
The budget way to finish off a basement is to use pink insulation between the joists and studs followed by drywall then resilient metal channel then another layer of drywall. The resilient channel will improve the acoustics and soundproof it somewhat. Run a conduit to where your projector will be before you finish your basement,that way if you upgrade and need some future cable you can just pull it through.
Start looking for a projector at projectorcentral.com
I went with the best projector I could find followed by a modest sound system that was really good for HT and OK for music.
I built my screen which alot of people do.
Research is the key in trying to get the best gear for your money.

 

[LouAR]

A good place to start is here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=282243
Scroll down to the FAQs. There are links to most of the information you will need to start.

Also check the following link to a list of recommended projectors grouped by price range. All listed (blue links)have full reviews and there are subsequent blue links to summary screens that have throw calculators so you can see what size image each projector will give you at a set distance from the screen: http://www.projectorcentral.com/reco...projectors.htm

Here is a link to a forum about screens: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forum...php?forumid=23

Audio is a whole other bag-o-beans and you will find few agree. Some think home theater computer is the way to go while others recommend DTS receiver with good speakers. Every set-up will have its fans in these forums and its adversaries. Go and listen and choose based on what sounds good to you and fits your budget. If yo love working computers and don't mind opening them and spending the time to set up a system, that is your direction. If that idea makes you shutter, go the receiver route.

As you look through the above links, here are some points to keep in mind (and by the time you are finished, you will either be in info overload or have a very good idea of what you want )
-Consider your use as this will determine native aspect ratio (4:3, 16x9). This choice will narrow the field of projector choices. Also, intended use can also dictate resolution requirements. If you plan to use for HDTV than you need to consider that in PJ choice, if no HDTV use ...
-seating distance, usually recommended formula 2x screen width.
-cables: try to stick with component or DVI as S-video and composite will not give the same video quality. You don't have to buy top of the line, watch for threads on this topic.
-keep mounting position in mind. Avoid keystone correction if possible.

That should be enough to give you a good start - if it does not deter you

Good luck and most of all, remember to have fun (you will when you turn on your system and watch that first movie!!!)

~ Lou ~ FP - WOW!!