My home theater - I'm new here (1 Viewer)

[David Materazzi]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to posting here. I been reading posts here a few times and decided why not join in on the fun. Here's an introduction about me and what I like to call my home theater. My name is David. I'm from Wilkes-Barre, PA. (about 2 hours North of Philadelphia.) I'm 33 years old and I love movies.

I just got a 60" widescreen tv around Christmas.
I also upgraded to a new home theater system.
I bought black cabinets from Best Buy. The one that I wanted went around the widescreen tv but it was so hard to get,out of stock. So I bought 2 black cabinets and stood them side by side on another wall.Tonight I finally got them on each side of the widescreen tv. I am going to add a homemade bridge across the top of the tv to connect the 2 cabinets. It took me about 4 hours to reconnect all the wires. You all understand what I'm talking about. I still have things to hook up yet, I need longer cables. Here's all the things I have:
60" Philips HDTV Widescreen TV
Direct TV Dolby Digital satellite receiver
650 watt home theater system
dvd player
vcr
cd audio jukebox - 200 cd capacity
playstation 2

65 dvds

I am starting to add things little by little. It's our living room/family room. I am not trying to make it to theater like since it's our family room but also trying to combine them in a way. It doesn't look like many of yours that I have seen. But I feel that it works for me and that I am happy. I love designing things for myself. I saw that someone post a link for a sign, " THIS THEATER FEATURES DOLBY DIGITAL SURROUND SOUND ". So I printed it out on high glossy paper and put it into a black and gold frame. It turned out pretty nice. Sure I could go out buy them but you all know how much they run. I am sure that I will be adding many things to my home theater as time passes.
That's what is so nice about having your own. You can add what you want to it. I have a couch on the back wall, which I just added longer legs to it, adds some height to it. You can see over the smaller couch that is half way in the room.
I have a recliner over to the left side about 3/4 way back.
I have seating for about 7 but could have more people if I wanted too. Last weekend I just repositioned my rear surround sound speakers to the back wall. I had them half way in the room for my last setup (listening area at that time). What else can I say at this time but I am happy to be chatting about home theaters. You guys have great theaters and I hope one day I can get a few pics of mine on here to show you.
David

 

[Frank Zimkas]

Welcome! There's always room for 1 more addict around here!

 

[David Preston]

Sounds nice. I beleive I got the entertainment center you are talking about at BB. I love it. It has a light in each cabinet and a bright light over the tv area. You can even haggle with a place like BB. I got the et center for $360 regular $400. I was supposed to get it for $350 but they were out of stock so I had to go to another store. The best they could do was $360. I told them if they can do it for that I'll get if not I'll go else where. Which I really would have. It hides wires great. I hate seeing wires. You will have to post some pics. I need to also. Have fun with your system. David

 

[David Materazzi]

No, I have the 2 black towers that are sold seperately from Best Buy. It has room for 6 components and dvds in drawers on the bottom. I ordered them on the phone from Best Buy and had them shipped. I paid $150 each for them. They are slightly lower than my 60" widescreen. The one you have is the exactly that I was trying to get and had no luck. For some reason everyone was out of stock. So I told myself why not get the towers seperately and make my own bridge. I bought them and my widescreen around Christmas. I had them off to the side,side by side, because of the short cables.
A few days ago I decided to go for it and change it around.
I added the towers on each side of the widescreen. I just had enough room to add my front main speakers. Sometimes you just can't believe has fast the space gets used up.
I was going to go to Home Depot today and get some wood for the bridge but it's pouring. My uncle has a truck so I was going with him. He also has better tools for doing this kind of work. We are going to use a 2 x 10, Cut it to size. I am making it to sit on a few inches on each side of the towers. Brining up about 6 inches. And I will take it from there. Heres a drawing what I have in mind, it's simple but I will probaby change it.




I will be posting pics sometime in the future.

 

[LaMarcus]

Congrats, welcome to the forum. I'm anticipating seeing some pics of your theater.

 

[David Materazzi]

I just took a few pictures of my home theater room a few minutes ago. In the process of making a bridge to fit across my widescreen to connect my cabinets. My uncle has lots of tools and built one in no time. I brought it home and took it down the basement and started the sand away. Just a few minutes ago I filled in holes/marks in the wood with wood filler. It's drying and I will be doing more sanding a bit later. My wife went shopping so I am having her pick up some black satin paint for it. It's a simple design but it's what I want. Like I say, everyone has different ideas and designs and that's what so neat about home theaters. I am hoping to have the bridge done by tonight. I tried it before taking it downstairs and it fits great and I planned it.

I don't think I will ever be finished in a way with adding or changing things with my home theater. There's so much you can do to it. But it's all for fun and entertainment and I love it.
Believe me, I see something that someone has and I think to myself,"Do I Have Room For Something Like That?" Some of my family that comes over to our house thinks nothing of it because they don't understand home theaters. But others really enjoy it and I'm like," Look at this!" or "See What I built!" or "I just added this!"

I see so many great home theaters and I am glad to be a home theater owner. I will post pictures of my theater soon.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

You should say what speaker models you have so maybe ppl can give you suggestions on arrangement. Room dimensions can also help if it's not a complex room.

Then you can tell the audiophiles on this forum what glaze or paint you used on the walls and what the average humidity and temperature is. hehe jk

 

[David Materazzi]

Here are some pictures of my home theater.
Remember, this room is a living room/home theater.

2 cabinets on each side of 60" Widescreen.
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image7.jpg


Seating (standing looking at seats from tv)
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image9.jpg

Making of the Bridge in the basement(final sanding) - (unpainted)
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image10.jpg

The Bridge again (painted)
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image11.jpg

Bridge over Widescreen TV
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image13.jpg

Bridge over Widescreen TV closer look
http://www2.dfnow.com/~davidmaterazzi/image14.jpg

RECENTLY ADDED:

Since I took these pictures last week.
I made/hung a Dolby Digital sign.

Also I painted the corner shelves (for our knick knacks) to the left the color black.

Also I bought a Movie Clapper and set it on a plate display holder and I have it on the top of the right cabinet.



I know that might not seem to appealing to alot of you but I am very happy with what I have done with this as it stands. Sure I will be always playing around with ideas and trying new things in years to come and changing things.
But it's all for fun and entertainment.

Please let me know what you think.

David

 

[Neil Joseph]

Welcome to the HTF David.


Nice setup there. What if you put a blackout material (thin board perhaps, painted black) behind the bridge so that you do not see the background through the bridge? (betwen the bridge and the TV)

 

[Ed Werner]

Great job and welcome to the forum! I am pretty new here too and have learned so much in the past month it is amazing. You have a good start. How long ago did you buy that home theater in a box? Just asking because the biggest improvement in my opinion that you could make would be to take that back and buy a reciever and buying speakers seperately. (don't confuse that with "seperates" such as a pre/pro and amp, I am just talking about a nice reciever and descent speakers)

Please, don't take it the wrong way, but those speakers and reciever/amp that came with them does not do your TV or movie soundtracks justice. You would really be suprized how much good sound can get you totally immersed into a movie or program you are watching. Its like stepping up to a nice stereo after having just TV mono sound all your life. You hear things you never heard before, even in your favorite movies!

What model DVD player did you buy? You might want to think about upgrading that to a progressive scan player since you have a HDTV and you would basically be wasting its potential with just a regular off the shelf non progressive scan model (I know, I have one, made that mistake and now I am trying to buy a Denon 1600 to make up for it)

To end on a good note, lookin good though buddy!

Take care,

Ed

 

[Chad Anson]

Looks good! Since you asked for suggestions, I'll throw one out. I think bias lighting (backlighting) would look good and enhance your viewing. Simplest method would be to attach a small fluorescent fixture to the back of your bridge.

 

[David Preston]

Looks great. Great job on the bridge. I also suggest a light on the bridge. The one I bought has one its a little bright but I have plans to fix that. I will post pics soon. I want to get my new speakers first.