Newbie - Where do I start? (1 Viewer)

[carri1022]

We are converting an existing large bedroom/computer room to a HT room. We have a budget between $3000-5000. I have seen on the posts that the majority of the money should go to speakers, then projector, then receiver - we already have a 100" screen. My question is not on purchasing but on set up & wiring. We have a flat roof so there is no attic space to run the wiring - I would prefer to have the wires hidden. Has anyone used the Geek Squad to have them set up everything or is this a waste of money? I haven't seen any posts that discuss the set up with electrical. I think we only need to add an extra outlet on the ceiling for the projector - is this correct? We have a basic bedroom with outlets on every wall and we do use power surges too. Also, we have cable box and computer in the room already. Is is best to stream movies through the computer and then projector or have a blu ray set up or both? We think we may have our WII set up in the room also for nieces/newphews and grandkids to play. We are very new to all of this - would prefer to go DIY but want to make sure we are thinking of everything before we cut holes in the walls so any input is appreciated. Would like to know what others have done in older homes that don't have everything already set up. Thanks, Carri

 

[Robert_J]

We always encourage you to do as much as possible yourself. The Geek squad is a crap shoot most of the time. I've talked to the guys in my local BB and they range from average knowledge to total morons when it comes to home theater. You can add an extra outlet in the ceiling or you can just extend an existing one. I can't find the link but Parts Express carries an item that will allow you to run romex to the ceiling outlet but still use your existing surge protection at the regular outlet. Or you can do like I did for a while and just put the projector on a shelf on the back wall. All of the cables just hung down to the equipment rack. It wasn't pretty but it was functional. The rest of the wires can be hidden behind baseboards, under carpet or use some wiring channels from your local hardware store.

Is is best to stream movies through the computer and then projector or have a blu ray set up or both?

I'm not a fan of using the computer in a home theater. If I were going to stream movies, I'd use my Blu-ray player (built-in streaming) or get a media player like the Popcorn Hour. How large is this room? What equipment have you looked at? What is your true budget? Pick a number and stick with it. Because if you are always saying that you can spend more for better quality then you will keep spending. How DIY are you? Are you willing to build speakers to save money?

 

[Justagirl]

If your doing enclosed built ins around your tv be sure to build in a cooling fan for your components or they will over heat and shut down like mine! Thousands of dollars later and I still don't have a nice and neat theater because all my components are outside the $12,000+ built in! Good luck doing your connections. We hired someone to do ours and it was well worth it minus that fact he did not tell us about the FAN!