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MarkW
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Ardmore, AL
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Link Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:08 pm Post subject: Theater/Media Room Reconstruction |
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First off I truly don’t have the space for a totally “dedicated” Home Theater. What I’m trying to get to is a Media Room that suits the home size and the family lifestyle. Love the big screen movie experience but also need a place to play xbox and watch “family shows” together. Now I do play xbox on my projector but honestly those are “Daddy Games” only. The projectors main usage is for Family Movies and then after that it is mainly my toy for sports, Daddy Shows/Games. So I still need to have the LCD for family regular viewing (Not burning tube time on Pokemon).
In the first pic (Media) you can clearly see what the challenges are. I’ve got to much furniture in a small space. The room becomes crowded and there are really no comfortable areas for the kids to flop out and watch movies. In addition the doors to the sun room provide significant challenges to movie viewing during daylight hours. Larger problem in my mind has always been that I’m pushing the projector way to much because the system should be moved forward ~18 inches.
The second pic (Media 2) is the tentative plan to make the space more functional for the family as a whole. The biggest problem I have with this plan is mapping out the connections and trying to determine the best way to get the projector mounted. The WAF plan actually has the projector mounted in the laundry room with the tubes poking out thru the wall. While esthetically pleasing it doesn’t do a lot for me throw distance wise not to mention the fact I’m not crazy about the idea of subjecting the Marquee to the moist and hot environment of a laundry room. What it does do however is give you easier access to the system and does not have it hanging over you head. Now, if you mount it in the room you may be able to get the optimum throw distance. You do however then have the challenge of accessibility and then it is hanging over your head.
Any suggestions or ideas to optimize this setup? What cables would you guys run to the projector? The biggest thing I’m pondering is the value of running an HDMI. I probably should just because of the advent of the Moome and HDFury options. In addition the bottom line is some day in the far, far future (I don’t have Arts deep pockets) I can see getting a more compact projector.
Here is what I have to feed to the LCD and 8500.
DVHS
HTPC (HP Z555)
XBOX 360 (HDDVD)
MOTO 6412
Altinex Transcoder
Extron 202Plus
Extron RGBHV Switcher
I’ll post a proposed connection diagram later.
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_________________ Mark....
8501, oh wait and another 8501, and yet another 8501! Oh Yeah and MPMods On The Way!
Moto 6412
DVHS JVC3000
Xbox 360 with HD-DVD
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zaphod
Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale
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Link Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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well... here are my thoughts. remember what you paid for them.
image
- the surround speakers should not be behind you. think 110 degrees from center, that is, on either side, but a bit behind.
- the screen distance is an issue, so bring the screen forward. nothing says that it needs to be against a wall.
- if you get rind of the coffee table and floor mount the PJ, it can be built into a coffee table. spike it and it stays put. move it a bit forward and this also addresses screen distance
image2
- if that wall between the bathroom and kitchen is a supporting wall, do you want to punch a hole in it?
- the PJ over the sofa isn't a big issue unless you encourage the kids jumping on the sofa
- this whole layout seems to have everything stuffed into one area of the room. you are going to have echos and other sound issues
- the pull down in front of the french doors will help a lot with blacking out that source of light. except for the bottom 2 feet or so
- the door to the patio is still an issue
- the surround speakers are in the correct location
overall i like number one. pull the surrounds to the side walls, and the screen forward. then you have to deal with the light issues from the doors (french and patio). number one also looks like a nicer arrangement.
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MarkW
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Ardmore, AL
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Link Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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The wife is kind of pushing the current design image number one off a cliff. Number two is the path I'm heading for. The french doors to the sunroom are going to get torn out and a wall put back. Great point on punching holes into the wall to the laundry room, I've got to look into that.
I like #1 as well but the number #2 setup is growing on me. I'll try and post some pics of the room itself later this evening. Thansk for the input and keep them coming.
mark....
_________________ Mark....
8501, oh wait and another 8501, and yet another 8501! Oh Yeah and MPMods On The Way!
Moto 6412
DVHS JVC3000
Xbox 360 with HD-DVD
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MarkW
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Ardmore, AL
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Link Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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All right here is the proposed connection. I'm considering this for ease of use for the family. I haven't decided if I don't want to go ahead and run an HDMI cable to the Aquos and one to the Projector. Thoughts?
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_________________ Mark....
8501, oh wait and another 8501, and yet another 8501! Oh Yeah and MPMods On The Way!
Moto 6412
DVHS JVC3000
Xbox 360 with HD-DVD
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jask
Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10165 Location: kamloops BC
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Link Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:59 am Post subject: |
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I like the second option
why is your laundry room hot and moist? it should be venting outside,even if it gets warm it should not be moist.
if you build a ventilated hush box around the pj in the laundry room it could pull the air out of the box into the laundry room.
I would try to run the htpc to the pj as directly as possible, does it have a second input or is that an option? the software,graphic cards,and HD drives make an htpc source far more able than a component signal path.
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MarkW
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Ardmore, AL
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Link Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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Laundry room defintely needs a vent in it to pull heat and moisture out. We have an upright washer and you leave the door open to allow it to dry out which does put some level of moisture into the air.
Regarding the HTPC I can probably run a DVI Cable straight to the Sharp and then I would run a DB15 to DB15 to the Extron 202 for the second input. The 8501 likes the little extra push provided by the Extron. That would also give me a little more flexibility in the resolutions being used. That leads me to wonder about the possibility of flowing 1080p thru the Extron. The Altinex I'm not to worried about but the Extron.....
_________________ Mark....
8501, oh wait and another 8501, and yet another 8501! Oh Yeah and MPMods On The Way!
Moto 6412
DVHS JVC3000
Xbox 360 with HD-DVD
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MarkW
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 164 Location: Ardmore, AL
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Link Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:39 pm Post subject: Actual Pics of Room |
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All right folks here are some modified pics trying to show what is going to take place in the room.
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_________________ Mark....
8501, oh wait and another 8501, and yet another 8501! Oh Yeah and MPMods On The Way!
Moto 6412
DVHS JVC3000
Xbox 360 with HD-DVD
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