# How to get started with a Home Theatre project



## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

I copied the following from my thread in the new members section. I'm completely new to this so I will provide pictures and measurements of my room so. Its more of a TV room not a Theatre.



Hi everyone,
I'm 25 and just purchased my first home. Nothing crazy just a nice 3bedroom/2bath and I'm trying to set it up with some special things I prefer. On the back of the home is a room that was previously used for art and I would like to look into making it my "theatre/entertainment/big screen room" or whatever you would like to call it. Presently I am not very educated on how to properly design or setup what I'm looking to do. I need to get current measurements on the room but this is what I will be working with.
*Do not have total light control, the room has large bay windows but I do have blinds and will get black out curtains if need be. At night the room is completely dark though due to lack of ambient city lights
*Will be sitting 11 feet 6" from the wall where the screen needs to be. I would like 100 inch or larger if possible. Just do not know what is normal for that length.
*Looking to watch movies/stream netflix/Playstation 3.
*ceiling height is 8Ft, walls will be painted dark red/burgandy. Floor is tile but will have a very large throw rug put down. Would even like to install big velvet theatre like drapes on the wall the screen will be located on....just to give it that cinema feel. Ceiling is currently white but if I need to paint it that is fine.
*Would like the screen to be permanently mounted on the wall. 
*Since this is not a real "theatre" in million dollar home Im not looking to go top of the line....just reliable products that will perform and give me an enjoyable theatre experience.

Please feel free to help or give any ideas to help me set this up. Thanks guys
James



Read more: New to the Home Theatre arena - Home Theater Forum and Systems - HomeTheaterShack.com


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

As I said in your welcome post, Most projectors will function in rooms that are not completely dark however to get the best contrast/ black level a dark room is ideal. A budget is something that we should know. Do you have a $$ amount in mind?

If your sitting 11' back from the screen, its good for about a 96" size. Going larger can cause eye strain.
Keep in mind that you do not want to sit right against the rear wall of the room so you want to have about 3' of space behind you. You also dont want to push your main front left and right speakers into the corners of the room and should leave about 3' away from a side wall.


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

Yeah, as like most things, a budget is key. 

I had all my own audio gear already but my completed home theater ran me around 10k when it was all said and done. Which isn't bad as I did fairly complete sound proofing, sound treatments, top of the line carpet and paint, electronic dimmers, and an acoustically transparent screen. Check out my thread.. monkeyboy home theater.

IT should be said however, that I was starting from an unfinished basement which easily added about 4k in material costs. vapor barrier, subfloor, framing lumber, hat channel, green glue, double drywall.. Man, now that I think about it..that was a BUNCH of work.

But, totally worth it!!


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> As I said in your welcome post, Most projectors will function in rooms that are not completely dark however to get the best contrast/ black level a dark room is ideal. A budget is something that we should know. Do you have a $$ amount in mind?
> 
> If your sitting 11' back from the screen, its good for about a 96" size. Going larger can cause eye strain.
> Keep in mind that you do not want to sit right against the rear wall of the room so you want to have about 3' of space behind you. You also dont want to push your main front left and right speakers into the corners of the room and should leave about 3' away from a side wall.


Budget wise I haven't given it alot of thought because I do not know what I am getting involved with. I figured + or - $1000 for a projector, then I have the screen, way of covering the walls "velvet" or something, projector mount, cables, I'm not a huge sound guy so Just the a normal Home theatre system will do me fine, possible a in wall rack to hold whatever reciever, PS3, and anything else. My main problem is going to be the windows. I have huge bay windows that have blinds but let in a good bit of light. I figure I should first start thinking of how to go about blacking out the windows. At night its not a problem but just in the day. I've been looking at the gallery of all these amazing setups and I'm thinking that covering all the walls in velvet like drapes might give the room a more theatre feel and completely cover up the windows where you can't even tell they exist. It seems to be a better option than simply painting in my situation other wise I will end up with drapes over windows and painted walls....the velvet all over make it more uniform I would think. I will post up a picture of the room and measurements to see how the most feasible way to mount the projector is and if its even possible. I would like purchase a screen that mounts on the wall with a border but I came across a DIY screen made out of sheetrock that looked awesome and cost the OP about $60. Not sure if I'm talented enough to pull that off though.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Well you dont have to do it all at once either. A $1000 projector will give you a used 1080p model, You want something that has high lumins and a good contrast ratio. There are some new 720p models however they dont have the light output that you would need in your situation.

For a receiver I dont recommend spending less than around $500 This will get you a receiver that has pre outputs allowing for future expansion of adding external amps. That price range also gets you out of the lower quality receiver range and gets you some very useful features.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Well you dont have to do it all at once either. A $1000 projector will give you a used 1080p model, You want something that has high lumins and a good contrast ratio. There are some new 720p models however they dont have the light output that you would need in your situation.
> 
> For a receiver I dont recommend spending less than around $500 This will get you a receiver that has pre outputs allowing for future expansion of adding external amps. That price range also gets you out of the lower quality receiver range and gets you some very useful features.


I think I need to make a list and see what kind of $$ I am looking at. I can afford to buy the majority of it all at once I just want to make good decisions. Look for the room dimensions and pictures tomr.
Thanks guys


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## bbieger (Sep 15, 2009)

Do you have a picture of the window in question? I'm sure you can figure out something to dim the light down. My projector works fairly well with some amount of ambient light but it is strange how sunlight degrades picture quality a lot faster than can lights do. Go figure. 

You can get a nice receiver for around $350. Just get something that will decode DTS-HD master audio from blueray discs. A new 1080p projector will run you around $1500 new. I love my epson, I'm sure there are better projectors out there but I can say that I never look at my screen and say "I wish it could be blacker" or I wish I had a little more contrast. 

If you have nothing in terms of audio..you can probably piece something together for around $1000. Cheap speakers can sound pretty good my only advicee in terms of speakers is that a cheap sub always sound horrible. 

A projector, screen and some curtains will probably set you back $2000. If your handy, you can make up some acoustic treatments for another $200-300. Throw in another $200 for paint and you have a pretty nice setup for around $3,500.


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## MatrixDweller (Jul 24, 2007)

The width of your room should be taken into account before you decide on a screen size. If you're room is only 10 feet wide then 100" is not going to leave room for speakers and they would be pushed right into the corners. Speakers in corners are generally a no no.


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## ACE23 (Jun 25, 2010)

Okay sorry for the ridiculous drawing but I figured it would give you guys an idea of what I'm working with. I added color coated letters and arrows so you could see as to what direction I was standing in the room as I was taking the picture. The second picture is the same room but no measurements just how I would imagine it setup in my mind....I know the seating is not exact on center but since the wall sticks out for the closet its what I have to work with....unless I tore out the entire closet, the the room would be competely square. At the very bottom of my drawing you can see where I'm thinking the projector should be mounted from the ceiling...only problem is I'm wondering if the projector image can clear the 40" inch wall to the right of it "the area can be seen in the third picture down. The projector screen should be mounted on the wall which is 210" wide and at the top of the drawing. I have 4 incandescent can lights in the room for lighting controlled with a wireless lutron maestro dimmer. The windows as you can see let in a ton of light but at night its completely dark....I'm thinking I would like velvet wall to wall around the room to get rid of all the contrast of the blinds, windows ect.... Feel free to ask questions if you do not understand...obviously I'm not an engineer Hope this room can be used but if its to much of a problem I might just settle for 1 of those huge ugly mitsubish DLP tv's 



















SITE A "IN PINK"








SITE B "IN BLUE"








SITE C "IN GREEN"








SITE D "IN YELLOW"


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