# Where do I begin?



## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Hello, 

I have a dedicated theater room in a new house I purchased and right now it is simply an empty room with raised riser in the back. I need to start somewhere. I run a company doing commercial integration work for medical and dental offices so I am familiar with most of the technology but not with best practices for screen sizes, distances, etc. The first step will be to have a front cabinet designed and rack space for the equipment. 

I've attached a floor plan of the space. Where do I start? Where should I start reading to lay out this room. 


the 1' 8" dimension in the front of the room really don't exist. There is nothing there, but would likely represent the front cabinets. 

Thanks!

-jr


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## fitzwaddle (Aug 25, 2010)

Hmm, to start with, how many people do you want seating for? and what % of use will be movies / music / gaming?

The # of seats will determine appropriate seating locations in the room, and based on that you can start thinking about screen size based on recommended viewing angles.

Here's a pic that may help with the latter (just a guide to get you started, don't treat it as a law - widths are based on a 2.35:1 screen, but heights apply to both 16:9 and 2.35:1 screens):


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Actually, the first thing you need to decide is which end of the room do you intend place the screen?
we can then work from there..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

There are a few of these early steps that can influence each other (screen size, seating distance, projector model, projector mounting distance, viewing angle, theatre capacity, etc.) so start with a general idea of what you want and then we can get more specific. If there are any specific criteria that are more important to you or specific goals, lay them out for us to work around. I think it seems to get easier as you go along and start making choices. Right now the options are limitless, so its easy to feel overwhelmed!


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

+1 for selecting the front of the room. Then select the seating and this plant your eyes and ears. A side sightline drawing will help establish riser height and screen height (so the second row can see the bottom of the screen). 

You might want to reconsider cabinetry in front. The equipment displays can be distracting and you really don't want your center channel boxed in.


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Bump a post from the past.. 

So, I am finally moving forward with some things here. Has only taken about a 1year of doing everything else in this house! The screen will be on the front wall, opposite the windows. The windows have blackout shades on them, so will have good light control.

I'd say that it will be for about 90% movies, 5% gaming and maybe 5% general TV, etc. 

So, far I have the following equipment picked out..

- Marantz AV8801
- Marantz MM8077
- JVC X75
- Dalite HD Progressive 1.1 Screen (119" Diag 16:9)
- Paradigm Monitor 11 L/R
- Paradigm Monitor Center 3
- Paradigm Surround 3 for l/r surround
- Paradigm Surround 1 for rear l/r
- Paradigm Sub 10 (x2)

What I really need to decide out is how I will setup the screen wall. As of right now I was simply planning on mounting screen (it is not AT) on the wall, get some cabinet below the screen for equipment and center. I do like the idea of having a false to be able, but not sure if I really have the room?

My concern is also about the light loss due to AT screen? the JVC isn't super bright and I'd like to be able to watch some sports and have people over with it being a cave? This is why I went with 1.1 vs .9 on the screen.

About me: I am a software developer but also having a consulting company where I do IT and system integration work for commercial spaces (mainly dental/medical offices).

Thanks!


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

. delete .


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

I would suggest making the far wall (with what appears to be windows) the screen wall. Next it looks like you have a double door entering the room at the right rear & appears to be recessed. I would convert this to a single door & use the remaining space to make an equipment room/rack. By the time you build a stage/cabnet, those doors will be problematic. And you still have the equipment issue. Which end of the room is the riser in?


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Tonto said:


> I would suggest making the far wall (with what appears to be windows) the screen wall. Next it looks like you have a double door entering the room at the right rear & appears to be recessed. I would convert this to a single door & use the remaining space to make an equipment room/rack. By the time you build a stage/cabnet, those doors will be problematic. And you still have the equipment issue. Which end of the room is the riser in?


The riser is on that side of the room (window side).

Trying to get some photos up, will make the conversation easier. 

-jr


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Here are some photos of how the room sits right now.. If I flip it the door will come right into the riser? Really don't think it would work any other way.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

There won't be any loss of light using an AT screen..If it has a gain of 1.1 then it will be as bright as a solid screen of the same gain..
The JVC should be bright enough to have some ambient light in the room..

Also I would suggest that you move the rear seating further away from the back wall..You need a gap of at least 2' from the back wall for the audio to be effective....


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Prof. said:


> There won't be any loss of light using an AT screen..If it has a gain of 1.1 then it will be as bright as a solid screen of the same gain..
> The JVC should be bright enough to have some ambient light in the room..


I'm certainly not opposed to doing the AT screen.

One of my problems it that I need someplace for the equipment. Everything is pre-wired to the front of the room. So, I was thinking about just doing a piece of furniture or cabinetry under the screen up front to hold the AV equipment, but I suppose I could do that on the bottom and then have AT screen and wall above the cabinet? 

I question if 2' depth I have on the front will be enough.



Prof. said:


> Also I would suggest that you move the rear seating further away from the back wall..You need a gap of at least 2' from the back wall for the audio to be effective....


Ok. That shouldn't be the problem. The riser is big enough for that. It's 6' front to back..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

jr219 said:


> I'm certainly not opposed to doing the AT screen.
> 
> One of my problems it that I need someplace for the equipment. Everything is pre-wired to the front of the room. So, I was thinking about just doing a piece of furniture or cabinetry under the screen up front to hold the AV equipment, but I suppose I could do that on the bottom and then have AT screen and wall above the cabinet?
> 
> I question if 2' depth I have on the front will be enough.


Yes..a 2' space will suffice nicely for a screen wall..
The other way you could mount your equipment would be under the screen behind cloth covered doors..That way you wouldn't need to have an external cabinet..
This is what I did originally before moving all the gear into another room..


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

So, just false wall from top to bottom?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

And wall to wall..


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Yea, figured that. I'm thinking that I should do some type of stage though as well..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

If you feel that you'll have enough floor space from the screen wall to your front row, then you could do a stage as well..


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Prof. said:


> If you feel that you'll have enough floor space from the screen wall to your front row, then you could do a stage as well..


I have about 13' 8" to the wall from the face of the riser... If I did a stage which came out 3' in the center and hard screen lined up with the wall @ 2'.. I would still have about 10' from screen to back of riser. 

I did have Erskine Group do a layout..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I see in the plan that Dennis Erskine has allowed for a stage, so shouldn't be a problem..I would go with what he recommends..


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Prof. said:


> I see in the plan that Dennis Erskine has allowed for a stage, so shouldn't be a problem..I would go with what he recommends..


Yes, I will in terms of sight lines, etc. But don't think I'm going to go that way with speakers, etc. Dennis didn't work on the layout, one of his other guys did. I think it would have been better if I had some equipment chosen before I paid for the layout. Didn't get projector layout, positioning, etc. 

-jr


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

OK..Well firstly are you going with CIH 2.35:1 or a 16:9 screen? Either way, I wouldn't place my L&R speakers so close to the side walls..You will have boundary issues with speakers in that position..

The stage doesn't need to protrude 3' out from the screen, so you could reduce that a little if you feel you need a bit more space..although on second look at the drawing, a 2' space for the screenwall is not going to give you much projection of the stage as it's shown now..

Once you decide what you're going with, we will then be able to assist you further..


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## jr219 (Nov 24, 2011)

Prof. said:


> OK..Well firstly are you going with CIH 2.35:1 or a 16:9 screen? Either way, I wouldn't place my L&R speakers so close to the side walls..You will have boundary issues with speakers in that position..
> 
> The stage doesn't need to protrude 3' out from the screen, so you could reduce that a little if you feel you need a bit more space..although on second look at the drawing, a 2' space for the screenwall is not going to give you much projection of the stage as it's shown now..
> 
> Once you decide what you're going with, we will then be able to assist you further..


I'm going to do 120" diag 16:9 screen. I really need to put the equipment below the screen.

I've uploaded some more drawings.. I am thinking that I'm going to go for more of a look like the ones shown here. Likely the one with the drapes on the front and the exposed speakers. Don't know if I will have a cabinet guy build something or try and find something..


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