Deadset's HT Build Thread

[Deadset]

Ok, Beta I did use your idea, but it was a good one! I'm starting this thread to get some ideas on setup for a projector and a projector that will suit my needs. I'm looking for a 1080p projector in the price range of $2500 or less. I have a unique setup, but first some background.

I'm finishing our basement and the plan was to keep an open floor plan, add a 4th bedroom, minibar and a great room that 1/2 will be a theater, the other 1/2 will be kid stuff. It's been a busy year, new baby and 9 months of building, wiring and plumbing, but the current plan is to be done by December and then I'll be getting a projector at that time.

Planning

To start out with, I came up with a floor plan before the building ever began in Jan 2008.

The birds eye view of the basement

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1...ayout01kh8.jpg

The minibar setup

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6...ayout01ta2.jpg

Basement Build

Currently, I've done the framing, wiring, plumbing and am about 85% done with the sheetrock. I've done all it my self, but plan on hiring out the mudding and texturing.

Starting from scratch, view of future projection wall



View of the duct work and far wall / rec room area, mini-bar to the right


View of the projection wall


Built in blu-ray storage, 1 of 2 built-ins pictured


Side view of the movie room, duct work


5' mini-bar


Change in Plan

Once the planning was done, it was time to start building. At first, I was planning on the TV being a large screen, probably 63" or so... I wired up the basement as such, towards the end of wiring I was reading about projectors and I think it was rogman who convinced me the joys of owning one (plus all the other well informed HT junkies on here).

Some setup challenges

The Limitations are shown in a very rough pic below

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/4887/ht01zz9.jpg

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8152/ht02bh3.jpg

As you can tell, the ductwork is going to be an issue, well at least I think it is. I ran a 32' HDMI cable and wired up an outlet in the ductwork frame and just last weekend, I added 4 more support cross arms to support the weight of the projector at various mounting distances.

The center of the wall is pretty much right where the projector is going to mount, so there's really no concern with with horizontal shifting.

Vertical Offset

Here is where I'm a bit sketchy, I've seen some projectors at projectorcentral.com that have this in their calculation and some that do not. Does this mean some have internal offsetting?

The projector will hang down from the 7' of space I have from the duct work about 5 to 6", and it'll probably be about a foot long. That said, my throw distance at a maximum will be 12' from the front of the lens to the wall mounted screen.

Also another concern I have is noise and heat. I've read some projectors are noisy and that is a big concern I have, since it's going to be lower and just behind the seating.

Viewing Habits

Obviously I love watching movies and blu-rays are great but...I have several TV shows in SD and am a big MST3K fan, so I need a projector that does display SD as well as my JVC LCD 40" TV.

I'm not a big football fan, but I will watch hockey in HD down there.

I'll also be playing games and could possibly hook up the computer to my future receiver - but the PC thing will be rare...

Summary

1. With an 11' viewing distance, a maximum throw distance of 12' what projectors do you guys recommend? I'm looking at the AE2000U due to some the flexible setup features it offers.

2. I really need a quiet projector.

3. If I have to have an offset from where the projector hangs, can I still have 100" screen, with the hight being 49" (I'm good on width of 87) and still have room for a low component shelf below the screen? Will my viewing distance be too close for 100" screen?

4. Are there any projectors that you can recommend that satisfy my viewing habits?

Any other input you can give would be appreciated. This will be my first projector. I've read lots of posts and really haven't decided on one projector, lots of people recommend the sanyo, epson and panny, but am also looking for other suggestions with my setup challenges.

More pictures to follow!

Edited the thread with pictures and links to larger files to make it more readable.

[Beta Man]

Can't wait to see the progress!!!! your sketch etc. are far more detailed than I could do :P

[Deadset]

It's what I call back of the digital napkin sketches

[Beta Man]

are you considering putting an LCD/Plasma behind the projection screen??? (I am ) That would be good for Standard Def......

I need to try to put some time on the theater.... the room is complete thankfully!!! (unlike yours, waiting for mudding etc....) but I have SO MUCH ELSE to do with the house..... I purchased 21 GALLONS of paint and primer (Sherwin Williams Durabond) and the crazy part is.... I'm picking up 10 more gallons tomorrow At least I'm getting a good deal on the paint, but my shoulder feels like it's going to fall off from all of the mudding/sanding/painting.... I've got contractors taking care of other big projects, so I can't complain. Good luck with your build.... I'll be keeping an eye on it!!!!!!!!

[SquidPuppet]

Now there are 2 of you pissing me off with your projects of passion.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

are you considering putting an LCD/Plasma behind the projection screen??? (I am ) That would be good for Standard Def......

I need to try to put some time on the theater.... the room is complete thankfully!!! (unlike yours, waiting for mudding etc....) but I have SO MUCH ELSE to do with the house..... I purchased 21 GALLONS of paint and primer (Sherwin Williams Durabond) and the crazy part is.... I'm picking up 10 more gallons tomorrow At least I'm getting a good deal on the paint, but my shoulder feels like it's going to fall off from all of the mudding/sanding/painting.... I've got contractors taking care of other big projects, so I can't complain. Good luck with your build.... I'll be keeping an eye on it!!!!!!!!

Beta, I haven't even thought of putting an LCD behind my screen. That may be an option if I can't find a solution to my problem. I was really hoping to find a projector that displayed SD near the same quality as an LCD, so if any of you projector guru's have any experience with yours, fill me in please

I like your movie room pics, can't wait to see it complete and I'll bet you'll have it done waaaaay before I'm complete. Rogman has some cool pics of his theater, and I'm hoping to get seating similar to his.

I hear ya on the paint, it's not enough that the mouse kills my arm, but painting as well. Thanks for the post and will keep an eye out on yours as well.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

Beta, I haven't even thought of putting an LCD behind my screen. That may be an option if I can't find a solution to my problem. I was really hoping to find a projector that displayed SD near the same quality as an LCD, so if any of you projector guru's have any experience with yours, fill me in please

A lot of modern PJ's incorporate internal scalars to upconvert SD content to the PJ's native resolution. Most of the better ones out there use the Gennum VXP processor. The upscaling on these PJ's is good, although any upscaled SD on a big screen is going to look pretty crappy compared to HD material. I don't think upscaling on flat panels is any better, it's just the size of the screen that accentuates the limitation of the technique. One of the best scalars out there is the Lumagen Radiance, which is an outboard scalar that also uses the Gennum VXP. However, it would run you ~$3k on top of what you spend for your PJ. It does have other advantages beyond being a top notch scalar, but whether you need those features or not depends on your setup. Either way, unfortunately, putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact that it (SD material, not Sarah Palin ) is still a pig.

For your PJ choices, CEDIA just concluded and these new PJs are definitely worth a look:

JVC RS20 aka HD750
JVC RS10 aka HD350
Epson 6500UB and 7500UB
Panasonic AE3000

The price points for the Epson 6500UB, Panny, and lower end JVC are going to be VERY competitive for 1080p projectors.

[Fors*]

Hey Ryan, just to give you heads up per your post in my thread, but I got a replica Gimli battleaxe from LOTR and a replica Frodo Sting sword that actually will glow blue (when Orcs were nearby) off of Amazon. Together they were $530, but I got both for over 80% off, and paid a total of just $85...for a LOTR nut like me, it was the steal of a lifetime!

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Hey Ryan, just to give you heads up per your post in my thread, but I got a replica Gimli battleaxe from LOTR and a replica Frodo Sting sword that actually will glow blue (when Orcs were nearby) off of Amazon. Together they were $530, but I got both for over 80% off, and paid a total of just $85...for a LOTR nut like me, it was the steal of a lifetime!

That is one heck of a deal! Was this on ebay? or a discount online store?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

That is one heck of a deal! Was this on ebay? or a discount online store?

Straight up on Amazon through a retailer...if interested let me know and I'll provide the links......

[Deadset]

Well I managed to get some things done the past few days.

2 doors installed
Set the toilet, no more running up stairs!
Replaced almond outlet with white
Repainted some areas - had to touch up - that took MANY hours
Installed and tested about 15 outlets, about 1/2 done
Connected all the closet lights and smoke detectors

Just a note to those who may nail up their own electrical boxes. The little nubs or tabs on the box do NOT represent the spacing for 1/2" sheet rock. I found that out the hard way. The best way to get a flush box with sheet rock is to take a test piece and use it to determine your depth, then nail up the boxes. Don't rely on the tabs on the side of the blue boxes.

Mine is being fixed with box extensions. Some of them are the right depth, some are not. It's something I learned the hard way.

Edit: I'll be posting pics after this weekends work, not sure if there is enough done just yet

[111111]

Mang, nice work!

I just read through this thread and it's gonna be nice one it's finished.

Looking forward to more pics!

Ray

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by RayEdwards

Mang, nice work!

I just read through this thread and it's gonna be nice one it's finished.

Looking forward to more pics!

Ray

Thanks! It's been quite the year. I started last year, Jan 17th according to my logs. Crazy how long it takes if you do this stuff yourself and part time.

I put in the remaining outlets I had, turns out I'm 3 short and need 7 more covers.

I also connected my inwall speaker wire for my 7.1 system to the faceplate with the speaker connections. Getting exciting!

More pics will be uploaded after this weekend. Should be a big change.

[Deadset]

Oh an being an electrical engineer, I love wiring, so I think I went a bit overboard on the outlets. You'll probably get a good chuckle at just how many I have in the basement. I think there are 36

[Deadset]

Last night I picked up the remote speaker connections and plates, put those up. It's starting to look great, can't wait to get all the fixtures and stuff in the wall to plug up any holes.

This weekend:

Hang the pocket doors (frames are up, just need to put the door in)
Set and finish plumb the bathroom sink
Finish plumb the shower / bathtub
Connect 4th bedroom light fixture
Finish up connecting the remaining outlets

Things I need to buy:

Minibar cabinets
Minibar sink
Countertop
Wall sconces ( I need 5)