Drichter33's Home Theater Reno-Upgrade

[drichter33]

Hi all. I am purchasing a home in a few weeks that already has a home theater built on the 3rd floor. I had a home theater specialist come out and analyze what he recommends I should do.

I am going to copy over some posts in the HT Galleries Discussions to show you the home and what was recommended to get your advice on how to get this thing up and running with minimal outlay from the start. Just want it to be at least respectively functional at a 1080p level

Thanks in advance for any and all help / advice.

[drichter33]

I am under contract to sell our home and purchase a new home. If all goes to plan we will close on both the end of the month and move in by mid july.
THis link will show you the home in question, but the pic of note for this forum is the 5th from last on the bottom row.

http://www.hdvisualsolutions.com/pos...p?houseid=1510

That is the home theater I am inheriting. And of course a major selling point for me as I wont have to contruct the room, just equip it.

Some things of note / my questions:
1. Chairs- I would say 5/8 of them have issues. 2 permanently are reclined and 3 others dont open / close smoothly.
Is there a company you know of that could come out and repair them?

2. They are taking the projector but leaving the screen. I doubt either is very new or HD / 4k.

EDIT: they are leaving the projector. Its a Sony VPLVW-60 from like 2007. Supposed to be 1080p

Owner said he tried to replace the lamp a few yrs ago and didnt use gloves and thinks he messed up as the display still prompts him to still replace it

What should I get? How much should I spend and through whom? Are there great reasonable online sites?

[drichter33]

So here is the estimate I got from the theater guy, Audio Advice here in Charlotte. Thoughts?
Is that good equipment and a fair price? Not sure I need all the accessories or thats the best all-in-one remote.

Supposedly the projector thats in there is a Sony VPLVW-60 that might just need a new lens set. The owner said he tried to change it a few yrs ago but didnt wear gloves and ever since the machine still prompts him to replace it even though a new one is in there.


Scope of Work
We will be installing the following in your new home:
 Theater Room Upgrades
Theater Room
We will installing a new Sony VPL-HW40ES 2K projector with a Stewart Filmscreen Cima 110” Neve fixed
screen. We are recommending that the existing LCR in-wall speakers be removed, extend the wires to outlet
height and patch the holes left from removal. We will utilize your JBL left, center and right speakers. The
subwoofer location will be moved to the front left corner of the room. We will utilize your Velodyne subwoofer.
A URC MX-890 rechargeable universal remote control will be setup on the bar for easy access.
Equipment Closet
We will be installing your Denon AVR-2312 receiver and connect an AppleTV, cable box or satellite receiver
and Sony BluRay player. This closet will also house the RF base station for the URC remote control allowing
it to send commands to your equipment while behind closed doors.
Network
We will need to evaluate your network prior to your installation date to determine performance with relation
to media streaming. This was not possible the day of our walkthrough with the existing homeowners equipment
in place.

[Kevinicus]

Originally Posted by drichter33

So here is the estimate I got from the theater guy, Audio Advice here in Charlotte. Thoughts?
Is that good equipment and a fair price? Not sure I need all the accessories or thats the best all-in-one remote.

Supposedly the projector thats in there is a Sony VPLVW-60 that might just need a new lens set. The owner said he tried to change it a few yrs ago but didnt wear gloves and ever since the machine still prompts him to replace it even though a new one is in there.


Scope of Work
We will be installing the following in your new home:
 Theater Room Upgrades
Theater Room
We will installing a new Sony VPL-HW40ES 2K projector with a Stewart Filmscreen Cima 110” Neve fixed
screen. We are recommending that the existing LCR in-wall speakers be removed, extend the wires to outlet
height and patch the holes left from removal. We will utilize your JBL left, center and right speakers. The
subwoofer location will be moved to the front left corner of the room. We will utilize your Velodyne subwoofer.
A URC MX-890 rechargeable universal remote control will be setup on the bar for easy access.
Equipment Closet
We will be installing your Denon AVR-2312 receiver and connect an AppleTV, cable box or satellite receiver
and Sony BluRay player. This closet will also house the RF base station for the URC remote control allowing
it to send commands to your equipment while behind closed doors.
Network
We will need to evaluate your network prior to your installation date to determine performance with relation
to media streaming. This was not possible the day of our walkthrough with the existing homeowners equipment
in place.

I would agree to remove those in-wall speakers.

Is the screen staying? If so there a reason they want to replace it? It looks like a 2.35:1 screen, which IMO is preferable. I think the screen should be brought down lower too. It's too high for the front row, and the second row looks sufficiently raised that bringing it down is the right thing to do.

I'm not sure about the projector, but mine is the Panasonic AE8000u which has gotten pretty cheap in the last year, and it does well for switching aspect ratios between 16:9 and 2.35:1. If I got something like that and lowered the screen, then I would move the projector back to being above (or behind) the 2nd row since it would need to be lower to properly do the switching.

Their prices for wall plates/boxes and cables (especially HDMI) are steep - but that's to be expected from this kind of company. The projector price seems a little high. It can be had for less. The Panasonic can be bought for $1500 or so. The Sony may have a slightly better picture, but without the zoom memory of the AE8000u. It depends on what is important to you. Screen price is also a little high.

You're obviously not going to get the best deals through an AV company though.

[drichter33]

Originally Posted by Kevinicus

I would agree to remove those in-wall speakers.

Is the screen staying? If so there a reason they want to replace it? It looks like a 2.35:1 screen, which IMO is preferable. I think the screen should be brought down lower too. It's too high for the front row, and the second row looks sufficiently raised that bringing it down is the right thing to do.

I'm not sure about the projector, but mine is the Panasonic AE8000u which has gotten pretty cheap in the last year, and it does well for switching aspect ratios between 16:9 and 2.35:1. If I got something like that and lowered the screen, then I would move the projector back to being above (or behind) the 2nd row since it would need to be lower to properly do the switching.

Their prices for wall plates/boxes and cables (especially HDMI) are steep - but that's to be expected from this kind of company. The projector price seems a little high. It can be had for less. The Panasonic can be bought for $1500 or so. The Sony may have a slightly better picture, but without the zoom memory of the AE8000u. It depends on what is important to you. Screen price is also a little high.

You're obviously not going to get the best deals through an AV company though.

I am not sure if the screen is 2:35 or not. He didnt mention it specifically, which I thik would have been worthy of a comment as not eveyrone thinks to get it. The reason for the replace is the material, according to him, is very "plastic" and old school.

At this point, I think my focus would be on getting the chairs repaired (which finding someone is proviing more difficult than you could imagine) and then testing the projector and possibly trying to do a lamp / lens replace (not sure what parts in the projector work with which)

Is that something I can do myself?

Another thing with this move is I have to sell my 61' Samsung DLP from 2007. It isnt as bulky as the old RP, but now that everything is flat panel, people have no interest.

[Kevinicus]

Well I think you could get a screen that was 2.35:1 for less, and probably at a larger size. How far is the seating from the screen?

Pretty sure a lamp replace is pretty common for a projector, I don't know about the lens though.

[drichter33]

Hey everyone,

Update on the move and theater room, and of course 2 REALLY BIG QUESTIONS:

Met the home theater guys out at the house last night to get my equipement integrated (we officially move in tomorrow). Added my Velodyne Sub, Denon AVR-2113ci receiver, XBone, and DTv HD DVR.
Did some fine tuning on the projector Sony VPLVW-60 and this is what came out of it, per the installers: (and where I implore your guys expertise)

1. HDMI Interface between the Projector Sony VPLVW-60 and Denon AVR-2113ci isnt working. The guy said that the HDMI that the projector can handle is older and the Denon isnt able to process it cause its more advanced/newer. Does that sound correct?

We were getting flickering because the Denon was trying to Auto switch between Movie and Game mode and it was causeing an issue. So he set it to Movie mode permanently and it seemed to fix it.

But, telling me that the projector cant handle 1080p when it seems that the specs say its a 1080p projector seems weird to me and confusing. I would figure the software in the Denon could handle a variety of HDMI inputs. Having to go in and set my XBox and DTv receiver to 720p seems like I am cheating the image.


2. Subwoofer- should I equip the room with dual subs, and where should they go / how would they work together?
They are putting them in opposite corners of the room- right rear and left front. My Velodyne is in the back, the owner left me a klipish.

Is this a good idea and can the receiver handle it? With there be phasing issues?

Thanks for any advice on this.

[Kevinicus]

Originally Posted by drichter33

Hey everyone,

Update on the move and theater room, and of course 2 REALLY BIG QUESTIONS:

Met the home theater guys out at the house last night to get my equipement integrated (we officially move in tomorrow). Added my Velodyne Sub, Denon AVR-2113ci receiver, XBone, and DTv HD DVR.
Did some fine tuning on the projector Sony VPLVW-60 and this is what came out of it, per the installers: (and where I implore your guys expertise)

1. HDMI Interface between the Projector Sony VPLVW-60 and Denon AVR-2113ci isnt working. The guy said that the HDMI that the projector can handle is older and the Denon isnt able to process it cause its more advanced/newer. Does that sound correct?

We were getting flickering because the Denon was trying to Auto switch between Movie and Game mode and it was causeing an issue. So he set it to Movie mode permanently and it seemed to fix it.

But, telling me that the projector cant handle 1080p when it seems that the specs say its a 1080p projector seems weird to me and confusing. I would figure the software in the Denon could handle a variety of HDMI inputs. Having to go in and set my XBox and DTv receiver to 720p seems like I am cheating the image.


2. Subwoofer- should I equip the room with dual subs, and where should they go / how would they work together?
They are putting them in opposite corners of the room- right rear and left front. My Velodyne is in the back, the owner left me a klipish.

Is this a good idea and can the receiver handle it? With there be phasing issues?

Thanks for any advice on this.

I'm not an expert on subs, but I think there are a lot of ways they can go. I think two is better than one for even bass, but as far as exact positioning, that can depend on a lot of factors (trial and error may work best).

As for the projector, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't do 1080p. Is the "Movie" mode on the Denon only capable of 720p? That doesn't seem to make sense. There could be a handshake issue going on, but I certainly wouldn't settle for 720p, especially on a projection setup. Did you try different HDMI cables by chance?

[Mr.Poindexter]

Originally Posted by drichter33

2. Subwoofer- should I equip the room with dual subs, and where should they go / how would they work together?
They are putting them in opposite corners of the room- right rear and left front. My Velodyne is in the back, the owner left me a klipish.

Is this a good idea and can the receiver handle it? With there be phasing issues?

Thanks for any advice on this.

The easiest and fastest way to place subs is to place a sub in your primary listening spot. Then run your frequency sweeps while you go through the room at the potential places you may want to place the sub and measure for how flat the response curve is. This is much faster than moving the sub 20 times. When you find the spot with the best response curve, put the sub there.

There will always be some form of harmonic frequency for any room that has parallel walls and/or a flat ceiling, so you will have some frequencies with issues. Equalization will help tame most of the problems as long as you get rid of the big ones that can't be fixed with an EQ, like a dead spot caused by sitting in a standing wave null area. You can tame a peak, but you cannot fix a null.