Jak's Unfinished

[Jakdonark]

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Long time viewer, first time poster! I thought it was time I actually take some pictures and show my set up. Even if it’s a work in progress, it’s still functional. And it doesn't really matter when the lights go off!

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I’ve wanted a home theater for almost my whole life. I remember when I was 7 and seeing a small front projection set up at an electronics store. It was probably only a 40-50 inch screen, and it had a metal frame with the projector set up about 4-5 feet in front of it. At the time we only had a 19 Toshiba (which still works!) and I had grown up with a smaller B&W Panasonic. I still remember seeing Sesame Street in color for the first time and saw that Big Bird wasn’t grey!

My early theatrical experiences were ET, Return of the Jedi, Temple of Doom, Back to the Future, so they had a big impact on me. I always loved watching movies anywhere, but the theater was my favorite. Fast forward to the early 90s. Laserdisc and home Dolby Digital were picking up steam, and an article in Cinescape magazine really got my ball rolling. I started with the Star Wars Definitive Laserdisc collection, and it never really stopped after that.


My Home theater has only had a few changes since I started buying my own gear in 96. The heart of my system is a Marantz SR-96 which I purchased in the fall of 97 and it’s still going strong. I’ve changed out a few DVD and Blu-ray players, a couple TVs, and then finally I got an Epson projector last fall. The deal with my wife was to wait until the basement was finished, but were still a year behind schedule at that point, and we had been in our old house for 4 years and the basement never got touched. Hopefully I’ll have time this winter to get everything up and done, and maybe it’ll be ready for spring. Currently it’s around a 75” screen size, once I have the projector and screen moved back I’m calculating 120-130”. Next major upgrade will be Atmos, but unfortunately there are no stand alone decoders or Blu-Ray players with it built in, so I’m looking at $1.5-2k for a suitable replacement. Maybe at tax time?

memory until I actually check everything again:
Marantz SR-96 THX receiver
Marantz DP-870 Dolby Digital Decoder
Millenium 2.4.6 DTS Decoder
JVC Dolby Digital receiver (for surround back)
Paradigm Fronts and Center
Polk Audio Dipole Surrounds
Sony bookshelf back surrounds
Velodyne 12" Subwoofer
Epson 2030 projector
Samsung 40” plasma
Panasonic 20” CRT
Sony BDP-S550 Blu-Ray
Toshiba HD-A35 HDDVD
Seiki SR212 and BD-660 Blu-Ray players
Pioneer CLD-D406 Laserdisc player
Sony SLV-R1000 SVHS
Pioneer DVD recorder
Sony PS3 and PS2
Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64

[Jakdonark]

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[Show spoiler]IMG]https://i.imgur.com/2Nhqbmb.jpg[/IMG]

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[Jakdonark]

I have around 20 paper boxes and 10-15 other boxes full of box sets and single movies. Last count I had just over 1000 (1080 to be exact lol), but I'm probably closer to 1200 by now. I'm going to build custom shelves for the back wall and a single long display shelf along the side or both sides near the ceiling for the long wide box sets (Wizard of Ozs, Gone With The Winds, Warner Ultimates), and the components will all be in the front right corner so as to not obscure the screen.

I have the know how, and it can be done cheaply, it's just finding the time.

[Jakdonark]

Well it's been another year and I really haven't made much progress. Too many other home projects and lots of overtime at work. I have been able to get things a bit tidier and organized. Trying to get rid of clutter.

After experimenting with various screen set ups and materials I held up a piece of unfinished drywall and it looked decent even with no paint. I had an extra sheet that's been leaning on studs for a year and a half. I mounted it on the back wall and took out the hanging screen. There are a few minor imperfections in the surface but it's way better than what I had and I can live with it until we actually get the basement finished. Also I went from about a 75" screen to a 95" screen. And I can go bigger if I'm watching a 2.35 movie!

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I also moved my shelves to the inside wall facing the screen, so you aren't distracted while watching the movie. I built some fast temp shelves (didn't even bother with a level, just eyeballed it!) but I was tired of going through 20+ boxes looking for movies and needed to get them more accessible. I still have about 5 or 6 boxes but they are mostly full of large gift sets/ ultimate editions. At least now I have a better reminder of how much I own and how much I need to purge.

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[Gory]

Wow! It’s looking great!

[Jakdonark]

Did a little more rearranging, getting closer to what I have in mind for my finished set up. I also came across a crazy deal on an Onkyo Atmos receiver and a Samsung UHD player. I was going to get the Sony but the Samsung was on sale for $200 CDN. I got it all set up and moved my overhead speakers. I actually got an identical set with a Sony Mini system that was similar to my old one at a Value Village for like $15. I just drilled a thin board to back of each speaker then mounted them in the joists. Then I went on vacation and before I even posted the update I got the Sony UHD on a Black Friday special for $200.

[Jakdonark]

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The Sony UHD is actually a pretty big unit. And heavy too. Doesn't work so well in a picture of the evolution of Sony's home video equipment. Wider than the Samsung and even wider than a HTIB Sony blu (another Value Village score with remote and all the speakers for $25 CDN!)

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[Jakdonark]

Thanks to a donation of some “extra drywall” from my father in law I’ve been able to start putting up drywall on the exterior basement walls. In the bottom of the picture is a picture I took comparing my old screen size to an iPhone. Almost can’t even see the little dot at the bottom.

Disregard the tape I have on the wall. It’s temporary until I actually use drywall tape and mud. In the meantime it hides the seams a bit better when watching a movie.

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Do I have a problem?

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