DIY Networks Oliver Stone media room remodel

[Flatnate]

I surfed by the DIY Networks show on the remodeling of Oliver Stones media room and figured I would share.

http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/oli...one/80841.html

Some interesting stuff in there and a fun watch. I admit that I love to Monday morning quarterback this stuff, but a lot of it is subjective and no real right or wrong.

Things of note for me:

First, I was surprised they chose MK Sound on the speakers, but real happy to see MK is still in business. I wish I could actually listen to their products sometime. I thought the downward firing placement on the surrounds was probably less than optimal compared to the old set up.

Second, I was kinda bummed to see that Parasound stuff get removed for just the Integra receiver but I suppose the move to HDMI made more sense. They definitely gave up some power that the M&K speakers probably would have enjoyed.

The only other thing that rattled me was the ladies comments during CES about OLED "being thin as a credit card and able to cover your whole wall!"... oookay.

Despite all that, I am a fan of the move to a scope screen with the 3 chip DLP projector and anamorphic lens, and Oliver Stone does have a gorgeous room.

[Hammie]

Was it me or did he look a little bored and distracted a lot of the time she was talking to him.

[Silo5]

Originally Posted by Hammie

Was it me or did he look a little bored and distracted a lot of the time she was talking to him.

I think that's just Oliver's personality. Overall, I thought it was fascinating. Of course, I find any type of HT makeover fascinating!!

[BluBrown]

I've seen this! The host annoys the heck out of me but its cool to get a look at some celebrity home theater/media rooms. The episode where they remodel Patrick Warburton's HT is pretty great.

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by BluBrown

I've seen this! The host annoys the heck out of me but its cool to get a look at some celebrity home theater/media rooms. The episode where they remodel Patrick Warburton's HT is pretty great.

I was thinking the same thing about the host. She seems like she probably came on board for the interior decorating design aspect; but for a show like that I almost wish they would come up with hosts like the guys over at Revision3's HDNation web show. They would be fun to watch host a segment like that.

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by Hammie

Was it me or did he look a little bored and distracted a lot of the time she was talking to him.

He just gave off this vibe of "you didn't tear up the whole room thing did ya? ... It works... cool, lets get this done with and this camera out of here". He didn't seem to give a hoot what brand was what or whatever. LOL

And dude... is your avatar Conker or who is that?!

[BluBrown]

Originally Posted by Flatnate

I was thinking the same thing about the host. She seems like she probably came on board for the interior decorating design aspect; but for a show like that I almost wish they would come up with hosts like the guys over at Revision3's HDNation web show. They would be fun to watch host a segment like that.

Agreed...she clearly has no knowledge of the electronics that she's installing. I'm sure she doesn't come off as annoying to the average person though...just us HT enthusiasts.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by Flatnate

And dude... is your avatar Conker or who is that?!

It is Hammy the squirrel from the movie Over the Hedge.

[Flatnate]

GAH! LOL I should have known!

[Flatnate]

Found the Kevin Connolly one!

http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/kev...lly/78882.html

I don't know, but I thought the host seemed far more hands on and definitely more knowledgeable than the Oliver Stone segment.

I liked that they went with the Genelec active monitors. I thought I was the only one who decided to go with an active studio monitor kind of speaker in this application.

[Ihascake]

oliver stone was probably more interested in the aesthetic redesign. all that talk about "studio quality" probably makes him giggle inside.

[invenio]

Seems like Oliver Stone simply wanted these people out of his house as quickly as possible. I think he cared more about the new wood paneling around the flatscreen than any peice of electronics they installed that day.

Overall, it was a nice room, in a nice house... but a terrible Home Theater Room. The entire wall is made of windows, so you can pretty much forget about watching anything during the daytime. And those expensive in wall speakers that fire straight down instead of at the listener position.... And what was with the $10,000 price qoute for that screen. Everything just seemed overpriced and poorly utilized for a room that is clearly a "living room" and not a "home theater room." I think we on this forum care more than Oliver Stone!

[invenio]

Originally Posted by Flatnate

Found the Kevin Connolly one!

http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/kev...lly/78882.html

I don't know, but I thought the host seemed far more hands on and definitely more knowledgeable than the Oliver Stone segment.

I liked that they went with the Genelec active monitors. I thought I was the only one who decided to go with an active studio monitor kind of speaker in this application.

So this is the 2nd "show" I watched (Olivers Stone was 1st). It hurts to watch these. First, they ruined a beutiful sun room by blocking out windows. Then, they half-ass the HT. You spend serious money to rebuild the room and then you put in an "in wall" sub with what looked like tiny 5 inch drivers? Geez. I feel bad for these rich people paying for this stuff. I can't imagine how much it cost to redo that room, but if you want quality sound and video, you could do the same thing in a basement room at 1/4 of the price and still get better quality.

Please, no more posts of these videos,.... Ok, I'm going to go upstairs and cry....

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by invenio

So this is the 2nd "show" I watched (Olivers Stone was 1st). It hurts to watch these. First, they ruined a beutiful sun room by blocking out windows. Then, they half-ass the HT. You spend serious money to rebuild the room and then you put in an "in wall" sub with what looked like tiny 5 inch drivers? Geez. I feel bad for these rich people paying for this stuff. I can't imagine how much it cost to redo that room, but if you want quality sound and video, you could do the same thing in a basement room at 1/4 of the price and still get better quality.

Please, no more posts of these videos,.... Ok, I'm going to go upstairs and cry....

Yeah my wife is a plant nut and about had a heart attack when she caught me watching them doing that to the sun room in Connollys house. Not to mention it was just a small room with low ceilings, and the so whole thing was shoe-horned in.

Your also right in that I couldn't' believe they would take those gorgeous M&K in wall monitors and mount them in a soffit pointed straight down. I'm also still surprised they chucked the Parasound power amplifier for that matter on the Oliver Stone room as well. The Integra was a nice reciever but the M&K's could take a lot more power, and augmenting the receiver with the amp would have freed up head room for the other channels.

Also, being in the Hollywood hills, I wonder how many of those homes actually have basements. Still, I was amazed that neither Stone or Connolly had a better dedicated theater room elsewhere in the house. My guess is this show is geared towards media rooms versus dedicated theaters. I know near me it is a struggle finding new homes with rooms large enough for a dedicated theater without windows. The Today Show or something like that went through George Clooney's house a few months back and finished the segment in the home theater. Now that guy has a theater! Fairly plain Jane, but a dedicated room, projector in a seperate room to the rear with multiple projection portholes (heck he might have had a 35mm equipment back there as well). I wish I could have seen the gear in that equipment room or the speakers behind that screen.

[invenio]

Originally Posted by Flatnate

Yeah my wife is a plant nut and about had a heart attack when she caught me watching them doing that to the sun room in Connollys house. Not to mention it was just a small room with low ceilings, and the so whole thing was shoe-horned in.

Your also right in that I couldn't' believe they would take those gorgeous M&K in wall monitors and mount them in a soffit pointed straight down. I'm also still surprised they chucked the Parasound power amplifier for that matter on the Oliver Stone room as well. The Integra was a nice reciever but the M&K's could take a lot more power, and augmenting the receiver with the amp would have freed up head room for the other channels.

Also, being in the Hollywood hills, I wonder how many of those homes actually have basements. Still, I was amazed that neither Stone or Connolly had a better dedicated theater room elsewhere in the house. My guess is this show is geared towards media rooms versus dedicated theaters. I know near me it is a struggle finding new homes with rooms large enough for a dedicated theater without windows. The Today Show or something like that went through George Clooney's house a few months back and finished the segment in the home theater. Now that guy has a theater! Fairly plain Jane, but a dedicated room, projector in a seperate room to the rear with multiple projection portholes (heck he might have had a 35mm equipment back there as well). I wish I could have seen the gear in that equipment room or the speakers behind that screen.

My thoughts exactly. I was going to comment on the taking of the dedicated amp out of the system. I think the women hosts says something like "with today's technology you don't need dedicated amps." That's the dumbest thing I have heard as usually the amplifier components in intergrated amps are much less powerful than dedicated amps. Frankly, I think she is more of an interior designer than a home theater expert (although even those credits are questionable when you start walling up windows in a beutiful sun room).

[househead]

I swear I've seen that host on some other show. Oliver seems like he was just fine with his old setup. Ha!

Flatnate, thanks for sharing that interesting stuff but did you know that recession has hit homeowners hard the past five years. According to Forbes Magazine, “home prices fell, on average, 25% from 2007 through the first two quarters of 2012.” With the loss of so much equity, homeowners today are choosing to stay longer in their homes and are amping up their remodeling projects to fit their changing lifestyle and family needs.