Building Home Theater Front Projector

[Banjo]

I am building a HT system for my lounge room and I've got it pretty sussed out.

What I plan to do is install the Projector (HP VP6120) [also let me know if this projector is any good plz] and then im going to hopefully build a Home Theater PC with windows xp media center edition, install 7.1 sound card, give it a dvd rom drive, digital TV Card and the basic core stuff (eg CPU.) then attach it to the projector. With the 7.1 speakers coming out of the PC.

What I need to know is can you see any immediate problems here that would occur that you can see? and I need a nice set of 7.1 speakers but I dont want to go over $300-400 AU (approx $150-200 US.) They are going to be mounted on the corner of the ceiling and wall. I would like one of the popular brands if I could get it but i wanna know which ones are good and simple.

[Dean McManis]

Here's a review on your projector (I hadn't heard of it here before).

http://www.digitalhomemag.com/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=28764&subsectionid=1306&subsubsectionid=956

But even though the review was poor, having a HTPC will make up completely for not having a great internal scaler in the projector (at least for DVDs).
Check out TheaterTek for a better software DVD PC scaler software package for HT use. 8)

Last week I heard this set of Creative Labs speakers, combined with a tiny MP3 player, and the music quality was amazing. The set that I heard was just stereo, but they do also make a 7.1 setup as well at a good price (under$100 U.S.).

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearchadv.hmx?SCriteria=3540214&CartID=done&nextloc=

If you have the space, you might want to setup the PC and projector in a coffee table, and seal off the back to mask the sound of all of the fans.

I think that you should run the speakers out to the corners of the room, instead of mounting them to the PC as full speaker separation is what makes the effect of 7.1 work well.

Remember that the markup on consumer speakers is HUGE, so do your research. I've seen as much as $400 (U.S.) difference in price on the same sets of speakers from one place to another, depending on how much markup they think that they can get away with. :E

Please check back with us about your progress, it's sounds like you are going to have a great lounge room setup! :T

-Dean.

[Banjo]

I'm a bit lost when you talk about the internal scaling I'm not sure what you mean there. You might need to go through what it is so I can use that piece of info.

Another thing, do I need bigger (stereo type) speakers for this setup or can i use the typical desktop ones? Will it make much of a difference? Because i'm not sure if getting those sort of ones will do. If I do get small ones will I need ones with alot of power (watts) or will small ones do. BTW what is this watts thing supposed to mean and the THX symbol because that seems to make a difference in the pricing.

I was actually planning on mounting it to the ceiling with a brace but I'm not sure where to put the PC Case. Now with screens, I have no idea what to do here. Do I need a screen for projecting onto or can I just shine it on the wall. I saw one at Harvey Norman for about $1500AU which I thought was too much for something so simple. Are there cheaper alternatives?

Thanks alot for all of your experienced help.

[BlazeMaster]

Banjo, you asked alot of questions there, I'll answer the ones that I know and in my opinion only. It's up to you and your budget when it comes to it.

The internal scalers basically does what it says, it scales the picture down/up to your projectors resolution. For example, DVDs are currently running at 480p (480 lines of horizontal resolution, progressively), HDTV at 720p or 1080i (720 horizonotal progressive and 1080 interlaced), and standard cable at 480 interlaced. So, you see there's couple of different formats so in order for your display to show those images, it needs a scaler to either size it up or down to display it properly. A good scaler will display all those formats without much flaws and you won't even know it's there. A poor one can do the opposite. I'm not familiar with the HP projector that you're thinking about getting, but I can bet it's either DLP or LCD. Both technology are digital with a native resolution (optimum resolution) and both has their strengths and weaknesses, so research it and demo it a little more before you jump on it. Like Dean said, if you're planning on using a HTPC, a projector with higher quality scalers may not be neccesary. But you will need more software for your HTPC, a higher end graphics card is a plus.

Bigger speakers are of course, better, but they're more expensive. Have you ever heard of bigger speakers compared to smaller computer speakers? The difference is especially noticeble when you talking about subwoofers, which will be the core of a home theater audio, it'll knock your socks off when there's a explosion in the movie. There are smaller speakers out there that can give dynamic sound, but those are usually expensive and equally priced "big" speakers will usually give better sound. Again, I'm not sure how much you're planning on spending on speakers, but I've heard of Polk Audio's (RM7200?) package, and was somewhat impressed, considering it's size. Watts are a measurement of sound I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong. When you see a receiver that's advertised with 80x5 watts, it' means it can put out 80 watts of power per channel, therefore it's 5.1 compatible, with the .1=subwoofer. Although the advertised Wattage per channel is not usually correct, since most manufactures test their output with different methods.

THX is a certification of excellent video and audio experience started by George Lucas, who made Star Wars. It basically means that whatever you bought that has the THX badge on it, the product went through THX and meant or exceeded their performance standards. I personally, don't mind having a THX product, but I wouldn't pay more for it. The manufacturer's has to pay THX a fee for that certification, therefore the product will cost more. If you buy a product from a reputable (not always popular) manufacture, it most likely meet THX standards, but just didn't bother sending it to them to get it certified.

I can think of many reasons why I wouldn't mount speakers to the ceilings:
1. My speakers happens to be about 20-40lbs each, I wouldn't want one of them to fall from a 9 ft. ceilings.
2. The speakers should be vertically aligned to where your image are, so it can give you a more realistic sound. For example, when there's a car on the screen going from left to right, the speakers can reproduce that sound panning from left to center and to right speaker. If your speakers are too high up, it won't sound realistic.
3. The most important reason, the acoustics of a room is so important it'll make/break your sound. And the ceilings are probably the worst spot for any speaker, in any given room. If I was the buy the smallest speakers possible, I'd defintly will make sure I put them in the best spots to make them sound better.

Projector screens gives you the best picture, since it contains the light in the screen, so the image won't look washed out. But the best ones are really expensive. Alot of people just buy the materials and make the frame themselves to save some $$.

Banjo, this is a very complicated hobby and the technology is always improving. Bottom line, buy and set them up whatever way that makes you happy. But there's alot of info to soak up, after about 2 years of frequenting internet forums, I can still say I have ALOT to learn. But the more you know before you buy, the more confident that you made the right choices, right? This forum is a fountain of info with alot of people willing to help, you came to the right place. Good luck, I'm going to enjoy my X-mas now.

[McBanjo]

Gee i wasnt expecting a reply on xmas day thanks alot. Your information was very helpful and now you've turned what seemed into a simple easy thing to do for the setup I want into a rather large research and application 'operation.' There is really no limit to the money i can spend on this but i dont want to go near the number $10,000AU maybe $6,000AU.

I'd like to know people's recommendations on doing this. eg. what money should be spent where. What's more important to you. And pieces of hardware I can use. I have a wholesalers dealer I can buy through where I can get cheap stuff for the HT PC (I could probably build a decent HTPC for $1000 AU) but its rather limited in the sound and projector/accessoriess section for variety. If it were you were would you put the money?

Id like to know a few opinions to jog my brain as I want a very good system and dont want to sit with something 1/2 of my expectations.

[McBanjo]

before you answer its gotta be 7.1 and DLP Projector. If you think theres something you find wrong with these choices let us know.

Also anything eg. hardware, software. that you would recommend for the Home Theater PC.

[McBanjo]

One more thing when you read the manual for my Xbox and gamecube it tells me that i shouldnt plug them into projectors. Is this just something for older projectors or can I buy a new one that overgos the troubles with plugging a game system into a projector.

[Dean McManis]

There are great HT solutions at almost every price range, so with a little research you can make a good choice without too much concern.

The key with HT speakers is that you want matching speakers around the room, and a subwoofer. Most PCs speakers work well for a small area, and are sold for personal movie watching and surround sound gaming. Some of the nicer PC speaker sets that I've heard would work well for a smaller HT room.

The warnings about using console games are mostly directed at CRT projectors like many rear projection TVs. Some games with high contrast, unmoving scores and such can cause CRT burn-in in minutes, which ruins the TV. So they all include that warning.

Digital displays like LCD, DLP, and LCOS don't really have burn-in issues, so the warning doesn't apply.

Rather than trying to get everything right away from one vendor, you would be better served shopping for one or two components at a time, with the HTPC first, and projector second, and the other bits as you get everything together.
Otherwise the information overload could be overwhelming because the information needed for shopping for PCs, and shopping for projectors, and shopping for audio equipment are all different.

-Dean.

[Banjo]

HP VP6120 Warning!!!

I visited the amazon website and read some of the reviews there about that particular DLP Projector. abou 90% of them gave it 1 star as most people said that it had a manufacturing defect and went through they're bulbs in about 3 weeks. Like it was pumping too much for a thing of its size. Like they put too much of a workload on it. :cry:

Don't get me wrong the reviewers said that it had exemplary performance when it did work but when they had to replace their bulbs over and over, they found it over-exhausting.

Alot of them recommended BenQ for projectors, saying that it was the leader in projecting technology and the equivalent in price for BenQ had 1700:1 contrast as opposed to the 2000:1 of the HP equivalent. So maybe HP did push the HP too much or BenQ is just snatching the money, but im not gonnna sit with an unreliable projector so I'll go with the BenQ PB6200 as its seems good value and reliable.

Please feel free to voice your opinions.