Home theater primer

[Jeff Hartford]

Hello all- Is there any favorite site or forum that you would recommend for getting a basic start on designing, implementing a home theater. Was just given the run of the basement from my wife- no doubt to get me out of the family room. Very large basement with alot of open area, but I believe ideally a room that is currently a "pool" room that can be taken over. The room is approx 12-13' wide and 18+ feet deep. Ceiling is just under 9'. Already have Rotel RSP-985, RMB-1095, NHT 2.4 VT's and VS's, biamped front with NHT SA-3, soon to have Denon 2900. Am considering a plasma screen but have been very interested in all the ruckus about some very reasonably priced, strong performing front projectors like the Infocus X1, and some of the Epson and Sharp machines. As durability seems to be the plasma Achilles heel, might it be a better investment in the long run to use a projector (am in a low light to no light setting as desired)?

Where can I go to get recommendations on acoustic damping, ideal room dimensions, standing wave issues, and even a primer on front projectors as I have not even a modicum of knowledge on them?

Would also be GROSSLY remiss if I did not mention I also have an assortment of kick-ass interconnects Lex made up for me. Am still waiting to hook them up but the build quality is obviously excellent and he was terrific to deal with. Very fair and works within what you can afford. Two thumbs up!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jeff

[Chris D]

Jeff- Not to be a self-horn-tooter here, but you may want to pick up Home Theater Builder Magazine and look for back issues as well. Many are calling our magazine a reference collection for doing exactly what you're describing, including my documentation of my theater start to finish.

http://www.hometheaterbuilder.com

CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Jeff Hartford]

Thanks Chris. I have heard nothing but good things about the publication and it sounds like a good place to start. I suspect that much will be trying to make a square peg round with minimal structural changes. Thanks for the tip.

Jeff

[Jeff Hartford]

Chris-

Finally had a chance to pick up an issue of your mag. Very nice. Think I need to search some back issues for the basic stuff I need such as speaker locations/screen size, etc. Thanks for the input.

Jeff

[zpanky]

Jeff,

http://www.projectorcentral.com/

Projector central will give you everything you want to know about projectors.

[David Meek]

Jeff, I was in our local MicroCenter computer mega-store the other day and saw, I kid you not, Home Theater For Dummies. I didn't have time to look through it, but I own a couple of the "Dummy" series manuals and have had good results from them.

I just hopped over to Amazon and found it for $11.89! Link




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Thira]

Check out http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/index.php
There is a wealth of info just about what you are looking for. If fact it was there that I found this wonderful forum.
Good luck.

[Andrew Pratt]

thira in future please don't post links to competing HT forums if at all possible.

Jeff I would strongly urge you to try and demo the budget projectors before spending that much on a plasma...esp if its for a home theater. Plasma's are nice as a replacement TV in the livingroom where you need something that can instantly be turned on/off etc but there are better options available for theater use...and if you do need something to turn on/off for broadcast TV type material for the money you save you can easily purchase a nice 32" wega etc to due that duty.

As far as room design etc post that queston in the Spaces area and we'll see what we can suggest. Many of us have recently undergone theater construction and will have many insightfull recomendations to pass on to you or anyone else looking to build their own theater room.