My Credit Crunch Home Cinema/Gaming/Music Room Build

[kidgloves]

I normally take extended holidays every year for a bit of R & R but this year, with the financial crisis and the weakness of the pound, i've decided to stay home and convert my 2nd bedroom into a cinema come gaming come music room with the help of my bro Andy.
The room im converting is nearly done but this is the progress so far.
All pics were taken with an iphone so image quality is sketchy and the photos might appear huge.

The room is 15ft x 9ft on the 1st floor of my 3 bed house and the existing insulation (both sound & heat) is not the best so the 1st job was to rip out the existing internal walls & replace with something more modern and with better insulation properties.

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On goes the plasterboard

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Everybody is showing an interest & helping out

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Because im using a projector, i decided very early on that i was going to project the image directly onto the wall instead of a pulldown screen. This would give me the freedom to decide what size of screen i could have later. We fixed the plasterboard horizontally so that the viewing area wouldn't show too many seams

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Next up was a false ceiling to help insulation, support for the projector and to hide a few cables.

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I wanted to be able to have the choice of either back or front lighting the room so we installed a new lighting pattern.

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All the AV equipment is being hidden in a cupboard which will be temp controlled and vent the hot air out into the loft keeping the equipment as cool as possible

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The projector bracket and some funky touch sensitive and remote controlled switches,

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Choosing a colour scheme was one of the hardest decisions because when you are using a projector light control and reflections have a big impact on the image quality. "Batcaving" the room is the ideal solution but i didn't want the room looking like a dungeon. I eventually chose a Dulux paint called Firecracker 2 which is a matt burgundy colour that darkens as the day wears on.

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After marking the screen out the surface is sprayed on. The paint used is called Black Widow mix which is 2 commercial paints mixed together that help make the colours "pop" and the image better.

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In goes the radiator and curtains.

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The AV cupboard

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Speakers, sofa and carpet

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The projector i've bought is a Sony Bravia Full HD 1080p which is a total beast. Imagine 2 PS3's stuck together.

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The finished screen size is 105" diagonal (9ft approx) and the pic is outstanding

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Hatton getting his arse handed to him last weekend by Pacman

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Both the sound and pic quality turned out to be better than expected and i couldn't be happier with the finished room.
Some movie posters to finish it all off.

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If anyones interested better quality pics can be found here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38262462@N06/

[Exatreides]

Very nice! That projector is a beast, I can only imagine the cost of it. I always have a bad tendency not to blink when gaming on a projector for some reason.

[MikePizzoff]

Nice! I wish you lived in my neighborhood!

[axlish]

Impressive! I plan to do a similar transformation to the back half of my garage. I think I'll use your idea and document my proceedings as well :)

[kidgloves]

Very nice! That projector is a beast, I can only imagine the cost of it. I always have a bad tendency not to blink when gaming on a projector for some reason.

It wasn't that expensive. Cost £1600 about $2500. Its gone up in price as people have discovered how good it is.:D


Nice! I wish you lived in my neighborhood!

:thumbsup:


Impressive! I plan to do a similar transformation to the back half of my garage. I think I'll use your idea and document my proceedings as well :)

If you've got the time & space to do it, its great fun designing and building your own cinema. I was lucky enough to have my brother around while he was waiting to emigrate and a few friends in various trades mucked in as well.
I designed it, my brother built it with limited help from me.
In some ways its better than going to the cinema because everything is calibrated to your own taste.

[AcesandEights]

This is great and all, but you didn't need to hedge around for a reason to invite us all over to your new home theater. All you had to do was ask :p


Seriously though, it looks like you did a great job, now enjoy the fruits of your labor! :thumbsup:



PS--Where is the topmost movie image, that looks as though it's a roman legionary, from?

[bassman]

Looks great, man. I just turned my basement into a similar type of room...

[kidgloves]

This is great and all, but you didn't need to hedge around for a reason to invite us all over to your new home theater.. All you had to do was ask :p


Seriously though, it looks like you did a great job, now enjoy the fruits of your labor! :thumbsup:



PS--Where is the topmost movie image, that looks as though it's a roman legionary, from?

Cheers.
The romans from Life of Brian :D

[axlish]

Cheers.
The romans from Life of Brian :D

At first I thought it was a grab from Caligula :eek:

[kidgloves]

Bloody amp failed yesterday. Dont ever buy an Onkyo. The HDMI switching was failing for a long time and finally gave up yesterday.
Bought this beauty today to replace it.

http://www.numeriworld.com/images/Yamaha%20RX-V667%20TITANE.jpg

Yamaha RX-V667

[Neil]

^^ I've got an old Yamaha 461 amp. Fairly good sound IMHO (for the money), but I'd have to say for music it's average. Still would have to say a dedicated stereo amp produces nicer stereo (music) sound. But it's a necessary evil having the single jack-of-all-trades amp :) I'm always wondering if a newer/better amp would improve music audio quality.

I had a problem with it a couple of months ago and contacted Yamaha via email. They replied back with hours and mailed me a firmware upgrade out ASAP, and it fixed it! VERY impressive support!

QUESTION: My front (L&R) speakers are bi-amp speakers (the center/rears are not). Can the 667 control bi-amp speakers (ie: if they are wired in bi-amp fashion)? Say just the front L&R?
EDIT: The manual implies yes! You can run a standard 5.1 setup, with the front L&R running as bi-amp :)


ps: Your Onkyo wasn't a R940 was it? Look at the first user comment about half way down here by SeeGnet :) http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/yamaha-rx-v667/4505-6466_7-34137032.html

[kidgloves]

^^^^^^
The Onkyo was a 606. If you google 606 HDMI it will tell you all you need to know. The guy at Richer Sounds said they had loads of returns of that model. Design fault apparently with the heat sink.

[kidgloves]

Goddammit. My new amps failed now. Exactly the same issue as the Onkyo. The hdmi handshake isnt working properly and isnt switching over. Just get a green screen. Strangely the tv set top box is fine but nothing else works. Luckily Richer Sounds are loaning me an amp until mines fixed but the thought of disconnecting and reconnecting all those cables again is making me feel physically sick.

[Neil]

Still under warrranty?

[kidgloves]

Still under warrranty?

Yeah. Manufacturers standard 1 year. After my experience with the Onkyo i took out a 5 year one as well. Was peanuts so i thought why not. Glad i did now cause it seems that if modern av amps are going to wrong its going to be the hdmi that fails.

[Neil]

Yeah. Manufacturers standard 1 year. After my experience with the Onkyo i took out a 5 year one as well. Was peanuts so i thought why not. Glad i did now cause it seems that if modern av amps are going to wrong its going to be the hdmi that fails.

Due to size restrictions I'm looking at getting an Onkyo 609 when the price comes down enough!

[MikePizzoff]

Pretty glad this thread got revived. Hoping to see some of the other home theaters you guys have.

I lived at a party house for two years, summer '09 - this past summer. In the basement we had arcade machines, bar, TV's for baseball/hockey games, and a movie theater area with a pull-down screen and stadium seating (well, the back tier was higher). So awesome. I miss it so much. My girlfriend and I plan on leaving the apartment we're in now and back into a house this summer. That will definitely be the first thing I set up. I also plan on upgrading my projector to an HD one.

I've had my eye on this one for a while: http://www.amazon.com/Optoma-HD20-Definition-Theater-Projector/dp/B002G0CWSU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I21LJ48QRKVRIO&colid=2KEBAT53UZJ2G

[Neil]

^^ Looks at his puny 46" plasma, and walks away quietly...

[kidgloves]

Ok. So today i finally get around to taking my Yamaha to Richer Sounds. Explained the problem. Assistant says no problem sir. We'll send it away and will take 3-4 weeks and they loan me a Sony amp with no remote and a dent in the side. No remote isn't a problem cause i've got a Harmony handset that controls everything and its just a case of telling it what amp it needs to control. I plug in the amp but cant be arsed to connect up the speakers tonight so im just going to use my wireless headphones. Plug the amp in, reprogramme the handset and switch it on.
Guess what?
Yep exactly the same thing. Green screen on every input except the Virgin Media set top box. Pictures fine on that one as it is with the Yamaha.
WTF.
If you google green screen HDMI you get some depressing stories. So much headscratching later im scowling at my beloved Sony projector, trying to figure out how this can be. The projector has one very very expensive HDMI cable running to it and if the amp is sending all the signals to the projector and 1 channel works then it cant be the projector it must be the amp. Right? So i unplug all the hdmi cables to various devices and reconnect them. Nothing. Same thing.
By now im getting really pissed off. How can 3 amps have the same fault?
Then it hits me. I remember reading something about the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) being very touchy with different HDMI connected devices. Its shuts down the signal if it doesnt like whats its receiving as part of the handshake protocol. So if you have a modern device that has recieved mixed info what do you do? You guessed it right. You power cycle it down by turning it off at the mains. I turned off the projector for 5 mins and then turned it back on and guess what again? Yep. It works.
On reflection, it seems so obvious but it really wasn't. I was damn sure the fault was with the amp and everything pointed towards it being the amp.

Lesson of the day is turn everything off at the mains before declaring it broken.The Onkyo was completely knackered so i don't feel bad about that but im more relieved that the beautiful looking Yamaha is not a dud.

[Neil]

LOL! That's the oldest IT solution for everything... "Have you turned it off and back on?" :)

[MikePizzoff]

Glad it ended up working out for ya. I'd be kicking myself in the ass! :lol:

[kidgloves]

Glad it ended up working out for ya. I'd be kicking myself in the ass! :lol:

Have you researched what that Optoma is like out of the box settings wise? Part of the reason i bought the Sony was that is was nearly spot on in Cinema mode and didnt need any calibration except for a few colour temp and sharpness adjustments because of the screen i am using.

[kidgloves]

Waiting for my 3rd bulb to be delivered at the moment. Seems like 3-3500 hours is the lifespan of these projector bulbs on low lamp settings. The brightness is still very good but the sharpness has noticably deteriorated.

[MikePizzoff]

Damn, dude... 3,500 hours is 145 days of straight use. You really have gone through 2 bulbs already?! That's a lot of movie watching.

I didn't see your question about the Optoma earlier. It seems like out of the box it's pretty good, but I'm sure it could use some tweaking.

[kidgloves]

Damn, dude... 3,500 hours is 145 days of straight use. You really have gone through 2 bulbs already?! That's a lot of movie watching.

I didn't see your question about the Optoma earlier. It seems like out of the box it's pretty good, but I'm sure it could use some tweaking.

It doesn't really seem that much use to me as its my 1st choice of viewing kit whether its sports, movies or gaming. Can't remember the last time i switched on the old plasma downstairs.
After fitting the new bulb, its become apparent that the previous replacement was a copy/non original. The new bulb came fitted to a plastic module and just slotted in whereas the old one was a bulb only and i had to use my original module. Something to look out for when shopping around for a replacement. The part no of the new bulb and module also matches the original which surprised me as the copy was more expensive 2 1/2 years ago than the one i've just received :confused:

[kidgloves]

My PS3 died recently (YLOD), which i was using as a media server, so i added this excellent bit of technology

http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/images/product/uni2/DigitalContent/7r/7R19_C6216B7B-0292-48D5-96A4-7C63A0AC95E5_large.jpg

Western Digital TV Live.
HDMI connection with 2 full size USB ports.
Its played EVERY file i've thrown at it. Even reads ripped dvd folder structures and plays them as if they were dvds. It also streams every type of media wirelessly with only the occasional lag. Its connected to the interwebs as well and gives you access to netflix, youtube, dailymotion and many others. Simple games for those who like those sort of things.
I think theres some sort of upscaling going on as well cause the picture is superb with SD files or that might just be my amp, not sure tbh.

All for £72 delivered from Pixmania. Very happy bunny. :D

Edit....
Turns out the wireless lag was down to a badly ripped dvd. Everything else i've tried since is streaming perfectly

[axlish]

My PS3 died recently (YLOD), which i was using as a media server, so i added this excellent bit of technology

http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/images/product/uni2/DigitalContent/7r/7R19_C6216B7B-0292-48D5-96A4-7C63A0AC95E5_large.jpg

Western Digital TV Live.
HDMI connection with 2 full size USB ports.
Its played EVERY file i've thrown at it. Even reads ripped dvd folder structures and plays them as if they were dvds. It also streams every type of media wirelessly with only the occasional lag. Its connected to the interwebs as well and gives you access to netflix, youtube, dailymotion and many others. Simple games for those who like those sort of things.
I think theres some sort of upscaling going on as well cause the picture is superb with SD files or that might just be my amp, not sure tbh.

All for £72 delivered from Pixmania. Very happy bunny. :D

Edit....
Turns out the wireless lag was down to a badly ripped dvd. Everything else i've tried since is streaming perfectly

Can it act as a DVR? What is size is the HDD?

[kidgloves]

Can it act as a DVR? What is size is the HDD?

No. That's not what its for. It streams media from storage/internet/pc so you need to buy other devices as well. WD make loads of media players so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a model that does what your looking for but expect to pay considerably more for the tech.

I've had more lag issues when streaming from my pc since the last post so it seems more tweaking is required..