Home Theater Construction Updates
Theater construction pictures here
2/16/99: Received engineering specs to enhance main beam by
adding C-Channel iron to both sides of the 3 2x10"s. This will allow me
to remove the columns
under
the center of the main beam and open up the new room. Structural Engineer
$100. Materials cost ~$300.
3/16/99: Meet with Chris Kangis of Electronic Interiors of Hopedale,
MA. We talked for several hours on HT and equipment. He had some interesting
ideas
as
well as some good technical background. We do see the advent of PC differently
in the HT world, but that is what makes us individuals. The
biggest
suggestion he had was to reduce the size of the room and shrink the screen size
down. Thus saving me on space and solving a few
logistical
issues. The next step is to decide the layout as save some more cash.....
5/19/99: Well, not much has happened. I have decided to reside
the house because I don't think it will make it another 2 years. Thus there
goes the HT fund.
We
will see what the fall has to offer. I should have some $$ by then. Atleast
I am upgrading to a 200A service out of the deal. I need it since my
100A
service box has only one slot left. A far cry from the five additional circuits
I need to install...
11/20/99 Purchased an Eletrohome ECP-4100 with new Sony tubes,
ceiling bracket, Vu-Easy 1.5 gain 77" W x 43" H (88" diag) 16:9
screen, and DVDO line
doubler
from Hi-Rez . Hopefully by January
I will have the framing and walls done as well as the projector and screen hung.
11/24/99 Per ISF tech Jim Doolittle's recommendation, I canceled my Vu-Easy screen and ordered a StudioTek 130 80"W x 45"H(92"diag) 16:9 screen
11/29/99 Finished waterproofing the walls. Check out new pictures.
Also have Jim Doolittle stopping by on December 13th to talk about what to cover
the walls
with
as well as acoustics.
2/10/00 Work is going slow, but I am moving along (due to a new job, and the flu). The framing is almost done. I have 1 wall to do. I have decided to use a new product for the floor. It's a type of plastic that is rolled onto concrete. It has dimples that allows the floor to breath under the sheathing. You then place your plywood floor on top and anchor to the concrete. You can find info on this product at www.cosella-doerken.com. I have some new pictures. Click on the link at the top of the page. I should have the framing done in the next week. I then need to build the soffits as well as get the electrician in for wiring. Hopefully by the end of the month I can get the projector hung.
4/11/00 New pics are up. As I have free time from work,
whatever that is, I have been building up the rear wall and started on the soffits.
Click on the link
at
the top of this page for HT pics.
5/22/00 New pics are up. Work is moving along quickly with the
help of some friends. I am wiring this week all low and high voltage lines.
The CRT is going
to
be hung this weekend and drywall will start as well. I have placed my order
for speakers and pre/pro. I purchased Atlantic Technology 370 series
speakers
L/R/C, in wall dipoles for the sides, and L/R for the rears. I am using a currently
owned Velodyne FSR-15 sub making a 7.1 setup.
I
also purchased a Lexicon DC-2 pre/pro with DD,DTS,THX. I still need to
purchase another Acurus amp to drive the extra rear channels and the
eventual
bass shakers for the seats. Click on the link at the top of the page for the
pics. Enjoy.....
6/3/00 2 new pics are up. The projector is hung and functioning.
I have even watched a few movies on it. I have all the Atlantic Tech's speakers
and the Lexicon DC-2
just sitting in their boxes waiting to be connected. Most of the drywall should
be done by the end of the weekend. I am waiting for 2 23 foot VGA
cables from
www.bettercables.com. Hopefully they
will be in this week since I need the theater operation for next weekend for
a party. Note to self,
ensure you
cut the hole in the sound board after covering the 50W halogen can light while
its on, instead of leaving it there and wondering what is that burning
smell. HIKES...
6/18/00 New pics are up. The room is now enclosed with drywall.
I hate joint compound. Anyways, the theater got its first breath of life on
Sunday June 11 at
4:27
PM. After setting up the DC-2 (which was very simple and even easier than my
Yamaha 992 receiver) and doing a few convergence's we sat
and
watched a few movies(The Matrix, The World is not Enough). The picture and sound
is better than I had expected. I am sure the picture will be even
better
once Jim Doolittle gets his hands on the projector. I am still in the process
of deciding what the walls are going to be treated with, but I think the
front
half is going to get a very heavy drape. The rear section may get a rug
treatment. I am still in the thought stages. My equipment room needs to be
finished
as I have everything sitting on a small table. I think I am going to install
a wall rack system for the devices that will be housed in this room. The
DVD
player will be in a shelf that will face into the HT room. You can see the opening
for the shelf that will face into the room in some of the rear shots.
Enjoy....
7/14/00 New pics are up. The room is now painted flat black
and the Jewel blue carpet is installed. Under the carpet is a 7/16" felt
pad which makes the carpet
feel
very soft. The room now looks more like a movie theater when watching a movie
since there is no reflection from the floor. The front of the room is
very
black around the screen and just sucks you right into the movie. I am still
working on the front drapes and will be purchasing some acoustical
panels
for the front 1/3 of the room, walls and ceiling. I have also added 5/8"
acoustical ceiling tiles to the front of the room to help the front drapes
deaden
the front end. The room is very quiet to the point I am going to need a door
bell extension since I cannot hear the one upstairs when someone
is
at the front door. I have order 2 Lazy boy recliners for the front row and a
Lazy boy sofa for the back row. They should be in by the end of August.
I
have also added a 5" LCD panel to the composite monitor out of the Lexicon
pre/pro. I wanted to add it because I like to do chaper searches on DVD
music
and always had to turn the projector on to see the menu. Also I could not see
the volume or the DSP I was set to because all the equipment is in
another
room. Enjoy......
9/24/00 New pics are up. I now have curtians in the front 1/3
of the room thanks to my mother. Behind the curtains I glued 5/8" acoustical
ceiling tiles to the
drywall.
This realy changed the sound of the room taking away some of the harshness of
the treble. The room still can use some acoutical treatment,
such
as on the ceiling, but that will have to wait since the HT fund has all but
dried up. I still need to paint my door(this weekends project) and build
my
shelves to house some equipment in the HT room. I have a 19" rack mount
enclosure I am going to use for the equipment that will be under the
stairs(It's
still a mess with the equipment.) I also purchased a Crystal Image scaler to
replace my DVDO. Thanks to Hi-Rez for letting me demo
the
unit first. The CI definatly makes a huge difference in picture quality. I can
actually be a few inches away from the screen on a good
anamporphic
picture and see the dimples in people faces(Stewart Little was the first movie
I saw with the CI. I had just recently watched it with
the
DVDO so it was fresh in my mind what the picture did look like. The CI was a
vast improvement.) ISF tech Jim Doolittle will be stopping
by
in a few days to do a full calibration. The picture looks good now; I can't
wait to see how good it looks when he is done. Enjoy....
1/14/01 New pics are up. I have moved my web hosting from
Verizon to Dell Hosting because Verizon would not give me more space. I have
also purchased
my own
domain name so hopefully this is the last time I have to move my site. This
should be the last changes in the HT for a while. I may add more
trim
around the soffits in the future, but for now I just enjoy the show.
1/24/02 Updated the products I am using located on the HT Main Page. New pics of HDTV equipment to come.