Opportunity to design a home theater

[8bitbytes]

Hot Fuzz is a really fun flick and just pounds my room with the sub.

Hey Rocky, move your sub out from the wall more and turn it so it isn't angled to the middle of the room. Those long waves need room to propagate properly and when you have it close to the wall and bouncing its sound into corners, you can lose some performance. Do you have a phase switch on the sub? Try that in both positions also if you do.

A really good sub check is chapter 25 in Finding Nemo when Darla is tapping the aquarium.

There are light shields you can use on the can lights up front so that they don't shine towards the screen.

Can't remember if it was mentioned but the THX Optimizer Tool can be found on most Pixar DVDs and works well for adjusting your brightness and contrast.

 

[8bitbytes]

IBut I am thrilled beyond belief. Can't believe I have this. Christmas arrived early. Very early. And the whole thing was not cheap, I figure about $3500 when all is said and done.

You meant to say NOT CHEAP?

$3500 for a Kuro Flat Panel or what you have now? Yeah! I know the answer to that one!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

You meant to say NOT CHEAP?

$3500 for a Kuro Flat Panel or what you have now? Yeah! I know the answer to that one!

I said that in a way that was relative to what I have ever spent on home entertainment before. The price was reasonable for what I got, for sure.

Thanks for the advice about the sub; as I am not convinced I am getting a lot out of it right now.

 

[jayn_j]

Nice. Even nicer with the couch.

Small adjustments can make a big difference with a sub. It really should be a foot or so away from any wall.

I also bet that the room is a little 'bright' in sound right now. You may want to consider some fabric or cork panels near the front of the room to cut down on high frequency reflections, especially if your furniture is further back. Something like that nice Indian rug that all us old Colorado folks have stashed somewhere

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Nice. Even nicer with the couch.

Small adjustments can make a big difference with a sub. It really should be a foot or so away from any wall.

I also bet that the room is a little 'bright' in sound right now. You may want to consider some fabric or cork panels near the front of the room to cut down on high frequency reflections, especially if your furniture is further back. Something like that nice Indian rug that all us old Colorado folks have stashed somewhere

It is a little bright. And I do have an old Indian rug....

 

[rockymtnhigh]

So... I have had the HT for about a week and a half; while we have not have had nearly enough time to enjoy it, moving in and all, it really is a great setup. No qualms at all about the speakers they used. The sound is excellent. Hell, from upstairs it sounds like the house is exploding when it is on.

And for $800 the Mitsi HC1500 is a great PJ. I have NO COMPLAINTS at all about 720p. Dish Network stuff looks great on it; and the HD DVD player... well ... it rocks.


Still need to decorate; and do some sound stuff on the walls, but that will all come in time.

And 106" -- holy crap -- it still blows me away how large that is.

While my wife has been supportive -- I did have to dump more money into a SECOND couch, for the living room. Small price, if you ask me.

 

[dfergie]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the mits and the theater...

 

[8bitbytes]

So... I have had the HT for about a week and a half; while we have not have had nearly enough time to enjoy it, moving in and all, it really is a great setup. No qualms at all about the speakers they used. The sound is excellent. Hell, from upstairs it sounds like the house is exploding when it is on.

And for $800 the Mitsi HC1500 is a great PJ. I have NO COMPLAINTS at all about 720p. Dish Network stuff looks great on it; and the HD DVD player... well ... it rocks.


Still need to decorate; and do some sound stuff on the walls, but that will all come in time.

And 106" -- holy crap -- it still blows me away how large that is.

While my wife has been supportive -- I did have to dump more money into a SECOND couch, for the living room. Small price, if you ask me.

Good to hear about the speakers. Sounds like they set you up right. Did you get any more performance from the sub? Sometimes it takes some sound meter analysis to figure out what is knocking down your sub. It's definitely an important part of the experience!

The big screen - - That feeling still hasn't faded for us almost 2 years later. You will rewatch so many things...

Thanks for the update!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Good to hear about the speakers. Sounds like they set you up right. Did you get any more performance from the sub? Sometimes it takes some sound meter analysis to figure out what is knocking down your sub. It's definitely an important part of the experience!

The big screen - - That feeling still hasn't faded for us almost 2 years later. You will rewatch so many things...

Thanks for the update!

I moved the sub a bit; and went into the receiver's settings and increased its power as well.

The only thing I don't like about it is that it has a auto-on/off; if there is no signal to it for about five minutes, it clicks off; it turns right back on when it receives signal, but it is annoying. Gotta read the sub's manual to see if I am missing something.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

US Open on 106" screen.....wow

Watched a bit of the US Open on the HT this afternoon. Wow. When they would zoom into show a ball going into the hole, it was life-sized.

If golf is this good, I cannot wait for the NFL in August.

 

[8bitbytes]

Watched a bit of the US Open on the HT this afternoon. Wow. When they would zoom into show a ball going into the hole, it was life-sized.

If golf is this good, I cannot wait for the NFL in August.

Football is amazing on the big screen!

When they zoom in on the huddles, those helmets are 2 or 3 feet across and the light is gleaming off of them... A thing of beauty! I can't wait for college ball to get started!

I still have the Navy at Notre Dame game from last year on one of my EHDs.

 

[dfergie]

Check out NFL Replay this weekend for a taste...

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Check out NFL Replay this weekend for a taste...

Good idea.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Decided that the Sony receiver I had was inadequate for the HT room; so I swapped it out for a Denon AVR-788. Sound is improved dramatically; but that receiver is NOT easy to configure. Still trying to sort it out with HDMI swtiching.

Got some photos online of the HTroom

The screen: http://lh6.ggpht.com/mgizzi/SGBUQUuooCI/AAAAAAAAA7k/wjZzkVP-b_s/IMG_4220.JPG?imgmax=720

The "Dish Monitor" in the mechanical room: http://lh4.ggpht.com/mgizzi/SGBUjN7DhUI/AAAAAAAAA84/Ckr0zabhO3Y/IMG_4241.JPG?imgmax=720

A screen-shot of Remember The Titans on (gasp) BD:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/mgizzi/SGBUmZpvmuI/AAAAAAAAA9U/ds-fDCbnnpA/IMG_4247.JPG?imgmax=720

The seating area: http://lh6.ggpht.com/mgizzi/SGBUs6fCIaI/AAAAAAAAA94/M0Apf7kILco/IMG_4256.JPG?imgmax=720

Next on the list... add two more speakers for a full 7.1 setup (but this will take time, as cash is tight); and then a second sub. And these things might come after I finish the 4-room in house audio for my wife. the house is wired for it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Decided that the Sony receiver I had was inadequate for the HT room; so I swapped it out for a Denon AVR-788. Sound is improved dramatically; but that receiver is NOT easy to configure. Still trying to sort it out with HDMI swtiching.

Well, I am glad that PhD I have is good for something... as it took me all of my brain-power to figure out how to setup the three input sources (HD DVD, BD, and Dish) in that Denon. But by god, I did it, even renamed the inputs.

Haven't even started to try to figure out how to optimize the sound for the room. That's for another day.

 

[dfergie]

Yeah I have HD DVD, BD and either Dish or Direct depending on the day on mine..(swap the component and toslink in the livingroom)

 

[jayn_j]

Decided that the Sony receiver I had was inadequate for the HT room; so I swapped it out for a Denon AVR-788. Sound is improved dramatically; but that receiver is NOT easy to configure. Still trying to sort it out with HDMI swtiching.
...
The "Dish Monitor" in the mechanical room:

Good choice. I agree that they are hard to set up, but once they are there, you never have to mess with them. The biggest problem I have with Denon stuff is that it sounds so darned good that you are reluctant to replace it until long after it is functionally obsolete. I have a vintage 1992 receiver (actually integrated amp - no tuner) with only Dolby pro-logic that I have just now replaced as the primary receiver in my main system. It was so clean, that I couldn't justify putting in any lesser DD system.

Question. I saw the mechanical room picture with some equipment, but I don't see anything in the main room. Did you put everything in the mechanical room? If so, how are you controlling the equipment? Repeater? Just walking in there?

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Good choice. I agree that they are hard to set up, but once they are there, you never have to mess with them. The biggest problem I have with Denon stuff is that it sounds so darned good that you are reluctant to replace it until long after it is functionally obsolete. I have a vintage 1992 receiver (actually integrated amp - no tuner) with only Dolby pro-logic that I have just now replaced as the primary receiver in my main system. It was so clean, that I couldn't justify putting in any lesser DD system.

Question. I saw the mechanical room picture with some equipment, but I don't see anything in the main room. Did you put everything in the mechanical room? If so, how are you controlling the equipment? Repeater? Just walking in there?

That was just the top half of the audio/video rack. I didn't have a lens that was wide enough at the time for the photo. I did think having the 9" TV in there was creative. It allows me to program the DVR without having to fire up the Mitsi.

Everything is in the mechanical room; HD DVD, Dish, BD, and Receiver. All controlled by a IR repeater, that is installed in the center speaker. I have emitters on the IR-port of each device. Works perfectly except for the Dish; the remote is finicky, but I am thinking of just replacing the remote.

The Denon makes me wonder what my speakers in the living room (Infinity from when it was Infinity) would sound like on it. But I should not even think about it, as there is no way I am replacing the receiver upstairs unless it blows. Hmmm...

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Only downside is that there are only 2 HDMI ports on the Denon, and when I replace the 622, I will need a third. I am using component on the 622 because the HDMI port blew. But for the mean time, it works fine.

 

[jayn_j]

Only downside is that there are only 2 HDMI ports on the Denon, and when I replace the 622, I will need a third. I am using component on the 622 because the HDMI port blew. But for the mean time, it works fine.

But in my experience the component outputs on the 622 were a little cleaner. Given that the Denon does HDMI upconversion there is no downside to this unless and until DISH starts doing component downconversion or blocking of HDCP protected material.