Home cinema room? done.

[bretty]

Yep, all done. After dreaming of having a home cinema room for the last six years, it's finally become a reality. I had the projector, screen and surrounds fitted on Friday. Both of my AV cabinets turned up on Friday, but one was damaged so i've got to wait a few days for a raplacement to arrive. But I made up the one that was good so I could at least get the amp in and the speakers connected. I gave the system a whirl on Saturday night.

Was it worth the six year wait? Nah, it was rubbish.

Not really. It was stonkingly good. The projector I plumped for was the Optima HD33, shooting a 106" image onto a glass-beaded remote control screen. The image is just brilliant. Blurays look fantastc, Hd tv looks great and the 3D is something else. To anyone that is on the fence about getting a HD33, just get it. For £999 (from Sevenoaks. Sometimes Amazon have it for a grand, too, but their prices fluctuate wildly, between £1000 and £1400) you can't go wrong.

I will chuck up some pics when the second AV cab turns up this week.

 

[BenLaw]

Can't wait for the pics

 

[scene]

Can't wait for the pics

+1 on that

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Well done, bretty! Can you give us more details about the make, model number and cost of your remote-controlled screen? Anyway you'll now have a visual experience at home that is at least as good, and maybe quite a bit better, than your local commercial cinema.

By the way, how big is your home cinema room?

 

[bretty]

Thanks, guys! The screen is an absolute bargain. It's THIS from amazon. A fully automated, wall-controlled AND remote-controlled screen for £100? Gotta be a catch, right? Well, yes and no. It's build quality is great, all the way across the board. Could not be happier. If i'd paid £300 for it, I still would have been happy. However there are two things that ned to be considered before buying it, which I wasn't aware of before purchasing mine:

1: there are no adjustable fixings for ceiling installation. I expected two separate brackets, that could be attached to the ceiling joists, and then the screen to have a channel running along the back of it's casing that would accept the brackets. This isn't the case. It just has fixing holes at the ends of the projector casing. Not the end of the world, but something to consider.

2: the power lead, with the in-line controller box/infa red receiver, is only 3 metres long. Now this is fine if you live in a modern house, but if like me, you live in a Victorian, with it's tall ceilings, it's not long enough to even reach the floor. Again, not world-ending, but in my case, it, with the other point I mentioned above, changes it from a simple install that would take an hour, to a bit of a headache that took 3 hours.

I wouldn't let these things put you off buying one, necessarily, because I suppose you have to expect a slight trade off because of it's exceptional price. Also, if you are wall-mounting in a house that doesnt have cavernous ceilings, my negative points aren't relevant, so ignore everything I just said ;-)

 

[CnoEvil]

Very good Sir.

A projector is the way to go...no doubt about it :bounce:

Cno

 

[Big Chris]

Last day of work's Friday 14th..... So when am I coming down to Hastings then?

 

[DandyCobalt]

That's an incredible price for the screen. It must have cost less than say £30 to make, for anyone to make a profit? - fingers crossed it's built well and lasts.

The seller seems to get very good feedback, so looks like a real bargain!

 

[The_Lhc]

The screen is an absolute bargain. It's THIS from amazon. A fully automated, wall-controlled AND remote-controlled screen for £100? Gotta be a catch, right? Well, yes and no.

Yes, they can't spell and they've put the wrong image up as that's clearly a 4:3 screen (probably the 100% one in their other items). *fume*

Other than that...

 

[D.J.KRIME]

What youve done sounds very simular to My DIY PJ project HERE but I went for the Epson 6000W and "only" a 92" matt white electric screen.

Out of interest why did you opt for a Glass bead screen? do you use the PJ in a room with alot of ambient light?

 

[Xanderzdad]

Hi Bretty

Really pleased to hear about your cinema room. I've been toying with buying that exact screen for over a year and I think based on your experience I may go for it as a Christmas present.

Nice one

 

[GSB]

Can't wait for the pics

+1 on that

me too :clap:

 

[bretty]

Last day of work's Friday 14th..... So when am I coming down to Hastings then?

Whenever you fancy, Big boy!

 

[bretty]

What youve done sounds very simular to My DIY PJ project HERE but I went for the Epson 6000W and "only" a 92" matt white electric screen.

Out of interest why did you opt for a Glass bead screen? do you use the PJ in a room with alot of ambient light?

I went for glass beaded because obviously the HD33, as a fairly budget projector, I figured it wouldn't be too bright of a picture. I didn't have the opportunity to demo, so whether it actually needed the glass beaded or not, I don't know, but the picture is plenty bright, i'll say that.

Oh, just as an update, I watched a couple of 3D blurays ('final destination 5' and 'under the sea') and the 3D that this thing chucks out is just great. Final destination is an absolute stinker of a film, but the 3d is great. It's the first time that when something flies out of the screen during a 3D flick that i've actually gone 'whoa!'. In 'Under the sea', an underwater documentary, the 3D is amazing in a different way. It's multi-layered. Not just looking like cardboard cut outs sticking out of the screen. It's a little hard to explain, but when looking at the fish it just looks real, like you might as well be snorkelling with them. It really is a great projector, with a great throw ratio, too. I'm getting 106" for 3.4m, and I had to zoom the picture in to fit the sceen. It probably was more like 120".

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

Your next post must have a photo coverage of your home cinema!!!

 

[bretty]

Yep, sure will. Should be some piccies up by the weekend, If Citylink don't break the next cabinet that they deliver, that is

 

[ellisdj]

What amp did you get in the end Brett?

 

[bretty]

What amp did you get in the end Brett?

I haven't mate. Still with the old Sony, for now, til funds allow me to get a new one. Still gutted I couldn't swing getting yours! That was one serious bit of kit. I read a guy has just bought a used '83 on here. Was it yours?

 

[ellisdj]

Hi Brett

It could be mate as mine is now sold and they dont come up used very often.

I was suggested to try avforums classified so I put a few ads on to test it and everything pretty much sold within a couple of days.

Its a shame for you as its a bloody good receiver - you can find my opinion on it on this forum a lot.

I have bettered it with my new kit but the cost has been very big to do so.

 

[bretty]

Well, the AV cabs have arrived and been put together by me and the missus, last night. Gotta say that they are the best designed piece of flat pack furniture i've ever dealt with. An absolute doddle to put together and sturdy as hell. I think they're proper lookers, too. The online piccies didn't do them any justice. Talking of piccies; as promised, here are mine of the cinema room. They aint the best pics, the lighting made it difficult. I'll try again in daylight, but you'll get the gist..........

 

[erby]

Hi bretty

That looks great, bet your chuffed to bits with it.

Where did you get the cabinet?

 

[bigboss]

Looks very nice! Is that Boxee Box you've got on?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Pics.look awful onlaptop but fine on tablet. Odd. However, its looking very good. Maybe the bay helps acoustics? I am sure you are very pleased with a great room. But its not nearly as good as mine when I win the lottery.

 

[bretty]

Cheers for the compliments, fellas. I've taken some better quality shots today. The gloss finish on the cabinet is pretty hard to capture on camera (well, it is on the missus' Galaxy Note II's camera, anyway!)

 

[bretty]

Hi bretty

That looks great, bet your chuffed to bits with it.

Where did you get the cabinet?

Thanks, mate. I got the cabinets from a closing down sale and I believe I got the last ones. But they are for sale at other places online. They are a modular design, meaning you can bolt more than one together to give the impression of one unit. They come in two sizes: 550 and 1100mm. I got one of each, giving bundles of space for all my gear. They come with soft-open, swing, down doors with black tinted glass fronts, so your remotes can work through them. I wanted cabines this time, instead of open- fronted stands, because I was sick of the constant dusting that comes with the latters design. Now that I have the cabinets, I think they actually look a hell of a lot better than any open-front design, too, as well as keeping everything looking neat and sleek.

So, after that massive ramble, the units are by Gecko and are the Reflect series ;-)