New home cinema plans

[bigboss]

I'll keep an eye on your system build thread. I'm sure I'll learn a trick or two.

 

[ideal av]

Hi BB

for me the garage is a perfect solution for an home cinema, especially the size you have but please consider that if its a detached one, would you really want to be going outside in the rain ice and snow in the winter months to watch a film

i`ve seen it quite a few times when a room in the garden has been completed in the spring/summer and gets used a lot, only to be left over the winter months after a few initial treks have left her indoors, err!! actually left indoors if you know what I mean

mind you sometimes that might be a good thing

another consideration if sticking to the living room and using a projector, is to choose the screen carefully, this will allow you to leave the room decor as is, ie: nice and bright livingroomy and still acheive very good contrast/black levels without closing all the curtains and blinds

just a thought

Allan

 

[bigboss]

Thanks Allan. Yes, my wife shares your thoughts about the home cinema actually being used in winter / snow as the detached garage is a few yards away from the property.

You make an interesting comment about projector in the living room; given how bright it is, is it actually possible?

 

[simonlewis]

An undercover walkway perhaps.

 

[bigboss]

Don't think that's possible. It's on the other end of a very mature, well developed garden.

 

[chrisup]

bigboss for your gym try carpet tiles lay the arrows pointing to wards the door amd use doubleside tape. You don't have to stick every tile down just the main traffic areas eg in front of settee. All you need is a stanley knife and patience and make sure you have spares if you have spillages. When I want to paint the walls in my flat i take up the tiles around the perimter and label the back of them eg my lounge is 7.2m x 4.57m Carpet tiles also hide flat speaker cable brilliantly. No one has spotted that I have carpet tiles and I can create rugs using a contrasting colour as a border.

Best Wishes

Chris

 

[ideal av]

Thanks Allan. Yes, my wife shares your thoughts about the home cinema actually being used in winter / snow as the detached garage is a few yards away from the property.

You make an interesting comment about projector in the living room; given how bright it is, is it actually possible?

it is possible if you choose the correct screen without question, only my opinion but using a white screen in your type of ambient lit room is something i`d not recommend, but using an ambient lit surface designed to be used in your type of room can reap massive benefits in maintaining image contrast whilst allowing you to leave the room as is

 

[duaplex]

Thanks Allan. Yes, my wife shares your thoughts about the home cinema actually being used in winter / snow as the detached garage is a few yards away from the property.

You make an interesting comment about projector in the living room; given how bright it is, is it actually possible?

it is possible if you choose the correct screen without question, only my opinion but using a white screen in your type of ambient lit room is something i`d not recommend, but using an ambient lit surface designed to be used in your type of room can reap massive benefits in maintaining image contrast whilst allowing you to leave the room as is

Interesting, If only I knew that before buying a 65 inch screen for my living room :doh:

 

[bigboss]

Very interesting! :?

I never knew this was possible!! Back to the drawing board then :type:

 

[duaplex]

One thing I regret not doing was having a TV behind a projector screen. So in your living room have the projector screen (preferably one that retracts and drops down at the click of a button) for those occasion you want to immerse yourself in home cinema. Then when you want to watch Sky or play some console games, simply use the TV behind it. This way you have the best of both worlds and can switch between the two without turning the living room into a permanent cinema. Also I'm thinking of the bulb and prolonging its life

 

[bigboss]

Due to awkwardness of my living room, I can either have a corner TV setup or a projector with drop down screen from above the fireplace. My speaker placement will be different for both options, so I cannot have both.

 

[duaplex]

As long as the screen on top of the fireplace is at a comfortable viewing height then you will be ok. If you find that you are looking up then it could become tiring. I would assume you had thought of that , knowing how careful you normally are with these things So I would say go with the screen above fireplace 1st and go with TV as a second option.

Also having a bigger screen helps create that bigger sound stage.

 

[bigboss]

I mean the motorized screen can be installed on the ceiling above the fireplace, which can drop down in front of the fireplace when in use.

 

[duaplex]

Well then, I think you have it sorted BB

 

[Xanderzdad]

I mean the motorized screen can be installed on the ceiling above the fireplace, which can drop down in front of the fireplace when in use.

Hi BB

Would that work with the heat from the fire?

BTW I have a projector in my main room and can only sensibly use it with the curtains pulled as it looks washed out with any light falling on the screen area. If you find a solution to the ambient light issue I would be interested to hear.

 

[bigboss]

We normally don't use the fireplace at all. Is your screen white or a high gain one?

 

[richardw42]

Like BB, I've got a detached double garage that's ripe for a home cinema.

But thankfully I thought better of it (it's 30+ yards away) Putting a coat on to walk to it in the winter didn't appeal

 

[mathematician]

that plan look nice and we can go for it.

 

[bigboss]

Copy pasting a couple of my posts from another thread to here, due to relevance of it:

Back from the demo. I compared Sony HW55 and Epson 9200W on a Draper ReAct screen.

I was astounded by the crystal clear blu ray and HD channel quality, and a perfectly watchable SD (including Gold, which I think can struggle with decent SD images)! I can easily see using a projector exclusively for all TV viewing.

Epson is a bit brighter, and struggles with blacks and motion. Sony was superb in both these departments! I did not test JVC as it isn't bright enough for TV viewing in a bright room. And I did not test 3D.

I'm more or less decided on the Sony, the HW40 which on paper, will offer similar performance as the HW55 at a much lower price. I don't see much sense in spending more than that, with 4K round the corner (that's what I would recommend to Duaplex as well).

Have some practical issues though. Where will the centre speaker go (as the projector screen will be installed above the fireplace)? ReAct isn't acoustically transparent. Draper does make an acoustically transparent version, but that's 3 times the cost.

What about ceiling speakers for centre? Anyone tried it?

I think I've found the perfect compromise! :clap:

 

[duaplex]

Awesome feedback!

I may just do that and drop back in the projector price bracket and add a Lumagen video processor. It's so hard to make a decision on these things!

Not tried ceiling speakers for fronts, but I do like the look of the Ci Series you showed above. As long as the speaker is aimed at you I cant really see a problem with the performance.

We have seen people mount center speakers above TV's and projectors before and point them down, I can only imagine these purpose buit speakers would sound better as they are designed for that reason.

Another demo maybe

 

[bigboss]

Thanks for your comment on motorised ceiling speakers. I'm hoping the same too. My current system has centre speaker positioned above the TV, near the ceiling. And it sounds great!

I'm not sure if anyone even offers demo of ceiling speakers. Paucity of reviews makes the decision even harder! :?

 

[ideal av]

Thanks for your comment on motorised ceiling speakers. I'm hoping the same too. My current system has centre speaker positioned above the TV, near the ceiling. And it sounds great!

I'm not sure if anyone even offers demo of ceiling speakers. Paucity of reviews makes the decision even harder! :?

well you heard inceiling speakers here albeit good ones and i think you would have like them if I could have played at realistic sound levels, you might want to pop back on your own so you can have a proper listen

glad you like the Sony ReAct combination as well, theirs really nothing better

 

[ideal av]

I mean the motorized screen can be installed on the ceiling above the fireplace, which can drop down in front of the fireplace when in use.

BTW I have a projector in my main room and can only sensibly use it with the curtains pulled as it looks washed out with any light falling on the screen area. If you find a solution to the ambient light issue I would be interested to hear.

their is a solution and a very good one to your problem

 

[bigboss]

Thanks for your comment on motorised ceiling speakers. I'm hoping the same too. My current system has centre speaker positioned above the TV, near the ceiling. And it sounds great!

I'm not sure if anyone even offers demo of ceiling speakers. Paucity of reviews makes the decision even harder! :?

well you heard inceiling speakers here albeit good ones and i think you would have like them if I could have played at realistic sound levels, you might want to pop back on your own so you can have a proper listen

glad you like the Sony ReAct combination as well, theirs really nothing better

Thanks Allan! :cheers:

Is there any way to make regular ceiling speakers being controlled by a motorized mechanism, so that they point towards the listener?

I will be interested to know your thoughts on HW40 when it arrives.

I'll come over for the sound demo soon. Our 5-month old would not have appreciated the sound demo yesterday!

 

[bigboss]

BTW I have a projector in my main room and can only sensibly use it with the curtains pulled as it looks washed out with any light falling on the screen area. If you find a solution to the ambient light issue I would be interested to hear.

I checked ReAct 2.1 screen which looked superb even under brightest halogen lights and window open. You should demo it.