Who knows stuff about home theatres?

2008-03-08 18:43:30

#1

TimmmmaaaaH: Damn, I... had something for this; +725|6712|Brisbane, Australia

We are turning our garage into a home theatre, and need to work out what kind of shit we are going to have.

We already have:

1x Amp (the thing everything plugs into, I think its an amp?)

Enough speakers for 5.1 surround

What we need is:

Some kind of screen. After looking around today at the shops we have 80% decided on an LCD TV. Pros and Cons of an LCD versus a projector would be great.

Anything else?

Also, I am probably going to be hooking my computer up to it a fair bit, and probs an X360/PS3 down the track a little. So "Full HS" or whatever is a must (I think it is 1920x1080p or something).

So I know some of you have epic home theatres (Kmarion, Jenspm?, and a few others I think) and some of you just know a shitload about this kinda stuff.

https://bf3s.com/sigs/5e6a35c97adb20771c7b713312c0307c23a7a36a.png

2008-03-08 18:44:07

#2

jsnipy: ...; +3,277|6795|...

/me waits for Kmarion and Jenspm

2008-03-08 18:47:30

#3

TimmmmaaaaH: Damn, I... had something for this; +725|6712|Brisbane, Australia

jsnipy wrote:
/me waits for Kmarion and Jenspm

lol thought I got those two right.

2008-03-08 18:47:56

#4

KuSTaV: noice; +947|6783|Gold Coast

It depends how far back you are from the screen etc and also tastes for the projector vs LCD.
Personally Id go for a decent projector if you're quite far back... unless its a massive LCD.

Pics would help I guess.

noice

https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/26774/awsmsanta.png

2008-03-08 18:49:24

#5

Gooners: Wiki Contributor; +2,700|6904

Yeah Show us pics of your Garage Mini-Cinema.

2008-03-08 18:55:22

#6

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7082|Nårvei

Some pics of the place would be nice ... distance from viewers seats to the screen ... what kind of speakers and receiver you got ... and what kind of budget are talking about ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2008-03-08 19:02:28

#7

TimmmmaaaaH: Damn, I... had something for this; +725|6712|Brisbane, Australia

Well it is approx a 6m x 6m room. So couch will be one side, screen on the other.

Cant really show pics as it isnt done yet . atm it is just a messy garage with all that garagey stuff (lawn mower, paint tins, old wood for the fire, boat etc)

Probably looking at ~50" LCD's. ~AU$3/3.5k is probably the budget for the screen. As I said, we have everything else.

2008-03-09 05:20:01

#8

Funky_Finny: Banned; +456|6405|Carnoustie, Scotland

Well, with an LCD, the size is infinate, very portable, easy to set up. With a TV, it's heavy, uses lots of power, runs very hot, can be dificult to set up.
If you sit the projector at the back of the room you'll get a massive screen, just paint the front wall white and keep it very clean. You'll also have to eliminate ALL light coming into the mini-cinema.

I'd get a projector tbh.

2008-03-09 05:20:16

#9

naightknifar: Served and Out; +642|6833|Southampton, UK

jsnipy wrote:
/me waits for Kmarion and Jenspm

2008-03-09 05:30:17

#10

GC_PaNzerFIN: Work and study @ Technical Uni; +528|6686|Finland

All I know about home theatres is that I don't have one.

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8

2008-03-09 06:32:16

#11

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|6854|SE London

Get a DLP projector.

2008-03-09 07:33:19

#12

HurricaИe: Banned; +877|6233|Washington DC

How much money do you have? Those Sony Bravias with 1080p24, 120Hz etc are awsm.

2008-03-09 07:38:39

#13

Surgeons: U shud proabbly f off u fat prik; +3,097|6762|Gogledd Cymru

Funky_Finny wrote:
Well, with an LCD, the size is infinate, very portable, easy to set up. With a TV, it's heavy, uses lots of power, runs very hot, can be dificult to set up.

Don't give advice if you don't know what you're on about.

2008-03-09 07:54:31

#14

02fxnmaurer: Member; +75|6754|Birmingham UK

The Sheriff wrote:
Funky_Finny wrote:
Well, with an LCD, the size is infinate, very portable, easy to set up. With a TV, it's heavy, uses lots of power, runs very hot, can be dificult to set up.
Don't give advice if you don't know what you're on about.

2008-03-09 07:56:20

#15

SgtSlutter: Banned; +550|6910|Amsterdam, NY

02fxnmaurer wrote:
The Sheriff wrote:
Funky_Finny wrote:
Well, with an LCD, the size is infinate, very portable, easy to set up. With a TV, it's heavy, uses lots of power, runs very hot, can be dificult to set up.
Don't give advice if you don't know what you're on about.

2008-03-09 07:56:46

#16

xGj: Official lame Crysis fanboy.; +84|6644|Netherlands tbh

SgtSlauther wrote:
02fxnmaurer wrote:
The Sheriff wrote:

Don't give advice if you don't know what you're on about.

2008-03-09 08:01:03

#17

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7082|Nårvei

TimmmmaaaaH wrote:
Well it is approx a 6m x 6m room. So couch will be one side, screen on the other.

Cant really show pics as it isnt done yet . atm it is just a messy garage with all that garagey stuff (lawn mower, paint tins, old wood for the fire, boat etc)

Probably looking at ~50" LCD's. ~AU$3/3.5k is probably the budget for the screen. As I said, we have everything else.

Aprox viewing distance 6 meters from a 50" will not give you a cinema feeling, for normal viewing pleasures like a living room one shouldn't sit more than 1 meter away from each 10" of the screen, for a cinema that ratio increase by 300% roughly.

So lets say 5,5 meters times 30" is about 165" minimum so a DLP is highly recommended, most DLPs today can easily supply 300" + witch shouldn't be a problem with a 6 meter projection surface.

About the screen you have several to choose amongst with Stewart being a favorite among many because of the fractional light grey canvas rather than the pure white that will kill the black totally - do NOT ever just paint a surface, that is sacrilegious

What are the walls made of - wood or concrete ?

Am still anxious to know more about the receiver and speakers you have ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2008-03-09 08:05:15

#18

HurricaИe: Banned; +877|6233|Washington DC

Funky_Finny wrote:
Well, with an LCD, the size is infinate, very portable, easy to set up. With a TV, it's heavy, uses lots of power, runs very hot, can be dificult to set up.
If you sit the projector at the back of the room you'll get a massive screen, just paint the front wall white and keep it very clean. You'll also have to eliminate ALL light coming into the mini-cinema.

I'd get a projector tbh.

My 52" DLP TV is a shitload lighter than our old 27" CRT SDTV. That latter TV took the strength of 3 spartans to lift. I can lift the DLP fine (it's just awkward to grip it cause, ya know, it's a lot wider than 27")

edit: TVs are easy to set up.

Last edited by HurricaИe (2008-03-09 08:05:32)

2008-03-09 08:11:14

#19

Mitch: 16 more years; +877|6797|South Florida

TimmmmaaaaH wrote:
We are turning our garage into a home theatre, and need to work out what kind of shit we are going to have.

We already have:

1x Amp (the thing everything plugs into, I think its an amp?)

Enough speakers for 5.1 surround

What we need is:

Some kind of screen. After looking around today at the shops we have 80% decided on an LCD TV. Pros and Cons of an LCD versus a projector would be great.

Anything else?

Also, I am probably going to be hooking my computer up to it a fair bit, and probs an X360/PS3 down the track a little. So "Full HS" or whatever is a must (I think it is 1920x1080p or something).

So I know some of you have epic home theatres (Kmarion, Jenspm?, and a few others I think) and some of you just know a shitload about this kinda stuff.

We used to have a home theater in the basement, and here are some pro's and con's from what ive learned about projectors.

Pro's:
Pretty much unlimited screen size.
Picture quality is comparable to tv's depending on the projector.
It adds a cool feeling to your room when your projecting on a screen.
Around the same price, or less, for a nice projector.

Con's:
From what ive heard bulb life isnt forever.
You'll need a screen.
You'll have to make sure theres nothing blocking your projection. Like seats or heads.
Keep it dark
-

My dad's got real retracting theater seats too its pretty cool. But when we moved out of our old house we never made a new one. Yet!

Hope this helped, and believe me it'll feel much more intense if you have a projector

Last edited by Mitch (2008-03-09 08:14:09)

15 more years! 15 more years!

2008-03-10 02:16:55

#20

TimmmmaaaaH: Damn, I... had something for this; +725|6712|Brisbane, Australia

Varegg wrote:
TimmmmaaaaH wrote:
Well it is approx a 6m x 6m room. So couch will be one side, screen on the other.

Cant really show pics as it isnt done yet . atm it is just a messy garage with all that garagey stuff (lawn mower, paint tins, old wood for the fire, boat etc)

Probably looking at ~50" LCD's. ~AU$3/3.5k is probably the budget for the screen. As I said, we have everything else.
Aprox viewing distance 6 meters from a 50" will not give you a cinema feeling, for normal viewing pleasures like a living room one shouldn't sit more than 1 meter away from each 10" of the screen, for a cinema that ratio increase by 300% roughly.

So lets say 5,5 meters times 30" is about 165" minimum so a DLP is highly recommended, most DLPs today can easily supply 300" + witch shouldn't be a problem with a 6 meter projection surface.

About the screen you have several to choose amongst with Stewart being a favorite among many because of the fractional light grey canvas rather than the pure white that will kill the black totally - do NOT ever just paint a surface, that is sacrilegious

What are the walls made of - wood or concrete ?

Am still anxious to know more about the receiver and speakers you have ...

Hmm thanks eggy.

The walls are brick, very uneven brick. lol.

The receiver is some panasonic thing, it is being used with surround sound and a 106cm plasma atm. We are going to use that surround sound and the receiver with the new setup (projector/LCD TV etc), and use the standard inbuilt speakers on teh plasma (which we pretty much use anyway).

Thanks Mitch, that confirms what I thought.

The projector has a certain "cool" factor about it, as well as being much larger.

Is it worth getting a 1920x1080p LCD for future stuff though? eg PS3/x360, blu ray etc

And also the PC thing. I am thinking that 1280x720 (one of the projectors had this res) wont actually be that bad from 5m away, amirite?

2008-03-10 02:59:27

#21

kylef: Gone; +1,352|6765|N. Ireland

Optimum viewing distance of a projector is usually 2.5x the length of the screen you are projecting it on. This should give you a fair insight as to what resolution suits you best. So if your projection is 6 feet (which mine is! ) then optimum distance is in theory 18 feet. I find a little closer is better but there is a website out there to scale it perfectly. (if I find it I'll send you a PM!)

2008-03-10 03:02:42

#22

TimmmmaaaaH: Damn, I... had something for this; +725|6712|Brisbane, Australia

https://img187.imageshack.us/img187/4114/hometheatreplanmg7.jpg

Thats a quick plan I drew up.

Ta Kyle. Hopefully you do

2008-03-10 03:13:37

#23

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7082|Nårvei

Uahhrgh ... build in speakers ... ah well.

I'm sorry to say and hope you don't get insulted but the sound of your plans doesn't seem all that dedicated to get a well functioning home theater ... it sounds a little half hearted tbh ... correct me if i'm wrong

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

2008-03-10 03:37:03

#24

Nappy: Apprentice; +151|6501|NSW, Australia

may i ask why you cant just paint a nice "perfect" wall?

just wondering coz im interested in doing this myself when im older

2008-03-10 03:48:36

#25

Varegg: Support fanatic :-); +2,206|7082|Nårvei

Nappy wrote:
may i ask why you cant just paint a nice "perfect" wall?

just wondering coz im interested in doing this myself when im older

Because you will never get that same smooth surface as a canvas, and if not smooth you will reflect the picture from the paint in an unwanted manor aka a reduced quality ... besides a reasonable good canvas doesn't cost that much ...

Wait behind the line ..............................................................

BF2S Forums Who knows stuff about home theatres?

jsnipy wrote:

jsnipy wrote:

Funky_Finny wrote:

The Sheriff wrote:

Funky_Finny wrote:

02fxnmaurer wrote:

The Sheriff wrote:

Funky_Finny wrote:

SgtSlauther wrote:

02fxnmaurer wrote:

The Sheriff wrote:

TimmmmaaaaH wrote:

Funky_Finny wrote:

TimmmmaaaaH wrote:

Varegg wrote:

TimmmmaaaaH wrote:

Nappy wrote:

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