Future Updates

There is a very active community for home theater builders at a site called avsforum.com.

I've started a build thread there and will update my information at that location.  Thanks for visiting!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=21067459#post21067459

Doing Cabling Right

It's easy to allow the cabling of your media room to become an afterthought.  "Run a few cables; some speaker, some av.  No big deal, right?"

Wrong!

Cabling requires research, planning, and needs to be based of off a clear vision for your room.  Otherwise, you will most likely throw away money, time, and end up fumbling for quick fixes at the end of your project.  Quick fixes are expensive and don't usually look as good.


But at some point, you just have to take the leap.  In my case, I have finished enough of my design to know where my cabling will end up.  So, let's get started!

Pure Cinema Loses Out; Practicality Pumps Fist

In my last article, I debated the screen size and aspect ratio.  As it usually does, time and thought helped resolve my dilemma.  I have landed on the side of functionality and chosen the more popular 16:9 HDTV aspect ratio and the smaller 106" diagonal screen.

Aspects and Sizes, input please!

Selecting the aspect ratio and size of the screen is one of the biggest decisions that needs to be made in any home theater.  I've taken the measurements and overlaid some images to help me make the best choice. But before we get to that, let's talk about some of the conventional wisdom circulating this choice

Things aren't always what they beam

Take a gander at the image above.  That soffit running across the room is about 3.5 feet wide and yields a clearance of about 6' 6", roughly 4" above my head.  Since this was in the middle of the room, I wanted to reroute the ductwork carried inside the soffit to open the space up a bit more.

It's drop-tile, it's sheetrocked, it's paneling?

Designing any space in a house is all about making decisions, and designing home theaters brings even more choices above that.  Today, I tackle the issue of what to do about our ceiling.

We currently have drop-tiles for our ceiling, but there are many options to consider.

Carpet Color Not Ideal, Excellent for Shark Camo

The problem with carpet that is plush and high quality is that you can't ditch it for the simple reason that the color is not the best. So, now I'm stuck struggling with finding a color that matches it. Since this is for a theater, I'm trying to keep the room dark for the projector.

Using a photo editing software, I've played around with the color with reasonably ugly results. Here they are.

The base

I've had a fascination with home theaters for many years, but never the space to build one. I recently moved into a house with an empty finished basement.

Here are pictures of my basement, the canvas upon which I will paint my home theater & library.

The Vision

When you start any kind of project, it's crucial to have some vision and a set of requirements laid out if you expect decent results. Things change, get dropped, and new ones get added, but having a base from which to make those changes is critical.

Main Idea

Build a space to watch Movies and TV, listen to music, read books, play consolse and PC games, and work on the PC. Have refreshment available nearby.

The Space

Have enough seating for four adults and four kids utilizing our current chaise couch and floor seating.

The Design

Using existing carpets and structures, build a cozy and simple clutterless space. Utilize built in shelving for books. Hide all technology with speakers in the wall or behind the screen and the components in a closet.

The Techonology

The video in the room will be powered by a 119" screen and a projector. The audio will be 5.1 surround. The lighting will be done by ZWave. The control will be based either by an iPad application or Logitech.

My goal is to have this completed by the end of 2012.