Does anyone use a video projector for a "home cinema" feel? If you do so, do you use a motorized screen, or a manual pulldown screen or a fixed screen? Also, what sound system do you use, any recommendations for cheap, but still decent surround sound? Thanks!
My father has decked out Home Theater 108 inch motorized silver Screen Sharp 12000 3 B&Ws upfront and 3 in-ceiling speakers - the setup is amazing check out www.avsforum.com - the community is HUGE and alot of help
I'm not sure how much it was and he didn't put it together himself. the company he bought alot of the equipment from put it all together with racks and everything
http://www.avsforum.com/ Go look in the forums. These guys in this forum are nuts about home theaters and you can get any information on any equipment at any price range.
it's cool, mine has been long too....and isn't going to end for a few hours. Physics test in the morning.
I got a projector for home theater. Unfortunately its a data projector so I have to use a scalar to get good image quality. However, it still kicks rear projection tv's out of the water. I'm building a custom fixed screen in the near future using special paint. I'm also upgrading the projector soon. You can get a great hdtv projector for about 2 grand and anything over a grand is still better than a rear projection. A good site to go to for reviews and editorials is projectorcentral.com. In terms of sound, I don't think you can get great sound for cheap. In terms of deals, you can go to audiogon or ebay for good used stuff. Audiophiles generally take care of their stuff, so you can get great stuff for about half to a third the price of retail.
I'm about to buy a plasma (either 37 or 42 inch) for downstairs. Several plasma units are about to drop in price. Panasonic is coming out with newer versions of their models with a better picture for equal to or less than the money the comparable current models cost. I have some direct-buy speakers built into the ceiling and walls for 7.1 surround in the lower room. Upstairs, I have one fairly big 19' x 19' room that currently is empty. I'm going to convert that into a media room/theater. I'm currently looking at either a 92" or 106" screen with a projector for sure there. Watching a movie or Rockets game, potentially in hi def on a monster screen.... mmmmm. I'm still researching... projectors and screens at the moment. Also, don't let the hype monster bite you. All these speakers that sell for thousands of dollars are silly. Will you hear a difference? Yes. Will it make a difference to you if you're not an "audiophile"? Probably not. You can get good, cheaper speakers. I'm not talking Radio Shack or something... I'm talking about the lower to mid range of Polk, Infinity, Mirage, SVS, Hsu Research, Paradigm, and several other direct-buy speaker companies, etc. I've gone to the avsforum's forum mentioned above. Steer clear of much of the hype on there and look for reviews of equipment. Some of the stuff people do in there with regards to remodelling, building, and buying are borderline insane.
I fully agree! I don't really plan to spend more than at the most a hundred or a couple of hundred bucks for some speakers. Might even go with the cheapest whatever I can find. Thanks for the avsforum advice - had visited there before, but had forgotten about them. I am typing this no longer looking at the image being projected on the wall...but on my new motorized screen which I bought on ebay . But actually, I mainly got the whole home theater thing because I wanted to watch movies with my girlfriend or friends and, more importantly, the soccer world cup is coming next year!
I just recently finished building a townhouse for my brother and his wife in which we built a theatre room w/ an HD Projector and 105" screen. Because the room was a dedicated theatre room we had the screen (which was silicone) against the wall. The drop down screens are bad because they: 1. Are expensive 2. More prone to problems 3. The screen is not as tight as if it was on a dedicated wall. If you're not dedicating the room to it, its an option, but I would rather dedicate a wall to it and have curtians to cover the screen. I can give you the number of my theatre guy or his email if you have questions.
There is now a reflective paint available for any wall that you want to convert to a screen. Don't know if it's as good as a screen. (Projectors can be fun, each year I project Harry Potter onto our garage door at Halloween)
How back are we going? You're not talking about the Optimus line that sounded good initially and blew apart after a few months, are you? I remember when I was in high school, we'd have guys bumping the AC Delco 6x9's and subs from Radio Shack in their cars. As I look back, I think "damn, those things sounded terrible". Especially with the trunk and everything else on the car rattling. But I'd pay for some Optimus speakers before I shell out for Wilson Audio, Martin Logan, or high end B&W's.
When we moved to our new house, the wife let me get an entertainment system--not too fancy, but not bottom of the line either. I spent the most time in my search listening to speakers. I was impressed with the B&W's, but no way could I justify going into debt for what essentially are $1,000 a pop bookshelf speakers. I went to all the decent places in Houston to listen to speakers, and I ended up with Klipsch Reference series. For my ears, and my money, they were the best buy.
I actually like the sound of most of Klipsch's speakers. Ditto with Infinity. I'm not that picky about audio, though. I like good sound, but I don't want to pay 200%-500% more for a perceived improvement of maybe 5%-15% (to me anyway). I'd much rather put more money into the video side of it. I'll notice bad video before I noticed bad sound.
We used PolkAudio speakers in the theatre room with 5.1 surround sound (though there is wiring for 7.1). We also had those throughout the house and they sound amazing, clear and crisp. I would suggest to anyone to go ahead and buy better speakers, b/c the when the other ones fall apart, blow out and need to be replaced you'll end up spending more anyway.
