First time build home cinema, advice welcomed!

runningsamevans · 11-06-2009, 7:56 PM

I have a rather large garage (brick built appx 3m(W) 12m (L) in my garden that has been mostley used for storage, however now it is Car boot season (My Wife

) and I have cleared it out. Now it an enourmous empty space. My next door neighbour suggested as she knows I like my newbie kit I have in my living room it may be an option to convert it to a cinema room. As I'm in the Royal Navy, I am going away for Six months soon (Time to save) and I'm leaving my ship soon, for some shore time(Time to convert) I am after any advice/help I can get, I am aware this is an ambitious first time project, however I am quite handy at most things I need a place to start from.
For kit I was thinking of hooking up a projector to a BD player etc. But other than that I have no Idea.

runningsamevans · 11-06-2009, 8:35 PM

Pleas find attached images of the garage. It will all be clear on Sat. So it will be a blank canvas!
Now had a chance to look at ohter Garage conversions, mine is not attahced to the house, in fact it is at the bottom of the garden (will post pics tomorrow) it allready has electric in it and the basics. so it seems it is a case of what setup 5.1/6.1/7.1 etc and asthetics!

Johnny.G · 12-06-2009, 9:55 AM

Sam, you are indeed off to a running start with this little (big) beauty of building

Need to know exactly what kind of home cinema set-up you fancy really ... ie a solely dedicated cinema room only (highly recommended) or a dual purpose cinema / games room etc.

The scope here could be endless , for me though i would go the whole nine yards and build a dedicated cinema room .... construct extra side sections either side of false wall at the bottom end so as to be able to have retractable screen curtains, acoustic screen / hidden speaker arrangement etc , decor to enable bat cave option to maximise picture WOW , either one or two tier rear seating arrangement with suitable seating, rear false wall creating a av equipment gear room including the home for the projector. The wish list goes on ... and on ... and on. Be warned, this could be a serious money pit

but the end result could be absolutely fantastic

Good luck with it all, keep us posted.
john.

runningsamevans · 12-06-2009, 11:20 AM

Johnny,
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking of a 6.1 setup. As you can see from the images the brick pillars come out about 6-7" so would be perfect for running conduit onto the walls and then plasterboarding the room in. As you stated I would brick up the garage door and windows and leave the entrance for maximum theatre effect.
My wish list:
Projector (I'm clueless - HELP!)
Screen (Same again)
AVR - Onkyo TXSR 607 for the HD Audio.
Not sure on the speakers - would like them wall mounted but I can be advise differently, might try having a go at drawing myidea and posting.
Here are some more external images for an idea on size

Gary Lightfoot · 14-06-2009, 1:40 PM

If you want to isolate the garage from sounds both coming in and getting out, you might want to build a room within a room (lots of info on here about that, as well as accoustics). It'll also help isnulate the room but you might then want to consider some ventilation. You've a great size room there with huge amounts of potential.

What's your budget? There are plenty of projectors out there starting from around £500 to many thousands, so you've a lot of choice. You might also want to think about have a 2.35:1 screen rather than a 16:9 screen - that way your cinemscope movies will be the same height but wider than 16:9, just like in a real cinema.

Lots of options/choices etc you lucky dog.

Gary

Johnny.G · 14-06-2009, 3:01 PM

Because i have a bit of a cinema / theatre fetish i went for something that resembles. I have an acoustic screen with Tannoy DC in-wall left / centre / right speakers at the back of the screen, diy CIW electric masking for scope films using a top and bottom mask

not a single very very noisey top mask as in my local Odeon

Mission rears and Tannoy DC ceiling mounts for the rear back pair fed from a Onkyo 875 7.1 receiver, Velodyne 15" sub, Rel Q150 sub , Mitsubushi HC6000 pj, Samsung BD1500 Blu-ray player (waiting for the Oppo BD83) .... Not exactly top end equipment but when put in a decent room it is well good enough . What,s your latest thoughts

runningsamevans · 15-06-2009, 5:23 PM

Johnny,
My thoughts exactly. It's not so much the kit as the room it's in. I've got lots of time as we are crossing the Atlantic in my little boat(Ship) to think and surf the internet (Thank god for the modern Navy!) Def looking into Onkyo Amp as a starting block as AV Amps are like rocking horse S*@t.

I've been doing some searching - so as to have a fair bit of money for the visual element of the build i.e the projector and screen (out of interest, how much is the 2.35:1 screen? or should i got for the plasma option 50"? I was looking at this amp - STR-DH800 | Home Theater A/V Receiver (7.1-channel) | Sony | Sony Style USA

Thoughts?

Ted White · 15-06-2009, 6:40 PM

Post deleted - please do not link to your own company website

Johnny.G · 15-06-2009, 10:15 PM

Big screen ..... big screen Sam , as big as you can go

will beat a plasma hands down for pure wow.
Can't tell you exact prices for scope screens as i did not go down that route. Shouldn't take you long to google up a price list etc for Carada, Beamax and many others. I purchased a 3mtr or so length of micro-perf acoustic material and an oversized velvet frame from Otto at Beamax and custom re-sized it myself to a 16:9 screen to suit my room size. Later fitted diy electric masking for scope etc.
Went for the Mitz HC6000 mainly for the razor sharp image and overall decent performance for not too much money.

Gary Lightfoot · 16-06-2009, 5:53 PM

If you're any good at DIY, making a screen from wooden frame and stapling screen material onto it can cost very little compared to buying one. I've always made my screens and been very pleased with the results.

Gary

albriscoe · 16-06-2009, 7:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Lightfoot

If you're any good at DIY, making a screen from wooden frame and stapling screen material onto it can cost very little compared to buying one. I've always made my screens and been very pleased with the results.

Gary

here here

also made up my own frame from alu and covered with Devore black velvet, perfect.

then 5 coats rollered dulux matt white emulsion perfectly flat wall and its brill