[Matteo]

Since it's been an age since I last posted I might as well say "hello from a newby". Anyway...

My wife an I are currently having a house constructed. At the planning stage she suggested we have a separate room for the tv and my record collection (I'm a vinyl junkie) which seemed like a good idea.

I recently (and very tentatively) suggested we have a projector and screen as well (since we usually use the tv to watch DVDs). To my amazement she said "yes"

So, we have a pretty much blank canvas with which to accomodate a "home cinema" system. I'm not looking yet to upgrade my SD DVD player and am assuming I can use the amplifier and two speakers of my music system (REGA and B&W).

I'm looking for some recommendations regarding screen size and location, projector positioning (and perhaps type), speaker location and seating location.

Room dimensions are 3.60m (approx 12ft) wide, 4.80m (approx 16ft) long and 2.50m (approx 8ft high).

There is a door in the top left corner that opens against the top wall (though it could open into the ajoining room) and two windows (0.80m x 1.45m) in the bottom wall. I've attached a file which I hope shows this.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Many thanks.

[Clipsey]

Hate to be that annoying person but it all depends on your budget I'm afraid as to what people might suggest
Oh and I were you I would really think about upgrading to Blu-ray and High Def - you no doubt will in the future, so just get it done now!

[Matteo]

Budget is max. €2000 - but I'd like to come under that, rather than meet it!

Upgrading to Blu-Ray? I have over 400 SD DVDs so I don't really want to upgrade at the moment. However (and maybe I'm making a bad assumption here) I thought that projectors basically "projected" the input they receive. In other words, if you hooked up an SD DVD player to a projector it would project an SD image, and if you hooked up a Blu-Ray DVD player to the same projector it would project an HD image?

Or am I going to have to buy a new projector if/when I upgrade to Blu-Ray?

[Clipsey]

It does intend depend on what projector you have, they are the same as plasma/LCD in the fact that they have a set resolution and you can only go up to that resolution, i.e. 1080P needs 1920 x 1080 resolution. You can go down with resolution but never past the max resolution.
If you upgraded to a Blu-ray player (along with the correct projector) you will be able to play all your SD DVD's and might be able to upscale them.
However, if you have a budget of 2000 for everything I don't think you'll be able to upgrade to Blu-ray as the Pj & blu-ray player alone will set you back a nice chunk
Hope this helps.

[Matteo]

Ah ha! I think...

So, f I understand you correctly; in order to watch both SD and HD films, I need a projector capable of projecting HD as it will also project SD? In other words, I can hook up my SD player and watch SD films for now and when I later upgrade to an Blu-Ray player I can hook this up and watch HD films?

Presumably HD capable projectors cost a lot more than SD projectors so I suppose I need to think about whether I'll be upgrading to Blu-Ray anytime soon.

If the above is correct, at the moment I'm tempted to go for an SD projector and then upgrade to both a Blu-Ray player and an HD projector in a few years when the price will have dropped.

My budget is supposed to cover: a screen, projector and "extra" speakers (I have a nice amplifier and two nice speakers already).

Thanks.

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by Matteo

Ah ha! I think...
I can hook up my SD player and watch SD films for now and when I later upgrade to an Blu-Ray player I can hook this up and watch HD films?

Yes

Originally Posted by Matteo

Presumably HD capable projectors cost a lot more than SD projectors so I suppose I need to think about whether I'll be upgrading to Blu-Ray anytime soon. If the above is correct, at the moment I'm tempted to go for an SD projector and then upgrade to both a Blu-Ray player and an HD projector in a few years when the price will have dropped.

What is your budget specifically for, you can get a 720p PJ for a few hundred especially if buying second hand.

[Matteo]

Inzaman, thanks for he confirmation but...720p?

I think I need to look into this a LOT more.

I thought I had two choices:

- 480p (which is standard DVD)
- 1080p (which was HD DVD - well, "Blu-Ray")

Now you're throwing 720p at me!

My budget is for a screen, a projector and speakers (bearing in mind I already have an amp and stereo speakers - which I have connected to my DVD player). It's also a maximum budget, not an "estate agent" budget - so no "well, Sir, we do have this for 2200"

I also need advice on the general positioning of everything, on which I'm hoping I can be very flexible considering the room is empty and intended for just this use (together with listening to music). This would be particularly useful as pretty soon we'll be having to think about locations of electrical sockets and lights (etc.).

Thanks again.

[Clipsey]

720P is also considered 'high def' but at the lower end (it's confusing I know lol) where as 1080P is considered 'fully high def'
They say that on a 42" LCD you can't really tell the difference between 1080P and a 720P monitor from a reasonable distance away.
If money is a bit tight right now, I would suggest buying a 720p projector (just had a quick google and brand new pop up from 270 upwards maybe) and this will play your SD DVD and then be capable of playing your blu-rays if you do indeed upgrade

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by Matteo

Inzaman, thanks for he confirmation but...720p?

I think I need to look into this a LOT more.

I thought I had two choices:

- 480p (which is standard DVD)
- 1080p (which was HD DVD - well, "Blu-Ray")

Now you're throwing 720p at me!

My budget is for a screen, a projector and speakers (bearing in mind I already have an amp and stereo speakers - which I have connected to my DVD player). It's also a maximum budget, not an "estate agent" budget - so no "well, Sir, we do have this for 2200"

I also need advice on the general positioning of everything, on which I'm hoping I can be very flexible considering the room is empty and intended for just this use (together with listening to music). This would be particularly useful as pretty soon we'll be having to think about locations of electrical sockets and lights (etc.).

Thanks again.

720 is the resolution that hidef PJs used to be and you can pick up some good 2nd hand bargains, PJs that were many thousands a few years ago are now going for just a few hundred (check the classifieds on these forums to see what i mean). I have a 720 PJ myself and it is fine for my viewing needs; sure i am going to 'upgrade' to a 1080 PJ eventually but there are other reasons for that (contrast, throw as i am looking at a slightly larger screen) as opposed to just the resolution. I personally would definitely NOT get a 480 PJ but either a 720 or 1080.

[Matteo]

Thanks guys.

So a 720p projector will display Blu-Ray discs? And I thought Blu-Ray was only 1080p...see? I don't have a clue!

If they can be picked up for €270 (and I can easily go a few more hundred than that) that's sounds like good advice.

I still need some advice regarding the viewing set up. The room will also be used to listen to LPs (for the younger members they're black, vinyl, discs measuring 12" in diameter on which music is recorded ) and so will house shelving for my collection of 1600 albums as well as shelving for my 400+ DVDs.

My immediate impression is that it would be better to have the screen at the "top" of the room (see sketch in first post) and sit under the windows. However, I wonder whether the door may interfer with speaker placement.

Next idea was the reverse; sit at the "top" and have the screen by the windows, but I wonder if that will create problems with natural light (though I suspect the bulk of my veiwing will be at night).

The missus reckons that I could set it up so that we sit on the left-hand side with the screen on the right wall. However, at 3.6m wide I'm wondering if this is too close? This would be the most practical solution (but perhaps(?) not the best viewing experience) so thoughts on this option would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Matteo]

Thought I would bump this up - hope that's OK.

Still looking for some advice regarding the best arrangement of the room: screen/pj/speakers/seating. The more I read on the Net, the more confused I get.

It seems pjs have a "throw" but I'm not sure whether this is a max., min., or "recommended" distance.

I think I'm clear on the best seating distance v screen size (1.5 x screen width) and speaker placement (at least the front ones) is the same as music stereo placement (same distance apart as seating distance). As for the others - I don't know.

Of course, we'd like to have a screen as big as possible but obviously don't want to go too big for the room, or viewing pleasure. I think we could confortably go for a 72" (diagonal) - which compared to our current 29" tv sounds huge - but advice here would be great.

Like the title and first post says, the room is a blank canvas - it's just concrete block walls at the moment and the house is still under construction - and it's intended use is only for cinema/tv/music so we're pretty open on what we can do.

In a couple of weeks we'll need to finalise on electrical socket and lighting placement so it would be a big help to know now, rather than later, where they should be.

Thanks.

[Matteo]

Anyone??

[deefadog]

Hi, take a look at my cinema build in my sig. I have a similar size room to you.

Projector cost £500

PS3 £200 - (plays blue ray's, SD DVD's, downloaded video files, play tv add on allows Freeview and of course the games)

[Matteo]

Thanks deefadog - looks good.

Could you post some dimensions so I can get a better idea of distances?

It's difficult to tell from the photos but I'm guessing the door is to the right of the sofa?

One problem I may have with the same set-up as you is that the door into the room will be in the top left-hand corner (so it would open against the left side of the screen in your example). The irony is that in a much earlier verison of the house plans the door was approx. half way up the left-hand wall; leading from the entrance hall - we thought it would be better leading from the sitting room...).

The alternatives are either having the screen in front of the two windows or against one of the side walls - which is the option I'm leaning toward but I'm wondering whether a 3.6m distance is too small.

Any thoughts on this from the folks here would be appreciated.

[deefadog]

I'll measure up for you later - as i have completely forgotten now. Screen is around 115" Diagonal