Home Cinema Number Four - The Build Diary

Pecker

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LATEST UPDATES ON PAGE 4 post 97 onwards.

Well, I have a long history of pratting around, moving my home cinema, and never getting what I wanted. But now I'm starting on what I hope will be the finished article, and room as I want it, without unnecessary compromise.

My first home cinema room was great, in a complete batcave cellar at my old house, back in my sad single days. Sadly, I have no pics.

When I moved into my new house I got this:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/members-home-cinema-gallery/587025-my-home-cinema-room.html

The biggest problem was that everything got thrown in there, and it was a bit of a junk room/library/storage room. In addition, because a lot of this was dumped in the room on day 1 of moving house, I was never able to decorate it, or move things round to my liking.

As you can see, it had potential, but was a real mess.

Also, I brought with me my old screen. Whilst the cellar was excellent, it was small, and the screen was pretty small too at only 170cm wide. So small, in fact, I'm not sure how I put up with it.

Then two kids came along (now 3 and 5). This meant me losing the room as teenage stepdaughter moved into the room, and my cinema had to move to the lounge:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/members-home-cinema-gallery/822198-my-third-home-cinema.html

In many ways better and tidier. But still a compromise in regards to the positioning of the speakers and projector, the colour of the walls, the lack of any batcave feel, and having a pull down screen instead of a fixed screen. However, at least the new screen was larger - 234cm wide, but the sofa is much further away (about 4.5m). I prefer sitting about 1.25 x screen widths away, so I usually pull my recliner out into position.

Well, the teenage stepdaughter has just moved out, and I'm getting the old room back (see first link, above). But this time we're doing it properly.

I'm already having compromises imposed on me; the room will double up as a playroom. But I intend to keep everything to do with this behind the seating, so we should have clean lines from the seats through to the screen.

Plans in a minute.

Steve W
 
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Okay, screen end will be the same as last time. A reminder, the room is almost exactly 3m x 5m.

Here's the current plan.

The new screen will be a 2.00:1 CIA AT screen, 2.8m x 1.4m.

The screen wall around the screen will be completely covered with Devore panels.

The side walls and ceiling will be covered with devore panels for about 1m into the room.

The walls will remain white in colour, but I intend to have black curtains on tracks running from the edge of the panels down to the seating (about about 2.5m). This should keep the room nice and light when it's in playroom mode, but completely black when watching a film.

Kit at the back.

Blu-ray Disc collection. I'm sure you noticed 'the library' in the last link. This has now been largely dissolved, moved elsewhere, etc, etc. But I will still have several shelves full. This time the IKEA shelves are half the height of the BENNO CD towers but twice the width - see the living room set up.

They may go along the back wall. However, we need room for toy boxes, etc, so I've had an idea. Put the CD shelves (half the height of those in the pic below) at the front of the room, then hide them behind the curtains when watching a film.

The problem is the shelves are 18cm deep from the wall, whilst the screen will only be 10cm off the side walls (3m wide room, 2.8m wide screen, 20cm of gap, 10cmon either side).

My estimate is that I should be good as long as the shelves stop about 1m from the screen. Unless you sit with your eyes against the side walls they won't be in front of the screen. But we'll have to see how it goes.

Any advice, tips, gladly received.

For an idea, look at the old CD towers (they're taller than the new ones, but the same depth:

CDcollectionZoom.jpg


Okay, the screen will be far wider than that, going to just 10cm from the side walls, but those CD towers are 18cm deep. The idea is that the last 1.0-1.5m there'll be no shelves - they'll be closer to the seating. From where you sit imagine two diagonal lines going from your eyes to the two edges of the screen. As long as the shelves aren't right up to the screen it should be okay. The curtain rails on the side walls will be near the wall, so the shelves will have the curtains draped over them, pulled out slightly. Hope that makes sense.

Steve W
 
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The kit.

Keeping my OPPO BDP-83 as a source and my ONKYO TX-SR876 as an amp.

Screen - custom built AT screen - details to follow.

Projector. Hmmm. Currently thinking of the new Optoma HD91, which looks like it'll be something like an HD87 but with an LED light source. Will have to wait and see on that one.

Speakers. In-walls would have been nice, but now looking impossible, as the house only has a couple of cm behind the plasterboard. Looking at some on-walls, or in-walls with built in back box. The screen wall will involve a wooden frame about 12cm thick. The in-walls would clamp to this. The devore panels and screen would hang off it.

A big influence here is Dave's thread:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/members-home-cinema-gallery/1108301-dave-s-av-room.html

Note what he's done with his MK rears. They're in-walls, but he didn't want to cut up the wall, so:

68a.jpg


72a.jpg


Okay, imagine that wooden frame holding the speaker being part of a frame simlar to the one Dave's using to hang his devore panels:

58a.jpg


Again, ideas, thoughts, let me know.

The in-walls might be Monitor Audios. We have some waiting to be installed at my workplace. Once in I'll give them a listen. If they're good, I'll buy some of those.

Steve W
 
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The timeframe.

Well, the room has now been completely cleared. We've then moved up the shelves full of Blu-ray Discs (currently at the back of the room).

Saving up, and hoping to move in during October half-term.

So be patient! :smashin:

The HD91 should have arrived by then and (hopefully) well-reviewed. If it's poor I might look at a HD87. Have to see.

Between now and then it's possible that I might move the current living room set up into the new cinema room as a stop gap.

Steve W
 
Okay, screen end will be the same as last time. A reminder, the room is almost exactly 3m x 5m.

Here's the current plan.

The new screen will be a 2.00:1 CIA AT screen, 2.8m x 1.4m.

The screen wall around the screen will be completely covered with Devore panels.

The side walls and ceiling will be covered with devore panels for about 1m into the room.

The walls will remain white in colour, but I intend to have black curtains on tracks running from the edge of the panels down to the seating (about about 2.5m). This should keep the room nice and light when it's in playroom mode, but completely black when watching a film.

Kit at the back.

Blu-ray Disc collection. I'm sure you noticed 'the library' in the last link. This has now been largely dissolved, moved elsewhere, etc, etc. But I will still have several shelves full. This time the IKEA shelves are half the height of the BENNO CD towers but twice the width - see the living room set up.

They may go along the back wall. However, we need room for toy boxes, etc, so I've had an idea. Put them at the front, then hide them behind the curtains when watching a film.

The problem is the shelves are c.20cm deep, whilst the screen will only be 10cm off the side walls.

My estimate is that I should be good as long as the shelves stop about 1m from the screen. Unless you sit with your eyes against the side walls they won't be in front of the screen. But we'll have to see how it goes.

Any advice, tips, gladly received.

For an idea, look at the old CD towers (they're taller than the new ones, but the same depth:

image


Okay, the screen will be far wider than that, going to just 10cm from the side walls, but those CD towers are 17cm deep. The idea is that the last 1.0-1.5m there'll be no shelves - they'll be closer to the seating. From where you sit imagine two diagonal lines going from your eyes to the two edges of the screen. As long as the shelves aren't right up to the screen it should be okay. The curtain rails on the side walls will be near the wall, so the shelves will have the curtains draped over them, pulled out slightly. Hope that makes sense.

Steve W

Where did you get the 'letters' to mark up whats where on your CD shelves?
 
A big influence here is Dave's thread:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/members-home-cinema-gallery/1108301-dave-s-av-room.html

Note what he's done with his MK rears. They're in-walls, but he didn't want to cut up the wall.



Steve W

Hi Steve,

It`s good to see you have the opportunity to re-think you room and make some changes :smashin:

I`ve just measured my surround "on-walls" again. From the wall to the very front edge of the speaker grille is exactly 11cms, so just over 4".
So you can get away with a discrete installation and squeeze them in !

I wouldn`t have thought having the side curtain would improve things massively for your picture if your extending the Devore panels into the room by a metre or so anyway.
If that`s a definitive plan then go for it but if it`s a compromise or going to be awkward having the curtain it might be one aspect you could change without adversely affecting the picture quality.

I know mine is a dedicated room and I could have it completely black if I wanted but I don`t think there`s any need at all, just by having Devore in the immediate areas all round the screen is an awesome improvement on its own.

All my Devore frames will be removed very shortly whilst I install a screen masking system and add a pair of front-height speaker channels.
I`ll have to re-size all the panels and reduce how far out they protrude from the wall to make space for a pair of 15" subs !!

I`ll look forward to following your progress and see how you`re getting-on.

Cheers Steve,

Dave
 
Cheers.

The curtains, it's not for PQ as such, really just so when you're watching a film you don't see anything else distracting - the idea of the image completely on its own.

The good thing is, I can set all the initial part up first and see how it looks without.

Looking forward to seeing your masking system.

Steve W
 
Latest plans - not going to do the curtains on the side walls, at least initially.

We're going to do the rest and see how it looks.

The walls/ceiling are going to be a pale/dusky/pastel blue rather than white, which might help a little.

Steve W
 
Bit of concern.

3m wide room, 2.8m wide AT screen, The speakers will have to be quite close the walls to get a nice, wide front soundstage.

The speakers have dome tweeters.

As noted above, I'll be putting up devore covered panels above & below the screen on the screen wall, and about 1m into the room on the sides and celing.

I was thinking of putting some of THESE into the 1m panels on the side walls.

That's a pack of 24. They're c.30cm x 30cm, so I figured maybe 3 tall (with the centre of the three being level with the centre of the speaker + one above & one below) and 4 deep (coming out into the room about 120cm).

That's 4x3 = 12, double that as you're doing it on both sides of the room = 24.

Steve W
 
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Just a thought: If you keep the front speakers roughly within the width of a 16:9 image on your 2.0:1 screen (ie not quite out to the sides), then perhaps you could add front wide speakers if your amp allows them? That way you'd keep your main speakers further from the sides (something I'm trying to resolve with my set up) but still get the wide soundstage that you're after.
 
Okay, plans are coming along.

I've had an idea - anyone have any thoughts on this.

My screen wall is exactly 300cm wide and 237cm tall. My screen will be 280cm x 140cm, with a border of 8.5cm, making a total size of 297cm wide and 157cm tall.

I want to 'devore' the wall around it. It'll be an AT screen with in-walls behind, though the in-walls will actually be on walls (don't worry, that part's sorted) coming about 10cm off the wall.

I've had an idea for the wall - I'm going to get some of these:

BESTÅ Shelf unit/height extension unit - white stained oak effect - IKEA

20cm deep, 64cm tall and 120cm wide. They do a 60cm wide model so 2 x 120 + 1 x 60 = 300cm. BINGO!

Add some 10cm legs and the top of that effectively acts as a 'shelf' on which the screen will sit, so that's 64cm + 10cm = 74cm off the ground.

The screen is 157cm tall (including border) so that top of the screen is then 157cm + 74cm = 231cm high, with a 6cm gap to the ceiling.

On front of the units I can put these:

BESTÅ VARA Door - orange, 60x38 cm - IKEA

I will cover these with devore.

Any ideas and comments welcome.

Steve W
 
looking forward to the next update i am banging ideas around in my head at the moment for our lounge cinema room its threads like this and a few others that give me hope
 
Me Julie has begun painting the walls.

So far it's looking good. I'll post pics and details soon.

As I've said, the plan was to finish the work during October half term (the last week in October), but it's looking like we might see movement before then.

Steve W
 
A few updates.

Firstly, we've decided to go for the option of building a new plasterboard wall. There are several reasons for this, which I won't go into, but it's now the best bet.

On to the walls.

As I've said the screen wall, and the ceiling & side walls will be covered. I'm thinking of going for Maplin's speaker cloth rather than Devore, but that could still change. This'll come into the room by about 1m.

The floor, I'm going to have a black rug down at the front, again about 1m into the room.

Me Julie painted one end of the room last weekend, and is doing the other as we speak. I've taken a couple of pics alongside some white shelves to give it a bit of perspective.

null_zps1c626ab5.jpg


null_zps4fe88fe4.jpg


The paint is Dulux Niagara Blues 2.

The great thing is that it's dark enough to become invisible with the lights off & projector on, but light enough to keep use as a playroom for the kids. And we actually quite like the colour, too.

After Julie had painted the first part of the room I waited for it to dry, then went in when it was pitch black night. I turned the lights on the dimmer switch at the lowest setting, which I thought would probably kick out a similar amount of light round the room as the projector would when it was on. The walls were dark enough to look like they weren't there - the white shelves lit up but the walls didn't really look any different to when the lights were off.

Other news is that things are coming on quickly.

My initial idea was to install most of the kit and do most of the work during October half term (Saturday 26th October to Sunday 3rd November). I thought perhaps I'd get a few bits and bobs done before then to help, but that most of the work would be done during that week.

However, things have taken a positive turn. The new wall should be going up soon - maybe next weekend, maybe a couple of weeks after that. The front speakers can go in straight away, and if the screen arrives for then it can go straight up.

The weekend after that hopefully the front velvet panels can go up, and we're away.

The week in between I can be setting up all of the other kit.

Steve W
 
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your Julie is not bad with a paint brush mine is allowed no where near paint electronic equipment well anything in all honesty
 

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