whiteknightoz Posted March 24, 2007 Posted March 24, 2007 Never really set up my media room properly since i moved in 6 months ago as i never had the black blockout curtains so couldn't really watch it that much with the projector but thought I would plan it out in readiness for my 50" Samsung Plasma next week. I am after some advise on wether my proposed layout is the suitable so dont be afraid to shoot some suggestions. Details of the gear i am using is in my sig line below.. EVERYTHING IN ALL PICS ARE TO SCALE (I think ) Dimensions and Layout of Room - the recliners are the 4 leather movie recliners from Super A-Mart so are in an arc but the software app i used wouldnt let me position them like that. All walls apart from the one with the dual doors are gyprock internal/brick external walls. There is an Aircon duct smack bang in the middle of the roof that I didnt put in the pics. pic 1 - Plan Top down view - the lounges are approx 4m from the front wall and offcentre due to the side doors but could be centred if it is going to make a big deal and I will just use one door. Pic2 - top view Standing behind the lounge looking forward - the sub (dual 10's) is on the floor directly centre with the front centre channel on a shelf just below the plasma (approx 1.2m), and yeah i know it looks like a painting, the software had no Plasma images to use, just use your imagination . The front mains are in the corners - should these be bought in from the corner half a metre or so? pic3 - front wall Standing at the front of the room looking back - you can see the recliners aren't centre'd due to the side doors needing room to open. I could centre them if needed and just utilise one fo the doors i suppose if required. The rear centre channel is mounted above the back sliding glass door angled down. The 2 rear surround speakers are on el-cheapo cement based stands, would these be better mounted to the side walls behind the lounges angled at the lounges? thats if i can find suitable mounts as these speakers are 750mm tall without the stands. I am thinking of replacing the pine Audio rack with a Server Rack from the IT store room at work. pic 4 - back wall The quicktime file below is an interactive walkthrough of how the room would be once complete, use your mouse to navigate around - thought it was kewl . Whiteknights Theatre Room walkthrough.mov Questions i have in addition to above A few weeks ago I got up in the roof and ran speaker cables to all speakers leading back to the rear right corner. I havent layed the RCA for the subs, where can I buy an RCA cable of suitable length (approx 12m)? Whats the best way to get signal to the plasma? I have a long S-Video cable but really want to get a better image if i can. Cat5? Should I hang pictures in the room or leave the walls bear? Lighting !!! - the only light I have is in the cnr of the room above the equipment cabinet, I did this on purpose when i biult the house as I couldn't commit to what lighting i wanted in the room and still cant decide, I dont want to spend a lot of money but want it to look classy at the same time. Looking forward to the advice.
Guest EZYHD Posted March 24, 2007 Posted March 24, 2007 I'd put in one door or sliding doors in if possible and centre the recliners as it looks odd with them being off centre IMO. Your lighting is very limited, maybe put some halogens in the ceiling over the recliners. I used HPM IR switch for mine, saves getting up to turn lights on. I also have a PP in the floor behind seats for adjustable Halogen table lamp. Another thing we did was instal a roll up blind inside the window sill to block out all light. We installed in ceiling speakers for the rears (plus fronts too). There are two trains of thought with wall pictures etc. one to leave it plain jane (some say it looks smarter this way) and one to fill the walls up, in our case we did the latter, and to us it gives it character. see under sig. below, for our HT.
alfalfa Posted March 24, 2007 Posted March 24, 2007 If you want good sound quality then get those speakers as far away from the walls as possible. Corners are the absolute worst. I suggest at least 1m from the rear wall (and side wall if possible). Robert Harley's guide to speaker placement is a good starting point. Chesky records has an excerpt here http://www.chesky.com/core/body_librarydet....cfm?newsid=141
Gino Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 I agree with the suggestions, get the speakers out of the corners, and think about acoustic panels too. Do what you can to put the seats back on centre. I like foxtails suggestion with the sliding doors. As for the pictures, if the room is solely for watching movies, who needs them. They'll just add reflections. If you plan to spend time in there doing other things, then maybe consider them. I like your single light in the corner. Why would you want lights elsewhere?
whiteknightoz Posted March 25, 2007 Author Posted March 25, 2007 OK , took the advise into consideration and modified pics. New Pics below. layout plan Overhead View Main speakers are 2ft in from the side walls, Plasma is dropped to just over 3ft from the floor. Front Wall Rear speakers are mounted 5ft high and 2ft from back wall Back Wall Thought about this some more. So far I can work out that all I need is a power outlet behind the plasma. As I have the DVD player, my yet to be built HTPC and will have the XBox running through my AV Receiver and will utilise the monitor out to run the plasma. So this means I need to run 2 video signals from the back of the room to the front - one HDMI from the HTPC for the High Def stuff and another from the Receiver for the rest of the video sources. The AV Receiver options for monitor out are RCA, S-Video or Component. A monitor (Plasma) connected via RCA and S-Video allow you to view the Receivers settings on the monitor whereas monitors connected via Component out don't have this functionality. I like this option as its easy to see what you are doing as the amp's little display means I would have to get out of my chair to follow the prompts. 1. How much better is the picture from composite over S-video? 2. whether i run the S-Video or the 3 RCA's, is it OK to run a video source cable the 10m run or should i look at converting it to Cat5e using one of these converting device? this is getting me really confused.. anyone know of a software application that you can use to lay out all your wiring needs?
RodN Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Hi Witenightoz... Seating distance should not really be much more than twice screen width if you want to fully resolve HD material. The way it's drawn you might need to bring your chairs closer to get a better experience.
quijibo Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 That really is an unfortunate room design for a theatre room. Is this the only way out the back door or something? My thoughts are similar in that the 50" plasma at 4+ metres is not going to look that impressive. I am guessing you will be installing a projector at some stage?
Guest EZYHD Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 I like your single light in the corner. Why would you want lights elsewhere? I guess for reading a TV Program or a mag etc. I don't use my table lamp behind my HT seats much, but gee its handy sometimes.
whiteknightoz Posted March 26, 2007 Author Posted March 26, 2007 That really is an unfortunate room design for a theatre room. Is this the only way out the back door or something?My thoughts are similar in that the 50" plasma at 4+ metres is not going to look that impressive. I am guessing you will be installing a projector at some stage? Yeah I never put much thought into the room when designing it, unfortunately This isnt the only way out the back but the back glass sliding doors were put there so if we are drinking out the back I can open the curtains and watch the footy on a sunday arvo and also for resale use so it can be used as a rumpus etc. It currently has a projector mounted up near the rear centre channel and I was thinking of leaving this here and mounting a pull down screen on the ceiling in front of the plasma for when the need arose (state of origin etc). It is looking more and more like I need to do something with these side doors, maybe jsut changing them to open out instead of in might be the trick, wil have to check to see whats involved. So seating in front of a 50" should be around the 3m mark then?
Guest EZYHD Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 In my case I installed a 42" Plasma and put in a motorised 100" 16.9 PJ screen that comes down in front of the plasma, these screens are cheap now off eBay like what many of us bought the Cinescreen brand, about $350 delivered, but think currently they are out of stock.
Gino Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 I guess for reading a TV Program or a mag etc. I don't use my table lamp behind my HT seats much, but gee its handy sometimes. hehe, I carry around a pocket torch when I'm in the theatre
ozdoc Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 Whitenightoz The idea to swing the side doors out rather than in is a good one. If this is not possible, just leave the door closest to the chairs closed. We have double doors at home and find we only open both to allow for furniture removal. Another option is covert the doors to a sliding variety, like the old art deco type doors. Personally, I would seperate the two end chairs away from teh middle two, and angle them in, and centre the middle two chairs. This makes it less formal. The gap to the back won't be huge between chair 1-2 and 3-4, but how often will you need to go back their in a viewing session? The current off centre setup seems, well, 'off centre'... Re: wiring to the front. If you're ducting it through, I would just put in everything - HDMI (x2 if your plasma has two imputs), component, svid and composite. You never know what you need in the future. Also, any thought to wiring for the remote RF receiver? Lastly, imo greenery improves the scenery.. Would be nice with a plant or two....
pajames Posted March 26, 2007 Posted March 26, 2007 I agree with what has already been said, cosmetically the seats would look alot better centered, if you can't do that then maybe have three seats, unless you need four that is. The sliding door was a great idea if you can do it, or have the doors open the other way and not into the room. Your room is just about long enough that you could maybe have a riser at the back as well. That way maybe have two rows of seats rather than one row of four off centered. You've got a big room to work with and a projector is definately the way to go especially if you are sitting 4+ metres back. Shame about the glass doors at the back, hopefully they won't rattle like crazy when the subs kickin :-)
vadimz1503559506 Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 Sorry I have nothing of value to add to what was already said. But I have a question: What software did you use for a floorplan and the walkthrough? I'm planning my Theater Room makeover and was looking for a good way to model it. thanks, Vad.
RodN Posted March 27, 2007 Posted March 27, 2007 So seating in front of a 50" should be around the 3m mark then? Check out this calculator for your seating distance: http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/vie...calculator.html You'll notice your distances are: Recommended THX viewing distance: 5.6ft Maximum THX viewing distance 7.9ft Distance required to fully resolve 1080i: 6.5ft You'll see they are close which is necessary to get the correct viewing angle. What does this mean for you? If you want to sit back further with comfortable distance just using the plasma don't spend a furtune on your plasma. A projector will provide the HT experience like nothing else can. I think having the two sets of doors is fine, my room is 4m wide and my doors are close to the middle too, I can have 4 chairs wide and still allow the doors to open so maybe your chairs are not to scale.
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