Home theater ideas..

[tywest]

Hey all, these are some pics of my in progress home theater. The carpeted area is going to be the viewing area and the other half is going to be a bar area. Anyone have ideas on what i can add to the space to make it more theater/bar-ish.  Yes I know the obvious, chairs and stuff would be good. I just picked up some of those leather gliders from shopko. Cheep, comfortable, and look halfway decent.

[Johnny Legion]

I suggest a riser (6-18") for a second set of chairs or couch. You only need one 8' by 6' to accomdate a couch. The theater feeling makes for a great viewing experience. It looks like your setup is shaping up well.

[Doug Mohr]

What are the approximate dimensions of the room?

[tywest]

The room is about 10' x 40'
I was thinking about getting some movie posters for the movie end. I will do some searching myself, but am just wondering if anyone has any experience with a specific retailer dealing with movie theater type posters.
I like the stadium seating idea, just not sure if i will have enough room.

[gparris]

This site has always helped me with just about everything when I cannot find it locally.
It offers the movie posters, HT equipment and just about anything you can think of and it might do you well for your setup.
Your room is narrow, though, so keep it from appearing even narrower by placing things for the best impact while not giving anyone claustrophobia.  

See this link: http://www.htmarket.com

Hope it works for you...Good luck! :wave:

[Steve Mann]

See this link: http://www.htmarket.com

That is a great sight. While you're there, be sure to see the first Home Theater Hobby Website listed here: http://www.htmarket.com/homtheatlin.html   :p

[Steve Mann]

Great thread. You're room is going to shape up nicely and make a very enjoyable theater. How do you like the  Optima H31? I'm looking to go with a projector soon...

I'll be posting back or starting a similar thread shortly after the 1st of July. I'm going to start building my new theater at the new house in Pewaukee and I'm going to need some ideas, instructions and lots of encouragement as I start from stratch in an unfinished basement. I've never been a carpenter, but I guess I'm going to learn.  

[tywest]

I love the H31... I chose the H31 after a few months of doing some online research. I read a lot of negative and a lot of positive (mostly positive) reviews. I found you could go nuts reading those things. It all comes down to how much you want to spend and what you need. I didn't have that big of a budget and i got a good deal. I suggest checking out visualapex. This is my first experience with a projector. So far the HD output is awesome. Im not one of those people who can notice every little flaw in a picture. It just looks good.  I got the Avia dvd calibration and to my surprise, the dang thing was almost set up perfect from the factory.

As far as starting a theater from scratch. Have fun...  
A friend of mine is doing that. He has the room all pre-wired for audio, electrical, video, cat 5, and ventilation.
Make sure if you are starting from scratch you lay out the room before you build. Figure out where the screen is going, seating, throw distance of the projector and speaker locations. Also dont forget where you will be mounting all your equip. If you figure out where the projector is going, be sure to mount an electrical outlet nearby.

I learned a lot after all that research for a projector.

[AndrewP]

Optoma H31 is probably a very nice projector. But I recommend for just $300 more a real HD (720p native resolution) Panasonic PT-L500U. New 700 model is about $300 more on top. . This projector is very nice unit. But it need a fully light control room. Basement is a perfect place for it.

[Doug Mohr]

The room is about 10' x 40'
I was thinking about getting some movie posters for the movie end. I will do some searching myself, but am just wondering if anyone has any experience with a specific retailer dealing with movie theater type posters.
I like the stadium seating idea, just not sure if i will have enough room.

I would try to visually split up the room. Put movie stuff in the front, cool wall sconces, posters, etc. Then put more sports or bar type stuff in the other end.  Maybe a drink rail along the wall or something.

If you just want posters, this place is pretty nice. http://www.allposters.com

Doug

[tywest]

http://homepage.mac.com/tywest/PhotoAlbum15.html

Check out my site for updated pics of the new basement.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Wow, you have done a lot of work!  It's looking good.  Enjoy your new theater and bar.

[murdoc]

I must say the touch-screen is awesome.  I never would have thought to incorporate that into the HT.  Was it easy to setup (just load the drivers and go) or did it take some work?

[tywest]

The touch screen was not hard to set up, for the most part. I purchased the screen from ebay and built the mount for the wall. It is just a regular vga plug along with a usb cord. I downloaded the driver from the ELO website and it worked great. I guess the biggest thing  is finding touch screen compatible programs. I have been looking a lot at different programs and have had mixed results with all of them. I was trying to go with the idea of the touch games found in bars.

[murdoc]

The touch screen was not hard to set up, for the most part. I purchased the screen from ebay and built the mount for the wall. It is just a regular vga plug along with a usb cord. I downloaded the driver from the ELO website and it worked great. I guess the biggest thing  is finding touch screen compatible programs. I have been looking a lot at different programs and have had mixed results with all of them. I was trying to go with the idea of the touch games found in bars.

Is the computer a PC or Mac?  I downloaded the iTunes Album Browser (windows) program , and it's pretty nice.  It auto-updates all the artwork and everything.  What program did you get that is compatable with the touch screen?