Home Theater

Home theater has been a major hobby of mine since the early 1990s when I hooked my first stereo VCR up to a 2-channel receiver. My roommate later purchased at 20" TV and my experience was as complete as it could be at that time. As soon as Dolby Pro-Logic receivers became available, I upgraded to 5.1 sound. The addition of a DVD player shortly after they were introduced made a fantastic impact on sound and picture quality. My next phase was acquiring one of the first 720p 16:9 projectors to be released, which really replicated the theater experience for the first time. The next major revolution was add HD capabilities with a TiVo HD Satellite receiver. I can't wait to see what further improvements will come my way and fight my resistance to upgrades. . .

My Home Theater Photo Gallery:

I've created a photo album showing my current (version 2.0) and my previous (version 1.0) home theaters in various forms of construction. The album includes a brief description of each picture, so you can get an idea of how everything was designed and constructed.

My Movie Collection:

I use DVD Profiler to catalog my dvd collection and I have it published online if you are interested in viewing it.

My current home theater Equipment List:

Component	Model	Vendor	Manual	Potential Upgrade
Preamp / Processor	Anthem Statement D2	Audiogon		none
Amplifier	Sherbourn 7/2100A	SoundVideo	Owners manual	none
Projector	Sony VPL-HS51	ProjectorCenter.com	VPLHS51.pdf	JVC DLA-RS2
Screen	Stewart Firehawk 123" diagional	ProjectorCenter.com	Install Manual	none
Projector Mount	Chief RPA-102, CMA-006, and CMA-115	ProjectorCenter.com		Chief RPA Elite
TV converter box	TiVo HD (off-the-air broadcast networks only)	Direct Connection		none

OTA HD Antenna	Channel Master 3020 UHF/VHF Antenna Channel Master 9023 Wall Mount for attic mounting	WarrenElectronics.com		none
Remote Control	Philips ProntoPro NG TSU7000	GoPCPlus.com	My detailed commentary	Philips Pronto TSU9600
Front L/R Speakers	PolkAudio RT16	Ovation B&M
Center Speaker	PolkAudio CS350-LS	Ovation B&M
Side Surround Speakers	Sonance Cinema Ultra II SUR	AudiophileLiquidator	none	none
Rear Surround Speakers	Sonance Cinema Ultra II SUR	AudiophileLiquidator	none	none
Subwoofer	Velodyne HGS 15	Audio Video Today
Video Game Console	Microsoft Xbox	BestBuy B&M		none
HTPC	Self-built, Atech Fabrication 4000 case, Vista Ultimate, MSI motherboard, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU	AtechFabrication.com NewEgg.com	Asus K8N-e Deluxe
Media Server	Self-built, Coolermaster Stacker case, Windows Home Server, Tyan motherbaord, Areca ARC1230 RAID card, 14 x 500GB hard drives	NewEgg.com
Tactile Transducers (8 total, aka bass shakers)	Aura AST-1B-4, 50 Hz low-pass FMOD crossover	PartsExpress.com	ast_1b_4_a.jpg ast_1b_4_b.jpg	none
Amplifier for Tactile Transducers	Old Sony receiver
Seating	Bass Industries Executive Lounger x 9			4 more for the back row
VHS VCR	JVC 830u	Crutchfield.com		none
Power Protection	Panamax Max 5300	LetsGoDigital	Owners Manual Overview	none
Lighting Control	PCS SmartSwitch (Black) x 4, X10 IR543 IR Receiver, X10 Pro PHC02 Maxi Controller	Worthington Distribution	PCS SmartSwitch Manual	none
Video Calibration	AVIA			none
Audio Calibration	Rives Audio Test CD 2, RadioShack Analog SPL Meter	RivesAudio RadioShack	OME33-4050.pdf	none

List of my Old Equipment:

Component	Model	Vendor	Manual	Use / Disposition
Projector	Marantz VP12-S1	SoundVideo.com		Sold
Satellite Receiver	DishNetwork 4000			Sold
Satellite Receiver / DVHS Recorder	JVC HM-DSR100U			Sold
Television	Toshiba CX35f60 35" television	CircuitCity		Family Room
Remote Control	Pronto TSU-1000	Worthington Distribution		Sold
Remote Control	ProntoPro TSU6000			Sold
Surround Speakers	PolkAudio LS f/x	Sound Seller [info]		Kitchen "abmience" speakers
Receiver	Pioneer Pro Logic	Crutchfield		Stolen when moving
Television	Panasonic 32"	Circuit City		Stolen when moving
VHS VCR	JVC 830u	Crutchfield		Sitting in closet
DVD Player	Toshiba SD2108	PCMall.com		Family Room
Receiver	Onkyo TX-DS939	The Sound Approach [info]	TXDS939om.pdf	Died a loud and painful death
Satellite	Philips DSR6000 TiVo	Direct Connection		sitting in a box
Satellite HD	Hughes HR10-250 TiVo	BestBuy B&M		sitting in a box
Amplifier for Tactile Transducers	Samson Servo 120a	Sweetwater.com	link	sold on Ebay

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62 Responses to “Home Theater”

Sidney Laurenceau Says:
December 25th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Your home theater looks pretty neat. What are the steps did you take on building it(room size, screen size, rows of seats, etc…? Did you use the calculator? I dont know if I miss the details from your website.
For your HTPC, you obviously have movie save in it, what movie/video manager or library software do you use? and do you have all you movie title linke up to the internet movie data base? Would you just click on the title and play it?
I am in a process of trying to build a HT room, but the room is 13×21. Based on the dimensions, I just want to be able to use some sort of a calculator (just like yours) to determin the screen size, height of platform for the 2nd row, etc…
Did you use any conduits for place your wiring?
looking forward to your response!
Carlton Bale Says:
December 30th, 2006 at 11:21 am
Thanks for the feedback. I need to update the pictures to show the finished rack, stage, and acoustic panels. I most certainly did use my Home Theater Calculator when designing my theater; that is why I created it.

My room is 13 feet wide and 23 feet deep. I have 5 seats in the first row and 4 in the second. The rear platform is 13 inches tall, but truthfully could have been just a tad taller.

For my movies, I have all of them stored on a Linux file server with a RAID array (multiple drives linked together to create one giant drive). I use DVD Profiler to catalog all of the movies and I use the MyMovies plug-in to play movies back on my Windows Media Center PC in my Home Theater. See my Technology List page for links to all of these programs.
Phil Becker Says:
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Carlton, first, thanks for putting together such a cool and informative website. I'm in the process of thinking how to to a DIY install of a home theatre in my basement and am at the component selection stage (will be projector based). I betray muself as a novice, but my question is why no DVD player? It seems like you are using the media PC for this. How did you get your DVDs on there and why do that vs. a good DVD player? Thanks!
Carlton Bale Says:
January 6th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Phil: There are reasons for using a PC for the DVD player, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people. The number one reason is to have all of your movie collection stored on a server and be able to watch any one of them instantly from your home theater.

Another reason is because you can install software such as AnyDVD that will allow the player to jump directly to either the main DVD menu or even directly to the main movie. No annoying trailers, warnings, etc. It even disables Prohibited User Options (PUOs) so that even if you decide not to automatically jump to the main menu, you can fast forward through or jump to the main menu whenever you want. FBI Warnings? Skip right through them.

The final reason is image quality. If you use a software DVD player such as TheaterTek, you can install the ffdShow video processor software, which can make some noticeable improvement in the picture quality. Unfortunately, Windows Media Center does not support ffdShow; it also requires quite a bit of processor overhead to work properly.

To backup DVDs, all you need is AnyDVD and CloneDVD, both available from SlySoft.com
Richard G. Says:
January 29th, 2007 at 12:13 am
I am using your calculator and it is very helpful. I am planning a 2.37 screen with eyeballs at 14'. That puts my 1.78 screen size at something close to your setup or smaller, so I am curious to know what your viewing distance is from both rows and if you feel that it is optimum.

Thanks, Richard
Carlton Bale Says:
February 6th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Richard, my front row is 12 feet from the screen and the second row is 17 feet from the screen (on a 14" platform). The front row is great for the projector I have (720p LCD) but if I sit any closer I can see the pixel structure to an extremely distracting degree. I'll probably move the front row up about a foot when I upgrade to a 1080p DLP projector.

The rear row is definitely not as enveloping as the front and it is not used nearly as much. It just meets the THX max allowed viewing distance spec. However, I do actually enjoy sitting back there on occasion. The screen is smaller but it does look more crisp (yes, I need a higher resolution projector.) If I could, I'd move it just a little closer, but the room layout is will not permit that.
Jude Says:
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:58 am
Carlton,

Nice Home Theater. I also use DVD Profiler with Xlobby. I'm having challenges with it though, in that everytime I go online to update the database and import the database into xlobby, it creates duplicate entries. What software are you using for your HTPC front end?

BTW, I didn't know Media Center Edition (MCE) doesn't support ffdshow through Theatertek. If true, this is too bad because I plan on building a core II duo system soon that will support BD and HD DVD playback on an HTPC. Have you tried ffdshow on MCE 2005?

Thanks for your help.

Jude
Carlton Bale Says:
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:56 am
Jude: I'm currently using Windows Media Center Edition 2005 as my front-end, with the My Movies for Windows Media Center plug-in. Windows MCE can use ffdshow to decode xvid files, etc., but it will not allow post-processing. The only way to get post-processing with this setup is to configure the My Movies plug-in to launch TheaterTek (as an external program) to play the movies. This is instead of the conventional method of playing the movies inside Windows Media Center. TheaterTek does support post-processing through ffdshow.
Dick G. Says:
March 3rd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I am looking at installing a 1080p projector like the 5000. I have to pre-wire for it and am not sure of what type wire to use. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also any recommendations on what projector I should purchase.
Carlton Bale Says:
March 5th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Dick: My recommendation is to pick a projector, look at all of the inputs on the back, and run one of each connector type to the projector. Don't waste money on expensive cables; I purchase mine from PCCables.com. Ideally, all you'd need is a HDMI cable if you have a receiver or video processor that can up-convert any signal to HDMI. That is my goal, but I'm not there yet. If you're looking at 1080p projectors, the Sony Sony VPL-VW50 is a great projector for the price. Personally, I like the added punch from the higher ANSI contrast ratio of a DLP projector; that's what I'd go for even though the cost is higher. Don't underestimate the importance of flexible optics - horizontal and vertical lens shift are an absolute requirement for me, as is a wide zoom ratio. It makes fitting the projector to your room much easier.
Rebekah Amort Says:
April 10th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I like your home theater! I'm looking forward to doing one also. How much would you say those seats and the screen cost? Please emial me when you have a chance. Thank you!
Ernie Says:
May 1st, 2007 at 12:46 am
Hello,

Love the theater. What color are the walls? I would like to do something very similar. Thanks
Carlton Bale Says:
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Ernie: The walls are a dark brown color, similar to that of the chairs. I don't know the exact shade because it was a custom color, but I basically matched it to the leather chair color but made it a slight bit more gray so the color wasn't too overpowering. The paint was a "premium flat" from Porter Paints that was supposed to be the best flat paint for washing, because flat paints are not as washable as others. But to tell you the truth, I'm not sure if it's any better than other flat paints for washing.
Davide Says:
May 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Hello, very nice system. Just wondering where I could find the THX specs? Like max viewing distance, crossover freq between subs and speakers, ect..

Thanks,
Dave
Carlton Bale Says:
May 26th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Dave: There isn't much available in terms of specifications from THX. Basically, they want you to purchase THX-certified equipment and sit in the correct location. I've seen nothing for cross-over frequencies in the THX spec. There are so many variables in designing a room for proper sound reproduction that there can be single standard. As far as seating distance, it depends on screen size. The bigger the screen the farther away you can sit. The field of view should be 35-degrees. Check out my Home Theater Calculator to setup your room.
KNH Says:
May 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
It's worth noting that the dark brown wall color was not as simple as taking a sample of leather and color-matching it. The custom color actually has the warm brown, but a great deal of grey as well. I went to the paint store and spent over two hours with the salesperson, mixing quart samples and remixing after comparison to the leather. The color needed to be similar, but not an exact match. I took home three finalists and they went on the wall- a picture is available here.

I went back to the store, spent another hour tweaking the shade, then took home the winning paint and started the laborious process of painting. A dark shade such as this, even with high quality paint, takes three solid coats. I would not do this at a big-box improvement store; the Porter representative really knew his paint and was very generous with his time, all for a five-gallon paint sale.

Good luck with your theater!
Garrett Says:
June 18th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Carlton, You're HT Calculator is a great tool. . . but before I use it out of it's place, i wanted to get your thoughts on its applicability for a main living space television vs. a dedicated home theater. I have a family room off of the kitchen where I will be putting a new HDTV (probably 1080 LCoS). Debating between a 55" and 60". seating is positioned such that the closest (and least used) end-of-the-sofa seat is ~3 to 4' from screen, main/primary seating is ~8' to 10' away and kitchen is 12 to 16' away with full view of TV from kitchen. The Calculator would suggest that the 60" fits nicely with the 8' primary seating. My concern is that this is based on getting the "MOVIE THEATER EXPERIENCE" vs. daily/casual TV watching like lounging around and tuning in to the evening news.

My main concern is going too big for the room where watching tv will becomes exhausting from taking in all of the big screen.
The rule of thumb guidance that Ive heard elsewhere has been viewing distance 2-3 times TV diagonal measurement. That would suggest that even a 55" is marginally to big for my primary viewing distance.

Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. . . THANKS!
Richard Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Hello, very nice Home Theater, can you please tell me the color of the wall that has the screen on it and the color of your baseboard?
Carlton Bale Says:
October 1st, 2007 at 7:39 am
Richard: Sorry it took so long. Here are the details on the colors of the home theater paint.

Walls: Custom Dark Brown Paint Color: Porter Interior Latex Hi-Hide Flat; 684 UD Base; 6678-4 French Toast Ultra Deep Base; One Quart Formula at 100%: 1Y B, 2Y E, 1Y M

Baseboards/Crown Molding: Porter Interior Oil Semi-Gloss Glyptex Eggshell; PP 445 Base; 1 Gallon Formula: 1/2 M, 9 S, 6 T. The name of the color may be "Dover White", but I'm not sure about that.

Hope this helps! -Carlton
Greg Says:
November 7th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Carlton,

Found all of your information a great help. I am setting up my own home theater and have some questions about wiring. The room where I am setting up the theater is already finished, so I want to minimize construction. So here goes:

Can I run the power and data lines for the projector together? Will the power line cause interference with the data lines? I would like hide these under some wood trim on the ceiling.

Speaker lines. Should I try to have the lines as short as possible (so that all speakers would have different cable lengths) or should I calculated all possible lengths, and then make all speaker lines the same? (the longest run would be about 30 feet and I am using 16 gauge speaker wire for 6 ohm speakers).

Thanks,
Greg
Carlton Bale Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Greg:

I've always run the power and video cables in the same run and have never had any issues. With HDMI, there is pretty much zero chance of interference (digital signal), but I've never had a problem with analog signal interference over VGA, component, or S-video.

As for the length of speaker wire, don't worry about making them the same length. The electrons travel instantaneously though the speaker cables, so there is no phasing problem (moving your head 1/2-inch to the right would have much of an influence), and the extra impedence from the longer cable is negligible (you'll need to equalize the volume on your speakers anyway.) Use cable lengths that fit your installation, which will give you the shortest wire length for each speaker.
Todd Anderson Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Carlton,

First off let me say, I love your site. I too love Home Theater. I currently have one in our "playroom" but would like to eventually put together a true Home Theater. I do have a small question for you. It seems like, with your first Theater, you used paint for your screen. If so, what exactly did you use?? Would love to know.

Again, love your site,

-Todd
Carlton Bale Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Todd: The first frame was just a board on the wall, with the wall painted a slightly gray eggshell finish. The paint was nothing special, just a white base with a small amount of black pigment added (to help blacks look darker on the screen.) The disadvantage was low screen gain. I'm not sure, but it was probably about 0.75, which made the image noticeably more dim than a "real" screen would. There is also a "Screen Goo" designed for this purpose that partially counteracts the low gain problem. For the money, it was a great screen, but I definitely recommend a real screen if it is in your budget, or you can make your own screen on the cheap by ordering a low-cost retractable screen, cutting the screen material from it, and attaching it (stapling it) to your own wooden frame.
Jason McKelvey Says:
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Hey Carlton, your name even sounds smart. I wondered if you had done any research on bias lighting for home theater. The short of it is, using 6500K temperature lighting behind/around the screen on Kodak 18% grey painted walls. This does 2 things. First, I always wondered why I got sick watching TV in complete dark. Having these "stablizing" lights provides even illumination for your irises, keeping them from having to work hard opening and closing all the time with extreme lighting changes in a movie or TV show. Second, and this is more for professional use, it provides a clean light source by which you can accurately judge color. Check out these 2 websites: http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ive.htm and for color experiments - http://www.lottolab.org/Colour%20illusions%20page.html

Also, please check out our website. We have developed visual acuity calculators for the
AV industry for projection and LED displays for stadiums. We used the 1/60 of a degree arc tangent calculations as a base. We have tested it on 3mm LED and it was spot on.
http://www.acousticdimensions.com/worship_innovation.htm

Thanks for the sight and your passion. Jason
Jason McKelvey Says:
November 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I'll add this, if you are doing post production video editing, animation or any other business (for money) that involves computer graphics you should seriously look into bias lighting for the wall behind your screens. Jason
Carlton Bale Says:
December 5th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Jason: I have read about the rear bias lighting previously, but never to the level of detail you posted (6500k, 18% grey.) I know some home theater purists argue that any ambient light in the room will negatively impact absolute contrast ratio and should be avoided. Others say the relative contrast ratio is improved due to more even illumination. In my opinion, I think the light behind the screen looks pretty cool and that would be reason enough to use it or not. The only time I would not recommend it is for content that is not the same aspect ratio as the screen. For example, the black bars on the top/bottom of 2:35:1 wide-screen and on the sides of 1.33:1 standard def content would be much more apparent with rear bias lighting. I originally wanted a screen with motorized masking, but now I'm glad I didn't get it; I find the black bars to be almost unnoticeable in a dark room and I would have wasted a bunch of money.
Phil Becker Says:
January 1st, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Hi Carlton,
As I start putting together a component list for a home theatre in my basement, I am wondering what projectors you like right now? ProjectorCentral seems to like the Mitsubishi HC490 and the Panasonic AE2000. I guess these are both LCD which may not be as good as single chip DLP.
Also, in looking at the pics of your setup, it seems that you are running your wires from the projector to the electronics not via some kind of cable tray but behind the ceiling. is this correct and if so is that difficult to do without blasting a bunch of holes in the wallboard to fish along the cables? Thanks!
Carlton Bale Says:
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 am
Phil: The projector you need will depend on your price range and room conditions, so I'm not sure what would be best for you. If I were to replace my projector today, I'd strongly consider the JVC DLA-HD1 / DLA-RS1U (2007 models) and the DLA-HD100 / DLA-RS2 (2008 models), the Sony VPL-VW60 "Black Pearl", and maybe the Marantz VP-15S1. For lower-priced LCD, I'd take a look at the Epson Pro Cinema 1080UB, the Mitsubishi HC6000, and the Panasonic AE2000.

The wires are installed in the ceiling. They actually go straight back from the projector to the soffit running around the back top of the room. When I needed to install a new cable, I just popped out 1 of the can lights and fished the cable from the equipment rack to the projector (I have an extra-long string in the cable run to help with this.) I also concealed the cables in the ceiling in my previous house/home theater; it was even easier because the floor joists allowed the cables to run directly into the mechanical room where the rack was located. Check out my photo gallery for more details.
alan Hutchinson Says:
January 14th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
you can post your photos on the site I own, we are building an on line database of photos to show people ideas
Home Theater Marketplace

on a side note the jvc rs2 is out and shipping and very strong reviews on projectorcentral.com
John Harris Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Carlton:
Thanks for the site with the great calculator! I just finished painting my new theater and I copied your color scheme. I was thinking of doing a light tray with Creative Crown of Dallas foam moulding. Did you just use rope lights on yours? Did you run into any problems that you could share that I could avoid? How much space did you allow between the top of the crown and ceiling?

Thanks,

John
Carlton Bale Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Hey John. I did just install rope lighting behind the crown molding. The molding itself wasn't high enough to give the proper proportions, so there is an inverted piece of baseboard installed against the wall and then the crown molding is attached to the baseboard. This give it the height it needed. Otherwise, the gap above somewhat offset the effect of the molding and made it look too small.

The gap between the molding and the ceiling is 2 inches. Basically, just enough to get your hand in move the rope lighting around a little bit. Hope this helps!
Dan91 Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Carlton Bale
This is my first time on your website I really appreciate your input. I really like you article about 1080P does not matter. I see you project picture, I'm in the process of building my first home theater I need some direction on building part, can you sent me some e-mail to direct me a little thank you so much.
Dan.
Davide Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Hello,

would you happen to have a write up on how you configured your server (movie repository) how you connected it to your projector and how it would work? Are you using HDMI between your PC and projector?

Thanks–Davide
Alex Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Why do you use a Power Amplifier when you already have the speaker outputs on the Receiver?

-Alex
Carlton Bale Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I need to update my equipment list. I now have an Anthem Statement D2 Preamp/Processor. I purchased the Sherbourn 7/2100a amp in anticipation of the upgrade. My old receiver only had 5 channels of amplification and I had 7 speakers. I got an external amp to power all 7 speakers (splitting the surround outputs) as the first step in replacing my 10-year-old receiver with a Pre/Pro + external amp setup.
Alex Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 8:56 am
Do you have some sort of schematic of how this all hooks up? I'm still in the lower levels of Home theater land - and half of your equipment, I don't even know where it goes. Also - does that Sony projector have any fan noise?

Thanks!
-Alex
Carlton Bale Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 10:26 am
Alex: To simplify things, here is how everything is connected (the preamp/processor is the central hub for all audio and video):

[all source devices (TiVo, DVD, game console, etc.] -> preamp/processor -> amplifier -> speakers

The exceptions to this are the projector, subwoofer, and tactile transducers (bass shakers):
[source devices] -> preamp/processor -> projector
[source devices] -> preamp/processor -> powered subwoofer (built-in amp)
[source devices] -> preamp/processor -> old Sony receiver -> transducers

The HTPC pulls movies off the server over the network (the server is in a different room.)

Everything is plugged into the Panamax surge protector for electrical power.
Mike Says:
April 30th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Carlton Neat site. I have a 100 inch stewart screen, 1080p Mitsubshi projector with seating at 9 and 14 feet — the front row is at a 43 degree FOV — do you think that is too close for most people? thanks Mike
Carlton Bale Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 am
Mike: I see no issues with that seating distance. You're not even in to Imax territory with that distance! In my experience, no one should have any issues, and if they do, they can be the ones on the back row.
Gary Says:
May 11th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
The information is very informative. What caught my eye was the specs for your media server. I am planning to build one myself and was considering Windows Home Server (WHS) as the operating system. I have no server experience, so I am gathering information now.

I was under the impression that WHS could not be used with RAID. How did you incorporate RAID with WHS?

Any suggestions or recommendations for a media server would be welcome.
Gary Says:
May 12th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I was confused how you used WHS and a RAID card together. It just came to me - JBOD, right?
Carlton Bale Says:
May 12th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Gary: You actually can use RAID with Windows Home Server, but it is a huge pain. You can read about it on the Microsoft WHS forum. I've found RAID to be a huge pain and don't recommend it, because if there is an error and the RAID array configuration data is wiped out, your data is unrecoverable even though it still exists on the drives. With Windows Home Server, as long as any of the drives are functional, you can pull them from the server and put them in any other computer and pull the data from them.

And yes, to answer your questions, I now use my 12-port RAID controller in JBOD / pass-through mode. No RAID array, just 12 drives visible directly to the operating system. WHS is super-easy to use and I highly recommend it for anyone, whether first-time or experienced with server builds.
Dennis Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
You did a really great job on your home theater!!! It's truly a home theater in the classic sense.

Kudos.

Mind if I ask the color and brand of paint you used throughout?

(My apologies if O overlooked it.)

Thanks.

And once again, your home theater is outstanding!!!
Carlton Bale Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Dennis: Here is the info on the paint:

Walls: Custom Dark Brown Paint Color: Porter Interior Latex Hi-Hide Flat; 684 UD Base; 6678-4 French Toast Ultra Deep Base; One Quart Formula at 100%: 1Y B, 2Y E, 1Y M

Baseboards/Crown Molding: Porter Interior Oil Semi-Gloss Glyptex Eggshell; PP 445 Base; 1 Gallon Formula: 1/2 M, 9 S, 6 T. The name of the color may be "Dover White", but I'm not sure about that.
Dennis Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Thanks, Carlton.

I'm hoping to have ours done by September. Going to start with the walls (paint, sconces, framed movie posters).

I've got someone coming in to assist with the lighting(dimmers, LCD rope lighting).

But as far as projectors and screens–I'm certainly open to any suggestions–

Elite vs Stewart vs Da Lite?

Projectors under $5,000.00?
Carlton Bale Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:15 pm
For projectors, I highly, highly recommend the JVC DLA-RS2 (aka DLA-HD100). Street price is $6k, so slightly above your target, but it is well worth it. No other projector on the market comes close, even under $20k. For the screen, with the JVC projector, you can use about any brand or material you want because it is very bright (other projectors advertise max brightness, JVC goes with actual calibrated brightness, so you can't compare manufacturer specs.) I don't think there is a huge difference in brands, so go for lower cost. The Da Lite screen with the wide, black velvet frame is a very good value, but you may want to check out AVS Forum to see if there are any lower-priced options.
Eric Says:
September 1st, 2008 at 12:00 am
hey Carlton.. I happened on your site after exhaustive searches on Google.. only to find it via an Images search. Super cool site and really impressed with your setup and knowledge.

I'm building a home and of course adding the home theater in there. I live in Asia. I'm thinking about the equipment now and have several rigs in mind: Denon AVP-A1HDCI , Pioneer "Susano" LX90 and the Onkyo 906. The first two are 11.2 / 10.2 respectively, while the Onkyo is 7.1 I"ve listened to last two and was blown away. Literally. Any thoughts on these?

Also, what are your thoughts on using paint for the "screen"? I used an eggshell white as well with black borders for my current home theater (using a spare bedroom now) and it seems to work great. I am using a Panasonic AE900 with a Denon DVD player (can't recall which one but their top-of-the-line 2 years ago)..

Thanks and keep up the great work. You should consider putting your visitors' Home Theater setups on your site too!
Carlton Bale Says:
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Hey Eric. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those receivers. I heard very strong praise for the Denon AVP-A1HDCI, and it is extremely full-featured. But to be honest, I think 7.1 is all you need for a home theater and the extra speaker capability is probably not a huge benefit. I would recommend something with a built-in HD image processor (HQV, Gennum) but having one in the projector is just as efficient.

Paint for the screen is fine and is great performance for the money. I liked the brighter and more uniform image I got from my purchased commercial screen, but if brightness is not a problem, go for the paint.

Take care and good luck with the theater construction!
Peter Tiller Says:
September 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Great Site.

The room colors are great and thanks for posting the details. It is hard to find good reasonable home theater pictures. Most are over the top where the room design cost more than the equipment.

Is the sofit / ceiling painted the same color as the walls? I see the crown molding is the same as the trim.

Also, how well does the flat brown paint you used hide wall imperfections? I painted mine a dark brick red, but it is easy to see imperfections. I believe I used flat paint, but I can not remember.
Peter Says:
September 28th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I just love what you've done with your theater room. I just have a couple of quick questions. Firstly I've noticed that your components are in a rack behind your seating, do you have to turn around and point the remote at the rack? I also love your theater ca
Seating can you please let me know the source and cost?

Regards,
Peter
Carlton Bale Says:
September 28th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Peter, thanks for the kind words. The equipment is behind the seating area. I use a Radio Frequency (RF) remote control, so I don't actually have to point the remote. Philips and Harmony both have RF remotes, as do many other manufacturers. But when I do use the individual remotes on occasion, I can usually bounce the IR signal off of the screen, but occasionally have to point backwards for components low in the rack.

The seating is from Bass Industries. It's the Executive series of seating in a Mustang Brown color. I'm not sure of the current cost or sure exactly what I paid, but I do know that those 9 seats are the most expensive "component" in the room.
Neil Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Hey Carlton, that's one truly beautiful home theatre. I look forward to reading the rest of your blog. I'm in the process of building a home theatre myself. It's always good to see other people's places.
Chase Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
How tall is your ceiling? For a ceiling mount projector, how far down on the wall should the screen start.
Carlton Bale Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 am
Ceiling is 8' above the screen, 9' where the projector is installed. Projector height depends on the amount of vertical lens shift of which the projector is capable. Many projectors can be up to 1/2 screen height above the screen, some even more. Consider this when picking a projector.
Chase Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I have the panasonic AE2000U. It has 100 percent vertical adjustment and 40 percent horizontal adjustment, my ceiling is 8.6', and im wanting to mount my projecter @ 8' Thinking i should be good. My projector will be 15'7" from screen, screen is 119" dia.
Peter Tiller Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
You must have missed my first post above. Same questions. Thanks!!

Is the sofit / ceiling painted the same color as the walls? I see the crown molding is the same as the trim.

Also, how well does the flat brown paint you used hide wall imperfections? I painted mine a dark brick red, but it is easy to see imperfections. I believe I used flat paint, but I can not remember.
Chase Says:
October 11th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
What screen would you recommend?
Ambient light is very minimal.
Using Panasonic AE2000U.
Room color is dark brown.
Looking between 119 and 123".
Fixed screen the best?
HDTV 16:9

Im guessing a matte white screen, would you agree?

Thanks
Carlton Bale Says:
October 12th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Peter: The sofit / ceiling is the same color as the walls, and the crown molding the same as the trim. The flat brown paint somewhat hides will imperfections, more so when applied with a thick nap roller, but it no substitute for drywall work (sanding and filling.) When the lights are directly above a wall shining down it, you are going to see imperfection regardless of the paint used.

Chase: In general, I think most screens are more similar than different from one another. The fixed screens with the frame coated in a black, light-absorbing material is the best value for the cost. As far as brands, I think Carada and Da-Lite offer great performance for the cost. With a screen that large, consider going with a higher gain material; check out my Home Theater Calculator for specifics.
Milt Says:
October 12th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Carlton,

Great site.

I have just put a down payment on a house which will be finished in 5 months, but have only 2 weeks more to submit special wiring (conduit) choices.
My room will be 12 x 19 1/2 and I want 2 rows of seats.

1. How much clearance do you have for people to get past the 1st row to get to the back of room?

2. I don't see the surround speakers mounted. I would assume you want them perpendicular to the 1st row or between the 2 rows. Would you mount them on the wall just above ear level and hope people don't hit their head on them as they walk to the 2nd row of seats or mount them near the ceiling and angle them down?

Thanks
Carlton Bale Says:
October 12th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Milt:

There is about 14 inches between the wall and the front row, which is plenty for someone to turn sideways and walk into the back row. Since the back row isn't used as frequently and since it only takes about 1 second to walk past the front row, I see no need for more space.

My surround sound speakers are in-wall. I really need to update these photos. Basically, they are about ear level when standing, so well above ear level when sitting. You don't want the sound from the surrounds to be too directional, you don't want to be able to pinpoint each surround. If you have a narrow aisle and on-wall speakers, I'd recommend mounting them a little higher and possible angling them down slightly if possible.
Glenn Says:
November 6th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Hi Carlton,

So far your site ahs been the most helpful in laying out my home theater room in the new house I am building. The room size will be 14 X 23 X 10 with two rows of seating and a third row on bar stools at a railing table.

I currently am running Vista Ultimate as my home theater system to drive my 50" plamsa. I plan on looking to the DVD software for storing the DVD on my storage array.

A couple of things I am not clear about are video output for the projector and audio output from the HTPC. What are the cards you are using and is there anything else I need to be aware of as I move toward the new home and its theater room.

In addition, have you looked into any wireless options for video and audio.

Thanks,
Glenn

PS. I know I will have more questions as I start the construction.
Shawn Says:
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Great set up. I found your site while looking up lighting control devices specifically pcs and ir543. I'm trying to control my HT lighting with a recently purchased Harmony one remote. I'm stuck trying to find information on the web to program different scenes using my PCS light control dimmers. I found the programing manual but I'm an extreme noob to this and need help. I have a x10 pro maxi controller. My recently purchased ir543 is on a truck somwhere between california and wisconsin. How long have you had the pcs dimmers and are they worth keeping or replacing with newer technology like Insteon or upb? If you could shed some "light" on a few simple programming steps I'd really appreciate it.

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