December 06

    It's been about a year since this started, and I've learned a lot. I spent a lot of time on AVS forum. I have very little buyer's remorse. Here's a quick summary.

The Good

• Hiring a decorator was a big plus. I've gotten compliments from everyone who's seen the room. My goal of complimenting the bar was achieved.
• The soundstage is great. Movies that take advantage of multichannel  sound are quite spectacular.
• I highly recommend Screen Goo. It saved me $1,500, and more importantly, I don't worry about my kids being downstairs unsupervised.
• I only spent $4,000 on a Runco CL-700. I had no idea what I was getting; I didn't understand the technology until a year later. I was quoted projectors up to $25,000, and they were also 720p. I'll be less stressed replacing it with a 1080p because I didn't spend that much initially. I think it is a high-quality unit; just first generation.

The Bad

• I'm a little disappointed in my subwoofer. I have a much cheaper PWS-10 upstairs and it rumbles better than the PWS-505. My favorite theater demo is the first five minutes of Star Wars, Episode III. When the fighters cruise past the spaceships engines I want the walls to shake. Instead I get a chuffing subwoofer. I have two choices; replace the sub or get another identical one. I actually don't have a problem with any other movie (so far), but I want perfection.
• I now see why people sound-insulate theater rooms. When I'm kickin' it downstairs, you can hear it all over the house. Since the basement was already finished, a full redo was cost-prohibitive. I typically don't have the sound up that loud, anyway.
• I think my HD1 DLP would benefit from a signal processor.  Now that I know what artifacts are, I see them. (Mostly dot-crawl. Not rainbows, surprisingly.)

The Undone

• I still have to build the speaker closet doors. I have the wood and hardware. I need the fabric and paint. Most importantly, I need time.
• I have to configure my Harmony 890 for downstairs. The big problem is going to be where to put the RF extenders, as they have to point in five different directions. What sucks about making changes in the 890 is it wants you to plug in the RF extender into the PC for downloading. This requires (obviously) unplugging the whole kit and taking it upstairs.
• Video Calibration: I've used the section (and glasses) from THX releases, as well as the GetGray disk. I think I'm good, but an ISF specialist would know for sure. Perhaps I'll take an ISF course, it  can find one. I'd like to know more. I'd need to buy test equipment, probably.
• Audio Calibration: There is a good CD that works with an inexpensive Radio Shack SPL meter. I'll do this soon. (Of course, I don't have an equalizer nor an option to relocate my subwoofer.)

The Future

• I want a video processor, specifically a DVDO iScan VP50 with the SDI card. I have an RP-82 based player with the SDI mod. This is a priority for me.
•  Currently my 720p projector only has analog inputs. I will replace it with a digital 1080p one. On my short list are the Sharp XV-Z20000, Runco RS-1100, and maybe an LCD one, like the JVC RS-1.
• With a signal processor, CIH is possible. The Runco has this as an option. The question is what screen size would I choose?
• If I go CIH, a motorized screen would be cool.
• Hi Def. Once I have a 1080p display it will be time to feed it some 1080p data. Since I'm looking at 2008 at the earliest for a projector upgrade the format war may be over by then.
• Theater seats? We got a great deal on the sofas I couldn't pass it up. I am quite comfortable in the sofas, but theater seats wouldn't be sold if they were that bad. I would want two rows, with the rear raised. I'd also want powered seats. That's a lot of work (=money).

The Bottom Line

    Many people have asked "How much did it cost?" Some feel that is a personal question. I don't. I'm working on a spreadsheet. (Honestly, the total may scare me.) I feel the Internet is most useful for gathering information, and by posting my experiences someone could learn from or plan using it. Below is the summary page (most painful).

See the links below for the whole enchilada.

Price breakdown for Home Theater Room Electronics

Price breakdown for Home Theater Room Hardware

Price breakdown for Home Theater Room Furniture

Price breakdown for Home Theater Room Labor