Armstrong Home Theater

Equipment List | To-Do | History and Construction | DVD Database | Original Home Theater

The goal in building this home theater was to have something usable as soon as possible without breaking the bank, and to use quality components for a system that could be built on in the future. We had the theater up and running relatively quickly, but there is tons more work to go to get this thing into the final shape we want it in (though maybe it can never actually be considered done). So far it has been a fun and rewarding project. The "wow" factor is still there for me and it's really fun to see peoples' reactions the first time they see this crystal-clear picture. Movies have never looked better! 

The equipment list is the first thing on the page, but maybe more interesting is the History and Construction section where you can see what we've been through to get where we are today.

Completed_screen_back_up_on_the_wall.jpg (33796 bytes) Palliser-seating.jpg (102422 bytes)

Equipment List

Sony_VPL-HS20large.jpg (123524 bytes) Sony VPL-HS20 Projector I spent weeks and weeks trying to decide which projector to get. This Sony was more expensive than the Sanyo and Panasonic models I was considering, but I think it was worth the extra money. The picture with DVDs is excellent, but when you run a true HDTV source to it, prepare to be blown away!

Click here to read lots of reviews from normal folks like me.

Powerstrip Timing Parameters for near-native resolution of 1376x774.
Completed_screen_back_up_on_the_wall.jpg (33796 bytes) D-I-Y 110" Screen with Black Velvet Frame I built this screen myself and even on close inspection, it looks like a professional piece of equipment. This is a very good screen for a tiny fraction of the $1600 price that home theater stores were quoting me. I saved tons of money and had fun doing it. See below for construction photos.

The screen is 110" diagonal and made from blackout cloth on a wooden frame. I had read that using blackout drapery cloth was an inexpensive way to go, and I asked my wife to pick up a few yards for me next time she was at a fabric store. To my surprise and delight, she went into the closet and grabbed a bolt that she'd had sitting there for years. There was plenty of cloth for the 96"x54" size I needed to get 110 diagonal inches with a 16x9 aspect ratio.
Palliser-seating.jpg (102422 bytes) Palliser Home Theater Seating, "Melrose" Edition Very comfortable leather recliner group with cup holders and storage-console wedges. The two center chairs are connected together in a "love seat" configuration. Originally, I wanted wedges between all the chairs, but I thought space along the walls would be too tight.

Purchased at "Billiards and Barstools" which had a surprisingly large selection of home theater seating.
dishplayerdvr921.jpg (19069 bytes) DishDVR 921 - Dish Networks' HDTV satellite receiver and digital video recorder. Another big-ticket item that seems to be worth it. Has 2 satellite tuners and 1 over-the-air (OTA) HDTV tuner. I can record up to 3 shows simultaneously, and since a digital bit-stream is what's recorded, playback quality is identical to when the show was aired. This has a 250GB hard drive, but High-Definition material has so much data that it fills up pretty quickly. I still have some programs that I recorded the first week I got this thing. I've kept them to use as demos the first time I show people the theater because a good High-Definition program is actually more impressive than a DVD.
DenonAVR-2700.jpg (12103 bytes) Denon AVR 2700 Dolby Digital Receiver Back in 1998, I wanted something better than the Sonys and Pioneers available at Best Buy and Circuit City. After lots of research, this is what I ended up with. This was right before DTS started going mainstream, so that is one feature I'm still without today, but this receiver has been great.

Another feature I'm now wishing for is HD component video switching and upconverting. I'm using a couple of cheap manual Radio Shack switches for component and optical switching right now. I'd sure like to get the Denon 3805 to replace these things.
Mirage-front-center-and-sub.jpg (77793 bytes)

Speakers:

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2 Mirage M-760s (front)

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2 Mirage AVS-200 (rear)

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Mirage AVS-100 Center Channel

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Mirage FRx-S10 Subwoofer

 Originally, I had 2 more AVS-200s as my front speakers, but a friend sold me his M-760s to use in the front. I was worried about them overpowering the smaller center channel and rear speakers, but it turns out that they all work very well together. I got quite an upgrade in sound quality, especially with music. Now if I upgrade to a 7.1 AV receiver, I already have 2 speakers ready to add to the system.
VocoPro_DVG-380K.jpg (12241 bytes) VocoPro DVG-380K Single
Disc DVD Player-Progressive Scan with CDG Karaoke, MP3, and JPEG		 Got this specifically for Karaoke. Rarely used for DVDs, as I play them through my HTPC with a DVI connection to the projector.
sim-xboxvideogamesystem-0007.jpg (23961 bytes) Xbox One of the reasons I originally chose the Xbox finally pays off: HDTV! High Definition video games at 110" is a real treat. Almost all Xbox games will do widescreen 480p. Some games support 720p and 1080i. Lots of games have excellent Dolby Digital surround sound too.

Not really my HTPC. This is my desktop PC which I'm using as a placeholder until I get a photo of the HTPC.

 Home Theater PC Connected to the projector with a 10' DVI cable. DVDs look incredible, and DIVX movies and TV shows are surprisingly good too, but lower bitrate files are really exposed when blown up so large.

This PC is starting to get a little out of date (Doom 3 plays like a slide-show), but it is still great as a video processor, music server, SNES and arcade emulator (Joust at 110"!), and web browser.

Remote-15-2116.jpg (19338 bytes)

 Radio Shack 15-2116 8-in-1 Learning Remote with LCD Function Display Universal learning remote with JP-1 programmability. This means I can connect the remote to my PC and a world of advanced programming capabilities is opened up, allowing this $30 remote to perform functions normally only found in the high-end touch-screen models.

See www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/ for JP-1 information.

To-Do

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Program my JP-1 remote with the discrete codes for the projector's component and DVI inputs. (It is a pain to cycle through all the available inputs each time I want to change from DVI (HTPC/DVDs) to Component (Satellite/Xbox).

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Run surround speaker wire through the walls and clean up other wiring.

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Mount the projector on the ceiling.
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Build D-I-Y projector mount. (I have plans and most of the parts.)

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Run these wires to the ceiling: Power, DVI, Sony multi-cable (component, S-video, etc.)

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Paint room darker colors, particularly the wall behind the screen.

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Install remote controlled lighting.

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Build risers for second row of seating. This will be 2 sets of 2 chairs, with an aisle in the middle.

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Build "stage" under screen and install curtains around the screen for a real theater look.

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Build custom shelving for A/V components.

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Build custom shelving for DVDs and games.

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Upgrade to an A/V Receiver with HD component video switching.

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Add various theater-themed decorations, including framed movie posters.

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Sound-proofing. I don't know if this is possible, since this room is upstairs and the sound travels through the walls and ceilings, but loudness is a definite concern, since the master bedroom is directly beneath.

History and Construction (From newest to oldest)

Saturday, July 31st, 2004

Completed_screen_back_up_on_the_wall.jpg (33796 bytes)Built the Black Velvet Frame. I had read that a black frame with light-absorbing material would increase the apparent contrast of the projector's picture. It also makes it easier to get the picture to appear perfectly aligned because any part of the picture that is slightly over onto the black frame will be absorbed and disappear.

This frame is made of 1x4s and wrapped in black velvet. The velvet frame is attached to the original frame using homemade 1/4" plywood braces and brass wood screws.

Building_the_black_velvet_masking_frame.jpg (51548 bytes) Building the black velvet masking frame. It is sized to fit around the existing 96"x54" screen. I had to measure each board, then carry it downstairs so I could cut it using a miter box.
The_frame_is_ready_for_the_velvet_to_be_applied.jpg (48929 bytes) The frame is built and ready for the velvet to be applied. The frame pieces aren't yet connected in any way. I'm just verifying the sizes and angles.
About_to_wrap_one_of_the_frame_pieces.jpg (53783 bytes) About to wrap one of the frame pieces with black velvet. Spray adhesive was used. This was a bit of a messy job, but it turned out great. Again, an extra set of hands made things much easier.
Backside_view_of_the_completed_screen.jpg (70574 bytes) Backside view of the completed screen. Black velvet was wrapped around all frame pieces. 1/4 inch plywood was used for corner and edge braces for connecting this frame to the existing screen frame with brass wood screws.
Completed_screen_back_up_on_the_wall.jpg (33796 bytes) Completed screen back up on the wall. With the black frame, the overall screen is larger and I was able to completely cover the window instead of having to use blackout cloth. 

I have also rewired and evened up the front speakers. I still need to get some proper component shelving. 

Yes, that is a set of "rabbit ears". I use them for reception of over-the-air HDTV.
 
Saturday, July 24th, 2004

Mirage-rear-speakers.jpg (67346 bytes)Mounted the Surround Speakers. Until now, the rear speakers had been sitting on the floor. Now that they've been mounted near the ceiling, the sound is improved tremendously. The wires are still just hanging from the wall and running along the ground. I bought a "snake" for fishing wires through tough-to-reach places, but I haven't used it yet. 

The drapery over the door has been replaced with something to match the planned future decor.
 
Thursday, July 15th, 2004

Palliser-seating.jpg (102422 bytes)Seating Delivered. We bought a set of Palliser black leather recliners. I had tried these out at a large furniture store several weeks ago and had been impressed with how comfortable they were and how well-made they appeared to be. We came across them again at a Billiards and Barstools store. This "Melrose" series might not have been my first choice, but they happened to be on sale at an irresistible price so we took the plunge and ordered them. 

When they arrived a few days later, the delivery guys were so impressed with the theater room that they wanted a demo. Being young guys, they were most impressed with "MX Unleashed" running at 1080i on the Xbox.

Previously, the projector was sitting on a cardboard box at just the right height to line up with the bottom of the screen. With these seats in the room, I had to raise the projector up onto a shelf. The height is not correct now, so I have to use the projector's "keystone correction" to get the picture aligned correctly, otherwise it has a trapezoidal shape (wider at the bottom). This situation is temporary until I can mount the projector on the ceiling. Then it will be upside-down and again aligned properly with the screen and keystone correction can be turned off. I'd like to do this soon, because digital keystone correction degrades the picture. I can't tell so much for movies or TV, but on the computer screen, it is evident that the fonts aren't as sharp as they should be.
 
Tuesday, July 6th, 2004

Built the Screen. Phase 1 of the screen was building the wooden frame and stretching the blackout cloth over it. I used 1x3 lumber to keep the frame light. I got the "premium" lumber at Home Depot, but even still I had to pick and choose to get boards that weren't warped or bowed. I used a miter box to cut the 45 degree angles, then screwed the pieces together with brass wood screws and angle braces. I bought an electric staple gun for stapling the screen material to the frame. Since the cloth was 54" wide and frame itself was 54" tall, a bit of stretching was required. An extra set of hands was definitely needed here (Thanks, Michelle!).

Screen_frame_under_construction._1x3_lumber_was_used_for_the_frame.jpg (150644 bytes) Screen frame under construction. 1x3 lumber was used for the frame.
Screen_frame_corner_bracket.jpg (254774 bytes) Close up of screen frame corner braces. These were fastened on with brass wood screws.
Completed_screen_frame.jpg (214781 bytes) Completed screen frame, ready for the cloth to be stretched and stapled on. Sorry there are no photos of the stapling job in progress. We were concentrating too hard to remember to take photos.
First_stage_of_the_screen_is_complete.jpg (97531 bytes) Projector's eye view of the mounted screen. Speakers weren't spaced properly because I didn't have long enough speaker wire yet. The wire-frame equipment rack is very temporary. The extra white cloth you see is to black out the window behind the screen.
 
Wednesday, June 30th, 2004

junky_temp_screen.jpg (34507 bytes)The Projector Arrived. Dying to try out the new projector, I quickly threw together this makeshift screen: blackout cloth thumb-tacked to a 10-foot 1x6 which was balanced on top of an upturned bed frame. Components (A/V receiver, satellite receiver, etc.) are just scattered on the floor. Boy was I was impatient! The projector picture had ripples because of the loose screen material, but it was still the best picture I had ever seen. Gotta build my real screen soon.
 
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2004

Sony_VPL-HS20large.jpg (123524 bytes)Ordered the Projector. I order the Sony VPL-HS20 Projector from bhphotovideo.com. They had one of the best prices on the Web, and I knew them to be reputable. Because I had just moved, my shipping address didn't match the address on my credit card. To make sure I was really the one using the card, and that I wanted the projector shipped to the right place, they insisted on speaking to me on the phone. This caused a couple of days delay before shipping.
Monday, June 21st, 2004

the-new-house.jpg (105327 bytes)odd-shaped-room.jpg (68648 bytes)Closed on the New House. One way Michelle convinced me to move out to the sticks was by promising that I would finally have a dedicated theater room. The house we bought has a 19x17 foot room upstairs that should work out just fine. Even though the ceiling is partially slanted, we'll be able to make this work.