Home Theater Mega Thread

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Thor

So Iceland just got a free trade agreement with China, and some of their stuff is just too tempting not to try, so I ordered a $340 USD WIFI android 4.2 projector, the specs are pretty solid for this price, and wireless sounds like a dream. Skeptical of what it will turn out to be but I'll be sure to post some pics and my thoughts.

This idea of going wifi, running plex is such a great idea, wish more high end projectors went this route.

Here's the projector: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-W...942156648.html

Yes please do. That web page is amazing. I really want to see what arrives at your door.

[HotHotHeat]

Hey Guys,

I follow this thread on and off, but have a few questions before I dive in.

First, I'm also struggling between a vizio 80" LCD and a projector. The space I have could handle a 120" display and is almost designed for it. How much do you have to spend on a projector to get reasonable quality?

Next are speakers. My new home came wired to some extent, so I've got 4 in ceiling units that I was actually impressed with when I looked up the price/reviews. It seems redundant to add more rear speakers but I may end up doing so as I prefer rear sound to come from behind (as opposed to above), though they should come in handy if/when Dolby Atmos is widely adopted. So, what I'm looking for advice on the Fluance XL series.
http://fluance.com/product/XLHTB_Hig...m.eng-104.html

Does anyone have experience with them? That package for 799 seems awesome, seeing as the towers alone run 499.

Lastly I'm looking for a new receiver as well, or at least I think I am.

Two years ago I purchased a Denon 7.1 that I believe runs 80 watts per channel. Admittedly I didn't consider what I really wanted at the time, plus it was a boxing day sale, so I only spent 250 on it. My problem is that it doesn't seem to be giving enough power (at least for my liking) to any of the speakers. My first receiver was a pro logic yahama that honestly sounded better for movies despite the Denon's technology improvements for decoding etc. Most receivers these days seem to stay around 80-100 watts per channel, some don't mention this at all. What setup would give me a well powered system? Do I need to add an amp? (No idea how that would work).

Thanks!

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

First, I'm also struggling between a vizio 80" LCD and a projector. The space I have could handle a 120" display and is almost designed for it. How much do you have to spend on a projector to get reasonable quality?

Personal opionion only, obviously:

My max on a TV is 65". Anything larger and I'd go projector.

If the space is as you put it, almost designed for 120". Go 120. You put an 80" in there and I'm assuming you're going to regret it the moment you put it in.

If you're not looking for 3D or any major features like that, you can get into a decent projector for not a whole lot of cash outlay. I spent just north of $2k on mine a few years ago and still love it, but you can get decent quality for near the $1k mark, and I would venture a guess that a projector around that price range is going to be better than an 80" vizio.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

If you're not looking for 3D or any major features like that, you can get into a decent projector for not a whole lot of cash outlay. I spent just north of $2k on mine a few years ago and still love it, but you can get decent quality for near the $1k mark, and I would venture a guess that a projector around that price range is going to be better than an 80" vizio.

I spent 400 on my Sanyo z5 3-4 years ago and it still impresses me and it came out in 2006 with its quality. How ever on that note when I watch Kunks his looks quite a bit better than mine. Now I think his fancy screen might help a bit as well compared to my cheapo. I can only imagine what newer projectors look like for the 2014/2015 models I would guess quality is mind blowing after 9 years of technology updating.

You will not regret going with a projector they are awesome

[cupofjoe]

+1 to a projector

Flames games on 120" screen are priceless

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

+1 to a projector

Flames games on 120" screen are priceless

Be warned, my neck was sored from watching one hockey game on my 110" screen.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Be warned, my neck was sored from watching one hockey game on my 110" screen.

That's why they invented reclining chairs!

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

First, I'm also struggling between a vizio 80" LCD and a projector. The space I have could handle a 120" display and is almost designed for it.

One other suggestion to help in the decision, make a frame the size of an 80" screen and a 120" screen out of scotch tape. Put one up on the wall at a time and compare. Gives you a pretty good idea.

[MotoRacer]

measure your seating distance from screen... A projector requires more distance, buy screen to match seating distance

[PsYcNeT]

Do any of you projector guys game at all? I've heard they sometimes have issues with input lag, though that may be older models.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Do any of you projector guys game at all? I've heard they sometimes have issues with input lag, though that may be older models.

I don't hardcore game by any means but I can easily beat Kunkstyle at NHL and MLB on his or my projector set up. I have yet to experience any projector that hinders my ability to beat him at video games.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Personal opionion only, obviously:

My max on a TV is 65". Anything larger and I'd go projector.

If the space is as you put it, almost designed for 120". Go 120. You put an 80" in there and I'm assuming you're going to regret it the moment you put it in.

If you're not looking for 3D or any major features like that, you can get into a decent projector for not a whole lot of cash outlay. I spent just north of $2k on mine a few years ago and still love it, but you can get decent quality for near the $1k mark, and I would venture a guess that a projector around that price range is going to be better than an 80" vizio.

This. The moment you put the smaller screen in there, you will regret it. Hell, the moment you're unpacking the TV, you'll regret it!

I got the Optoma HD82/8200 from Consignia.ca. They're a dealer out of Toronto...at the time, they claimed it was a $5000 projector that was being offloaded for $1300 to make room for a newer model. Add $100 for the ceiling mount, and $230 for the electric screen. Loving it ever since!

To reduce the wear on the projector bulb, we also bought a slim LED TV on a Boxing Day special, and wall mounted it so the projector screen comes down in front of it. Got an HDMI splitter from Monoprice, and now I can switch output displays seamlessly whenever I want.

The TV is fine for daily usage. But on weekends, or when having friends over, playing video games or watching movies (or watching hockey! ) on the projector is MUCH more fun!

Originally Posted by MotoRacer

measure your seating distance from screen... A projector requires more distance, buy screen to match seating distance

+1...this calculator was extremely useful for me. It gives you the ideal screen size for your room based on your viewing distance.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/proj...ulator-pro.cfm

Also, the guys at Consignia.ca were very helpful. I sent them dimensions and photos of the room, and they recommended what was best for my place.

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Do any of you projector guys game at all? I've heard they sometimes have issues with input lag, though that may be older models.

Never had issues with ours.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Do any of you projector guys game at all?

Yes. No noticeable issues.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I don't hardcore game by any means but I can easily beat Kunkstyle at NHL and MLB on his or my projector set up.

Excuse me? I'll give you MLB, but not both. Try playing some defense sometime. Playing on your setup I have an excuse at least. I'm not used to such a tiny screen.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Excuse me? I'll give you MLB, but not both. Try playing some defense sometime. Playing on your setup I have an excuse at least. I'm not used to such a tiny screen.

The 3 inches I lack in projector screen size I easily make up with the 2 40" Tv's on the side wall! It is really difficult to watch sports and play video games at the same time at your house.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

The 3 inches I lack in projector screen size I easily make up with the 2 40" Tv's on the side wall! It is really difficult to watch sports and play video games at the same time at your house.

Please keep up the bickering you two. I mean it. I want to vicariously live through this.

Sincerely, tired father of two young kids who's fancy home theater only shows Treehouse TV.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by olddutch

please keep up the bickering you two. I mean it. I want to vicariously live through this.

Sincerely, tired father of two young kids who's fancy home theater only shows treehouse tv.

lol:d

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Please keep up the bickering you two. I mean it. I want to vicariously live through this.

Sincerely, tired father of two young kids who's fancy home theater only shows Treehouse TV.

I knew this day would come my 1.5 year old already loves cartoons. I figured if I could convince the wife for the extra tvs upfront when the kids want to watch something they can have one of the side tvs

Or just wait until everyone is in bed and break into Kunkstyle's house since he is kid free and enjoy the peace and quiet

[Thor]

So got this projector and have been playing around with it. I got this mostly because I am saving up for another fancier projector, but wanted something decent in the meanwhile.

I was fascinated by the idea of wifi connection, the android operating system is neat, have not really done too much with it yet, just installed PLEX and tried streaming a 1080p 12 gig file, which worked flawlessly, the quality for the price is what you would expect, especially at the 1200x800 resolution.

The pitch and focusing which is manual are both very unforgiving, the range of the pitch is very little when correcting, and the focus lens is frustrating, I think it is the biggest issue with this projector, but last night I threw on the Hobbit and was happy with the quality of the image, the claim on the brightness I am doubtful its even remotely close but again I have yet to move it to a permanant place and then toy with all the color, brightness, sharpness settings. This is not a configured out of the box like you get with standard projectors around $1000, you have to tinker to get the best out of it.

Here's some pics, I'll update as I get to using this more, good and bad. Rating it would be 3 out of 5, for the price range 4 out 5, with one big caveat, there is a dead pixel in a spot that is noticeable, so I will contact the company to see what they offer for that.

Spoiler!

[Table 5]

Not 100% sure this fits in this thread, but this seems to be a bit of a catch-all thread, so I'll ask here.

Looking to clean things up a bit under my desk, I'm looking to put all my office network NAS drive, ethernet switches, cabling into one hidden cabinet, and was thinking about this Ikea storage unit since it goes with my desks. They have a hole for airflow in the back, but is this big enough? Or would it make sense to drill some more holes on the back (or even the sides). I'm not sure how much air these things really need. The NAS could potentially have 5 drives going at once, so I would think that could get hot.





Ive never drilled a hole into Ikea particle board before though, so hopefully it doesn't just crack.