Home Theater Mega Thread

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Madman

Another option:

http://www.infinitecables.com/bulk_speaker-wire.html

It would be cheaper to buy the wires at my local Home Depot but thanks for the option.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

How long are your runs?

Don't waste your money on 12 gauge for your theater, 16 gauge is fine for under 50' and 14' should handle up to about 100' (and this is being conservative). You will not hear a difference. 16 gauge is usually less than half the price of 12. NOTE - You should be using in-wall rated FT4 cable (assuming you are burying the cable). This will do the trick:

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/2c-1...er-wire/980975

Your outdoor speakers are probably 8 ohm and 16 will likely be fine unless you are getting way beyond 80', then I would go 14 gauge.

Save your money for other parts of your theatre. Room acoustics for example will give much better bang for your buck than 'upgrades' in speaker wire gauge.

Thanks for the post. I'll be putting all the wires into the walls/ceilings. I'll have a couple runs that are 40 to 50 feet and a couple runs that are 60 to 75 feet (depending on where I decide to mount the outdoor speakers.)

I think I might go 14 because the added cost of 12 doesn't seem worth it now.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

1 - Get an extended warranty, it doesn't seem to matter what brand I install, TV's are failing prematurely. Samsung, Pany doesn't seem to matter.

My 60" Sony cacked 4 months after I bought it...it's the first TV I've ever owned that's done that...they seem more fragile than they used to.

Context: I worked for the retail division of Sony of Canada years ago, so I lived and breathed this stuff...

I've seen TV's that lasted a decade or more, you could practically throw a Trinitron down a flight of stairs, turn it on and it would go (that's an exaggeration but you get the point), now the plastics seem light and too flexible, I just don't get the same sense of quality from them anymore.

To be fair they did come out and give me a new one, installed, old one carted away, the whole works.

[Vulcan]

Some credit cards extend the manufacturers warranty by another year, so it's worth checking out when buying expensive electronics (TV).

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Some credit cards extend the manufacturers warranty by another year, so it's worth checking out when buying expensive electronics (TV).

Good point.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by -TC-

My 60" Sony cacked 4 months after I bought it...it's the first TV I've ever owned that's done that...they seem more fragile than they used to.

Context: I worked for the retail division of Sony of Canada years ago, so I lived and breathed this stuff...

I've seen TV's that lasted a decade or more, you could practically throw a Trinitron down a flight of stairs, turn it on and it would go (that's an exaggeration but you get the point), now the plastics seem light and too flexible, I just don't get the same sense of quality from them anymore.

To be fair they did come out and give me a new one, installed, old one carted away, the whole works.

You are absolutely right, about 5-6 years ago I started to notice this, and unfortunately it seems to be getting worse. I thought the whole Samsung capacitor nightmare from a couple of years ago would have changed this....

[VladtheImpaler]

OK, I am a complete imbecile when it comes to home theater sound, etc, as in I've never had any extra speakers, nothing, and don't know anything about it. Have never bothered, as I didn't feel I needed surround sound to enjoy quality pornography.
That said, we bought a new house and there are speakers in the ceiling in the basement TV/theater area. So... the question is - what do I need to be able to tap into them? Keep in mind - I literally know nothing about this stuff. I can tell you that I have a Samsung Smart TV if that makes any difference.
Thanks in advance.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

... as I didn't feel I needed surround sound to enjoy quality pornography...

apparently you are not into the group scenes....

Generally, you should be able to use the existing speakers, although it will depend how they are wired (ie for distributed audio or rear surrounds).

Even with a modest 5.1 system ((the 5 refers to the 3 speakers in the front (left, center, right) and 2 on the sides or rears (surrounds) with subwoofer (the .1)) it will make sports more enjoyable as well as movies (obviously).

I find when watching the Flames games, you get nice 'crowd' noises, coming at you from different positions in the room, it creates a bit of atmosphere. The overall sound quality will be vastly improved over the crappy speakers built into TV's these days. When a system is properly design and installed it makes a big difference.

[VladtheImpaler]

But what do I need to tap into the built in speakers? A receiver?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

But what do I need to tap into the built in speakers? A receiver?

Yes you need a AV receiver. It will be what all of your other components (blu ray, shaw box, computer, etc) plug into. Preferably with HDMI cables. If you have a late model TV it should communicate with your receiver and when you turn the TV on it will turn on your receiver. When you turn on a component, your receiver will take it to the proper input also and turn on your TV.

From your receiver you connect it with speaker cable to your speakers. There will probably be some wall outlets going to your speakers. As said, if you have 5 speakers get a 5.1 system or a 7.1. If you have speakers in other rooms you should look for a zone 2 receiver.

A decent receiver will also come with a set up mike that will tune your speakers to your sitting positions.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

But what do I need to tap into the built in speakers? A receiver?

Yep. A receiver. This will process the sound to give the 5.1 system. You plug your sources (ie cable box, bluray etc) into the receiver and in turn the receiver will power the speakers (and provide video to the TV). The ceiling speakers will probably have a plug on the wall (or lines hanging) that you will to use to hook into the receiver.

[Vulcan]

Here's an article of how to do your set up. I like Denon receivers myself.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-0pfXn0M...ver/setup.html

[Vulcan]

along with the AV receiver you should purchase a sub woofer.

[VladtheImpaler]

And if there are no wires coming off those speakers?

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

And if there are no wires coming off those speakers?

Fishing and/or tracing might be required, this starts to get into the professional realm...PM sent.

[photon]

There's wires, I'd be shocked if the developer installed them without wires. The question is where did they put them.

In my house all the ceiling speaker wires end up in the basement by the furnace in a wiring closet type of thing. When I built my house, and later when I put in my basement, I made sure to run speaker wires from the wiring closet back up to locations I would typically have a receiver, but that was an extra cost and a specific decision.

Since your basement is already finished, and if wires aren't run back to where your receiver would be, you'd have to either get new wires run, or come up with some kind of wireless or network type solution.

EDIT: I've also seen it where the wires are left in the wall in a specific place if the speakers are specifically for surround, so where you'd set up your receiver there might be wires behind the drywall, if they did that hopefully they documented that somewhere on the plans or other build documents.

[Vulcan]

If there is no wiring you may be able to run wiring down the inside of the walls, drill a hole and tuck it under the floor to wall moulding.

[Hockeyguy15]

In the market for a new TV, I'm leaning towards this guy but I can't find too many reviews on it. Anyone have any input on it? It seems decent to me, but I am not up to date on the newer technology.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...63c1b5fd52en02

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

Being a Home Theatre and Automation guy, (I do this for a living) here are some recommendations:

1 - Get an extended warranty, it doesn't seem to matter what brand I install, TV's are failing prematurely. Samsung, Pany doesn't seem to matter. I hate to sell a Tv and have it fail within 18-24 months (after 12 month warranty). I always recommend to my clients to get one. I don't do this for profit, but because I hate telling clients their TV is crap out and will likely be expensive to fix (I don't fix them). NOTE - This is about the only item I recommend an extended warranty for, usually extended warranties are big profit items for the box stores.

2 - Be conscience of viewing angles IPS based LED panels are brighter over a bigger viewing angle (note both in a horizontal and vertical). Plasma are great at this but have gone the way of the Dodo unfortunately.

3 - Smart TV's are clunky and dumb. Plan on using a AppleTV or Roku for Netflix etc. The GUI and speed of the smart TV's generally suck in comparison.

4 - Don't be an early adopter for 4K, wait a couple of years until there is more content available. (It is stunning when played with proper 4K content).

5 - 3D if you want it, make sure the screen is LARGE. The effect is lost if you aren't filling most of your viewing pane. (I move my seat in my own home theatre to about 8 feet on a 110' screen).

6 - Go with a Samsung or LG plasma, probably your best price/performance ratio, otherwise I usually recommend Panasonic LED's

Hockeyguy15 - I don't sell Sony's, (no distributor) so really can't help you other than what I stated above.

[Flash Walken]

Friend just moved into new place.

Is looking for bitchin' amp and 5.1 setup. Pedestal speakers, most likely.

What should he go with?