Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Jan 09, 2009 11:38 am 2 Questions. No budget yet in planning stages.
1. Lounge / Media room size is 4.5 x 5.4 and I want to set up with surround sound and projector. I was thinking of having the screen on the north wall. Is this the correct placement? With this size room should I look at something like the KEF 3005's or something larger? 2. I want to be able to play different music in the kitchen and on the south deck and maybe in the family room but also in the family room also use the same speakers for the TV. May also want to stream movies to the family room also. What are my options? Do I need a full blown media streaming system? Sorry I am new to this and when I try to attach a jpg it says it isn't allowed. Please let me know what I can do. Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 2Jan 09, 2009 1:55 pm Hi Astro.
Complicated query (eg. ... but also in the family room also use the same speakers for the TV....) = complicated answer. Where are you building? What type of place (2 storey?)? What gear do you have? Why the KEFs (there are so many speaker brands out there)? Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 3Jan 09, 2009 2:05 pm Rodda Hi Astro. Complicated query (eg. ... but also in the family room also use the same speakers for the TV....) = complicated answer. Where are you building? What type of place (2 storey?)? What gear do you have? Why the KEFs (there are so many speaker brands out there)? Yeah sorry, I realise that it is a bit complicated, didn't know if there was anything that might do what I was thinking. Was just thinking that would like to just listen to background music or if we had the TV on the use the same speakers for that, but might be too hard. We are building in Heathmont and it is 1 story with garage underneath at the back of the house. At the moment no gear. No necessarily looking at the KEF's just was not sure whether I needed large 'normal' size speakers or something smaller for the media room. Not sure how to upload my house plan as it won't except either the .pdf or .jpg extentions Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 4Jan 09, 2009 2:15 pm Heya Astroboy - to post a picture you need to link to another webpage such as a photo site etc. Using something like www.flickr.com (free) is possible.
Check out the "Homeone Website and Forum" under OTHER - its got a whole sticky on how to post photos. Heathmont is lovely btw, I grew up there and tried for 10 years to move back into it before giving up and figuring that i'd live in wantirna and look at heathmont rather than the other way around. Welcome to the forum. Building Upside down house in Wantirna VIC Current Stage: Procrastination... it's just all too hard.... Blog: http://thereluctantbuilder.blogspot.com/ Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 5Jan 09, 2009 2:15 pm OK.
You can't run 1 pair of speakers off 2 different systems (2 different amplifiers) unless you have a switch for changing between the 2 sources (amplifiers). It may be easier and not necessarily much more expensive (if it is more expensive) to have 2 different systems altogether (and still run a second zone from at least one of them). P.S. I grew up in Knox... (Knoxfield to be precise). Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 6Jan 09, 2009 3:13 pm Ok worked out how to up load the plan 2 Questions. No budget yet in planning stages.
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Maybe I should refrace my questions. I have no equipment as yet and are just in planing stages at the moment. 1. I want to set up my Lounge / Media with surround sound and projector. Should I be using a small size speaker set for the the room which is 4.5m x 5.4ms of standard size speakers? Is the best position for the screen the north wall if so I guess that I will need to hang the project over the door on the south wall? I am looking at a Epson TW2000 projector. 2. I want to be able to have separate zones of music in the south deck, rumpus room, kitchen and maybe 1 other room. What is the easiest way to do this? Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 7Jan 10, 2009 2:37 am I would seriously look at what it is you really want, and ask yourself
a) what is my budget b) do I want it to play MP3's off my iPod or PC or media server c) do I want music to be playing at the same time in every zone ('Party mode') as well as independently d) do I want video in each zone as well or just music e) do I want it integrated with my home theatre room f) do I want to keep the cabling as simple as possible (e.g. use Cat5 only) or am I happy for the house to be wired up properly Here's some options for multi room music (if you want video then that is something else again!) Rodda can probably advise on this better than I can... 1. Pay $50,000+ (at least!) for an AMX/Crestron system (expensive but will be built to exactly what you want, designed specifically for that house) 2. Use the Sonos system (easiest and cheapest option - you do need a media server though) http://www.sonos.com 3. Use a multi-room receiver - though to get 4 zones you are looking at a pretty high-end one (e.g. Yamaha RZ-Z11/Denon AVPA1HDA), expensive, but they integrate with your home theatre (that's because they ARE the home theatre). They also usually have iPod control (the Yamaha has bluetooth as well) 4. Use a Windows Media Extender (e.g. Netgear EVA8000 or even an XBox 360) - does limited video too, but also requires a media server running Windows Vista 5. Any networked media player (e.g. Zensonic, Pixel Magic, Popcorn Hour, HDX1000) 6. Use hardwired audio/speaker switchers - but they are more designed with 'hard' sources in mind (e.g. CD Player) and not for MP3's off a Media server With 3, 4, 5 and 6 you will need amps on each zone as well for some configurations. If you want the capability for each zone to have the same song playing at the same time (i.e. Party mode), as well as independent, this is harder to do. The most reliable method is to use a hardwired audio switcher or A/V receiver, but some media extenders/players will also do this. Have a look at these links for custom hard-wired options: http://www.selbyacoustics.com.au/StoreFrontProfiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=74520&c=110356&i=238546320 http://www.home-technology-store.com/home-audio/multi-room-kits.aspx You also have to think about how to control each zone - if you use an A/V receiver then they will often times have a secondary remote, but you need to wire up external IR receivers. If you use a networked media player or extender, they will be able to control multiple zones, but not the amps to go with it. Any hard-wired system will be able to control each zone but unless you use a universal remote I'm not sure how they go about choosing a song if you are using a media server. If you want a simple, easy to use, music only system I would look at Sonos, otherwise the best thing is to work out what your budget is and then go and talk to a professional like Rod. After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 8Jan 10, 2009 2:42 am P.S. Rodda - before we got married my wife lived in Knoxfield, on Bunnett Road, and then after we got married we lived on Scoresby Road until we moved over here - so I know the area quite well After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 9Jan 10, 2009 6:18 am the sonos is very good for audio distribution mate has one Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 10Jan 13, 2009 8:39 am Hi guys. Just back in after a few days away (and 1 falt-out install day...).
I'd leave the Media room separate. Get whatever AV Receiver you need to do what you want in that room and leave the other rooms to another system - it will actually make driving the other multi-room system less complicated. Get a decent set of speakers for the media room, as it sounds like you're putting some effort and money into the video (in other words if you're going for the genuine 'big picture' type setup you don't ruin it with a tiny sound system...). You can start with a decent 5.1 setup that at least has some decent sized bookshelf speakers at the front - but that room will also comfortably support a good pair of floorstanders (they don't need to be huge as the room isn't...). In either case, consider the Mordaunt-Short Avant 900i series - the 902i bookshelfs or anything up to the 916i floorstanders (I have a pair of both). These are genuine high-end quality speakers from a high-end manufacturer (England) but are very reasonably priced. For playing AVIs, streaming media, anything stored on HDDs etc., there are many options here and it's changing all the time. We've gone from using things like the Zentronics Z500, DVico TVX-4130, Popcorn hour, Media Centre PCs (XP and Vista), plus other assorted media players and PVRs, and right now it genuinely looks like the Sony Playstation 3 might be the next big thing in this area (when PlayTV comes out in a couple of months). Keep an eye out in this space... For the rest of the house, considering you want at least 4 other rooms, I truly believe you can't go past the Elan System 6 (S6). It does up to 6 rooms with up to 6 different sources, all controlled and powered by one central box (the S6 itself) and it comes with 6 wall-mounted keypad controllers (controllers that allow you to control the sources as well - a function not included with competing slightly cheaper systems...). All this plus 6 pairs of speakers, fully installed can be done for as little as around $8K. Very easy to operate, very descrete, very good quality (Elan Home Systems are a high-end multi-room specialist manufacturer from the U.S.). Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 11Jan 13, 2009 10:29 am muzzman P.S. Rodda - before we got married my wife lived in Knoxfield, on Bunnett Road, and then after we got married we lived on Scoresby Road until we moved over here - so I know the area quite well Down near Knox Park PS I had a mate, Simon Hughes, who lived in that street...down the end near the old strawberry farm! I also went to KPPS. Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 12Jan 13, 2009 12:01 pm I was also gunna say I went to Knox Park Primary.
Do you think Matt and I have known each other for a little while... Re: 2 Questions - Media Room layout and remote AV 13Jan 13, 2009 12:14 pm Do I hear Anne Road Kindergarten?? Hello! We have a very large open plan living room and wanted to get layout options, and furnishing ideas for this space. Currently there is only a… 0 9301 Thanks for the suggestion. The space between shower and sinks was too tight. I agree about the toilet location. So I have tried two other options: The lower one is… 3 6128 |