Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Jan 16, 2014 3:47 pm Hi All, We are a first time builder and have absolutely no clue as to what a good Media room is. Our current "media" room is a a tv in our living room hooked to a PC through HDMI so we can watch youtube/movies/photos on it. The size of the room is 3.8m x 5.63m. We are planning to use the room for movie watching predominantly, either by streaming or connecting it to a (as of yet proposed, but as yet unbuilt) home media server. Currently we are planning to have about 4 power point there with a couple of surge protector and a data point. Initially we are thinking of getting a projector, but: 1) will it be tight, as it's 3.8m from wall to wall. Would a 60" LCD be better? 2) I am worried about the lights as it is quite open (in my opinion) for a media room. It has two east facing windows, an open door to the kitchen and two openings to the living room. Also, the openings make it hard for me to do sound proofing, as sound would leak out anyways. In our current apartment, the tv is placed on the wall separating the living room with my 2 y.o. daughter's bedroom, so we are forced to listen to tv in a very small volume lest the sound would leak to her room and wake her up. In the new house, the media room would be on the ground floor and the little one would be on the first floor. But as it stands, her room is now directly ABOVE the media room. Any ideas on whether I need extra soundproofing on this case? Thanks All for your help Re: Need help with Media Room 2Jan 16, 2014 7:42 pm What size screen are you planning ? In my theatre, I am having a 100inch projector screen as my room is only 3.5m wide and screen size is constrained by bulkhead on either size. Your room is nice and wide so you could go to 110inch easily. You may need to have the bulkhead wider. One major constraint might be the depth of your room, as it is only 3.8m you may find difficulty finding a projector that can do a wide image at approx 3.5m from the screen. ( manuals for projectors have tables showing projection distances requires. You can generally find these easily - google is your friend ) If you are going for a projector, have a 50mm PVC pipe put in as a conduit for cabling to your projector. A draw string should also be put in. Having a pipe allows you to change / upgrade the cable if you need to in the future. I think 50mm pipe is the same as what they use for ducted vacuum systems. I would go for 2 quad powerpoints. It is easy to run out. Make sure you also have 2 wired ethernet connections ( I'm going for 4 data points in home theatre to avoid clutter of a network switch ). More and more devices need Internet and you don't want to bog down your wifi. It is also a must for ensuring sufficient bandwith ( now and for future 4k resolution movies ). Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: Need help with Media Room 3Jan 17, 2014 9:40 pm Maximus, I'm actually quite clueless re: projectors... From what I read online 90-110" seems to be the standard? My concern with projector is that due to the room being quite open, it would be quite bright. That would affect the quality of the picture no? That's why I'm leaning towards LCD, but if it's not an issue then I might reconsider. Re: Need help with Media Room 4Jan 17, 2014 9:45 pm Agree. Dark is best for a projector. Have you thought of putting up drapes to close off the room? For windows you can get block out blinds. Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: Need help with Media Room 5Jan 18, 2014 10:51 am Is this going to be your main TV watching room? If so then you might want to stick with the LCD (or have an LCD with a drop-down screen) - the lighting needed for a projector, the running costs (bulb life) and size of the image mean that they aren't necessarily the best choice for every-day viewing. For movies where you want the 'big screen' and closing the curtains isn't a problem then they are great. At 3.8m perhaps a 60-70" LCD might be big enough. Re: Need help with Media Room 6Jan 30, 2014 5:16 pm Maximus: Yeah, we've considered drapes but as it's joined with the living room as well, it may be bordering inconvenience. Especially with a toddler around that likes to pull on things, running around etc. Paulw11: It is going to be our primary TV watching room, but we're only going to be spending 2-3 hours, every 2-3 days a week watching TV. I am leaning a bit more towards LCD tv atm, as I am planning to buy a PS4 as well. Having a roof installed Projector may be a bit difficult with a console as well? I know you can route cables etc through the wall and into the roof but our builder has explicitly prohibited us from using our own technicians until the handover... So the walls etc would have already been made... Re: Need help with Media Room 7Jan 31, 2014 11:24 am azure7 I am leaning a bit more towards LCD tv atm, as I am planning to buy a PS4 as well. Having a roof installed Projector may be a bit difficult with a console as well? You need to consider sound as well, especially with a projector. The speakers in TVs are OK, but you wouldn't want to use the ones built in to a projector (the sound would be coming from above your head). Using an AV receiver with external speakers not only gives you better sound, but the ability to switch different HDMI sources using the receiver - so you have a single cable going to the TV/Projector and then all of the inputs (console, Blu Ray, Foxtel or whatever) connect to the receiver. It is a little tricky running cables through walls post-construction but not impossible. Worst case you can cut a hole in the plasterboard, run the cable and then patch and paint - it might sound awful to cut up your new walls, but if it is patched properly you won't even see it and the paint will match because it is still fresh. Re: Need help with Media Room 8Apr 14, 2014 8:39 pm 100" is absolutley the way to go! You can get a 100" and projector now for under $1500 and the picture out this (in a dark room) will rival any LED / Plasma of the same value and it would be half the size! A good set of in wall / in ceiling speakers can work just as well in a space like this if thought about and placed correctly. Dont be afraid to go with a projector ... with globes lasting 5000 hours and costs of globes coming down they are definately a viable and cost effective option! your always amazing and lifesaver Simeon . Great thanks a lot 5 4090 Can anyone help with the layout of my living room, it seems that no matter what I do it never looks right. I have an awquard kind of l shape with 2 doors, bay window and… 0 9401 |