Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Aug 05, 2008 4:02 pm So I recently had a quote for a home theatre set-up from a local av specialist (in Brisbane) and they came up with the following quote:
Pre-wiring for 7.1 surround sound ($665) Pre-wiring for projector s-video & component ($395) Certified HDMI/DVI Cable for high definition ($395) 7.1 JBL Surround sound speakers ($3895) Harman Kardan AR Receiver and dvd player ($2698) Humax HD Digital set top box ($499) Optoma HD73 HD DLP Projector ($4750) Projector Bracket ($350) IR Receiver ($350) Diamond fabric 120" cinemascope fixed projector screen with EVO 3D velour fabric ($2049) Cinemascope lens and installation ($1495) Consumables ($339) All in one remote ($4000) Install, callibration and education ($895) Firstly - does this sound about right for these products? Secondly - we are not technical people at all - we just want a dedicted HT room that looks and sounds good but which is in our budget ($10,000 to $15,000 - obviously this quote stretches that a bit). The room is 6m x 4m and will have blackout curtains, carpet (with a raised section for the back row of cinema seats) and theatre seats. We will have one feature wall painted with charcoal coloured paint and the remainder of the walls will be wattyl's 'geisha white'. Is there anything we should be doing with the room or room colouring that we haven't thought of? Can you suggest a cheaper set-up? Recommend different brands, etc? Will the room be dark enough to watch movies during the day (with the curtains pulled down)? Someone told us that we should stick to LCD because we won't be able to watch movies in the HT room during the day because the room wouldn't be dark enough. Sorry for all the questions, but its hard to get straight answers when you are dealing with salespeople. Thanks Nicole Re: Calling Rod & Matt - Home Theatre Set-Up Help 3Aug 05, 2008 4:16 pm Yes, I just about fell over too - but there is no typo - I would want the darn thing to do the dishwashing and housecleaning before I agree to pay that amount (unless of course it has a button so I can make the kids and the husband quiet!) Re: Calling Rod & Matt - Home Theatre Set-Up Help 5Aug 05, 2008 5:15 pm nicoleb All in one remote ($4000) Hope they throw in one of these Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Calling Rod & Matt - Home Theatre Set-Up Help 6Aug 05, 2008 5:23 pm OMG Nicole....
I think they saw how "hot" you look and their eyes opened up to Kaching! Here's my two cents worth... Pre-wiring for 7.1 surround sound ($665) Pre-wiring for projector s-video & component ($395) Why would you prewire svideo and component (old technology) if they are going to use HDMI. This is clearly double dipping. I would insist they use HDMI as well. Certified HDMI/DVI Cable for high definition ($395) RIP OFF- Certified by whom? What brand? HDMI is HDMI brand name is the biggest scam.. www.msy.com.au is selling 10 meters for $25. Matt's store Selbys is selling really good ones for $120. 7.1 JBL Surround sound speakers ($3895) You can get way better speakers than JBL for this money...Look at JAMOs or Energy speakers.. Harman Kardan AR Receiver and dvd player ($2698) Humax HD Digital set top box ($499) Optoma HD73 HD DLP Projector ($4750) seems a bit pricey for this pricepoint..check to see what's HD is it full 1080p or just 720p if its 720p i would not pay for this. You are better off flying to the US for 2K for a holiday buy a projector for 2k and get a much much better projector. Look at the new Panasonic or the Sanyo one half the price and just as good. Have a look at www.projectorcentral.com for reviews. Projector Bracket ($350) cheaper at Matt's store selbys. IR Receiver ($350) Diamond fabric 120" cinemascope fixed projector screen with EVO 3D velour fabric ($2049) OMG this is craaazy.... check to see the gain you get on this and for this price i would hope it is motorised..plenty of other less expensive options out there. Go for quality/price investments. Cinemascope lens and installation ($1495) Consumables ($339) (whats the break up of this?) All in one remote ($4000) A high end logitech remote will only cost you about $700 and it will even control anything that has infared. Install, callibration and education ($895) (how does this differ from the prewiring? or is the cable itself costing you $665?..looks like they are double dipping here too. Seriously, just ask them how much it would cost for labour to do all of this. If you buy me a nice dinner i can probably source all of the items you need for a much lesser price. Re: Calling Rod & Matt - Home Theatre Set-Up Help 7Aug 05, 2008 6:43 pm Hi Nicole.
Some very good friends of me and the missus live in Wongawallen (Gold Coast-ish?) and they got a quote from a mob up there called Stereo Supplies CustomWorks (although I'm guessing not the same guys that quoted you as it was using different brands) - and I was able to quote them on a system that did the same, using brands as good as what you've mentioned (Marantz, Paradigm, Jamo, Philips Pronto, etc.), and I was able to offer the same system for just over half what the other mob quoted, including some of my travel costs (we would have stayed with them for a couple of nights ). Some of the brands you've been quoted there are pricey and will very likely have equivalents that are as good in quality but are significanlty cheaper (BenQ is better value than Optoma, you don't need a special lens for the projector!, the screen is WAY too much). A 7.1 speaker package for $3800 is actually not heaps if you're getting really decent speakers, but the rest is OTT! AS far as the room goes. Carpet - good. Curtains - good. White walls in there - hmmmm - the white will reflect a fair bit of light and that's a bad thing. If you have the choice you really should go for darker coloured surfaces in there - including the ceiling! If the curtains work well enough you will be able to watch movies during the day. I do, and the projector you'd get would look better than mine. P.S. Cabling and Installation, especially on a job this big, are really two different things. Cabling takes time on it's own and obviously also has the cost of the cables themselves. Installing, connecting, configuring, testing and training on all of this stuff takes a lot of time and effort also (an install like that could easily take two experienced professionals more than a 10 hour day). So it's not double dipping - it's actually more like itemising the quote. Re: Calling Rod & Matt - Home Theatre Set-Up Help 9Aug 06, 2008 6:10 pm Hi again Nicole.
Drop me an e-mail here: info@avdreams.com.au I'll do a fully itemised quote in an Excel spreadsheet and e-mail it back to you I asked this question of one of the forum's resident cabinet makers who may/may not wish to identify himself to answer other questions if he sees this, but the rersponse… 3 7731 Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. We definitely wish to settle and get these people out of our life. They are trying to charge us interest on late… 7 14278 We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16289 |