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Home Theatre
Welcome to the portion of our website dedicated to home theatre (HT). We are lucky to have (at least) two decent home theatres in our house… Like many HT enthusiasts, we often upgrade components as something new and cooler comes out and we sometimes make use of the old stuff in other locations in the house.
By the way, if you're using the web to search for places to burgle you better just keep on looking. You'll find a hella-crazy monitored alarm system watching your every move and angry people with lots of guns if you attempt an uninvited visit. No joke.
** Coming soon in this section are quick pictures and room layout **
Click on one of the links below to go directly to information on:
The Somniplex: Dedicated Theatre with projector and tiered seating
Living Room Theater: Primary TV (and HDTV) watching configuration
DVD Collection: Mostly accurate list of our collection of 400+ DVDs
THE SOMNIPLEX
The Somniplex got its name because I tend to fall asleep while watching movies. In fact, I fall asleep in almost every movie I watch. Some of my friends claim this is a sleeping disorder, I prefer to say its because the theater is dark, comfortable and I know I am among friends.
The Somniplex was originally an unused partially furnished (walls, ceiling) room in our basement. Our primary home theater was in the bonus room on the second floor, and the screen was a 52-inch Toshiba big screen RPTV. Once I decided to upgrade to HDTV, I chose the Pioneer Elite Pro-710, which is an awesome set. HOWEVER, when the delivery truck pulled up, the TV wouldn't fit up the stairs OR down the hallway into the room. Although the 52-inch set slid into the room like a greased melon, the old set is shaped differently (4x3) than a high definition set, which is much longer. Neither my salesperson nor I thought to even consider it not fitting into the house.
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Pictures of the bonus room that used to house the primary theater |
Computer Cubby-hole, convenient for watching movies and working on website |
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After a brief conversation about ripping the front of the house off and getting a hydraulic lift to push the TV through the hole, I sent the Elite set back and went to the drawing board. The first floor living area was not hospitable to a theater - too open, too much light and I was set on a bigger screen than I currently had. The bathroom would be ideal, but there was a problem with having more than the one seat, plus the bigger screen area was still an issue. |
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The basement kept coming to mind as an alternative... I knew I would have to do some work like carpeting the floors and unfinished stairs, window treatments, etc. to make it workable. Of course while all the cosmetic work was underway, I had to upgrade some of the equipment. Well, maybe to be fair, I upgraded all of the equipment and (like most everyone who has this hobby) have more upgrades planned.
First was the decision to get a high definition projector rather than the RPTV. I could get a much more theater-like atmosphere and take up far less floor space. After some research, I decided on the Sony VPL-VW10HT LCD projector. At the time (late 1999), it was the best non-CRT projector for the price - now there are many new DLP and LCD options to choose from. Of course I also needed a better sound source (DTS ES and 7.1, THX), better speakers and a progressive scan DVD player. Plus all the plumbing and goodies to make it work together.
Once the dust settled we realized the old couch just wouldn't do just sitting on the floor like that, so we built a tiered riser for it and ordered a set of leather Berkline reclining theater seats to go in front of it. We added some movie posters and signage and popped in a DVD. And I promptly fell asleep...
Here's a couple of representative picture of the theatre in its current state - of course there are several big tasks and upgrades that still need to be completed for it to be done.
Following are some more details about the Somniplex's equipment and some additional pictures of the room, seating and components.
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR MORE SOMNIPLEX DETAILS
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Coming Soon |
The living room is where we spend much of our time when we're home. It's downstairs right next to the kitchen, the stairs from levels above and below empty right into it… It's an open and inviting space to relax after work and where many meals are eaten in front of the television. Comfy leather Hancock and Moore recliner and couch, dark wood furniture and a fireplace all combine to make it a generally nice place to be.
However, all the windows and open doorways don't make for an ideal place to set up a home theatre. If fact, I almost didn't buy the house because I couldn't visualize how to set the room up so it was usable.
I eventually decided on placement for the components, and got around obstacles to running cables and speaker wire (like a fireplace and a open-frame connection to another room - no wall) by carefully drilling through the floor and running wiring along the ceiling of the basement in an unfinished room.
Most of the equipment in the Living Room theatre is a result of 'upgrades' from the Somniplex and other rooms. There are a couple of exceptions of items purchased specifically for the Living Room theatre such as the Tivo (an absolute must-have), a 34" 16x9 direct-view HDTV set, and Salamander HT cabinets.
Following are some additional pictures of the room and component information.
| More Living Room Pictures |
Coming Soon | |