Hey guys, where are all the projectors? Are you REALLY calling these systems home "theater"? Just teasing, I'm in the biz so mine's tax deductible:

Runco VX-101C w/anamorphic lens projector(will upgrade to 16x9 DLP ASAP)

Runco VHD controller/scaler

Stewart 92" microperf screen

Yamaha RX-V1 receiver

Hughes HDTV sat receiver

Hughes DirecTV/TiVO combo receiver

Proscan DVD player

Lutron Radio RA lighting control

M&K S-125 speakers front and rear

M&K MX-105 sub-woofer

Crestron ST-1500C touchscreen remote

Acoustic Innovations wall treatments and cinema chairs

Thon-
My Sony 10HT projector is right where it belongs, on the ceiling in my dedicated HT!! :)

There always is a lot of discussion about what constitutes a home theater. Some say if you've got surround sound, you've got a home theater. I tend to think you need at least a large screen (say 50" or greater) to qualify. I also think to really say you've got a HT, it should be in a dedicated room. After all, you don't go to the local theater and expect to sit in some sort of non-dedicated multi-purpose room! :)

Of course, my opinions are not meant to degrade or lessen anything anyone else has. I'm just forunate that I've reached a place in life where I can fit my own definition with my "City Cinema." www.thecitycinema.com

Hey Steve

I would have to disagree with you. For me personally, I would never own anything other than a direct view tube, as I don't like rear projectors, and can't afford a good projector that is comprable to a good tube ie Runco's line. I don't like the way the picture darkens as your viewing angle changes on a rear projection. It has gotten *MUCH* better in recent years, but it is still not as good as a tube-only my opinion =)

I think everyone has their own ideas of what a HT really is. Mine is that you have a dedicated room for watching Movies, TV or listening to music, that is specifically setup (seating, sound absorbtion, speaker positioning...etc) for the aformentioned purposes and not for asthetics.

This can be extremly difficult for some due to the WAF, but for me it is not an issue as my Fiance has agreed that the HT room will be mine to do with as a I please, with the premise that I don't interfere with the rest of the house decorating. In about 3-4 mths I will be putting pics of my HT up, as we are in the process of house shopping now and all of my equipment is in disarray/disconnected :( as I build a new rack to house it all. I may eventually, depending on the house we buy, do a false wall to hide all the equipment, but that is dependant on the house and the room that will become the HT.....Tony

You know what they like to say about opinions don't you?

To me a "Home" Theater is a Theater Like environment
that resides in your home. To me that means a Theater
that I can use. Basement Theaters (that's what I like
to refer to as Dedicated Theater rooms, since usually
that is where they are located) are not practical for
me. I like to watch TV as much as I love to watch movies.

And in order to do either I am not about to run down
the stairs every time. So for me a "home" Theater is
one that adds convinience to my life. I have to say that
I am not one of the biggest supporters of Front Projectors
either. I feel the technology is great but the price is
far higher than what it "should" be. Most DPL and LCD
Projectors are very high priced and they have a major
drawback, and that would be the life of the projector
bulb and the price. Can anyone give me a logical reason
as to why these bulbs cost $500.00 or more?

I love to
watch TV and using one of these FP's for TV would be
sacreligious because with a maximum life of about 2000
hours that bulb would be dead every few months. This is
simply not acceptable. The other option would be a 3CRT
Projector and to me that seems the ideal way to go as
they are generaly better anyway. But for $30,000.00 ?
That raises another question. My 61" RPTV uses the same
3 CRT's as most of the celing hung units. So why was my
RPTV under 3K when most new CRT FP's are over 30K?

I think the users are getting the shaft because these
CRT FP's were intended for "Corporations" and the manufacurers
know some multi billion dollar fortune 500 company can
afford to shell out that kind of money.

But I guess I digress (a bit much) I will stick to what
I have, because what I have works so well.

Brett-
I think you'd find lot's of very good front projection CRT projectors for a lot less than $30K. You can buy a used CRT for a couple of grand that will deliver a very good picture.

With regard to the bulb issue, I don't understand the high price, but to me it's not an issue. I have an LCD projector and a replacement bulb is about $450. If the bulb lasts 1000 hours, that's less than 50 cents per hour. Well worth it to me to have a 7 foot wide screen.

We use our HT almost strictly for DVD viewing. I built it as a dedicated room for that basic purpose. Regular TV viewing is mostly done in our den. It's fun to have a room that is almost a separate destination just for movie watching.

Steve

Your City cinema is bigger than my entire home!

If only i had a room over...

Here's mine

EQUIPMENT (all centrally located in Media Room rack)

Mitsubishi 65" HDTV
2 RCA Direct TV receivers
1 RCA Ultimate TV receiver (not working right now!)
2 Hitachi Hi Fi VCR's
Sony S530D DVD Player
Sony DE 925 receiver (for media room)
Sony 300 disc CD player
Fisher CA9535 receiver for main floor/study
Fisher dual deck casette player
Kenwood turntable
Boston Acoustics VR950 fronts (media)
Boston Acoustics VR12 center (media)
Boston Acoustic VRS dipole surrounds (media)
Klipsch 12" sub (media)
2 Pronto TSU2000 remotes (one for media one for main floor)

Jamo in wall/ceiling speakers in dining room, great room, study, master bedroom, masterbath, kitchen, laundry, exercise room
Jamo outside speakers for deck and 2 patios

All video sources are modulated using Netmedia triple play modulators to unused channels. Hence Sat1 is on 14, Sat2 on 16, Ult TV on 40, VCR1 on 20, VCR2 on 22, DVD on 26 and computer (for MP3's and streaming audio) on 42.

All audio sources are split between the two receivers to form a 2 zone system (main floor and media room). If I use a single source (CD player) and have both receivers on CD input then I have whole house audio.

Control using Xanatech IR emitters and flashers and a Xanatech 2 zone connecting block

My office computer has TV out that is modulated to channel 42 and I have a RF keyboard so I can play computer games housed on my office computer while sitting in my home theater.

FUTURE PLANS:
1. Upgrade media receiver to either pre/pro/amp combo or high end receiver with 7.1.

2. Add HDTV tuner

3. DVD audio or SACD...still unsure which

Dan-
What kind of RF keyboard are you using? I'm looking for something with about a 50 ft range.

Steve, I searched around on the net and found that Casco products had the best deal with the best distance. There are certainly more expensive RF keyboards out there but I think this is the best deal. It's pretty cool....while watching football this afternoon in my media room I would intermittently switch to channel 42 (my modulated computer channel) and check my e-mail, surf the net etc.

You can find the keyboard at:
[Link: casco.com]

Let me know if you have any questions.

Dan-
Thanks for the info. I want to do exactly what your doing, so it looks like the Casco will be the perfect solution. Can you have the RF keyboard and a standard keyboard plugged into the PC at the same time, or will I need to carry the RF keyboard from my theater to my office when I want to actually work at the computer?

Depends on what type of ports you have. The RF plugs into a standard PS2 port. If you have a free USB port then you can use that for a standard USB keyboard. I have my RF keyboard receiver plugged into my PS2 port and a Logitech IR keyboard and mouse plugged into my USB port for use at my desk. Works like a charm.

My toys
Pioneer Elite 510
Denon DVM3700 DVD
Denon Dual Auto Reverse cassette deck
JVC 3 disc CD w/recorder
Panasonic HiFi VHS
Marantz SR18 Receiver Amp
Mirage Front rear and center
RCA Direct TV receiver with Svid and digital out
Dahlquist sub
and some really nice Diamondcase Theater Tech cabinets on the way. Oh yeah i almost forgot the Pronto TSU2000.

What I want: good hard disc recorder (waiting for better quality), HDTV can not presently justify $ for amount of programming available and maybe a x box or PS2 but how much would I really get to play?

It only takes time and money!

Krell HTS2
Krell KAV 280 cd
Denon POA 8200
Denon POA 8300
Denon DVD 3000
Dish Network DBS
Runco 5800 DTV (Rear Projection)
Velodyne HGS 18
Martin Logan Arius i (left, right, front and rear)
Martin Logan Cinnema (center)
Transparent cables (balanced to the sub
and the cd player)
Transparent to the rest

Looking to upgrade at least the amps this year. Then build my new house and go all out next year.

My setup:

20" RCA standard tube TV
Sony MHC-BX6AV stereo
Orion VCR
$20 video switcher

Sure, I have crappy equipment, but it's the state of mind that matters... right?

And if videogames count:
Gamecube
Dreamcast
Super Nintendo
Sega Saturn

Additions in the not too distant future:
Small subwoofer (8-10", around 100 watts, for a bedroom)
DVD player

And in the distant future:

An actual reciever
Decent speakers
Nice 27" TV with component

Yes, I'll keep dreaming.

Heres mine.

Mitsubishi WS-55807
Yamaha Rx-V1200
Denon DCD-1015
Sony SAT HD-100
Philips DVD-825

Definitive Technology BP-2002TL (front mains)
Definitive Technology C/L/R 2002 (front center)
Polk Audio LS FX (rear surround)
Definitive Technology UIW 63(rear center)

Pronto TS1000.

Generic Interconnects
Belden Speaker cable (behind the walls)
Monster Cable (outside the walls)

Pretty simple system, BUT I LIKE IT!! : )

Next purchase is a new Progressive Scan DVD. Anybody got suggestions??