Help with Home Entertainment Setup

jimbling

okay... I'm setting up a home entertainment/ gaming room in my house.

Items I have picked up so far:

Sanyo Z3 projector.
Onkyo TX-SR674E A/V Receiver (Amplifier)
2 Canton LE 170 Stand Speakers. (rest to be added over time)
Xbox 360.
Playstation 2.
HDMI DVD upscalling DVD player.

I also have an old (but relatively powerful) desktop going spare. Think I'll hook this into the setup as well.

I will be setting up a wireless network in the house, and hopefully I can connect all of these together.
The projector will be mounted. It will have two cables running from it - source and one HDMI cable to the AMP. Everything else will connect into the AMP. (again, hopefully it will all work, I know very little about this)

The network should allow me to open the media files on the desktop (or my laptop) via the xbox360 (must get a wireless adapter for it) - which I think will probably become the media centre.


A little about the room:
The room is a converted garage, and so is kind of small (maybe too small). Its about 9ft wide and about 15/16ft long. Ill have a blackout blind covering the bay window at the end of the room (lengthways). The wall at the other end is where I plan to project onto. I could purchase a pull down screen, but to be honest, the wall seems to be excellent (currently set up in another room against a magnolia wall).


so, that’s the setup idea so far, and what I'd like to do is see what ye think, as well as get some advice. First off, is there anything major I'm not thinking about??

Whats the best colour to do a wall for projecting, without looking silly? Should probably be something I can get away with on all the walls... or something that would look okay in a two tone system (i.e. side walls vs projector wall – bay window takes up almost whole of other wall).

I also do not have the seating arrangements done. We have one two seater black leather couch that will be at the far end - by the bay window.
I plan on getting two of the small recliner chairs - the narrow ones that come with a poof... for either side (widthways) of the room. But after that I'm stumped. There's not that much room..... and whatever we get can't block the couch at the back. I am thinking of maybe a few big beanbags, but im not sure.... anyone any ideas??

Any comments/advise welcome…. Cheers.
j

theslick

I guess a non glossy white would be okay for the wall - but i don't really know.

Where will the projector be mounted? How will you connect it to the dvd player?

jimbling

theslick wrote:

I guess a non glossy white would be okay for the wall - but i don't really know.

Where will the projector be mounted? How will you connect it to the dvd player?

ya, thats what I was thinking alright.

The projector will be mounted from the ceiling. There will be a HDMI cable going from the AMP to the Projector (through the walls). The DVD player will be connected to the AMP.

heres a picture of the back of the amp... to give you an idea:
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/ir_img/11696353_550eef788e.jpg

SouperComputer

The correct colour for a projector screen is a kind of gray. There was a discussion a while ago and someone had it down to the exact Dulux paint number!

You could also use digital goo although to be honest, its a bit overpriced!

You can buy screen material from this ebay seller for buttons. I have used it before and its great. You can either make a frame with the instructions provided, or just stick it on the wall.


Lastly you can get a remote, electric screen from this ebay seller. The shipping is 250 or so, but the auctions are usually won for a couple of dollars. Its a blatant case of fee evasion, but a great deal.

I know some of these links are a bit US-centric but I think they are worth considering nonetheless.

From a network standpoint, post up on the HTPC\Media Centre Forum what you want from the network and we'll help you out. I can tell you on the outset that you cannot play divx, xvid etc on the Xbox360 without transcoding the content to a format that it likes. This has to be done on the "server" end.

Also, forget about wireless for the XB360, its not scaleable and really more hassle than its worth. for internet its fine of course, but for streaming content you will end up backing yourself into a corner. Get a TV card & windows MCE for the PC to hook it up to the XB360.

jimbling

thanks for the info... forgot to reply.

I don't like the idea of a cheap ass screen, because I already have one. I got a screen with the projector, but its pretty crap and the picture is better on any old wall.

Really interested in the material though... is it good quality? What way did you use it, did you make a frame? Just wondering if it gets crinkled and warped at all? I could easily put together a frame ... could be cool. cheers.

thanks for the info on the network too. I have an idea now, and will look into it in more detail when the room is designed fully.

My next step is finding a media center for the room. i.e. somewhere to put the amp/dvd/cd player/xbox/playstation/desktop etc etc and still look cool. Actually thinking of designing it myself and getting it made. Can't find anything to suit online.

cianer

SouperComputer wrote:

The correct colour for a projector screen is a kind of gray. There was a discussion a while ago and someone had it down to the exact Dulux paint number!

Don't suppose anyone knows where this thread is? I couldn't find it...