[sambow87]

So I was going to add to my initial thread, but since this is pretty much a complete overhaul and a different place, I figured I would start a new thread with concepts and lots of pictures, hehe.

Because I am still in school I end up moving around quite a bit. Since I was in the dorms, I only had 8 month leases so I had to move home (a 3 and a half hour drive) for the summer for the last 2 years. This time I actually got an efficiency (apartment, just very small, hah). I move in on August the 9th. I have not seen the place other then some photos online, so I don't know exactly what i'm getting in to.

I just sold my Hitachi 51F59 RP CRT HDTV a couple days ago and was on the lookout for something that would be portable (easier to move then my big bulky heavy CRT, hehe). I looked at Best Buy and Circuit City (as well as online) and came to one conclusion:

1. Mitsubishi HD1000U 720p projector. Found a great price on this projector from Projector People. I also got a $50 off coupon. After reading reviews on this from Projector Central and AVS, I decided to go with it. I was originally contemplating the Optoma HD70 but I heard of some problems with it (they were minor problems) and it would cost more upfront but if (and this is a big if) the rebate went through, it would be $100 less then the Mitsubishi.

I decided that I wanted a better PJ and went with the Mits. No rebates! I also got a 3 years bulb warranty with it for about $99. I think with that and shipping, the total came out to $900. I was very happy with this total, hehe.

I was considering a DIY screen but decided that I wanted something that I could roll up (like a manual pull down, or electric screen) so I could transport it from place to place if I needed to. I decided on a 92" Greywolf II Manual Pulldown screen. From what I read, it is supposed to be very nice and work very well with DLP projectors.

Screen was about $185 shipped, not too bad so far.


I plan to have the projector mounted on the ground. Not mounted per say, but a good foot or two off the ground floor. I have two "theater" chairs and i'm hoping to stick this sucker in between them. I'm not sure if that is a good idea, but I am kind of stuck until I get the projector and I'm able to get into the apartment. I'm hoping to have a good 10-12' viewing distance from my 92" screen. I've measured it out on a wall in my current residence, and it's a bit bigger than I thought it was going to be, hehe.

I was initially worried about having only a 10-12' distance but the majority, or at least 95% of my watching will be HD DVDs. I do hope to play the EE's of Lord of the Rings on it though. I was very disappointed with my old TV's internal scaler, which made everything look like crap. I'd see screen shots on here from people's projectors and displays that put some of my SD DVD viewing to shame. I won't have cable in the apartment so no TV (even then it would only be SD).

I'm sorry that this seems like i'm just talking to myself, but I'm very excited about this (and moving into my own place!) and it almost feels like Christmas has come early!

Equipment:
- Mitsubishi HD1000U DLP Projector
- Greywolf II 92" Pull down screen
- Toshiba HD-A1 (I think I am lucky in the fact that I have very few skips or freezes on this thing!)
- Onkyo TX-SR-504 (5.1 analog for HD DVD)
- Belkin PureAV UPS/Power Conditioner

Speakers:
- Fronts: Polk Audio R300
- Rears: Polk Audio R150
- Center: Polk Audio CSR
- Sub: BIC H-100 (by far the biggest improvement)

I originally had the Onkyo HTIB HT-S790. I kept the receiver and parted everything (except for the sub and 2 rear speakers out). I used that to buy my new speakers, which were relatively inexpensive. I think the total cost of the new speakers and sub was ~$500. The sound improvement was huge!


So far I've made a couple of theater purchases:

- Poster frames (I have tons of posters rolled up and a ton drymounted) for the room and some picture frames.
- Bought a really cool "Platform 9 and 3/4's" sign for the entrance to the theater. Well, there really is not an entrance, but it'll be hanging somewhere in the theater.
- Three navy blackout drapes. I forgot where I got them online (it was about $46 shipped for all three) but I remember when I was researching them months ago that people generally liked them. I'm hoping they help with the sound acoustics.

Over the summer I bought some more speaker cable and banana plugs so I redid most of my old speaker wire and put the new banana plugs on them. the cables are nice and neat and so far so good.

I'm going to try and build a center speaker stand tomorrow and pick up some other material at Home Depot.

Sorry for all this text. I will have pictures tomorrow of the speakers and some of the AV equipment. Projector and Screen should be coming in next week, hopefully.

I will take any input or suggestions!

Thanks,

Sam