I dunno about the tax yet. I have a feeling that it will get stuck at KLIA customs and I'll have to pay tax... how much I don't know yet. I just checked with USPS online tracking and its still on its way.

17lbs is the combined weight for 3 reels.

Jason

Let me wire up my AV Room firstlah. If I can spare a reel, sure I sell to you. I should finish everything before the new year.... Can wait?

Just to let u know I have the following speaker setup: 2 fronts, 2 center, 4 rear and of course 1 sub as I am using a 7.1 setup. Why 2 center... one on top of the screen and the other below so that the sound of the dialogue some from the center of the screen and not from the bottom.

BTW, when did I become ur uncle....

Jason

The BIG SCREEN is installed

Pictures still in my camera. I will post up as soon as I download into my computer. I haven't done up the cabling for the projector yet. So I still cannot access the performance. But on close inspection, the screen has a "silvery" finish to it, so the gain is definitly more than 1.

On abother note, if I don't receive my cables today, then I fear that the shipment "Ditahan" by our boys at KLIA Customs.....

Jason

I used to have it in my sig, but the administrators complained it was too long and deleted it, I'll try to recall all the model numbers.....

Receiver: Yamaha RX-V657
Front and Rear Speakers: Yamaha NS-50
Center and Rear surround: Yamaha NS-P70
Subwoofer: DIY Rythmik Audio TC12 Sealed Servo Sub (Which I also use with my Hi-Fi setup)

Jason

Wah you remind me with every post.... I will sell to you if have extra. I just check the package and it has been released and should be on its way to my house



Santa is on his way

Jason

I ordered a "Matte White" Projection Screen Material from ebay. Its basically a synthetic material that is coated with a "Rubberised" material on the backside. The description of the item is NOT accurate, it is NOT Matt White" and it is NOT canvas. The synthetic cloth has a very slight silvery finish giving it a gain of more than 1. My screen size is 110" 16:9, that measures 54" x 96". Cost... check ebaylah, I bought material size of 60" x 112". I then DIYed a frame and installed the screen material myself. Very simple, the whole process takes less than half a day. For the material itself and the ease of installation, I have no complains. The material is easy to stretch and install to get a totally flat screen without any folds visible. Looks really professional if I do say so myself.

I cannot report on the quality of the porjected image on this screen yet, as I have not connected my projector. But pics from bro Tims setup shows that there is very slight hot spotting, but to be fair this may only be visible when photographed..... I'll post a review and pics later once everything is properly setup and calibrated.

The reason why hifi shops prefer grey screens..... Coz it helps them sell projectors

1. See, the viewing rooms in the shops usually cannot go totally dark. And if there are other light sources in the room, it will be reflected off the screen and then customer can see it, it becomes very distracting. With a grey screen the reflection is not so visible.

2. Another point is that the grey screen helps darken the blacks and also improve the colour contrast from the projector. So a not so good projector may perform better on a grey screen and persuade the buyer to part with his cash.

So if your room is not totally light controlled and if your projector needs help with the blacks and contrast then I suggest that u find a grey screen which has a gain of 1 or less than 1. But I prefer white screens coz the colour of white and true colour fidelity is equally important to me. Have you seen the colour of white on a grey screen..... well here's a hint...... its not white anymore.

Hope this helps.

Jason

This post has been edited by jasonlky: Dec 19 2007, 10:41 AM

The AV ROOM is now completed except for the sofa which will be arriving on Tuesday afternoon (8-01-2008).

I actually completed the room....
.... screen on the 16-12-2007
.... cabling on the 26-12-2007...

I have been lazy to post the results as I was ..... "encumbered" by the heavy eating and sleeping brought about by the festive season Here are summore pics showing the room. Firstly I populated the empty shelves.... I thought I had lots of space.... alas its not enuf!!









Jason

This post has been edited by jasonlky: Jan 7 2008, 03:14 PM

Screen installation.....

The frame of the screen waiting for installation.


The package from US containing the Screen material.


This shows the rear of the screen its a ruberrised material quite thick and heavy. Even though the material is folded when laid out and lightly stretched, no folds ot creases are visible. Good stuff


Finallym this is the viewing side of the material. The pic is a bit dart, but there is a silvery finish to the material.


Jason

Here are some tools you will need for the screen materials installation... Upholstery stapler gun, screw driver and measuring tape.


Although my screen frame was origininally a solid piece of ply wood, I decided to cut out the centers to reduce the weight of the whole contraption. It will make it easier to hang it up and take it down in the future.

So what I did now was to lay out the screen material on the floor, using a large piece of cloth to protect it from the dust on the floor. Viewing side wodn, rear side facing up. The I lay the frame on top of the screen.


I start on the short side... just hold one of the sides down with ur hand and weights/remote controls....


And start stapling, no stretching yet...


Next go to the opposite end. Now I start stretching and stapling. The strecthing done here will remove any folds and creases.


Continue this process for the long sides and you will get a completed screen. Then entire process took me no more than 2 hrs. Would have been faster with another pair of hands.


A closer look at one of the corners...


Jason

And now to the cabling....

First Off, Bro Tim, I did not have very much left over, You are welcome to it if you think you can use it. I estimate that I have less than 10 feet left.

For my setup, I will admit that cabling is the most tedious and tiring part of the build. Why u ask?.... Since I wanted everything hidden, I had to pull the cabling thru, behind, under, between the walls and cabinets. Lets count:
- receiver to projector composite video x 3 DIYed using RG6/U and Neutrik shielded rca
- surround back left and right x 2 using cables supplied by manufacturer
- surround left and right x 2 using Accoustic Research 12awg
- surround front left and right x 2 using Accoustic Research 12awg
- center top and bottom x 2 using 14awg common speaker able
- subwoofer x 1 DIYed using RG6/U and Neutrik shielded rca
- interconnects between DVD and Receiver x 6 (3 composite, 2 analog L & R sound, 1 S/PDIF

Thats a total of 18 cables that had to be cut, spliced, soldered fed thru cubby holes..... Tokk me about 18hrs work to do this.... I kid you not!!

Just a note, the 12AWG and 14AWG cables are THICK. And its a real hassle working with THICK cables. So if you are not anal about thes things go with a 16/18AWG cable. I made allowances for hidden cabling, but in some spots the space just was not enough for 6 sets of thick cables to go thru.


Here are the Neutrik Shielded RCA Interconnects from Mouser. You'll have to take my word for it since you can't see it clearly thru the packaging.


Seriosly damaged packaging containing the 3 reels of Accoustic Research 12 AWG speaker cables.


Postage cost the sender US95.05, but I was only charged US48.00


Suprisingly the cables were not damaged on bit.... see not even a scratch.


Comes with the connector pins.... that I did not use...


Leftover Accoustic Research Cables...


Cabling hidden behind specially designed recesses just below the screen...


I will take the final pics of the competed room once the sofa is in place. I did not visit Harvey Norman as I found other alternatives for my furniture requirements...

Jason

This post has been edited by jasonlky: Jan 7 2008, 04:03 PM

You can get the cables at MCMINONE.COM. The shipping is by weight, each reel is about 7lbs, so u gotto check with USPS. The list price is US14.95, but if you put in a source/discount code "EMC021", the the price is US$12.00 each, hope its still applicable.


The spaceships and robots are a passion of mine since childhood. I love those olde Sci Fi TV series from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Thanks for the congrats.

Jason

If you or anyone is gonna be in my neck of the woods, drop me a PM/email and I'll try to accomodate you.

Jason

So after a couple of weeks, I have settled into my new AV room. Unfortunately I cannot find enough time to really use as often as I would like. Still some areas left unfinised, like painting the exposed walls and ceiling to a more cinema friendly dark blue and some unfinijed wall panelling... I have watched several movies in there plus spent many hours listening to my HIFI. I have found that its really comfortable, fell asleep on the sofa more than a few times while listening to my ESLs.

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite.

Front View of the screen


Another Front View


Speaker arrangement. I have my large ESLs for music standing right in front. Behind them are the Cinema speakers that are recessed into the cabinets. For center channel I have 1 speaker on top of the screen and another one below. i have not yet manufactured the bracket for the bottom one so currently it sits on top of the subwoofer.


The rear of the room. The sofa is a budget affair, its a sofa bed from Ikea. No funds to splurge on cinema seats. But trutfully, with some throw pilloes, its just as comfortable. I have fallen asleep on them many times already. The surround speakers are similarly recessed into the cabinets. I have 2 more "rear" surround speakers flanking the projector.


Jason

I remember someone asking about the screen that I purchased. I think its a good value for money material, for a 110" diagonal screen I paid about RM150. From my recollection, my screen performs on par with the branded screens that I have auditioned in various shops before. The colours are much nicer and accurate compared to grey screens. Blacks are good, but then again, the Epson TW700 was already a good performer to start with. So my take on this screen is that it allows your projector to perform at its best without adding or subtracting any of its qualities. So if you have a good projector that does everything well, then I have no qualms in recommending this screen. However if your projector or room needs some help then shop around for the gain and screen tyoe that suits your environment.

DVD - Pioneer 555K or something like dat
AV Receiver - Yamaha RX-V657
Projector - Epson TW700 Calibrated using Avia. All connections via component.
Screen - DIY (ask me if you wanna know)
Hotspotting - none
Gain - stated at 1.3, but I think its closer to 1. Did not seem brighter
compared to my matt white wall (Maybe coz my matt white wall also has a gain of 1.3)
Viewing cone - >45 degrees on either side
Seating distance - 1.2-1.3 screen length
Pictures taken with Canon Ixus 700 3072 x 2304, then resized to 800x600

Here are some screenshots from the SWIII: Revenge of ths Sith.

Opening Screen


Our first look at General Grievous. I really like this charater, too bad his back story is not fleshed out in the movies.


Coruscant, the busy city planet.


Yoda and Anakin having a heart to heart tok. Black performance is good, details are all visible. The camera does not show the details, but its all there.


The Jedi Temple, notice the dark skies, foreboding difficult times ahead for Yoda and friends!!


Anakin confiding in Padme, hinting of his journey towards the Dark Side!!! Its dissapointing that Padme had such a minor role in this movie... after her superwoman provess in Episodes I and II.


Opening scenes from the Battle of Kashyyk.


Planet Utapau. Obi Wan Kenobi comes to this planet to kick some bio-mechanical butt aka General Grievous


Emperor Palpatine aka Darth Sidious, planning the takeover of the Galaxy. You can just make out the outlines of the Death Star....


Mace Windu and friends arrive to put an end to all these Dark Side nonsense. Mace is probably the most accomplished fighter the Jedi has... if anakin didn't show up, we probably would have Episodes IV, V and VI...


And the contract with the devil is sealed. Anakin the Jedi is transformed into Darth Vader the Sith Lord. This is such a poignant scene which I felt was let down by poor acting and an inadequate script. The whole premise of the original trilogy really stems from this scene. Leaves a lot to be desired....


Order 66 is issued to Comander Cody on Utapau, and so the empire turns on the Jedi.


The Jedi Temple is razed, every Jedi is killed. Its a sad day.


Yoda proceeds to confront Darth Sidious. Darth Sidious picks a fight and gives Yoda a taste of Force Lightning.


Yoda does not expect this and is thrown right across the room...


While Yoda and Sidious are duking it out, Obi Wan Kenobi and Vader battles it out on the Volcano planet of Mustafa.


Obi Wan Kenobi and Vader fighting on a river of lava. I like this elaborate fight scene. Fitting for these 2 great warriors.


Back to the Yoda vs Sidious fight, really menacing look of Sidious. The transformation from Palpatine to Sidious is so ..."creepy"... tabik to Ian McDiarmid and the make up team.


Yoda trying his best to kill Sidious, alas he is not as powerful as Mace Windu.


Well we know that in the end Vader lost to Obi Wan Kenobi, got his legs cut off and burnt to a crisp on Mustafa. Sidious rescues his protege and give him the necessary prosthetics to function normally again.


Can you hear me Lord Vader? the master calls to the apprentice


Hope you find these pictures useful if not then at least fun

Jason

This post has been edited by jasonlky: Jan 23 2008, 12:21 PM

This is one of the most accurate description of a Home Theatre. Actually I feel its 1 level above Gold class since you get all the benefits of Gold class plus the freedom to do whatever else that tickles ur fancy.... like substitute popcorn for char kuay teow with extra chilli and kerang, cendol and ABC for coke/sprite. Pause to go to the toilet, replay scenes in case u missed ahem ... "important dialogue":hehe:. That is if u don't mind waiting for movies to get on to DVDs.


I really enjoy the time spent with the family while indulging in one of mankind's great escapes. I have come to appreciate that this is another activity that a father and son can do together without interruption from mothers, sisters or grand parents... just father and son. I watch the Lion King or Finding Nemo with my son every weekend... priceless!

Thanks all for ur compliments. Don't just think about building an AV Room/Home Theatre, do it.

Jason

My seating distance is about 1.3 times screen width. Screen is 110" diagonal, 16:9.

Jason

1.5x is a bit too far, feel like watching a big TV oni. I sit between 1.2 to 1.3 for that immersive cinema feeling. Have no problems with screen door. Thumbs up to the Epson TW700, actually no screen door from 0.8x. But if you are really sensitive to screen door then I recommend Panasonic projectors, even at 0.3x cannot see the pixel. But ultimately its ur choicelah....

Jason

I bought it from US thru an online retailer. I posted the information here. Don't forget to add in shipping charges is u take this route.

When choosing the cable, look at the size of the conductor and not the insulation jacket. My final advise is not to go too thick, arbout 14-16AWG should do nicely. I used 12AWG and almost regretted is during installation coz theyr are just so hard to work with!!! Accoustic Research sells 14 and 16AWG cables at quite reasonable prices.

Btw, Belden are good cables, you can buy an entire reel from a wholesaler rather than getting a shop to sell by the meter. For the other cheap a$$ monster cable (I assume u are not referring to the US based Monster Cable Company), I would give that a miss unless u can get it real cheap.

Hope this was helpful.

Jason

Your reasoning to sit at a given distance due to eye movement and projector resolution seems to be flawed.

Assuming the screen size is the same, whether you have a 720p, 1080p or WGA projector, the amount of "eye movement" is the same for a fixed seating distance. So for a 100" screen, if you sit 130" from the screen, your eye movement is the same for any projector resolution. When determining the seating distance, there are a 2 things to consider:

1. Keep a viewing cone of about 30degrees. More or less up to you, as long as you are comfortable. For me, I sit at about 1.3x screen width which works out to be a 40degree viewing cone.

2. If screen door bothers you, ie u don't like to see the pixels, then you will have to sit further back until you can't see it. The lower the resolution the further back u need to sit, ie 1080p can sit nearer, 480p may need to sit further back. This has nothing to do with eye movement.

So even if you decide that 1.3x is the best seating distance in terms of viewing cone, but because of screen door, you may need to sit at least 1.5x.

Hope this clears it up.

Jason

Sounded wierd the first time I read..... scarylah


Thank you for the compliment.

1) Wall Panels are made of 2inch foam glued to a ply wood backing. Then covered with fabric. All normal off the shelf stuff used, no special accoustically treated stuff.
2) What are you trying to achieve with the curtain/padded material? If you are trying to reduce reflection, then heavy curtains would do or something similar to mine would do just fine.
3) Floor is solid teak.
4) Normal MDF boards used for the cabinets, nothing special. This cabs are used to houe the Home theatre systems only. My audiophile stuff will be placed on the floor and special patforms just in front of screen near the ESL speakers.
5) I live in Bukit Rimau shah Alam. Drop me a PM if you are in my neighbourhood and I'll try to accomodate you.

Jason