Home Theater/Game Room Thread

  • Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and give us your nominations!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
65,214
147,037
I pulled the trigger today on the final upgrade to my home theater room.

120" SI Black Diamond Zero Edge 16:9 screen (I do a lot of gaming on it too so 2.35:1 is no go for me)
Sony 365ES 4K Projector
Oppo BluRay player
And finally, speakers for Dolby Atmos

This will go along with my B&W 7.1 setup and PB 16 Ultra

Kinda expensive, but saving the best for last.
i thought you were getting the 350 and was gonna say your screens costs more than the projector, ha.
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
9,386
13,903
I've recently renovated my man-cave. I purchased an LG OLED B6 65inch for all my PS4 gaming needs, but I want to purchase some enhanced audio to go with it. I've never done this before, and know nothing about it. Looking for some guidance on what to get:

1. Must be user friendly. I really don't know much about audio, and I don't want to dick around too much.
2. Must be PS4 compatible, if that's a thing.
3. The only other component in the setup will be a PVR/cable TV box. This is unlikely to change.
4. I dislike cords immensely, and have a 3 year old child who will almost certainly fuck them up at some point.
5. Room is nice and tight - about 300 square feet.
6. I dislike too many knobs and do-dads. The more minimal the better.
7. I have a workshop and home brewery in the next room over. Are there systems that could serve as a hub for speakers in this room too? Wireless?

Thanks for the advice!

EDIT

Did a bit of research, and so far looking at a few options:

Expensive, sexy, expandable. Am I being sold a golden turd here?: Sonos PLAYBAR Sound Bar, PLAY:1 Wireless Speaker & SUB Wireless Subwoofer - Black

Dolby Atmos impressed me. Does PS4 have Atmos capability? Does Netflix?: Samsung Soundbar HW-K950/ZA 5.1.4 Channel with Dolby Atmos Technology: Amazon.ca: Electronics

Leaning towards Sonos unless Dolby Atmos is some kind of game changer.

Did you ever buy one or the other soundbar set ups?

I'm about to buy the Samsung 950 as it's on sale for like $1200 right now, but curious which one you bought (hopefully Samsung so you can advise). My sound system is old as feck (and by sound system I mean JBL SB400 sound bar), and would love to get a mini-atmos sound for under $1500. No interest in running speaker wires through the ceiling etc and the sound would be lost on my laymans ears anyways I think...
 

Quaid

Trump's Staff
11,782
8,267
Did you ever buy one or the other soundbar set ups?

I'm about to buy the Samsung 950 as it's on sale for like $1200 right now, but curious which one you bought (hopefully Samsung so you can advise). My sound system is old as feck (and by sound system I mean JBL SB400 sound bar), and would love to get a mini-atmos sound for under $1500. No interest in running speaker wires through the ceiling etc and the sound would be lost on my laymans ears anyways I think...

I didn't pull the trigger yet. Decided to hold off and renovate my kitchen before I buy any more toys.
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
9,386
13,903
Bought the 950... after fiddling with atmos test disks (the awe one is unreal) and moving rear speakers a little bit as well as adjusting the upwards firing speakers higher I'm amazed. Not sure I need anything else in my living room (25x30)

Great purchase for $1100
 

Crone

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
9,714
3,211
I've got 3 kids under 4, so I'm not sure I can sell the wife on anything, but what sound systems on the cheaper side would compliment my new LG OLED well? Would a decent sound bar due me better than a cheaper surround? Thanks guys.
 

Ossoi

Potato del Grande
<Rickshaw Potatoes>
17,712
8,754
I've got 3 kids under 4, so I'm not sure I can sell the wife on anything, but what sound systems on the cheaper side would compliment my new LG OLED well? Would a decent sound bar due me better than a cheaper surround? Thanks guys.

at the very minimum a surround system is going to add 5 speakers and a subwoofer to your room, these can be big floorstander speakers or smaller satellites.

The top end of the surround scale will be an "atmos" set up, which adds speakers to the ceiling - or adds speakers aimed at the ceiling to bounce the sound off. As Springbok Springbok said, ceiling speakers usually means cutting holes in the ceiling. As I live in an apartment I couldn't go down this route so bought some slim line KEF speakers to go on the ceiling, looks ok and works fine

3 kids under 4 would have a lot of potential for stumbling over wires etc.

I've never had a soundbar but I imagine they would also achieve surround sound by bouncing sound off walls. Someone else with a soundbar set up will have to chime in

Bought the 950... after fiddling with atmos test disks (the awe one is unreal) and moving rear speakers a little bit as well as adjusting the upwards firing speakers higher I'm amazed. Not sure I need anything else in my living room (25x30)

Great purchase for $1100

The next step would be to get display and audio calibrated. Display calibration is to make sure that your display matches how colours are meant to look.

I got my surround setup calibrated at the same time as the display and rather than go straight into a film I spent the entire evening listening to music. The difference between the receivers auto calibration was incredible, sound was more precise, every instrument more distinct, it was ridiculous
 

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
9,386
13,903
Ya guy is coming out this week to calibrate the tv, hoping he does all the mods I'm using (hdr's as well as the bright/dark isp). Great picture already on the oled
 

Void

BAU BAU
<Gold Donor>
9,806
11,721
Pricing out a potential home theater upgrade to go along with a 4K TV. I will have to upgrade my receiver, will probably go with that Yamaha Uber linked, since I'm a diehard Yamaha fanboi, haven't owned anything but Yamaha in receivers in over 30 years. I have a solid Polk 5.1 speaker setup, and have exposed beams on the ceiling of my apartment that I can easily mount ceiling speakers to. I'm not finding much that thrills me, as most of them are designed for flush mount. How sophisticated do I want to get for those speakers? Are we talking along the lines of rear/side speakers in the old surround sound lingo, or do they need to be more sophisticated than that? Do I need to worry about them even being specifically "ceiling" speakers, like do they have special crossover points that those others wouldn't? Or can I just buy fucking satellite speakers and call it a day? Planning on getting 4 ceiling speakers only, as my existing speakers should be fine I'd think, and that receiver will do 5.1.4 so why not?

I can't run power to the ceiling easily so no wireless speakers, I'm fine with stapling wires to the beams.

Any suggestions, or comments that I'm retarded and don't know what I'm talking about?
 

Ossoi

Potato del Grande
<Rickshaw Potatoes>
17,712
8,754
Pricing out a potential home theater upgrade to go along with a 4K TV. I will have to upgrade my receiver, will probably go with that Yamaha Uber linked, since I'm a diehard Yamaha fanboi, haven't owned anything but Yamaha in receivers in over 30 years. I have a solid Polk 5.1 speaker setup, and have exposed beams on the ceiling of my apartment that I can easily mount ceiling speakers to. I'm not finding much that thrills me, as most of them are designed for flush mount. How sophisticated do I want to get for those speakers? Are we talking along the lines of rear/side speakers in the old surround sound lingo, or do they need to be more sophisticated than that? Do I need to worry about them even being specifically "ceiling" speakers, like do they have special crossover points that those others wouldn't? Or can I just buy fucking satellite speakers and call it a day? Planning on getting 4 ceiling speakers only, as my existing speakers should be fine I'd think, and that receiver will do 5.1.4 so why not?

I can't run power to the ceiling easily so no wireless speakers, I'm fine with stapling wires to the beams.

Any suggestions, or comments that I'm retarded and don't know what I'm talking about?

No, the ceiling speakers do not have to be fancy nor do they have to be "in ceiling" speakers

I got 2 kef t101 flat speakers that are on ceiling

All you need really is some satellite type speakers to sit on the beams
 

Void

BAU BAU
<Gold Donor>
9,806
11,721
No, the ceiling speakers do not have to be fancy nor do they have to be "in ceiling" speakers

I got 2 kef t101 flat speakers that are on ceiling

All you need really is some satellite type speakers to sit on the beams
Thanks. Those are some sweet speakers there, but way more than I plan on spending for the ceiling :( I'll take a look around though, thanks again!
 

Brikker

Trump's Staff
6,296
4,833
Not sure exactly where to post this one so I choose this thread!

So I moved my PS4 into my office and set it up near my PC. I've got two monitors on my desk for dual screen PC; I want the primary monitor to also be the PS4 screen. Is there some sort of HDMI splitter that will work so I can plug in both the PC hdmi and the PS4 hdmi into the monitor HDMI slot at the same time, with a toggle to swap back and forth? I'd like to avoid having to swap the cables every time I switch between the two platforms.

*edit nvm found what I was looking for
 
Last edited:

Aychamo BanBan

<Banned>
6,338
7,144
I pulled the trigger today on the final upgrade to my home theater room.

120" SI Black Diamond Zero Edge 16:9 screen (I do a lot of gaming on it too so 2.35:1 is no go for me)
Sony 365ES 4K Projector
Oppo BluRay player
And finally, speakers for Dolby Atmos

This will go along with my B&W 7.1 setup and PB 16 Ultra

Kinda expensive, but saving the best for last.

Jeez! Impressive gear.

I built my home theater a little about a year and a half ago. I went with an Epson 5030 and (I THINK!) a Silver Ticket (or something, its the extremely high rated screen that you assemble yourself on Amazon for around $250-$300) 120" screen. It's very nice, and at night it looks like I have a 120" TV.

Question:

1. The screen you linked is extremely expensive. Is it worth it?

2. 4K vs 4K enhanced. Your projector is like $8000, and there are 4K enhanced for like $2500. From what I've read it's almost impossible to discern the difference at our viewing distances of ~10 feet. If it's like noticeable I would splurge but if not, I wouldn't. ... I probably need to go to a home theater store and look right?
 

AladainAF

Best Rabbit
<Gold Donor>
12,914
31,017
1. The screen is unfucking believeable. I love it. It is the darkest darks you're ever going to see on a screen for a projector, IMO.

2. Not sure. But I looked at several projectors, and this one was best for the cost. I could have gone for the 685ES but it didn't look any better and their top end (forgot model #) was also not much better on my eyes.

A few terrible pictures with my phone. I'll post more later that are higher quality. The light kit is COMPLETELY unnecessary, but why the fuck not?
photo_2017-07-01_14-07-44.jpg
photo_2017-07-05_21-49-54.jpg
photo_2017-07-05_21-52-01.jpg
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

AladainAF

Best Rabbit
<Gold Donor>
12,914
31,017
Yes, 120" 16:9 which is the biggest black diamond zero edge screen SI makes. It is one single piece. They have a larger one at 2.35:1 but honestly, for what I use, 16:9 just works better.
 

Void

BAU BAU
<Gold Donor>
9,806
11,721
I have an LED strip on the back of my plasma with that "pure white" or whatever sales pitch the Amazon page said. I fucking love it. I can't stand to look at a bright screen in darkness outside of an actual movie theater, so having that little bit of ambient light behind the screen is wonderful. And it is such low power that I just leave it on constantly and it works great as a night light when I need a drink in the middle of the night.

In my opinion it also looks classy as fuck, and everyone that has seen it talks about wanting to get one. I sort of wonder why they don't just build them into TVs, at least higher end ones. It isn't like it adds much cost at all.
 

mkopec

<Gold Donor>
26,226
39,930
A neighbor of mine gave me a great idea to address this very issue. We were over his house one day having some beers and he showed me his latest creation. In his living room he put up crown molding all around his room, but not all they way up to the ceiling, but maybe 3-4 in down from ceiling. Then he put in strip lights inside the molding in which he connected to a wall dimmer switch. Fucking brilliant.

Looked something like this, perfect controllable ambient light for movie watching..

hqdefault.jpg
 
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 user