Dedicated Home Theater Setup

[purna]

Thanks for all experts who has shared quite a bit of information in various forums. It was really helpful for newbie like me.

Last couple of months i was going through various threads and gathering information as i was planning to setup dedicated home theater room.

Initially started with the plan of setting up the HT room in one living room which my builder mentioned as home theater room in the plan. The problem with this room was that it has 3 doors, 2 big windows and a staircase. This room size was around 11 x 18. We were thinking of creating wooden/gypsum wall sandwiched with some acoustic material with sliding door at the entrance of staircase to make it look like dedicated room and close all sides with thick curtains from ceiling to floor and covering the floor with carpet. As i was discussing this plan with my wife, she had big issue with Carpet covering the entire floor as this will become very dirty with regular maintenance of terraces and bedroom by maid. Also seating will become big hindrance for movement.

Instead she came up with idea of making the bedroom as dedicated HT room and then make this room as guest bedroom. Though i did not like moving bed into this area, felt the bedroom suited better as dedicated room for HT setup. This room size was about 15x16.5 and this gave me the provision to put little bigger screen than other room.

Following equipment was planned for this setup:

Projector - Epson TW6000 (done)
Screen - Optoma 120in Motorized or Grandview 120in motorized screen
AVR - Onkyo NR818 (done)
Speakers & Woofer - Polk RTi7, CSi A6, Fxi A6 & DSW Pro 660
Video Source - HImedia 900B with external BR drive (oppo later)
Gaming stations - PS3, XBox & Wii (done)
Cables - 50m of MX or Banridge 12AWG speaker cable & Sub-woofer cable.
15m of HDMI 1.4a cable to connect Projector to AVR
4x2m HDMI 1.4a cables to connect sources to AVR
10/15m Power card to connect projector to power source
Projector Mounting - Need to decide whether to do on ceiling or wall mount
Online UPS for Projector - APC Smart UPS XL 1500VA or APC Back UPS Pro 1500VA
Stabilizer for AVR equipment - Is this required?
Universal Remote -
Air Conditioner - Did anybody use cassette AC units at home? If so is there any disadvantage of using it?
Acoustics - Plan to check with Anutone. For acoustics purpose the window will be covered with wood panel and another door will be installed between dressing room and bed room. The wall opposite of bed is fully furnished with wood work up to 7ft. Planned to use this as the place for AVR & other equipments. What other options do i have for this other than removal.
Carpet with foam underneath -
Lighting - TBD
Seating - TBD

Please guide me if i had missed something in the equipment list and any other alternatives to be checked. Mainly the setup will be used for movies(60%) & gaming(40%).

 

[just4kix]

Oppo BDP: The beauty of Oppo lies in its DAC and video upscaling. Buy Oppo if you have lot of DVDs or plan to listen to a lot of music. For standard BDs, the Oppo unit will be a little better than normal BDP and not be 10 paces ahead.

 

[purna]

Thanks just4kix.

Initially i was considering Oppo BDP 93 instead of Media Player. For now decided to wait for few more months as i was thinking they might be releasing new version by end of this year.

Also i have query about Video upscaling of Oppo vs Video upscaling done by AVR. The AVR Onkyo NR818 uses Marvell Qdeo chipset to upscale to 4K instead of 1080p by Oppo. Will the upscaling & video quality of Oppo be better than this AVR with normal BDP?

 

[Kittu]

You have fantastically planned everything.

Why dont you drop the polk sub and go for something like SVS, HSU, REL or Velodyne.

With all the latest gear in every equipment , do we really need to worry about up-scaling feature in every component? noob question.

 

[purna]

Thanks Kittu. I will check other sub options.

My query was also similar to your question. Since AVR has already equipped with the better video processing chip, do i really need better BD player like Oppo BDP 93 (assuming i am not using DAC functionality of Oppo for music).

You have fantastically planned everything.

Why dont you drop the polk sub and go for something like SVS, HSU, REL or Velodyne.

With all the latest gear in every equipment , do we really need to worry about up-scaling feature in every component? noob question.

 

[just4kix]

On the whole, I do not think that you need the Oppo.

Also, you should plan for front height speakers to add the oomph. For Universal remote, look no further than Logitech.

 

[aloklala]

The Speakers choice is good. (Cause I too have the same hyeah

I would suggest you go for a APC Smart-UPS 1500VA USB & Serial 230V (SUA1500I). This will give approx 30 minutes Power backup to your projector. You can even go for the 750 VA (8 min backup) or 1000 VA (15 min backup) model if the UPS is just for the projector.

I have a stablizer for my AVR equipment and lights but it depends a lot on the power fluctuations in your area. My area (Noida) is real bad in this area. Why are you not considering glasswool for acoustics? It is better than Anutone tiles in my opinion.

I think ceiling mount projector is better.

 

[prosenjit]

if all equipment is so good...why use apc for power..u can use monster home thetre units for a clean and safe power to all.......just a thought..

 

[john_k_antony]

if all equipment is so good...why use apc for power..u can use monster home thetre units for a clean and safe power to all.......just a thought..

May I know the details of the Monster Home Theater unit? Is that a UPS? Where can I get more details on that online? Are they available in India?

 

[cmsajith]

If you are looking for protecting your equipment from power fluctuations the best option is online UPS which is very expensive, an economical and practical solution would be to use a good quality stabilizer preferably a servo with EMI/RF filters. UPS (offline) is not at all a good option for audio equipment (but can be used for the PJ power backup) and its only required if you are having budget constraints and power backup for your equipment.

 

[purna]

Thanks aloklala.

My requirement of UPS is only for projector for a very short period till the backup power supplies in. Considering this it is practical to go ahead with 750VA (or may be with 1000VA).

Which stabilizer are you using it for AVR and lighting.

Planning to check with Anutone before deciding on other options like glass wool.

I am also leaning towards ceiling mount. I was considering wall mount due to throw distance required for projection.

The Speakers choice is good. (Cause I too have the same hyeah

I would suggest you go for a APC Smart-UPS 1500VA USB & Serial 230V (SUA1500I). This will give approx 30 minutes Power backup to your projector. You can even go for the 750 VA (8 min backup) or 1000 VA (15 min backup) model if the UPS is just for the projector.

I have a stablizer for my AVR equipment and lights but it depends a lot on the power fluctuations in your area. My area (Noida) is real bad in this area. Why are you not considering glasswool for acoustics? It is better than Anutone tiles in my opinion.

I think ceiling mount projector is better.

 

[purna]

Not sure whether these Monster Home Theater PowerCenter series is available in India. I would prefer UPS/Stabilizers with some kind of after sales service.

if all equipment is so good...why use apc for power..u can use monster home thetre units for a clean and safe power to all.......just a thought..

I am considering UPS only for Projector. Agree with Servo with EMI/RF filters option. Can I use the 5KVA Servo single phase for entire house, so that one need not purchase multiple stabilzers for various equipment?

If you are looking for protecting your equipment from power fluctuations the best option is online UPS which is very expensive, an economical and practical solution would be to use a good quality stabilizer preferably a servo with EMI/RF filters. UPS (offline) is not at all a good option for audio equipment (but can be used for the PJ power backup) and its only required if you are having budget constraints and power backup for your equipment.

 

[purna]

Initially thought about front height speakers. Many audio vendors suggest to go for back surrounds instead of front high. Also not sure whether 7.1 will have any effect in the room of this size. For now decided with provisions for front high & back surrounds and add them later.

On the whole, I do not think that you need the Oppo.

Also, you should plan for front height speakers to add the oomph. For Universal remote, look no further than Logitech.

 

[cmsajith]

I am considering UPS only for Projector. Agree with Servo with EMI/RF filters option. Can I use the 5KVA Servo single phase for entire house, so that one need not purchase multiple stabilzers for various equipment?

Its always recommended to have a separate line from the main board and have a separate stabilizer to avoid any interference / noise from the other circuits (esp the a/c or geysers or high power eqs) inside the home.

 

[just4kix]

Initially thought about front height speakers. Many audio vendors suggest to go for back surrounds instead of front high. Also not sure whether 7.1 will have any effect in the room of this size. For now decided with provisions for front high & back surrounds and add them later.

Your room is squarish and unless you have a space of 3 ft behind (at least 2 ft), rear surrounds may not sound too well.

 

[aloklala]

Not sure whether these Monster Home Theater PowerCenter series is available in India. I would prefer UPS/Stabilizers with some kind of after sales service.

I am considering UPS only for Projector. Agree with Servo with EMI/RF filters option. Can I use the 5KVA Servo single phase for entire house, so that one need not purchase multiple stabilzers for various equipment?

I have never heard of Monster Home Theater PowerCenter series. Does someone reading this thread know anyone who has used it in India?

I would recommend a seperate 5KVA Single phase Stablizer for the AV equipment and a seperate AC stablizer for the HT room. For everything else in the house you can have a seperate Stablizer. By the way if you have a 3 phase meter then you will need a 3 phase stablizer if you are considering for the whole house.

I installed BlueBird seperate 5KVA Single phase Stablizer for my AVR and lights, WII etc. in the HT room. the UPS for Computer and Projector is on direct as it has surge protector and stablizer in built.

 

[cmsajith]

I have never heard of Monster Home Theater PowerCenter series. Does someone reading this thread know anyone who has used it in India?

I would recommend a seperate 5KVA Single phase Stablizer for the AV equipment and a seperate AC stablizer for the HT room. For everything else in the house you can have a seperate Stablizer. By the way if you have a 3 phase meter then you will need a 3 phase stablizer if you are considering for the whole house.

I installed BlueBird seperate 5KVA Single phase Stablizer for my AVR and lights, WII etc. in the HT room. the UPS for Computer and Projector is on direct as it has surge protector and stablizer in built.

purna, Considering your current Equips and the future upgrades, a 3KVA Servo will be good enough for the equipment. Dont connect any other circuits in this like lights/ esp. fans, let it be from direct line or from a separate stab for the whole house. Use a good offline ups from the stab to the projector for backup.

Alok, You should not connect the ups to the direct line, i suggest to connect from the servo stab as the inbuilt voltage correction of offline ups will be stepped unlike a servo.

 

[purna]

Thanks aloklala & cmjith.

I think as you guys mentioned, planning to go for following:

3KVA Servo Stabilizer for AVR, & other equipments - Any dealers for Vertex in Bangalore? Does Vertex come with EMI/RF filters option? How much does it cost?
APC Smart UPS XL 750 KVA (SUA750i) for Projector
Another Stabilizer for AC.

 

[Kittu]

Voltage Stabilizer, Servo Voltage Stabilizers, Isolation Transformers

Manjunath
Mobile : +91 98860 81610
Tel : +91 - 44 - 6587 4772

 

[purna]

Thanks Kittu.

Called Manjunath and got the information regarding Vertex 3KVA. He quoted 14K for it. He also suggested i can go with 20KVA for entire house and have filters alone install it for this room.