This original article describes the process of creating a full dedicated Home Theater in the basement.


This article was written in 2001, here is a link to the complete article:
http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/cinema/index.html

Since the original article has been published I changed few things. First I got a new projector Sanyo PLV-Z2. In 2000 the DLP home projectors were the leading type in terms of picture quality. Many things changed since then. LCD projectors got really research boost, the poor contrast ratio of old models is no longer any issue and in fact the numbers are now unbelievable high (For example a new (Fall 2005) Sanyo Z4 has Contrast 7000:1 , that is 10x of contrast of my old Plus Piano!!). The screen-door effect of old LCD models is also eliminated (no gap between pixels) and the LCD’s color (skin-tone) is a spot on. The DLP and LCD technologies are now in pair.
The Z2 while being a Sanyo ‘older’ model absolutely surpass my original DLP Piano Plus (sharpness, contrast, lumens). It is native widescreen 1280×720 Pixels, which makes it perfectly suitable for 720p. It also supports 1080i. The quality of the picture on these new gen LCD’s is unbelievable. If you are looking for a great home theater projector I can highly recommend Sanyo Z2, Z3 or Z4. You can check the Z4 review here.

I changed also the DVD player (few times), since the Sanyo is 720p native, I was looking at a good Upconverting DVD player. In fact I tried the upconverters almost all, including models form Sony, Bravo, Samsung, LG and Oppo.
I settled on two models, Panasonic DVD-S97 and Oppo OPDV971H. They are both a top performance upconverters utilising Faroudja deinterlacer with the added bonus of Oppo to be able play (and cross-convert) PAL/NTSC and DivX files. The DivX support of the Oppo is also quite advanced, with very fast decoding and immediate reaction (forward, backward) - something which plagued many previous DivX players. If you are looking for a serious full featured upconverting player the Oppo may just fit the bill.
There is an ongoing and never-ending discussion on various web boards (avsforum) about the macroblocking issue of the Faroudja chip. This is a blocking that may sometimes appear on certain dark (near black) scenes with a certain TV’s or Projectors. After the new S97 firmware update and with the Oppo these issues are nearly non-existant on my setup and in reality this problem when it does appear is far more minor than the buzz about it.
I also threw away my old Sony receiver and installed 7.1 channel VSX-1014TX..
If you ask me what was wrong with my old Sony STR-K740P (Dolby Digital, DTS), then after installing the Pioneer 1014TX, I can say - everything. Yes, the difference is like a night and day. With Sony I was never able to adjust the sound to my satisfaction. No matter what the sound was either too thin, too muddy or too ‘telephonic’. The Digital Cinema Ex effects on Sony (that simulate a real studios or theaters) ALWAYS make the sound worse (less audible speech, muddy sound etc..).
I replaced the Sony sub-woofer that resonated like a car dashboard during low frequencies with a Yamaha sub. I then replaced the Sony thin front stereo speakers with much large Yamaha tower speakers. But this helped the sound just a very little if at all (at least the sub didn’t resonate anymore).

The Pioneer VSX-1014TX fixed all my sound problems. Regardless of the volume setting the sound is now clear, perfectly audible and full. This proves that unlike a common perception, the quality of amp does play a significant role in the setup and you should carefully research this area. Both Pioneer and Yamaha receivers are highly recommended.
These better receivers now utilise a MICrophone setup. You plug the included microphone to the receiver, place the mic where you sit and the receiver will run a series of audio test for each speaker (noise, tone, spectrum analyzing, delay) and set the optimal parameters for each speaker. This is not just a gimmick but in fact it allows to set up any room with any speakers to use its full acoustic potential. A highly recommended feature (the 1014TX does utilise this approach)
Note, the Pioneer didn’t cost significantly more than the original Sony receiver so the quality is not just a pure function of price but rather it vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
I also abandoned my flat-wall screen and installed a new 100″ Da-Lite Da-Snap gray screen. The only problem with Da-Lite company is adding ‘da-’ in front of everything (da-mat, da-tex…) which makes talking to da-custommer representative da-tiresome. Other than that it is an excellent choice. The Da-Snap screen use an alluminium frame with snap buttons on which you da-snap the screen (which is a sort of plastic canvas). It takes a fairly strong man to stretch and snap all the snap buttons. The huge bonus of this excercise is that the dissasembled frame and screen comes all rolled in one tube and after assembly (1 hour) the result is a perfectly flat screen.
I would not try to claim that the screen itself make a huge difference from the much cheaper painted flat-wall solution. There is some difference in the crispness of picture and the screen is now perfectly flat and smooth making the theater more complete.

These are the major changes in my setup. I also added some shelves for DVD’s.