Education Home Cinema Renovation - Project Log

This is looking great, i use the 3TB reds and cant complain.

Is the idea of your sub switch to only turn it on when a signal is sent to it?

 

When the amp powers on, it triggers the plug to power the sub. Just a simple 12v mains relay.

 

Loving the backlighting, like you say even green looks awesome lol

 

I love these updates. My 55 inch screen is getting delivered soon and you've given me some ideas for boxing it in. Now if I can just persuade the wife to spend a fortune on lighting...

 

I decided that I couldn't go to bed without checking whether or not I had hosed the lights, fortunately...



The red and blue signal wires has bridged, just an errant strand. Now sorted and pleased to report that all 16.7m colours are just fine.

Hours upon days of lurking on PLs on AVForums preceded this project, so glad I can pass on some inspiration.

And to your other point, integrated lighting is "home improvement", not just gadgets! Occasionally 25% codes seem to pop up for the Philips store if you're in to hue, which is what I got (spots, strips and bridge was £443) all of the lighting will come to around £700 when all is said and done including fittings and wiring, and the additional strip to circle the ceiling. Granted, that's a lot for "lights", but it's pocket change for "home improvements"

 

when you shrink-wrapped it, you may have caused a short, remove the wrap, get the glue gun out and insulate the cables with a bit of glue, then wrap again

edit- oops I did it again, commented before reading the full thread

 

Pretty sure this is what happened. I would have hot glued it if I had a glue gun... this is the second time recently I would have found a use for it, so it's getting ordered today.

 

I love my glue gun, since owning one, I can't believe that I didn't used to have one. Brilliant with electronics and most fixing/insulating/holding that I need.

 

I really need top catch up on this thread sometimes this week! I also couldn't be without my glue gun, mine's a Dremel and gets used almost every day!

 

Looking good! Surprised you installed the lighting before painting though, or is it just a test fit?

I'd love to do something like this when I move - really got a hankering for a proper cinema style setup of some kind, rather than just plonking a big TV and surround sound in the living room.

One other question, how do you access the back of your rack? Obviously the door from the ?kitchen gets at the front of the units...

 

Just a test fit for the lighting - the ceiling spots are *incredibly* snug, so won't be popping them in until everything around them is finished and they basically never need to come out again.

The LED strip behind the TV is just attached to the track I've made with duct tape at the moment - once it's finished off I'll use something a little more permanent and elegant, perhaps my newly acquired glue gun will be put to work!

The front of the rack is accessed as you say from the main door (off the utility room though) - for the back I was going to be putting in a pre-fab access panel from the WC that adjoins the utility room (popping out directly behind the rack) and putting a painting or mirror over it to hide it. As it happens, though, I'm not sure I'll need to. Below 18U is all free air, and I've bene doing just fine ducking under it with plenty of standing room and light behind it - so result.

 

Weekly update time. I've not got as much done in the last week as I would have liked.

I ordered the door and all of the paraphernalia to put it in, but the threshold strip has yet to arrive, and I don't want to install until everything is here and I want to make sure that the opening is perfect so the door doesn't need planing, principally because I neither have a planer nor wish to purchase one.

I decided that the bias lighting needed a bit more diffusion, so I put a bevel on the edges on the TV inset - think this will give a much nicer effect...





I'm conscious that the lighting will highlight any imperfections in there, so plan to prime, skim and sand until it's just right.

I starting knocking up the small cupboard that's in the back of the room as well, just the frame at the moment...



That speaker is in prime location to do some damage to the top of one's head when working in the corner... case in point.



And got a sampler for Dulux Grey Steel 1, which as luck would have it, is perfect for the walls...



I'll be using Grey Steel 3 on the upper ceiling (3 being two shades lighter than 1), and pure white on the dropped bit and cornice. Matte all around.

 

Ouch! Gag....

Doesn't the lighting around the TV distract the viewer? Just curious..

 

Been looking to re-decorate my living room so going to keep my eye on this log for ideas, just wish I had the spare time to do the amount of work that you've put into your room

 

Looks pretty awsome so far mate. When i was knocking through a section of wall on mine i put a lump hammer at full speed into my shin. So can relate.

Cant wait ro see the finished product. Are you planning any sound proofing?

 

If it's too bright then yes, but properly set up it actually enhances perception of black levels - have a google for "TV bias lighting"

Spare time, ha! This has all been done with essentially no spare time, which is the reason it's taking so long. The odd half an hour when I'm working from home and the occasional hour or so in the evening gets some bits done, but most of it has been done by booking days off work here and there and just spending a whole day on it. I have more holiday than I can feasibly take as holiday anyway.

There will be some mild sound proofing to minimise any noise from the neighbouring utility room - washer and dryer particularly, though noise levels did feature highly in their selection criteria to start with.

I'm thinking of using a Tecsound 50 self-adhesive layer to the back of the false wall before finishing the back. I'm undecided whether I'll finish the back in soundproof board or not (probably not really). There are two fairly heavy fire doors between the cinema room and the utility room as well, so they will get some treatment around the edges and across the bottom gap to minimise sound transmission.

I'm not too worried about noise from the cinema room getting out - the house is detached and baby sleeps two floors up at the opposite corner of the house, and will sleep through just about anything anyway.

 

Knauf acoustic roll. From the people who brought you x-ray proof plasterboard (doubled) and if you're really concerned about flanking sound (wouldn't think so) blue "plaster" board.

 

It basically depends on what you might plug in to the front...

HDMI is a given, though I might opt for two just in case. The other thing I might be tempted to add is a USB power socket, or even a USB pass through if your AV hardware supports media players over USB.

 

I started looking for rolls like this, but from what I've been reading, 10kg/m^3 isn't really dense enough to deal with sound properly. This is why I was considering the high density sheet/film, perhaps something like this as well as the cost isn't that great. All of the rest of the internal walls in this house are filled with something similar, and whilst the sound reduction is pretty good for "general" noise, a little more would be nice on the noisy utility room.

I'm guessing you're responding to this - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=3654431&postcount=30

If so, whilst I appreciate the input, that was 3 months ago, and has since been sorted - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=3656542&postcount=47

 

Try this stuff. It has the added benefit of being fire rated.