Component
List:
Sony
VPL-HS10 (Projector)
Custom (Parkland) 2:1, 60"x120"
Screen (134" Diagonally)
Marantz
SR-7200 Dolby Digital II Processor
15"
Flat Panel Touchscreen
running Main/DVD/Music
Lobby
for remote control
Marantz
MM-9000 150 Watt x 5 Channel Amplifier
Energy
AC300 Left, Center, Right
Speakers
Energy
RVSS Surround
Left, Surround Right, dipole/bipole surrounds
Parts
Express 250 Watt x 1 Channel
Amplifier for the subwoofer
SVS
20-39CS+
subwoofer
Home
Theater PC & Media Server
for DVDs
Custom Interconnect cables
Home
Theater Contruction Information/Pics
My
DVD Collection (not including TV series/shows)
Screen
Shot of the Pronto TSU-1000 Remote Scenes
I
just installed the new Sony VPL-HS10 in my theater (AKA Living/Dining
room). This is a nice projector and has some great resolution
and good color. This projector is only temporary until I get
my dedicated home theater room built in summer of 2003. I will
be putting up plans and specs on the room as time goes by.
We have some temporary layouts of the room that we are looking
at and trying to decide what is best. Many things need to be
taken into consideration, I am not made of money (as some believe),
the county codes and the overall feel of the room. This room
will be just for watching movies and I would like to get the
same atmosphere as I get in a commercial theater. I can do
without the noise of cellular phones and yammer during the
film though.
I
started my Home Theater with a Mitsubishi VS-60719
which I purchased in February of 1998. At that time
wide screen televisions were really starting to
come out into the market place and were still quite
pricey (i.e. $4k+). This was a good basis for watching
TV and movies, but really lacked the good picture
quality that I wanted. VHS and cable TV just do
not have the resolution I had hoped for with my
new purchase. I then purchased a Pioneer DV-525
could get a decent picture. The DVD did help immensely
with picture quality and I enjoyed every minute
of it. Of course along with buying a DVD player
I need to start buying DVDs making my little home
theater hobby an ongoing expense that will never
end. I have a subscription to Netflix
which allows me to have 3 DVDs at any one time.
I just pay a monthly fee and I can watch as many
movies as I can. They come by mail and get sent
back in a postage paid envelope, which makes life
super simple. You can keep the DVD as long as you
want also, so no late fees. Check them out, it is
great for ~$20.00 a month.
After
spending some money on my car and house I finally
had grown tired of listening to the cheap speakers
in the TV. In July of 2001 I purchased a Marantz
SR-7200 Digital Home Theater receiver. Granted there
are better models (i.e. AV-9000), but I cannot ju.
I also picked up a Marantz MM-9000 I needed to save
some money to buy decent speakers with, which I
did. I purchased three of the Energy AC300 speakers
for F/C/R and two RVSS bipole/dipole speakers for
the rear. Since my receiver offers a 6.1 setup,
I plan to add another AC300 to my room for a better
sounding system. The next plan after the fourth
AC300 is to start building a box for the subs. I
has some great Digital Designs subwoofers that I
plan to build boxes for for my low end response.
It will be a unique setup with very full sounding
bass, along with trying to eliminate the 'boomy'
sound that many systems have. It will be a dual-sub
setup with an interesting crossover setup for the
subs.
The
true test of this whole system will be when I add
onto my current house and put a 17'x29' home theater
room on the back. I have been reading a lot of books
and magazines on what to do to a home theater room
to help it sound better and avoid unwanted harmonics
and reflections. We will all see how it sounds when
it is completed in November of 2007. I have not
picked out the seating yet, but I like to lay down
when I watch a movie, so it will be something other
than movie chair seating. Definitely a bi-level
setup with two couches to accommodate all my loving
family members that enjoy a good movie with great
sound and picture.
After
buying the TV decided that the "supposed" universal remote was
not good enough for me. I decided to find something that would
work with all my devices. Most universal remotes had preprogrammed
codes in them for the different devices. That did not work to well
for me since some of my equipment was a few years old and some
was just released.
After
reading a few of my audio/video magazines I found a remote
that I liked. It was the Philips Pronto TSU1000 remote. It
is a touch screen remote with seven buttons on it. One button
for mute, two for volume, two for channels, and two programmable
buttons. The touch screen is fully programmable with the software
that is windows based. It allows me to download images off
the internet or create my own images and download them into
the remote.
My
beautiful and loving fiancé (now ex-fiancé) bought me the
remote for the holidays in 1999. It was not something I asked
for, but she saw me drooling over it for a few months.
The
remote has the capability of replacing every IF remote that I will
ever have. After choosing the buttons that I want I have to program
each one. That entails selecting the a button on the Pronto remote
and then firing the factory remotes button at the Pronto remote.
That allows the Pronto remote to learn the signal that will be
associated with the selected button.
After
I programmed all the buttons I decided that I wanted a new
layout of the buttons. The remote comes with buttons already
in it, but they are to basic for me. I spent some time on
the internet download images and other stuff that I planned
on using. I found many images that would work well and some
that wouldn't. Since the display on the remote is only 8-bit
gray scale not all pics worked really well.
Along
with being able to make and program my own buttons, it also
allowed for macros. So I decided to take advantage of that
for my daughter. I setup a button
that would turn the TV on, adjust the volume, and change the
channel to the cartoon network. This makes my life simple
since I now do not have to remember to change the channel
and adjust the volume at night before I go to bed.
I
have setup everything that allows the remote to control my
lights, but I have not uploaded any new remote pics with how
it all appears on the remote. It is nice to be able to dim
the lights at night without have to stand up.
Here is a CCF
file for those of you TSU1000 users that like my setup. Click
Here