4 of the Best Home Theaters by DIYers
Here are four of the best home theaters to inspire the do-it-yourselfer in you. 
AudioVideo King  August 05, 2015 

There really is no one more passionate than the do-it-yourselfer. Whether a person decides to build a deck, a kitchen, a subwoofer or a Soap Box Derby racer, they always seem to have that special twinkle in their eye. Maybe it’s a sense of accomplishment, pain from the soldering scars, or just an adrenaline rush. It’s always there, though.

However, some definitely have more twinkle than others. That’s because when it comes to creating the best home theaters, these people aren’t just hobbyists—they’re artists.

The best home theater system is the one you plan with help from the experts. Get premium advice for FREE in our expert guide, Planning the Best Home Theater System: Choosing the Best Home Theater Projector, Best Home Theater Speakers, Best Home Theater Receiver, Best Home Theater Screens & More.

Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of home theaters that would qualify as the “best home theaters.” Some of these homeowners have a unique story, some were incredibly creative, some incorporated a theme, some worked with a limited budget, and some just have a really cool room.

It was tough, but here we managed to narrow down four of the best home theaters from DIYers that we’ve ever seen. Think your room should have made the cut? Drop us a line in the comments section below.

The Bat Cave
 
C.J. O’Neill didn’t need a big budget to create a blockbuster home theater. Instead, he just needed a little inspiration. He wanted sort of a “bat cave” atmosphere, where no light or sound would enter. Out of that idea, “The Dark Knight Theater” was born.

Instead of filling the room with posters and collectibles, C.J. used his superpowers to build a room around his theme. “As construction progressed, I started to tailor some aspects of the theater to match the name. I wanted the atmosphere to be somewhat like that of the movie—a combination of dark, somewhat Gothic, architecture with high-tech features,” he says. “I tried to accomplish this with the combination of mostly dark colors and oil-rubbed bronze with modern gear.”

Using AutoCAD, the design was just one of the steps in his year-and-a-half planning process, which also included research on noise isolation, control systems, lighting, acoustics, decor, and even how to connect the basement system to the rest of the house. The current room includes Crestron control, a Panasonic projector, a 120-inch SmX screen, Triad in-wall speakers, and eight Berkline recliners.

Total Cost: $22,000

Read more about this theater in “Reader’s Home Theater: The Dark Knight’s Bat Cave.”

The best home theater system is the one you plan with help from the experts. Get premium advice for FREE in our expert guide, Planning the Best Home Theater System: Choosing the Best Home Theater Projector, Best Home Theater Speakers, Best Home Theater Receiver, Best Home Theater Screens & More.

Memory Lane
Tom Kern’s blast from the past is a gorgeous homage to movie theaters from the 1950s. “I have always loved going to the movies and most of my childhood Saturday mornings were spent at the Palace Theater, two blocks from my home,” he says. “I could watch two science fiction, horror or western feature films, one or more cartoons, a cliffhanger serial chapter, a newsreel, a short subject, and previews of coming attractions… all for a quarter!”

Located on the second floor of his home, this room features a permanent stage and screen area with really ornate red and gold, as well as fringe-lined swags. There are Greek columns, chandeliers, wall sconces, ferns and palms, plush carpet, brass stanchions with red velvet ropes, and real seats from an old movie theater. It took three years to collect all of the pieces, which also includes 1950s movie posters, a 1940s ticket collection box, vintage lighted “EXIT,” “Silence Please” and “Ladies Room” signs, and several Coca-Cola concession stand displays.

Of course, the main attraction here is the actual movie experience, which is made with a Sanyo projector, a 92-inch Da-Lite Cinema Vision Da-Snap screen, Bowers & Wilkins speakers, and much more. Other features include a 1947 Stoner Candy Machine, a 1950s popcorn machine, and a two-curtain feature. The latter is Tom’s favorite, with a main curtain that opens out before the title curtain goes up.

Total Cost: $59,000

Art Deco
Chad Halvorson’s room may only measure a mere 12 feet wide, but what he did with that space is truly amazing. “We ended up taking advantage of the 42-foot length to space out seating,” says Chad. “We built a riser for a row of three and then placed two single seats in front of the riser. Finally, in the very front, we placed two Love Sacs for up-close viewing and gaming.”

Besides getting seating for seven into this slim space, Chad has packed the room with all sorts of impressive equipment, including a Panasonic 1080p projector, a 120-inch Elite Acoustically Transparent screen, Onkyo 7.1 sound, an HTPC, an Ubuntu media server, and Leviton lighting.

However, it’s the room’s design that’s most impressive here. Dubbed the “Granada Cinema” (after his street), Chad tried to combine art deco with high-tech engineering, along with two-tone seating, a custom-built concession stand, and a candy display case. There’s also a false wall to hide the speakers and subwoofer, as well as lighting that runs along the concession stand, riser and stage, all to give the experience a real cinematic touch.

Total Cost: $25,000

 From Tragedy to Triumph
Vincent Bova is one of the nicest DIYers you’ll ever meet. He has an incredible knack for turning something negative into something positive—as evidenced by this theater room.

You see, back in 2005, Vincent’s vision started to blur. Eventually, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which had mounted itself on his optical nerves and pituitary gland. While waiting for the necessary surgery, Vincent needed a positive way to pass the time. “It was at this time when I started reading and surfing the web about home theater, home automation, and anything related to the field,” he says. “I was fascinated, and the feeling of having nothing to lose was overwhelming.”

Although the surgery was successful, Vincent’s pituitary gland was gone, along with more of his ability to see. Medications affected his weight, his sleep, and his work. He needed to challenge his mind, so he turned to A/V and remotes, specifically programming and creating graphics. He also created this basement theater, which includes a JVC 1080p projector, a Marantz receiver, Lutron lighting, Paradigm speakers, and an RTI controller. His passion also sparked a new business, Total Control Remotes, which helps installers and home theater enthusiasts around the country to program universal remotes and control systems.

Total Cost: $45,000

Security Camera | Security Camera Installation in Los Angels

LG Display shows off press-on 'wallpaper' TV under 1mm thick

Before you get too excited, it's only a proof-of-concept display. The unveiling is part of a broader announcement to showcase the company's plans for the future, which center on OLED tech.

LG shows just how thin the "wallpaper" TV is during an event Tuesday. 

LG Display

LG Display, the screen-making subsidiary of LG, is dedicated to OLED panels, and it has unveiled an impossibly thin television to prove it.

At a press event in its home country of Korea on Tuesday, LG Display showed off a "wallpaper" proof-of-concept television. The 55-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display weighs 1.9 kilograms and is less than a millimeter thick. Thanks to a magnetic mat that sits behind it on the wall, the TV can be stuck to a wall. To remove the display from the wall, you peel the screen off the mat.

The unveiling was part of a broader announcement by LG Display to showcase its plans for the future. The company said its display strategy will center on OLED technology. According to a press release, the head of LG Display's OLED business unit, Sang-Deog Yeo, said "OLED represents a groundbreaking technology" not only for the company, but also for the industry.

The comments echo the refrain consumers have been hearing for years as display technology has evolved. The HD craze kicked into high gear years ago with technologies like LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma, but has since been moving increasingly toward LED technology.

OLED is widely believed to be the next frontier. The technology adds an organic compound layer that allows not only for exceedingly thin screens, but for those displays to be curved. The organic material also emits its own light, eliminating the need for a backlight. That allows for such thin screens and has made OLED a desirable choice not only for televisions, but for a wide range of wearables and other mobile products. LG Display believes OLED could be the de facto display technology in all products in the future.

While some OLED screens have been used by companies like Samsung, LG and Sony, the costs are still quite high to produce the displays. Part of that cost is due to a historically low yield, or production of displays that are actually functional. More waste means higher costs on the screens that do make it through production. Those costs are then passed on to consumers. LG's 65-inch, 4K OLED TV, for instance, costs $9,000.

On Tuesday, however, LG said that it has made significant headway in developing OLEDs. The company touted its position as the first to mass-produce large-screen OLEDs for televisions and said that its yield has hit 80 percent -- a strong showing, but still lower than LCDs.

Those issues with yield, coupled with price, mean televisions like the "wallpaper" display might not make their way to store shelves at a reasonable cost anytime soon.

LG Display said Tuesday it expects to sell 600,000 OLED TV panels this year and 1.5 million next year. The company also cited comments made at the press event by Ching W. Tang, a professor at the University of Rochester in New York and "the father of OLED." He said OLED displays will not become ubiquitous for another five to 10 years. At that point, Tang said, they could outpace LCDs in total shipments.

 Wall TV Installation, TV installation,TV Installer in L.A.

Audio Video Installation in Los Angels

Three American Airlines employees reported spotting 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta and at least one other man snooping around and videotaping security checkpoints at Boston's Logan Airport in May 2001—but no one did anything about it, according to newly released court papers cited in the New York Post. The troubling court testimonials only recently made it to the light of day in the wake of a settled lawsuit by the family of Mark Bavis, who was killed on Flight 175 out of Logan. Technician Stephen J. Wallace testified that he observed a man later IDed as Atta and another man studying the flight board and main security checkpoint on May 11, 2001; one was taking pictures and videotaping, while the other "was talking loudly in Arabic on a cellphone."

Wallace said when he started questioning them, "one of them … called me a rather nasty name in Arabic," he says, adding that he understood the slur because "I swear in Arabic." Wallace says he told authorities, who reportedly never followed up. Then there was Theresa Spagnuolo, a Logan passenger screener who says she saw Atta videotaping the main security checkpoint in May 2001, but when she reported it to her supervisor, James Miller Jr., he "informed her it was a public area and nothing could be done about it"; Miller, for his part, says he asked his own supervisors and they were the ones who said "there was nothing they could do about it." The Post notes that just two months before these reported sightings, airlines (including American) had been alerted by federal authorities that terrorists usually "conduct surveillance before attacking a target."

Security Camera Installation in L.A.

Home Theater 101 - Learning The Basics of Home Theater Systems

The idea is simple enough: A home theater provides a theater-like experience in your home. But what exactly does that entail? The quick answer is, there's no quick answer. A home theater can be as simple as a few A/V devices in your living room or as complex as a completely renovated basement designed to look like Hollywood's El Capitan Theater. At its core, a home theater system should provide a high-quality video experience and an immersive audio experience that breathe life into your favorite movies, but a number of roads can lead to that destination. This primer offers a general overview of the basic home theater ingredients--from the A/V equipment to the seating to the other room elements that can shape your perfect home theater. We've provided plenty of links, to content on our website and others, that will provide more information on each element.

Audio Video Installation in Los Angels.

Premium On-Wall TV Installation

You buy the TV. We do the labor.
Have your TV professionally installed by an experienced technician. Installations are available Monday through Saturday including evenings.

Premium On-Wall TV Installation

Have your TV professionally installed by an experienced technician with one of our affordable In-home Installation services. Installations are available Monday through Saturday and can be scheduled for the Morning, Afternoon, or Evening.

With the Premium On-Wall TV Installation plan, our installers will ensure that your TV is working, configured correctly, and mounted safely to a wall. Cabling (except for the power cord) will be concealed inside the wall.

Here is what you'll get with the Premium On-Wall TV Installation Plan:

    A pre-installation consultation with a certified installer. You'll discuss the placement of your TV; we'll even move it to another room if possible.

    Your TV will be mounted to a wall and connected to 4 other audio/video components (DVD player, Game console, cable box, etc). You will need to provide the wall mount as well as the necessary audio/video cables for your TV and components.

    All wires and cables for the TV and components will be concealed inside the wall. This does not include power cords and all components must be placed within 15' of the TV.

    The installer will configure the manufacturer's remote control to operate your TV and all connected components (if applicable).

    A full 20 minute tutorial on system use. Our installer will ensure you know how to operate your TV and remote before leaving.

    Any packing materials and boxes will also be removed from our premises.


Please note that:
These installations can typically take up to 1 - 4 hours to complete.
The appointment time you schedule (morning, afternoon, or evening) provides our installer a 4 hour window for arrival.
Our TV installations are backed by a Two Year Limited Warranty.


Getting Started is Easy. Just add this plan to the Shopping Cart and Checkout.
Once your order is processed we'll send you a confirmation email with our contact information. You can then schedule your installation appointment by calling us at 1-866-551-5908.

If you have any questions, give us a call at 1-866-551-5908. Our customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist you.

See our Terms and Conditions for complete plan details (you will need Adobe Acrobat for this).

Wall TV Installation, TV installation, TV Installer.

Brooklyn, NY Surveillance Camera Installation & Access Control Expert Say Security Camera Help Solve Crime

A New York City, NY security camera installation and access control expert says security cameras; helps solves crimes and lowers insurance cost for local business owners, apartment complex owners, and some mobile business owners. Businesses can see savings through lower insurance cost as well as reduce thief, over the long term for their business by implementing security cameras system as part of a surveillance monitoring system for their home or business.

Business owners, apartment owners and homeowners who need high definition surveillance camera Installed can purchase through Professional Tech Services (PTS). A New York City, surveillance camera installation and access panel control company. The sign up page detailing full service availability and pricing can be found here: http://ptsny.com

Professional Tech Service city wide service includes all Boroughs; Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island as well as Long Island in New York City. Surveillance camera installation is designed to address the most common issues faced by business owners, apartment owners and homeowners when choosing a High Definition surveillance camera Installation. The service includes:

Mobile Surveillance Camera Viewing – Now business owners, and homeowners alike can view their business or home on their mobile networked device from any any where in the world, where they have a connection.

High Definition Cameras – High definition digital camera that offer 1080p view with night-vision so that the quality of the video is lost at night time, with setting design for customers specification.

Backing Up Video Storage in the Cloud – Blacking up all your videos on the cloud storage so that if DVR is stolen or damaged business owners and homeowners can still retrieve there video by login into their cloud account.

Omar Jackson, Marketing Manager of Professional Tech Services, had this to say about High Definition Surveillance cameras;

“Business are more mobile than ever so accessing their cameras from anywhere, and having those videos backed-up in the cloud is a must for any serious business owner.”

On top of all the benefits listed above some business owners still have old and outdated security cameras with default settings intact. Professional Tech Services; will also help business owners and homeowners whom, have not changed their default settings on there existing cameras to update those immediately. This service is geared towards; stop some hackers, criminals and predators from coming through business owners and homeowners cameras back doors.let PTS stop those hackers and peeping toms now.

Those interested in learning more about the company can do so on the company website at http://ptsny.com/. Those interested in purchasing can go directly to the service listing, here: http://ptsny.com/.

For more information about us, please visit http://ptsny.com

Security Camera, Security Camera Installation, Security Camera Installer.

Go big and go home: How to install a video projector

You’ve finally stepped up and decided to take that next step into the home theater Big Boy club; you’ve made the decision to abandon that weak-sauce, girly-man flat panel display and go with a strong-like-bull front projector! First things first…bring it in. We gotta hug this thing out. Congratulations!

So, now that you’ve made this momentous decision you’re probably all, “What the hell? How do I turn this madness into a reality?!”

 …even though modern projectors are really quiet, they still have some fan noise which is another reason to get them back behind the seating position.

I got you, bro. Since I’ve installed dozens of projectors, I’m gonna hold your hand and walk you through the velvet ropes and lead you down the plushy carpeting all the way to the nice seats in front of the big screen of home theater Nirvana. 

Here’s everything you need to know about installing your new front projector!
Screen Size

Whole articles have been written on selecting the screen to use with your projector so I’m not going to go into that here. Suffice it to say, I’m going to assume that you’ve made the decision on the screen material, gain, aspect ratio, mounting type (fixed or roll-down) and all the other stuff. (For what it’s worth, I have a Draper Access MultiView Series V M1300 motorized screen in dual aspect ratio in my theater. It is 92-inches when 16×9 and 115-inches in 2.35:1. For more on aspect ratios, read this post.

The only thing we’re interested in here is the screen size. And by size I mean the width, because it is the screen’s width that is going to determine the throw distance and installation location of the projector. For the sake of math simplicity, let’s just assume that you are going to use a screen that has a 100-inch width (which would be 115-inches diagonal and 56-inches high for a 16×9 screen).
Throw Distance

Throw distance refers to the distance from a projector’s lens to the screen – every projector has one. Fortunately, most modern projectors have a pretty install-friendly throw distance, enabling them to work in nearly any room with a large array of screen sizes. If, however, you have an oddly-shaped room – say on with a peaked ceiling, or one that is very narrow – then throw distance will be a much bigger deal. Some higher end projectors manufacturers – take Runco, for example, offer different lens options that allow you to put the projector almost anywhere in a room.

Projector Screen For the purpose of our hypothetical install, let’s use a JVC projector. All JVC projectors have a throw distance range of 1.4 to 2.8. This means that the front of the lens can be positioned anywhere between 1.4 to 2.8 times the screen width. So, with our 100-inch screen, we could place the projector anywhere from 140-inches (1.4 * 100) to 280-inches (2.8 * 100) from the front of the screen. Remember, that measurement involves the distance from the lens to the screen, so if your room was only 12 feet long (144-inches), you would have to go to a smaller screen to accommodate this projector.

Projector Location

Let’s say you have a perfect room and you could place the projector anywhere in that 140 – 280 inch location. What’s best? Well, I like to keep the projector away from the viewing position. There’s just something about that thing hovering over my head like a Star Destroyer that I’m not in love with. Also, even though modern projectors are really quiet, they still have some fan noise which is another reason to get them back behind the seating position. If you find the gentle whir of a projector fan comforting, then by all means, place it as near your head as possible. Using the shorter distance will provide the highest brightness, so if you are going with a really large screen, have a low-light-output projector or will be watching a lot of 3D, this might be important. Using the longer distance gives higher contrast, and also uses the center – or sweet-spot – of the lens for the sharpest image.

Cabling

If you have a front projector, that will likely mean that you have a home theater system and some kind of surround sound receiver or pre-amp/processor. Really, you only need a single HDMi cable going to the projector as all of the video switching and conversion will be done in your receiver. I’ve had good luck with Redmere HDMI cables which can handle 1080p video up to 60 feet. If you are going beyond 60-feet – or just want to future-proof your install – consider running couple of Cat6 cables. You can send HDMI up to 100-meters using a technology called HDBaseT. I’ve used it a bunch in the real world and the stuff works great. Also, pull a extra couple of Cat cables for IP connection and for controlling the projector or, you know, just for the good, clean fun that is pulling wire.

Sound

This shouldn’t even need to be said, but if you were thinking of using the internal speakers in your projector then stand up right now and double-punch yourself right in the jeans! I mean it. Punch-punch right to the jeans! Most projectors are now (thankfully) omitting speakers and the ones that still include them put them in – I believe – as an idiot-detector. I can only picture the engineers laughing to themselves hysterically each time they install one of the horrible 1-inch drivers. “I bet someone uses these! Ha-ha-ha-HA!” Don’t use them. Ever. If you don’t have a separate speaker system already then you aren’t ready for a front projector yet. Save up. Buy the audio system and then get the projector. Don’t worry; these tips will still be right here waiting to help you.
Ceiling Mount

The vast majority of projectors that I’ve installed have been ceiling mounted, however you could also set the projector on a shelf (done it) or in a cabinet (done it) or built into a custom soffit (done it). Shelf mounting means that the projector is sitting on its feet whereas ceiling mounting means that the projector is upside down. This is an important distinction because it gets into leans shifting and vertical offset, something I’ll talk about next. If you are mounting it, there are a variety of universal ceiling mounts available that feature independently adjustable “spider arms” to fit the mounting pattern of a huge array of projectors. I usually stick with mounts from larger companies like Omni Mount, Peerless or Chief because they are constructed of sturdy metal and offer a variety of adjustments that let you really lock the projector down so it’s straight, level and won’t shift or drift over time. Chief has a handy “mount finder” on its site that can help you find the right mount for your specific projector.

Horizontal Centering

Unless there is some act of God preventing you from being able to, center the lens horizontally on the screen. This will just ensure better things down the road and give you maximum flexibility in your vertical offset adjustment (below). Now,  some projectors do allow you to horizontally shift the lens, and if you abso-frickin-lutely can’t center the projector on the screen from some reason – or just totally F-up reading the tape measure when it comes to installing the mount – use horizontal lens shift, but do NOT tilt the projector left or right trying to fix this. (Also, refer to punching self in jeans above.)

Vertical Offset

I’m not gonna sugarcoat vertical offset; understanding it is a bit like that billiards scene in Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land. Every frickin’ time I watch that scene I’m like, “Oh, yeah! I totally get it! That’s simple! I’m gonna go and crush someone at billiards!” But the second it’s over, I’m all, “How the hell did that diamond system work again?!?” (If you get that ref, drop me a comment below. We’re already destined for friendship.) Vertical offset is as important as throw distance when it comes to installing your projector, and refers to the amount above or below the screen that the projector lens can be installed.  It will be especially important if you have a high ceiling as you will likely need to use a down pole to lower the projector to the appropriate height. It is also definitely projector dependent, so before you go slapping your mount up on the ceiling, make sure you understand the offset range of your projector. For instance, JVC models offer 80% offset but above and below the screen whereas some models offer different and lesser amounts for up and down.

Here’s how we can make practical use of offset with our JVC projector. Start by multiplying the vertical height of the screen – 56-inches – by 80% which results in 44.8. Then take one-half of the screen height – 56 * .5 – and you get 28. Now subtract 28 from 44.8 and you get 16.8. This is the amount that the center of the lens can be above or below the screen.

Here’s a more practical use of that math: In a room with a 10-foot (or 120-inches since it’s easier to deal in the same unit of measure) ceiling, you want to place the center of the screen at 60-inches for a nice comfortable viewing height. This means that the top of our screen will be at 88 inches (60 to the center, plus one-half of the 56-inch screen height). Since the projector’s lens can be 16.8 inches above the top of the screen – 88 + 16.8 = 104.8 – we would have to drop the projector roughly 16 inches from the ceiling to be correctly installed.

I also realize that understanding this just went all poof! (like Keyser Soze) the second you finished reading it. That’s OK. I had to go back and read it like 15 times myself.

Keystone (aka “The Tool of the Devil”)

Once the projector is installed, you want the front of it to be parallel to the screen and the top to be level. This will produce a straight, square and level image on the screen. If it isn’t straight, square and level, go back and fiddle with the mount until it is straight, square and level. Now, you might read in the installation manual that if you can’t get the projector at the right position vertically you can just tilt it up or down to fill the screen and then fix the geometry errors with some sorcery called keystone adjustment. It’s all, “La, la, la! We’ll skip down to Candy Land where geometry problems don’t matter and can be whisked away by the digital fairy! Hee-hee!” Don’t do it! This is the coward’s way out and a one-way ticket to ruining the highest of defs that you have paid for.

What happens when you tilt the projector up or down is you turn your nice beautiful, perfectly square and high-resolution rectangle into a hideous monster of a trapezoid. Images will be narrower (if you tilt the projector down) or wider (if you tilt the projector up) at the top. Keystone correction digitally “crushes” the sides of the image and restores a Frankenstein of a rectangle, but it does so at the expense of image quality. JVC even cautions, “Using the keystone feature will substantially decrease the image quality. JVC does not recommend its use for home theater applications.” So there. Just understand that if I ever come to your house and see that your projector has been tilted down and you are using keystone, I’m going to want to grab a stick and beat it down from your ceiling like a high-tech piñata. Then the stick and I are comin’ for your jeans…

Zoom/focus

At this point you are damn close to being done. Depending on your projector it will have either a motorized or manual zoom and focus lens adjustment. (I actually prefer the manual because it offers finer adjustment, but the motorized is nice because it allows you to get right up on the screen and really take a good close look at the focus.) Projectors usually have an internal test pattern that will look like some variation of this:

Use the zoom and shift controls to get the test pattern image to perfectly square up on the screen. When done, check it against a variety of real-world material, both HD and non-HD. You might need to tweak the size a bit to get it to balance for each source.

For focus, I like to use the printing in the projector’s menu. Specifically, I get up to the screen and make the edges of the white text look as razor sharp as possible.

Picture Adjustments

At this point you’re ready to watch movies. But, actually you’re not. Why you’re still all giddy from the afterglow of a successful install, let’s take a moment to dial in some settings for a truly optimal picture, shall we? While the best picture will be obtained by hiring a professional ISF or THX-certified calibrator, the next best thing is to get a test disc like Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics or Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark. These will walk you through setting the two most important picture adjustments on your new projector – contrast (peak white) and brightness (black level). Once you have these settings dialed in – using the same lighting conditions as when you will watch movies, of course – you’re ready to pop in a movie and enjoy!

Projector Installation in L.A.