Introduction

I've been obsessing over a home theater for a long time.  I used to have a projector and screen and it was a fun way to watch movies.  I've also decided Friday night is movie night.  I have an idea of what I want to do, but don't have a lot of money and space.  But I want something that's going to be really nice quality movies, and something that looks halfway nice (emphasis on halfway) and that performs as a theater (nice and dark and a room I'd want to be in). 

So the criteria for my personal home theater (pictures to come by end of the year as I get the room more set up).

1.  Really big screen.  The room I'm going to be putting it in is 10 feet by 12 feet.  A 120" screen should just fit along the 10 foot wall.  A seat 12 feet away is a good viewing distance (maybe a tad bit close, but who cares?).  I was able to find a projector with a small throw that if I attach it on the back wall (room has a ceiling fan so wall will do) it will fill up about 110". 

2.  Good quality picture.  It's movie night so want it to be nice.  If I could afford a better projector I'd learn of other things to look for.  Again, I was able to find a projector with a small throw that will almost fill the screen and is a 1080p.  Potential for 3d was a goal, but couldn't find anything and I couldn't find any movies in 3d I'd want to watch.  If I was gung-ho for 3d I'd look for throw + 3d and see if any in my price range then look to see best resolution in my price range. 

3.  Low light levels.  I don't care for noises so much because I'll actually be using headphones instead of a speaker system.  So I need black out curtains for the window figure out what to put to block out light from the hallway through the door crack.  I'll probably find a nice thick rug or towel to put in the hallway so the door can still be openened and to conceal cords from computer in next room. 

4.  Half way decent looking.  I'm buying a tripod screen because it's cheaper, more convenient for me, and I'm hoping I can get the 3rd leg inside the closet behind it.  Either way, just a tripod right there isn't pretty.  So I want to put some storage cubes in front of it to hide the bottom of the screen.  This part of the room won't be used anyways.  And instead of just storage in front, which will look tacky, want to cover it with curtains to make it look like a mini stage.  I found a nice light movie poster frame that you can change posters while hung.  So going to start buying the movie posters of the movie series of the week.  Just for pure decoration just to make it more of a theater room instead of what it really is - a room with a projector screen in it.

Problems with room

Frankly, it's not a spare room.  It is supposed to be an exercise room.  A bowflex will be put together before the room is complete.  A treadmill is waiting for the bowflex to be put together.  Buying a dumbbell rack, a door gym, etc.  So the room will double as a home theater and an exercise room.

So how am I hoping to combine the 2?

1.  The treadmill folds up.  This will be a goal for future items in the room.  Equipment that can take up less space, can be moved out to another room if need. 

2.  Looking to add equipment that can be used below the level of the projector so I can get a workout, when I want to, while watching movies.  Maybe this will be a long term goal, but at least it will have the option to use both parts at the same time.  Thinking of a recumbant bike and a rowing machine.  Heck, a yoga mat and just focusing on exercises that can be done sitting/laying on the ground.

3.  I was thinking of a really nice theater chair.  The room won't accommodate multiple seats and it is really a personal theater.  So I'm thinking a really comfortable bean bag chair.  This can be used against the back wall and when not siting to watch movies it can be used as a chair in my room.  Not quite as stylish (personal 1 person home theater), but it just makes more sense and I actually dig bean bag chairs. 

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Please note:  If you happen to come across this page, I'm including links to what I'm buying.  No way am I profiting from the links in any way.  I'm writing this when I have the idea of what I'm hoping to do, so now I just need to save up money for a couple months.  Also, the links aren't meant to show the cheapest prices, though that should be a goal.  The order of the items is I think the order I plan on buying. 

Will the theater turn out good?  I hope so.  But I don't know.  Now to buy a digital cam and start taking before pictures along with pictures along the way.

Final 2 thoughts:

1.  If you happen to stumble upon this while the room isn't complete and have some tips/idea/etc, please comment.  I'm always trying to research what to do.

2.  I'm not including things like what hardware to buy.  I'm using my PC in my other room, which means either I can view my downloaded library whenever I want or have to go in the other room to swich out the blu ray.  I'm bringing a 50 foot usb cable to have a trackpad in the home theater to navigate, a 50 foot headphone extension cord (I know this will make the sound less good but I have a nice $300 set of headphones and a $200 sound card), and a 50 foot htmi cable to connect the projector to my pc.  In time a goal will be to create a dedicated htpc, but I'd rather do this way first, start watching movies sooner, and build the computer when I'm happy with everything else in the room.