Home Theater - General Questions

[Bala]

HT System Few General Questions.

Setup is:

1. Projector - 1024x768, at least 600:1 contrast, > 1200 lumens, component connect, ceiling mount.
Still picking the brand. Wall size is 12' wide by 8' high. Have a max throw distance of 16'.

2. Receiver - Yamaha rxv1400 or 2400

3. DVD Player - Go-Video networked

4. Speakers - 7.1, mix & match, still researching but mostly going with a best one.

5. TV - Dish netwrok. Not HDTV but will be getting it.

6. Cables - High end, Monster maybe?


Now for the questions:

1. The component connection for the projector will run about 20-25 feet. Is this distance ok or should I try and shorten it. There are packaged component cables available for 25 feet from monster. These connections are behind the sheetrock wall. Should I connect the ends to wall plates and then from wall plates to the receiver/projector? In which case I'll have to get two more component cables. Or should I just punch a hole in both places and just connect the ends to the receiver/projector? Concerned about signal degradation etc.

2. Understand the speakers A,B,A+B. But am confused about Zone 1,2,3. Does this mean I can hook up 3 separate rooms. Say the receiver is in the basement and zone 3 is the master bedroom 2 floors above. HOw do you control/play what music you want to play? How do speakers A,B relate to this? :confused:

3. Liked the networkable feature of go-video dvd player. Is there any other brand available with the same feature. Would have loved to have this as a dvd recorder/player.

3. I'd love to go 7.1 but maybe 5.1 is just good enough depending on the quality of speakers. Is 7.1 really worth the extra cost/configuration etc over 5.1?

4. Dish is selling the HDTV tuner for 999. Can I buy any HDTV tuner and attach to the satellite receiver and connect that to the Yamaha A/V?

5. Planning to run RCA 14AWG cables for the speakers. I for the speakers that are in the vicinity of the receiver these are sufficient I think. What about running the same for other zones where the length is more than 50 feet. Should I get 12g? Which brand is good? I got the copper one with transparent sleeve but the wires will be behind the walls.

Thanks for the advice,

regards,

[woodman]

HT System Few General Questions.

Setup is:

1. Projector - 1024x768, at least 600:1 contrast, > 1200 lumens, component connect, ceiling mount.
Still picking the brand. Wall size is 12' wide by 8' high. Have a max throw distance of 16'.

2. Receiver - Yamaha rxv1400 or 2400

3. DVD Player - Go-Video networked

4. Speakers - 7.1, mix & match, still researching but mostly going with a best one.

5. TV - Dish netwrok. Not HDTV but will be getting it.

6. Cables - High end, Monster maybe?


Now for the questions:

1. The component connection for the projector will run about 20-25 feet. Is this distance ok or should I try and shorten it. There are packaged component cables available for 25 feet from monster. These connections are behind the sheetrock wall. Should I connect the ends to wall plates and then from wall plates to the receiver/projector? In which case I'll have to get two more component cables. Or should I just punch a hole in both places and just connect the ends to the receiver/projector? Concerned about signal degradation etc.

2. Understand the speakers A,B,A+B. But am confused about Zone 1,2,3. Does this mean I can hook up 3 separate rooms. Say the receiver is in the basement and zone 3 is the master bedroom 2 floors above. HOw do you control/play what music you want to play? How do speakers A,B relate to this? :confused:

3. Liked the networkable feature of go-video dvd player. Is there any other brand available with the same feature. Would have loved to have this as a dvd recorder/player.

3. I'd love to go 7.1 but maybe 5.1 is just good enough depending on the quality of speakers. Is 7.1 really worth the extra cost/configuration etc over 5.1?

4. Dish is selling the HDTV tuner for 999. Can I buy any HDTV tuner and attach to the satellite receiver and connect that to the Yamaha A/V?

5. Planning to run RCA 14AWG cables for the speakers. I for the speakers that are in the vicinity of the receiver these are sufficient I think. What about running the same for other zones where the length is more than 50 feet. Should I get 12g? Which brand is good? I got the copper one with transparent sleeve but the wires will be behind the walls.

Thanks for the advice,

regards,

A few questions, you say? Well, I'll give you a few answers:

1. I don't understand just what you're saying here ... do you already have 3 cables (component-video) installed in the wall? Or, are you planning to "fish" some cables inside the existing wall ... then installing wall plates at each end? 20-25 feet of length is NOT "too long", but if you have the option of moving the equipment closer together, that would be a good idea to pursue. Lastly, I highly recommend that you scratch the Monster brand off of your shopping list ... they are among the MOST over-priced products in the A/V marketplace.

2. The speaker A and B are totally separate from the "Zone" outputs ... the two are not related in any way. The A and B speaker outputs are (or at least should be) dedicated to the operation of speakers that can be considered "main" speakers. They reproduce the signals selected by the "source selector" of the receiver. The "Zone" outputs supply "line-level" signals which can be different from the "main" signal that can be sent to other locations (zones) in the house. These signals require amplification in order to drive speakers in those other locations. You can run cables to carry the signals IF the distance is not too great, or you can get a device to send the signal via the telephone line to the other "zone(s)" - no matter how far away they may be.

3. 5.1 is "enough" for almost everybody. 7.1 is more of a marketing hype than anything of meaningful value, IMO. There are NO movies encoded with 7.1 surround sound as far as I know, and there are not liable to be any either. There ARE a few (very few) movies with 6.1 encoding, but the difference between 6.1 and 5.1 are not likely to be "worth it" to you ... unless YOU decide to make it so.

4. Not quite right ... Dish is selling an HDTV capable PVR for $999. They will GIVE you an HDTV tuner/satellite receiver for a one year commitment to programming. Your decision to go with Dish Network is a good choice - provided that you can get reception of your "local channels" with an antenna - or, if your local channels are not important enough to you to want to get them in HiDef ... Dish Network might very well provide you your local channels, but not in HiDef format.

5. There is no such thing as "RCA 14awg" cable. 14 awg speaker cable IS sufficient for all of your speaker wiring needs. If any "run" of wire is gonna be 100ft. or more, then 12awg will get the signal to the other end with less loss. Whether or not this is important is dependent upon the speakers at the "other end" ... how efficient they are.

In closing, just let me comment on your other equipment choices. The front projector is an excellent choice ... they now represent the very most "bang for the buck" in all of A/V land. As to make and model ... the InFocus 4800 can be had for a little over $1K. It's a DLP-based unit, which may or may not be your best choice depending on whether or not you, or any other family member is susceptible to the "rainbow artifacts" that come from the spinning color wheel used in DLP projection. Some people are bothered by this - most people are not. Another good choice for around $2K is the Sanyo Z2. It's an LCD-based unit that is getting rave reviews from just about everybody. Check out the website - projectorcentral.com for more info on projectors.

Your choice of the Yamaha receivers is the best choice you could possibly make, IMO.

Hope all of this helps you

[Swerd]

1. The component connection for the projector will run about 20-25 feet. Is this distance ok or should I try and shorten it. There are packaged component cables available for 25 feet from monster. These connections are behind the sheetrock wall. Should I connect the ends to wall plates and then from wall plates to the receiver/projector? In which case I'll have to get two more component cables. Or should I just punch a hole in both places and just connect the ends to the receiver/projector? Concerned about signal degradation etc.
I would go with the wall plates. You might want to set up something like this:
Install two wall plates, one behind DVD player/receiver, and the other at the ceiling mount for projector. These wall plates should each be capable of accepting 3 RCA connections such as these: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=091-1200

Assemble the plates so the RCA connections face the room and the threaded (F-type) connection is on the inside. Use the appropriate plastic wall plate inserts and covers to hold these connectors:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=261-416
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=261-112

Behind the wall, run three 75-ohm antenna type cables with the threaded F-type terminals from one plate to the other. You may use either RG-59 or RG-6 type cable. RG-6 is somewhat thicker and less flexible than RG-59, but it may provide less signal loss. Some versions of RG-6 come with 4 layers of shielding; the more shielding, the better. These antenna cables are widely available with F-terminals already attached in lengths as long as 50 or 100 feet for reasonable prices from stores like Lowes or Home Depot. Here is a very good quality example from Parts Express: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=181-616.

You may want to buy bulk coaxial cable, cut it to whatever length you need and crimp on F-terminals yourself. Again, all this is available in Lowes, Home Depot, or online from places like Parts Express.

Finally, run short (3 or 6 foot long) component video cables from the wall plates to DVD player/receiver and to the projector. Parts Express sells a variety of good quality and reasonably priced sets. Their Dayton house brand is a decent price (under $20) and is good quality. The AR brand ($50) is somewhat higher priced but is also very good quality. Parts Express also sells Monster brand at even higher prices ($70 and $120). They will not perform any better than other 75-ohm coaxial cable. Take your pick:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=181-670 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=181-878
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=185-090 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=185-080

Get the picture?


3. I'd love to go 7.1 but maybe 5.1 is just good enough depending on the quality of speakers. Is 7.1 really worth the extra cost/configuration etc over 5.1? Install the wires in the wall for 7 speakers now, but only buy 5 speakers to start. You can always add more speakers later. I personally don't think 6 or 7 speakers adds much over 5. What size is your room?


4. Dish is selling the HDTV tuner for 999. Can I buy any HDTV tuner and attach to the satellite receiver and connect that to the Yamaha A/V? Shop around, $999 seems like a lot. It may include Tivo. Yes, any HDTV tuner should work.


5. Planning to run RCA 14AWG cables for the speakers. I for the speakers that are in the vicinity of the receiver these are sufficient I think. What about running the same for other zones where the length is more than 50 feet. Should I get 12g? Which brand is good? I got the copper one with transparent sleeve but the wires will be behind the walls.
Use inwall speaker cable with UL approved insulation that has CMR or CL3R stamped on it to make it meet electrical code. Again, Parts Express sells bulk inwall speaker wire in a variety of gauges and lengths at reasonable prices. http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?DID=7&WebPage_ID=3&Start=2&ObjectGroup_ID=376&sm=1&so=2&search_type=36694800&desc=ASC

Good luck with you project.

[magictooth]

One other thing to consider is the aspect ratio of your screen - whether 4x3 or 16x9. With a 1024x768 resolution that is 4x3. If you're planning on installing a widescreen screen which from the dimensions of your wall seems the most appropriate, you should be aware that you'll be forgoing about 25% of the light output and permanently disabling those pixels. In effect you'll be getting 1024x576 pixels to watch with.

[Bala]

Woodman,
I’m just framing out my basement. I’ll be running the component wires from where the tuner will be to where the projector will be. There will be no wall connectors in between. The cable will be coming out of a hole in the wall and the ceiling.

I have already scratched Monster off the list.

Not fully clear about the A&B stuff but I’ll figure it out when I start to connect them.

I plan to run the wires for 7.1 just incase I go that way in future.

One year programming is not a problem as I plan to stay with Dish. They have the international channels I need (ok it’s the wifey actually).

The brand of the speaker wire is RCA and it is 14 AWG.

I was also focusing on the sanyo. I liked the Dell too. Mainly for service/support. But 3 years for the sanyo is very tempting.

Regards,
Bala

[uncooked]

i use that rca brand wire to. i got mine from rona. it works great. the 18 gauge even sounds pretty dam good. i ran it from my amp to another room around 150 feet worth of wire and it still sounds loud and clear with a pair of tower speakers on the other side. "thats the 18 gauge" i use the 14 in my HT setup.