Success Stories

Color Correcting Filter: Finally got this to work with a big thanks to my friend Mike for lending his excellent eyes, expertise and equipment to the project. Still playing with the neutral density filters and fiddling with the grey scale.

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Build HTPC (Home Theater PC). Really improved picture quality with software DVD player and output resolution matched to the projector. HTPC allowed me to integrate an MP3 server, play games, surf and edit this website all from the HT. Also control lights and serves music to the whole house audio system. Very flexible and a never ending source of new projects.

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Projects I have undertaken to improve some aspect or another of my home theater. These projects had good results. Click on the links for details. I have subjectively rated the projects on their value, impact and meeting objectives (scale 1 to 5 with 5 high).

Variable Masking. Allows for constant width, variable height masking using two removable panels and YXY aspect ration controller. Provides masking for 4:3, 1.85:1 and 2.35:1. I will like this project better if I can figure out a way to easily automate the masking and ideally change to a constant height or constant area system. I suspect that this will require a new projector or additional lenses though.

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Projector Mount and Hush Box. The projector I used is not capable of ceiling mount (no image flip) and the size of my room made the ideal mounting location right where the viewers head belongs. To fix this and reduce the fan noise I built a ceiling supported mounting shelf with a hush box.

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Projector Mount and Hush Box. The projector I used is not capable of ceiling mount (no image flip) and the size of my room made the ideal mounting location right where the viewers head belongs. To fix this and reduce the fan noise I built a ceiling supported mounting shelf with a hush box.

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VGA Cable: Built a 35' VGA cable with CAT5 UTP cable and HD 15 connectors. Beats the heck out of three extender cables I tried first (major ringing!). Could be remade with shielded cable for a better impedance match. Idea from the AVS Forum.

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Equipment Rack: Built a six shelf custom rack from laminated shelves that I edge banded and stacked using threaded rod (see link for pictures). Overall I like the look, very adjustable, could use more bracing to improve ridgidity.

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The difference between a home theater enthusiast and someone who enjoys home theater is that the enthusiast cannot leave well enough alone (Chronic tweakaholic).

Regardless of the cost or type of theater, the enthusiast has always got a few more tweaks to try to get a little better picture, or a little more lifelike sound...

New Screen: The theater has been operating with a 4:3 pull down screen and various wall paints for the last year (see masking system). I finally built a 16x9 DIY screen from MDO board. I used an unusual mouting method to give the unit some flexibility. Painted light grey. Still working on backlighting, not sure whether its going to have the effect I am looking for.

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Home Automation and Media Distribution. While not strictly a Home Theater project, installing a structured cable system with provisions for distributing music and video throughout the house has made enjoying movies and music possible wherever you go in the house (except the smallest room, of course). Click the title for details.

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Tactile Transducers: Added bass shakers to the couch for that extra energy that action films require. A good starter system to experiment with and see how we like the effect. Inexpensive project, good value.

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Projector Gamma Response Built a detector to test the projector's gamma response. Used the data to make adjustements to the projector. Overall improved picture quality by a fair margin, and improved black levels. Needs color balance testing as a follow on. Click on the link for details.

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CRT Projector Mount: Converting the Collin's Cinema to a CRT based projector. Getting one of these huge projectors in the house, much less on the ceiling can be challenging. Built a DIY mount and hoisting method to do it.

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Reflected Light Reduction: Added a dark fabric cover to the ceiling and a dark rug to the floor near the screen to reduce reflected light that was washing out the picture during dark scenes. High marks for solving the problem, reduced a bit for being a big black "cabanna".

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HDTV: Connected my HTPC and projector to receive over the air and D-VHS recorded High Definition TV. No satellite or cable HD yet. Still need a component to RGB transcoder also. But the picture is wonderful, the world needs more HD.

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Speaker Surround Repair: My faithful Boston A100 speakers, used in my living room, were showing their age. The surrounds on the 10" woofers had rotted away. I bought a surround replacement kit for around $20 and they are running again like new.

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Pro Amplifiers: I've switched from a receiver to a processor and pro grade amplifiers. Lotsa watts, not too much cash, but a few challenges getting things working. All worth it in the end. Part I of "Power" Series.

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Pro Speakers: Experimented with Pro Sound reinforcement speakers in my home theater, eventually moved on to pro cinema speakers. Part II of "Power" Series.

Pro Sound Speaker Pro Cimena Speaker

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