Hello,
I've been lurking around on a few sites reading up gaining some knowledge on the different areas that make up a home theater. Now I think I am ready to take the plunge. I wanted to see what some more experienced people think of it, and where I could improve on it or cut some costs out.
My ultimate Home Entertainment system would comprise of three different areas. And the requirements for each area.
Sound- Crystal clear, with deep bass and an enveloping surround
Video- HD quality, widescreen, >50 inch diagonal
Computer- Able to surf the web, record TV programs, and play some video games (World of Warcraft)
I want to integrate all three into a pretty awesome theater. Here are my plans so far.
For sound I am planning on using the Yamaha Rxv – 2500 for the A/V Reciever,
For speakers I am planning on using all Axiom with M22tis as the fronts the V-150 center, QS8s for surround and a HSU sub. I hear this is a great midrange receiver, I also like it because I eventually want to upgrade to 7.1 sound, moving the m22tis to the rear and getting the M60 floorstanders as the fronts.
My question is this will I be able to get enough sound quality out of the HTPC to fully take advantage of this system?
For the Video I am planning on making a DIY projector. I am pretty confident that I can make a really good LCD projector on the cheap for about $700. I will be using a ProView 15.4" Widescreen LCD Display to project the image. This monitor has a native resolution at 1280x800. Reading other DIY projects they have made projectors with diagonals of 100 inches at HD quality. As for the screen itself I will either make a high gain screen using some sand blasted plexi glass and reflective paper, or just black out cloth from Jo-ann fabrics stretched across a wooden frame.
For the HTPC the brains of the operation I plan on using just a standard atx case as it will be tucked somewhere out of sight. For a processor I am thinking a Amd athalon 939 3500+. Coupled with a gig of ram, Hauppauge 150 capture card, a sea gate 80 hard drive for programs and a 200g for storage. A Samsung TS-H552B DVD+R/w for the dvd player. For video a geforce 6600 GT will be used, and for audio M-Audio Revolution 7.1.
Here is where my second question comes in, Do I even need the sound card? Because this will be connected to the Receiver couldn’t that do all my sound processing?
I will probably be building this entire system over a 2 year period, doing each category individually starting with the HTPC and the Proview monitor which will later be tore down to be used in my projector. Than the last step would be the Sound system.
Some rough guesses on all the costs
HTPC
1400
Projector
700
Sound
2300
Software and cables
300
Total system Cost- $4600
I might have to lower my standards on the sound because that takes up over half my budget.
What do you guys think about this?
