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Post your home theater setup

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a general question. I have been mroogling for a while now reading about home theater set ups. I was considering getting a mac mini or a hackintosh but don't have a ton of money being a college student and all, and I have to upgrade my Powerbook G4 that has served me well for over 4 years. I am trying to set up something that can rip blu-rays, stream shows, run plex, etc. to a 37 inch 1080p LCD TV.

- My first question is will the new 15" MBP be able to handle all this and serve as my personal computer?
- Second, would it be worth upgrading from the 2.8GHz processor to the 3.06GHz for an additional $270 knowing that I am going to be ripping and playing large files?
- Third, would a SSD upgrade improve speed or performance of ripping over the ATA@7200rpm?

I have had a lot of experience ripping DVDs but have not yet attempted to rip a blu-ray.. I don't think my current computer could handle it. Sorry if these questions have been posted already I have searched MRF and have not concluded anything so I thought I would post a question for the first time on here.

Thanks!!
 
Main
Onkyo 805 Receiver
ADA MP500 Amplifier (speakers)
Crown CTS3000 Amplifier (subs)
Sony Playstation
ATV
TiVo HD
RTI Remote control system (T4 / RP-6 processor)
Equitech X 2
4 Richard Grays

Bedroom
Integra DTR 9.1 Receiver
ADA 6150 Amplifier
Panasonic Blu-Ray Player - BD55K
Sunfire Super Junior Subwoofer
Fujitsu 55" Plasma
ATV - set to streaming only
TiVo HD
RTI Remote control system (T3 / RP-6 processor)
Equitech
2 Richard Grays

Media Server
Mac Mini upgraded to 4Gb RAM
DROBO connected via firewire to MacMini - 3 1.5TB drives

Gigabit Ethernet hubs throughout the house
 
apprehendingeve said:
I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a general question. I have been mroogling for a while now reading about home theater set ups. I was considering getting a mac mini or a hackintosh but don't have a ton of money being a college student and all, and I have to upgrade my Powerbook G4 that has served me well for over 4 years. I am trying to set up something that can rip blu-rays, stream shows, run plex, etc. to a 37 inch 1080p LCD TV.

- My first question is will the new 15" MBP be able to handle all this and serve as my personal computer?
- Second, would it be worth upgrading from the 2.8GHz processor to the 3.06GHz for an additional $270 knowing that I am going to be ripping and playing large files?
- Third, would a SSD upgrade improve speed or performance of ripping over the ATA@7200rpm?

I have had a lot of experience ripping DVDs but have not yet attempted to rip a blu-ray.. I don't think my current computer could handle it. Sorry if these questions have been posted already I have searched MRF and have not concluded anything so I thought I would post a question for the first time on here.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

1.) Yes I have one and it works fine but I use my dedicated Hackitosh core i7 machine
2.)Not going to make much of a difference but it will help slightly with Encoding
3.) No you will be limited by the read speed of the Blu-ray drive that you select. Which brings me to the next point that you will need huge amounts of storage to store the Blu-ray rips (20-30GB each just for the main title). If you want to encode them and compress them then answer to question #2 comes into play. Encoding will take hours to complete when a direct rip of the disk using MakeMKV will take 30 -45 mins.
 
Pictures speak thousands of words right?
 

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Home Theater Setup
  • Core 2 Quad Q6600 Hackintosh with nVidia 9500GT/ 4 GB
  • XBMC media center
  • 2.75 TB WD
  • Harmony 510 remote

HTPC 2
  • ASRock 330 nettop with 320 GB drive running XBMC live ( 1080p )
  • MCE remote
  • Samsung 40" LCD TV (connected by HDMI cable)


---------------------------

Want to play 1080p on your ATV?
With Crystal HD & XBMC you can!

.
 
22in LG LCD HDTV
40GB Apple TV
1T Western Digital My Book Media
120GB Playstation Slim
Airport Express
L-Trigue 3400 Creative Speakers System
 
Sony Bravia XBR 46" (KDL-46XBR4)
Verizon FIOS TV and Internet - 15mbps - w/wireless G router
Verizon DVR/set-top box
Panasonic 5-disc changer and surround sound system (relatively cheap, $220ish from a few years ago) - 5.1 with wired speakers
PS3
Apple TV
XBox 360

Everything is connected by HDMI to the TV where possible. The Xbox 360 is connected by component to the TV due to lack of HDMI support. The TV has optical audio out that connects to the surround system.

The ATV, Xbox 360 and PS3 are connected to the router with ethernet. My MacBook uses wireless.

I want to upgrade to an N router, but it hasn't been an issue so far. The only device that uses wireless most of the time, my laptop, sits about 8 feet from the G router and has maximum signal.

I feel like I should upgrade the sound system, but what I have sounds good to me ... I'm not much of an audiophile.
 
Library

VolcomLegend said:
Samsung 40" 1080p LCD TV

Oh, and a pretty decent movie collection...

http://Library.SpecialEdition.me.uk
Click to expand...

Impressive library. However, I always wonder how often do you (review) movies you have seen already?

Even with movies I really like, I have trouble to see them a third time... not trying to think about even more often :). I know this is probably strange, because when reading a book, I have no problem reading good books many times again.

My system:
Bang & Olufsen BV10
Bang & Olufsen speakers (BS3 and BS4000)
Pioneer BDP LX-52
Humax HD recorder
Nintendo Wii
Apple TV
 
I don't have wired ethernet near my setup so I have a different kind of setup.

I have 1 20"imac with a drobo attached hooked to the internet via wifi. I then share the wifi connection thru the ethernet port on the imac. I have a 4 port wireless dlink router plugged into the ethernet port on the imac. I have 2 series 3 hd tivos and a apple tv hooked to the router. I also have 3 other apple tvs hooked to the router over wifi.

Here is the advantage to this. I'm able to take shows off of my tivos quickly because they are hooked up thru a wired connection. The other advantage is the apple tvs and tivos don't take up bandwidth on my network because they are isolated. I use toast to take the shows off of the tivos and remove the commercials, i then put them in itunes. I have kids and have setup smart playlists in itunes and there apple tvs are instantly updated as they watch shows. They are set to keep 10 shows and only put in the shows that have not been watched recently.

I have a large living room/kitchen area so I have a 58" Samsung Plasma in the living room, and a 32" visio in the kitchen. I use a 6 port impact component switcher with 2 outputs to control the content and to keep both tv's mirrored. (in case anybody cares I used rapid run cable to connect the vizio to the switcher.) I use the Harmony 880 remote to control everything.
 
This is, what i have:

Panasonic TH-46PZ85E Plasma
Onkyo TX-SR606 Receiver
Onkyo DV-BD606 Bluray Player
Klipsch RW-10d Subwoofer
Bose 304 Front
Bose Cubes Rear
Bose VCS-10 Center Speaker
Apple TV 160GB
Sony Playstation 3 Slim
Microsoft XBox 360 Elite
Wii Black Spezial Edition
Logitech Harmony One
 
Here we go:

Sony 46Z 5500
PS3 Slim (250 GB)
Apple TV (40 GB)
iMac
Mac Mini 2.5 GHz (2009)
Drobo (4 TB)
Movies: 400
TV Shows: 1112 episodes
Songs: 6807

Logitech Dinovo Mini Keyboard



To be added when finances permit:

Onkyo TX-SR607E Amplifier
B&W speakers
(Perhaps an XBOX 360?)
 
53" Samsung Plasma
40" Samsung lcd
Denon receiver
Boston Acoustics Speakers
Bluray
CD/DVD Player
Xbox360
Cable Box
Lutron Maestro IR Lighting
Total Control Remote Edition Iphone IR Remote
 
This thread needs more pictures!

still waiting to have the money for a mac mini to be used just as a HTPC so i'm using plex through my iMac conected to my 37" Sony bravia
 

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Ok, here goes...

3rd Floor office:
Macbook Pro running Plex feeding a Dell 2408WFP monitor
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system
Fios Digital STB that feeds both a 2nd Dell 2408WFP and the tv in the bedroom below
RF receiver for Logitech 890 remote also in the bedroom

2nd Floor:
Sharp Aquos 42" TV wallmounted
Logitech 890 remote
Popcorn Hour A-100 (soon to be A-110)

1st Floor:
Pioneer Elite Plasma 50"
Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver
Polk speakers
Klipsch sub
Popcorn Hour A-110 (soon to be C-200)
Apple TV w/ ATV Flash and 250 gig HD
FiOS networked DVR
Panasonic Bluray player (I forget which model, I hardly use it)
Logitech 1100 remote
Lutron Maestro IR light dimmers

Basement:
Home built media server- used to use an HP 470 media smart server, now using one I built myself:
Norco 4u rackmount case
Intel i5 650 CPU @3.2GHz
Asus P7P55D Evo motherboard
4 gigs Corsair DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
LG Bluray drive
Rosewill 5 bay eSATA drive chassis
Sans Digital 4 bay eSATA drive chassis
total of 16 1.5TB Seagate drives, all but two are in the storage pool (2 are used for backup of critical data) 19.1 TB usable storage in the pool
MS Windows Home Server w/ PP3
UPS

All floors are connected via Cat5E running a gigabit network. Every floor has at least one gig switch and FiOS Internet connectivity is running at 25/15.

John
 
I'm new and still setting everything up but here goes:
Samsung PN58B860 58" Plasma
Mac Mini 2.6
Pioneer Elite VSX-23THX Receive
Pioneer Elite BDP FD Blu Ray
Drobo 4 bay storage array
Logitech Dinovo Edge Wireless Keyboard/Trackpad
Boston Acoustics Lynnfield speakers - front & center
Orb Audio - 2 sides and 2 back surrounds.
Belkin PureAV Power Console PF31

I'll probably be back with questions!
 
steezy1337 said:
This thread needs more pictures!
Click to expand...

Here you go.

Home Theater Equipment List:
Denon AVR 3808CI
Denon POA-2800 powering the Fronts
Monitor Audio S6's Fronts
Monitor Audio SLCR Center
Niles PR-6 In-Wall surround speakers
SVS PB12-ISD Subwoofer
Panasonic 58" 1080P Plasma
Sony N460 BD DVD Player
DirecTV HD DVR HR20-100 W/750 GB HD
AppleTV Digital Media Player Networked to an iMac
Nintendo Wii
Panamax 5400-EX Power Conditioner
Home Theater Master MX 500 Remote
Niles OS-10 Patio Speakers
Bluejeans Cable (Belden): HDMI and Interconnects
Belden 12 ga. DIY Speaker Cables
Salamander Synergy A/V Cabinet

IMG_4630.jpg
 
johnnj said:
Ok, here goes...

3rd Floor office:
Macbook Pro running Plex feeding a Dell 2408WFP monitor
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system
Fios Digital STB that feeds both a 2nd Dell 2408WFP and the tv in the bedroom below
RF receiver for Logitech 890 remote also in the bedroom

2nd Floor:
Sharp Aquos 42" TV wallmounted
Logitech 890 remote
Popcorn Hour A-100 (soon to be A-110)

1st Floor:
Pioneer Elite Plasma 50"
Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver
Polk speakers
Klipsch sub
Popcorn Hour A-110 (soon to be C-200)
Apple TV w/ ATV Flash and 250 gig HD
FiOS networked DVR
Panasonic Bluray player (I forget which model, I hardly use it)
Logitech 1100 remote
Lutron Maestro IR light dimmers

Basement:
Home built media server- used to use an HP 470 media smart server, now using one I built myself:
Norco 4u rackmount case
Intel i5 650 CPU @3.2GHz
Asus P7P55D Evo motherboard
4 gigs Corsair DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
LG Bluray drive
Rosewill 5 bay eSATA drive chassis
Sans Digital 4 bay eSATA drive chassis
total of 16 1.5TB Seagate drives, all but two are in the storage pool (2 are used for backup of critical data) 19.1 TB usable storage in the pool
MS Windows Home Server w/ PP3
UPS

All floors are connected via Cat5E running a gigabit network. Every floor has at least one gig switch and FiOS Internet connectivity is running at 25/15.

John
Click to expand...
Very nice systems. How do you like the ATV Flash? With FiOS Internet connectivity running at 25/15 you're ready to stream 1080P video. Now if we can just get providers like Netfilx to provide the content.
 
Basement Home Theater "System"

I remodeled our basement in 2004. Money "saved" doing the remodel myself went to this -- however spouse not amused/impressed by this explanation... Upgraded receiver and added game systems over time.

Yamaha RX-559 AV Receiver (with iPod dock accessory)
Yamaha YST-SW215 subwoofer
HTD AL-W65 in-wall speakers (2)
HTD MP-65 ceiling mounted speakers (2)
In-ceiling speaker (directional) (also wired outdoor speakers on our deck)
Dell 2300MP projector (1080i) - ceiling mounted 12 ft from screen
Draper Silhouette Series screen (66” wide)
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 4240HDC (Cox Cable)
Panasonic DVD-F87 DVD/CD player
Nintendo Wii
Microsoft Xbox 360 (wireless internet connectivity)
Sony PlayStation
Memorex Karaoke machine
 
Duffinator said:
Very nice systems. How do you like the ATV Flash? With FiOS Internet connectivity running at 25/15 you're ready to stream 1080P video. Now if we can just get providers like Netfilx to provide the content.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much. To tell you the truth, I really only use the ATV as the music player on my main system. I got the ATV flash just to see what it was like. I did really like the last major revision of the ATV's native firmware though, especially with the new features of the iphone remote control app.

As for the FiOS, I actually just put in an order today to upgrade it to the new 35/35 service. Let the games begin!!!

John
 
My Budget Theater

I designed my home theater around two critical limitations: I'm cheap and I buy all my gear in the US but actually live in India, so everything has to come across in a suitcase, from Mac Pro to Subwoofer to 30" monitor. It took a few trips. I'll include the rough prices I paid, just so the masses can see that you can have great, mid-range performance without breaking the bank.

Video source: Mac Pro NVIDIA 8800 (see sig) mainly 720p 5.1 MKV files -- $2,000 + a dozen upgrades
Receiver: Panasonic SA-XR57 Fuly Digital Amplifier (Class D - chosen because it's a third of the weight of other 7.1 amps and uses way less power - handy since I'm running my theater on a 1.4KVA 24v battery backup system since we have daily power outages) -- $230 shipped
Subwoofer: Velodyne VX10 (reviewed very favorably yet fit (barely) in a standard suitcase) -- $170 shipped
Center/Satellites: Velodyne CHT - really happy with these. -- $200!!!! People were shocked when they retailed for only $599.
Display: Mitsubishi HD1000u 720p DLP projector on 0 gain gray screen at 96" -- $800 for the PJ and another $100 or so for the custom-framed screen.

The general rule around the house is, for 1h or less (if we're just going to watch 1 episode or something) then we 'make do' with the 30" 2560x1600 display, but for 2 episodes or a movie, we fire up the projector. I presently have no plans to upgrade any of my components, which is something that shocks all of my friends. I am in the market for a better remote, but I'm thrilled by the Home Cinema experience I have now, without breaking the bank - $1400 + Computer for flawless (ie. no obvious short comings, obviously not the greatest on earth) HD & surround performance.

My father has a 52" Mits 1080p DLP with better audio gear than mine, but I totally prefer the 96" screen, and 720p still fills plenty HD for me. I sit 1.5x screen size away (12 feet) and it's just terrific. A friend has a 1080p HT setup, and I was pleasantly surprised how little improvement there was even on the Planet Earth BluRay - it's double the pixels, but only a 10% detail improvement, imho. 720p is the budget sweet spot... and I've been saying that for 2 years, but for projectors (and the mkv 'market'), it's still true.

My living room has a 24" Dell 2405 with a (PAL) TiVo knockoff (Tata Sky+) and Logitech Z680 speakers (only running 2.1 at present) with an Airport Express piping iTunes into that room for parties/dinner music and the kids have inherited the old 29" CRT with 160gb iPod as poor-man's AppleTV. I connect it to my computer every week or two and sync new episodes/movies I've downloaded for them, but they have like 60GB of movies/kids episodes presently, so they're pretty spoiled as is.
 
curtmm1 said:
Dell 2300MP projector (1080i) - ceiling mounted 12 ft from screen
Click to expand...

Hey just a heads up, don't want to be a jerk, but there is no such thing as a 1080i projector. Your model can receive (and perform admirably, for sure) a 1080i signal, but it'll always scale any video source back to the native resolution - 800x600 (SVGA).

I started with a SVGA projector - blew my socks off and I loved it. Then went to 1024x768 (used to courier it back and forth from the classroom to my house on weekends) then I finally upgraded to a 720p HT projector and the better colors and depth (contrast) really made it a worth-while upgrade.
 
Sony 55" XBR8 LCD
Denon A/V Receiver
Comcast Cable Box (inc. HD & DVR)
PS3
Apple TV
Speakercraft 5.1 Surround Sound (in ceiling except for the sub-woofer)
Logitech Harmony 900 remote

The room has a lot of ambient light, so I went with the Sony because it's LCD and has a matte screen. If I went with a Samsung LCD (for example) or a plasma, which have glossy screens, all I'd ever see is a reflection of my kitchen. The Sony is great, though, and an excellent compromise between usability and quality.

The Denon receiver has got plenty of HDMI inputs, and the set-up is via on-screen menus, which is handy. It puts out more than enough sound and it's high quality. It upscales any video input less than 1080p, and the picture it feeds to the Sony is excellent. It has an iPod connection, but I don't need that because of the Apple TV. It also drives a second zone of in-ceiling speakers for the dining room, game room and two locations outside (each with their own independent volume chokes).

The Speakercraft speakers are fantastic. The front three have independent gimbles for the woofer and tweeter, and so can be pin-pointedly focused onto a seating position. For the rear two speakers I opted for fixed units as they are positioned in the right place naturally. They have incredible bass performance, which I noted even before the sub-woofer was hooked up. They also provide amazing sound detail such that I have paused movies a number of times because I thought something on the movie was happening outside or behind me.

The PS3 is becoming more and more redundant as I don't use it for games very much these days, and now that I'm ripping Blu Rays to my Mac, I tend to watch them on my Apple TV rather than going through all that effort to put a disk into the PS3. Picture and audio from the PS3 are amazing, though.

The Apple TV is fed by my Mac via ethernet, but my media is stored on a Western Digital NAS. I have just under 100 movies (and growing daily), plus a bunch of TV shows (including the entire BSG saga, natch), most of which are rips from Netflix rentals. I'm now going back around and ordering the Blu Ray versions and re-ripping in dual resolution - one for Apple TV and one for my iPhone. I use MetaX for tagging, plus Subler to put in the HD tag and cnID to get iTunes to nest the two versions under one entry in the library.

All this is controlled by a Logitech remote, which is sweet. The remote sends an RF signal to a receiver which means that the compenents can all be closed up in cabinets. The receiver converts the instruction to IR and sends it out via IR blasters. The IR bounces around inside the cabinets and is picked up by the appropriate component. Logitech also have a PS3 adapter (sold separately) that picks up the IR signal and converts it to Bluetooth, so I can control everything from the one remote, including the second zone sound output. It works very well with negligible lag.
 
My home theater setup

My cable free setup

40"Sony bravia LCD
Dell computer w/ blueray drive and TV tuner
80 Watt Harmon Kardon receiver w/ Boston Acoustics speakers W/ subwoofer
roof top antenna
DSL

Hulu and adult Swim both look good coming from the internet, and it's nice to have you tube on the big screen.
Football from over the air broadcasts look fantastic, and I can use the computer as a DVR, so I can start the game a half hour late and skip thru a bunch of comericals.
 
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