Originally posted by Yawwn:
Hi Michigan,...I plan to make risers so that the second and third rows will be progressively higher to clear the heads of the row in front (I guess it's referred to as stadium seating).
Good for you! Make sure there is adequate space between the rows of seats (usually 24" to 36") so that people can move up and down the rows and your guests can stretch their legs occasionally. Make sure the risers are at least 6" to 8" tall and remember to put steps that aren't too tall in the aisleways (or use a ramp). Also, if you are building the house from scratch, consider digging the front and second rows deeper than the back row rather than building risers. That way the floor level of the Theater is the highest point and you walk down to get to your seats. Very "Theatrical".
I'm getting the theatre seats that are bolted to the floor, attached together, but divided by cup holders.
We usually recommend in a large home theater (and yours would qualify for a large room with potentially 18 seats) a combination of "Theater Seats" and some sort of lounge chairs/sofa. The better seats are usually where the homeowner will sit and we refer to that as the "money seat". The home theater experienced should be optimized for this/these seat(s). After all, who is going to use the theater more than you? Plus comfort is of paramount importance for the homeowners as they will be spending many more hours in the seats than any guests. We have done Theaters where the "money seat" is in the first, second or third row/tier. It all depends on your room dimensions. Also, I would recommend against 3 rows of 6 seats. Ideally you want to stagger the seats, not line them up, so that the person behind is naturally looking BETWEEN two people (not AROUND one). If you wish to do all Theater type seating, go with a front row of 6, second row of 5, and the third row of 6. Even though the third row will line up with the first there will be TWO tiers in between them, which should alleviate any sightline problems.
In addition, the projector may be mounted a little over two-thirds the height of the room on the far wall from the screen. This hopefully will clear the peoples' heads, as well as a fan, if I decide to mount one.
Remember, you dont have infinite flexibility with regard to the given screen size a projector can fill from any distance. The projector will have something called a "throw distance" specified by the manufacturer. This will tell you how big a picture you can get from mounting the projector a given distance from the screen (think of it as a slide projector). Also, most projectors have a maximum screen size they can fill with good-to-excellent picture quality. This can be much smaller than indicated by the projector's marketing literature (for instance, one manufacturer I deal with claims their projector can "shoot" a 400" diagonal picture - but in reality, for this projector, anything over 100" and the picture quality and brightness goes downhill fast). There is also screen size to deal with. You don't want the screen to be so large that it overwhelms you and so small that the "Theatrical feel" is lost. Screen size is determined by the seating distance to the "money seats". Talk to your designer about the proper screen size for your room. Once the screen size has been determined, then you will know how far back you can mount your projector. If your theater is 30' deep (which is not huge for a 3-rows-of-seats theater) you can pretty much forget mounting it on the back wall. That is why I said earlier that the vast majority of projectors sold are ceiling mounted. This is also why I recommended a dedicated Air Conditioning zone for the theater. With 2 ceiling fans and a projector, your ceiling can begin to look "busy" very quickly. You don't want the ceiling clutter, the distraction of the spinning fans, or the noise they will create. (I don't ever recall seeing ceiling fans in a movie theater).
...or behind the motorized drop down screen?
If this is a dedicated theater (as you imply with the seating), I would recommend AGAINST a motorized screen. A screen on the wall does not look out of place in a theater. Also, figure on spending about TWICE what a normal screen would cost for motorization. If you are going to watch a lot of conventional TV (4:3 aspect ratio) as well as widescreen movies I have 2 recommendations. Plan "A" calls for a 16:9 format widescreen with motorized "masking panels". These electric panels (made out of black material) are lowered when watching 4:3 programs and are electronically raised when you switch to widescreen programming. These panels will be supplied by your screen company (for a charge). Plan "B" would be to use a 16:9 format widescreen and use motorized curtains to control the width of the viewable picture. Notice that both of these options call for a non-motorized widescreen (called a fixed screen). With the motorized curtains option you can even program the curtains to close all the way when you are done. It can be very dramatic when, beginning a movie, your lights dim and the curtains open to reveal the screen (very "Hollywood" & very cool) and the lights raise and the curtain closes at the end.
I'm still deciding how and where to place the equipment. Should I have it in the rear of the room, nearby the bathroom below the projector, or in another room, or behind the motorized drop down screen?
I vote for in the rear of the room. Any associated equipment noise will be minimized and any displays or blinking lights will not distract from the picture on the screen. If you keep it in the room you will not have to leave your theater in order to put in new DVDs, CDs or Videocassettes.
Should it be flush with the wall, or placed on a rack. I prefer having it flush. Again, questions for the consultant, but if you have any thoughts on the matter, it would be much appreciated.
Regarding the equipment rack, there are 3 things that are important.
1. Appearance
2. Accessability to the equipment
3. Ventilation of the Equipment
Regarding #1, I also like the look of flush mounted equipment, and the BEST way to go with that is a rack from a company called Middle Atlantic. Their rack is the ones you see in all of the showcase theaters in the magazines (Audio Video Interiors especially). Their racks have shelves for all the equipment pieces and they make custom frames for all the electronics that bolt on to the face of the cabinet. This rack isn't cheap however. Figure $4k to $5k for a good size rack. Another advantage of this rack is that it pulls out so you can get access to the rear of the components. Another company that I deal with is called AVRAK (www.avrak.com). They make equipment racks that pull out and spin or racks that just spin in place to allow rear access. However you would lose the "flush mount" appearance. The only way I would put equipment, in a room of this caliber, on shelves would be if I had rear access provided (like a door on the back of the cabinet that you can access from another room). If you go this route, you can have your cabinet builder make you a custom faceplate for the shelves. The only drawback is that if you ever change a component you will have to get a new faceplate designed.
Regarding #2, I pretty much said everything in the above. Don't think this is a light concern. Without accessability you installer will have a MUCH worse time repairing or upgrading your components (do you really want to pay $900 in labor to swap a $200 VCR into the system?)
Regarding #3, ventilation is also a MUST! The number one enemy of electronics is heat. The more you keep away from your components, the better they will perform and the longer they will last.
Is that enough for you to get started on? I didn't touch on lighting control, lighting design, speaker layout, NSX theme integration, or a host of other things for fear of boring you with a huge post (not that this is short by any means, but I could go on for hours about this stuff. It is my job, hobby, and passion)
Again, Good Luck in your project and please feel free to ask any more questions I may be able to help with.
P.S. I hope I didn't come off sounding like I have a "Holier than thou" attitude. I just have strong opinions on a lot of this stuff.
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'91 Black/Black
[This message has been edited by Michigan NSX (edited 13 September 2002).]
