typicaltronname Wrote:You guys are making me way too jealous. I watch Tron on 26" Sharp Aquos TV connected to my 2.1 speaker system. Want to upgrade to a 40" with at least 120hz, but nearly impossible to find within a $500 range. I've got my eye on the Samsung UN40D5003.

If you want to go DLP like "Disc-of-tron" suggested. You could find 60" DLP sets for around $600 dollars. This allows for a relatively large screen for a modest price. The only downside is that you can't mount it on a wall.

typicaltronname Wrote: DrP Wrote: typicaltronname Wrote:You guys are making me way too jealous. I watch Tron on 26" Sharp Aquos TV connected to my 2.1 speaker system. Want to upgrade to a 40" with at least 120hz, but nearly impossible to find within a $500 range. I've got my eye on the Samsung UN40D5003. If you want to go DLP like "Disc-of-tron" suggested. You could find 60" DLP sets for around $600 dollars. This allows for a relatively large screen for a modest price. The only downside is that you can't mount it on a wall. As much as I would like to get it, (especially at that price)I would have no place to put it, as our viewing area is very small at about 6-7 feet. I'll keep thinking about it, though. What's the refresh rate on these monsters? The bigger s the screen the more hertz it needs. So, I'm betting its around at least 240 hertz

In all honesty the refresh rate is not that critical with modern display technologies. Remember that most movies are shot in 24 fps or 30 at most. That means that if your can display this rate you are not going to miss anything and the picture will not look any worse. Now due to some tech limits and stuff on technology it's good to have 120 hz, but going above this won't help significantly. Just think of your computer monitor, it's not refreshing at more than 60 hz and I bet you have no flicker problems. Even video games will not display higher than 60 hz. And Blu-ray video codec specs top out at 30 fps (with most content at 24 fps) (check out the blu-ray wikipedia article under video codecs). A lot of these high refresh rates came out of the LCD display technology limitation on blanking the previous frame. But that was due to ghosting issues as the technology was not the best in refresh times (meaning the previous image did not completely go away before the next frame came in). This wasn't an issue with DLP, plasma, CRT and other tech as much.

Bottom line, as long as the picture doesn't seem to be flickering or ghosting, the crazy high refresh rates are not going to be helpful, you could have a refresh rate of 240 hz, but that means your going to be displaying the same frame of the blu-ray movie 10 times in a row, vs 2 times for one with 60 hz..

Check out this nice little article on refresh rates and the need for these super high 120 and 240 hz displays:

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HooDooMan Wrote: typicaltronname Wrote: DrP Wrote: typicaltronname Wrote:You guys are making me way too jealous. I watch Tron on 26" Sharp Aquos TV connected to my 2.1 speaker system. Want to upgrade to a 40" with at least 120hz, but nearly impossible to find within a $500 range. I've got my eye on the Samsung UN40D5003. If you want to go DLP like "Disc-of-tron" suggested. You could find 60" DLP sets for around $600 dollars. This allows for a relatively large screen for a modest price. The only downside is that you can't mount it on a wall. As much as I would like to get it, (especially at that price)I would have no place to put it, as our viewing area is very small at about 6-7 feet. I'll keep thinking about it, though. What's the refresh rate on these monsters? The bigger s the screen the more hertz it needs. So, I'm betting its around at least 240 hertz Hey typ, I just measured my setup with a tape measure, and from TV screen face to eyeball is 72 inches, so I'm watching from a MAXIMUM distance of 6 feet and it looks great! I too have a very small viewing area, so I feel your pain. But it's actually pretty close to the THX recommendations that DrP mentioned earlier. And it makes all the difference! It's a very immersive experience! Oh, and I bought mine as an open box special for $599 from TigerDirect back in June (40th birthday present to myself). So, if you're looking to buy a new TV, you might want to take a look at the DLP TV's. You get a lot of bang for your buck. I had no need to hang it on a wall, so I don't mind it being 15 inches thick at the most. From my couch, you can't even tell! Now, let's all get together and have a TRON movie night at DrP's house! LOL! I would love to see and hear TRON/TRON: Legacy on that huge projector screen and amazing audio setup you have, Doc!

Here is a nice little online calculator for figuring out what ideal view distance you should have based on your TV size. http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html You just plug in the numbers and it tells you. Most people sit much farther away than what THX recommends and they miss out on a much more immersive experience as you said. Sounds like a you got a great deal on that TV for $600! Once again, DLP is a great technology if you don't intend to hang the TV on the wall. Post some pics of your setup if you have the time.

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After some listening with the new cable I was so impressed by the improvement in quality that I decided to make another pair to connect my preamp to my Oppo CD player. This one was a shorter 2 ft cable.

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Kaisergrendel Wrote: Nice cables DrP, how much did they cost to make?

It's hard to make an estimate as I had to "tool up" for the project before I could start. The cable was under 2 bucks per foot, the plugs were about $20 per set, the techflex I bought a 25 ft section for about 10 bucks, I had a heat shrink set with numerous sizes and additional techlfex which cost 10 bucks. I had to buy a multimeter (3 bucks off ebay), cable stripper (3 bucks on ebay) solder gun 20 bucks, solder 10 bucks, and little "exta hand" solder kit holder for another 10 bucks. I'm guessing about 50 bucks per cable set but clearly it was a little up front cost as I had to buy the tools needed to make this. I still have tons of techflex, solder, etc... so I won't need to buy that for future cables. It was a really fun project and I really like the sound of my system with these upgrades. Overall this was very cheap as cables like these usually go for hundreds of dollars.

Boba Fettuccini Wrote:Crappy 90s Magnavox CRT television Denon stereo reciever Cheapass Sony DVD player @ bigass speakers I got at a yardsale for $5 that no longer have logos on them Boom.

Feel your pain, man. Until not long ago I had they same. But upgrading isn't "that" necessary if you can see a picture and hear sound. But then who does it for that? Like if we did it for just that I would still have a Black and White tube from 1950! Just save your shekels and get a used one some day. It will be worth it to see Tron on a good screen! (sound doesn't matter since I still have 4.0 surround and the HUGE Sony speakers which do have logos and it works)
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Kaisergrendel Wrote: DrP Wrote: Kaisergrendel Wrote: Nice cables DrP, how much did they cost to make? It's hard to make an estimate as I had to "tool up" for the project before I could start. The cable was under 2 bucks per foot, the plugs were about $20 per set, the techflex I bought a 25 ft section for about 10 bucks, I had a heat shrink set with numerous sizes and additional techlfex which cost 10 bucks. I had to buy a multimeter (3 bucks off ebay), cable stripper (3 bucks on ebay) solder gun 20 bucks, solder 10 bucks, and little "exta hand" solder kit holder for another 10 bucks. I'm guessing about 50 bucks per cable set but clearly it was a little up front cost as I had to buy the tools needed to make this. I still have tons of techflex, solder, etc... so I won't need to buy that for future cables. It was a really fun project and I really like the sound of my system with these upgrades. Overall this was very cheap as cables like these usually go for hundreds of dollars. Oh yeah, my tool cost made up about 10-20% of my entire project cost, but I saved thousands in the process so I always DIY if I can.

DIY is a great money saver. Yes it takes time, effort, and a little practice but in the end it's a great way to have a truly unique setup. Also, it's a great feeling to look at something that looks great and functions well (AND know that it was you who made it).

How is your room coming along by the way? I know you had made the super awesome mantle and sliding cabinet. Last time I heard you had some issues with the cables but had some stuff on order. Hope all is going well in the "never-ending" project!

Every time I think I'm finished I come up with something new. Not necessarily big things but always trying new stuff. I recently ordered some cable management supplies as I had wires running underneath a heating baseboard that I wanted to "clean up the look" as they would "peak" out a bit even though I tried to push them in deep underneath. I bought 4 pieces of 1.5 meter lengths so I have about 3 1/2 of them left. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052005&p_id=7028&seq=1&format=2 I may try to put some more to cover the cables running to my speakers. I'll have to see.

Kaisergrendel Wrote: DrP Wrote:DIY is a great money saver. Yes it takes time, effort, and a little practice but in the end it's a great way to have a truly unique setup. Also, it's a great feeling to look at something that looks great and functions well (AND know that it was you who made it). How is your room coming along by the way? I know you had made the super awesome mantle and sliding cabinet. Last time I heard you had some issues with the cables but had some stuff on order. Hope all is going well in the "never-ending" project! Every time I think I'm finished I come up with something new. Not necessarily big things but always trying new stuff. I recently ordered some cable management supplies as I had wires running underneath a heating baseboard that I wanted to "clean up the look" as they would "peak" out a bit even though I tried to push them in deep underneath. I bought 4 pieces of 1.5 meter lengths so I have about 3 1/2 of them left. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052005&p_id=7028&seq=1&format=2 I may try to put some more to cover the cables running to my speakers. I'll have to see. I had a falling out with my dad over the projector and screen. I won't go into details but he was really upset about the "symbolism" of having them there. Didn't want to rub salt into the wound by photographing the setup - the implication being I was going to show it off to someone. Still not sure if it's appropriate to do so now, but I'll see. Currently we're in an arrangement that forces me to take them down if the family can't get accustomed to it in 6 months. Not something I agreed to lightly, but what can you do. I had a number of things planned for the theater but they will have to be shelved indefinitely - possibly until I move into my own place. I love those zip cable sleeves. I use one for my computer and one in the theatre as the "artery" to the sliding cabinet - HDMI cable, power, remote extender, centre channel speaker all routed though it to the one element. The flexibility makes it perfect as the cabinet isn't stationary. In hindsight, I'm pretty happy with the way the theatre is now as I made sure I planned it down to the last detail before starting.

Hey, listen I hear ya. Working on project when you share a home is always going to be a give and take scenario. It doesn't matter whether it's your dad, roommate, landlord, significant other, etc. I went through the same growing pains. I remember when I was in school and renting an apartment, I had to watch how loud I played stuff or they would come up and bang on my door. Then later even when I had my own home, we first had the setup in our sun room and I had to make sure cables were out of sight and speakers not protruding into the room to much. It's not just the equipment that is in a state of transition but our living situations as well. It wasn't until I was able to build an entire dedicated room for the home theater that I was really able to have complete control. Even now I sometimes get the "don't you think we should put some couches in there so everybody can sit." Luckily, it's "my room" and this was agreed upon when I built it, but I think you should definitely respect the views of other household members first and foremost. And like you said, you'll probably move into your own place at some point and you can set up the system the way you want (In the meantime keep designing stuff! I can't believe how crazy accurate that 3D render of your room was, I first thought it was a photograph).

I have to admit that i'm a little surprised they would give you grief as you did such an excellent job with all the wood work and design in that room. I figured they would be like, damn you really made this room look nice, go ahead and keep going. If I had somebody living here with me that was so inclined and skilled, I would be like, yeah keep designing stuff and we'll keep building!

P.S.- Just of curiosity, what kind of "symbolism" is a home theater anyway? I like to think that mine symbolizes the fact that I like things of high quality and I'm willing to invest time and money into my home. Just my humble opinion.

Any improvement in sound DrP?

Kaisergrendel-

After installing the new front base panels I did notice a slightly less "boomy" base with high volume listening. I have to admit that the principle reason I bought these is for their cosmetic design. I really wanted to hide the front white heating baseboard and I figured if it gives a little extra sound improvement, it will be worth it. I have well over 150 sound proofing panels (not to mention cloth shades mounted on the walls) in the room so in relative terms this was a minor increase in sound dampening. Overall, I am very satisfied with the outcome so mission accomplished.


Rectify-

I'm glad to hear your having fun with your setup. That's what it's all about. It sounds like you really like headphone setups. There is a big audiophile community out there that does their listening through headphones. A couple of months ago I was thinking of buying a headphone listening setup. There are some really nice tube headphone amps for less than $1,000. I was thinking of buying a pair of the higher end Grado's as well. At the end I decided not to invest $2k in headphones when I have a dedicated room with large speakers. If I was living in an apartment or smaller house, a good headphone setup may have been the way I would have gone. Keep up the good work, and post some pics of your system including the headphones your using. They seem to be giving you a good experience and perhaps other tron-sector members may decide to use a similar setup.