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Above is the equipment rack with the centre speaker resting on top. The equipment is as follows... Top left is the Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-Ray
Player. Top centre is the Yamaha RX-V1075 7.2 channel network AV receiver rated at 110Wx7. Top right is the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player. Bottom left is the Harmon Kardon
EQ8 Graphic Equalizer. Bottom Centre is the Yamaha CDC-585 Carousel CD Player.
Finally, at the bottom right is the Denon DBT-1713UD Smart 3D Blu-Ray Player. Click on the image to enlarge.
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Above is the heart of the Holodeck, the
Yamaha RX-V1075 7.2 channel network AV receiver.
This beauty can handle the newer 4K video resolution and will up-convert lower
resolution video as well as process 3D video. It also sounds as good as it looks with plenty of power, 110W x 7. The 4 pictures show the front and back of the unit as well as the hidden panel and
the remote control. Click on the images to enlarge.
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Above is my
ever changing collection of remote controls.
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Above is my Blu-Ray, HD
DVD, DVD and CD collection.
Click on the image to enlarge.
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The Home Theatre Room (Thumbnail Images)
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Here are a few pictures of the new room. Click on the images to enlarge. The first shot is the front soundstage. I ran a PVC conduit inside the wall from the component rack up to the ceiling and then across to the ceiling-mounted projector. These contain all of the video wires. The second shot shows the
back of the room, which has 3 large windows, two being visible here. I installed shutters
on these windows but a special projection screen is used to control the ambient light from these windows.
Read more about that in the Projection Screen section further down this page. The following picture is a shot of the main seating areas. In the fourth shot you can see the surround speakers and the projector which mount off the 12'
4" ceiling.
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The Speakers (Thumbnail Images)
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These are shots of the speakers in my system. Click on the images to enlarge. From left to right is the
300W Paradigm Monitor SUB 12. It is located at the front
right side of the
room and sits atop a Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizer. This sub boasts a low frequency extension of 16Hz, in a sealed design, with
an ultra quick bass response. I have it optimized with Paradigm's Perfect Bass
Kit which analyzes the subwoofer’s response
in the room and then sets the correct equalization parameters to obtain optimal
sound. Even when the finest subwoofer is placed perfectly, bass can sound
bloated or boomy due to imperfect room acoustics. The PBK system measures the
subwoofer from multiple positions in the room to highlight problem areas and
calculate the correct EQ curve, resulting in pitch-perfect bass tailor made for
the room. Next are the main speakers,
Paradigm Mini Monitors, which are mounted on
25" stands to place their tweeters at ear level while in the listening position. Next is the
Paradigm Centre 3 which is resting on top of the equipment rack
using a 5" stand. After that are the PSB Ambient II quasi-dipole speakers, which I use as my surrounds. They are located to the left and right of the listening position and mounted off the ceiling. Finally there is the PSB Alpha C which I am using as the rear centre speaker to match the Ambient II surrounds.
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The Smart UHD 3D Blu-Ray Player
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The Panasonic DP-UB820
UHD Blu-Ray player is capable of playing the next generation of movies in full
UHD-Definition, 3840 x 2160. It has gotten rave reviews for both picture and audio quality for
4k/UHD disks as well as its ability to up-convert standard Blu-Rays and dvd's to
2160p. This player had Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG. It is capable of
playing all of the newer audio formats available to UHD Blu-Ray which include
Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, Dolby TrueHD, dts HD Master Lossless and PCM up to 7.1. I have it hooked up using HDMI
for the audio and video.
Click image to view the rear of the
player.
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The Smart 3D Blu-Ray Player
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The
Denon DBT-1713UD Smart 3D Blu-Ray player is
the latest addition to the Holodeck and plays movies in full Hi-Definition, 1920 x 1080
but also plays the new 3D Blu-Ray format. Sporting
a solid cabinet, large footprint, and sleek black finish, the DBT-1713UD
contains no fan and is virtually silent. A fully shielded drive mechanism
suppresses internal and external vibrations and electromagnetic noise for
consistent, precise playback. It is capable of
playing all of the newer audio formats available to Blu-Ray which include Dolby TrueHD, dts HD Master Lossless and PCM up to 7.1.
As a smart player, it allows you access to various things online like Netflix
and YouTube. I have it hooked up using HDMI
for the audio and video.
Click image to view the rear of the
player.
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The Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player is a Hi-Def player with a 1080i output. It plays standard dvd's as well as the newer HD-DVD format, not unlike the above blu-ray player. The hookup is also similar to the way I have the Panasonic player connected, with an hdmi cable
handling the audio and video. It is capable of the newer audio formats available to HD-DVD which include Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital TrueHD. It is a welcome addition to the Holodeck,
allowing us to enjoy all of the movies available to the Hi-Def formats.
Click image to view the rear of the
player.
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The Front Projector (Thumbnail Images)
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This is the projector (a
Panasonic PT-AE8000 LCD unit with a full Hi-Def resolution of 1920 x 1080)
paired with a 106" Black Diamond 16:9 fixed screen. This amazing projector is
capable of full 1080p 3D video and has beefy specs including a brightness of
2400 ansi lumens, a 500000:1 contrast ratio and is extremely versatile in its
placement. This is due to the amount of image shift adjustment
available. The projector is fed with a 36ft long HDMI Cable delivered from the
equipment rack to the projector via a PVC conduit that runs behind the wall and
above the ceiling. The projector is mounted 10ft 8in away from the screen using a CrimsonAV heavy-duty mount that drops the unit down by 34". Surge protection is accomplished with the Monster SW200 which can be seen in the last picture. Click on the images to enlarge.
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The Projection
Screen (Thumbnail Image & Videos)
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The screen that I have recently
installed is a Screen Innovations, Black Diamond 106" 16x9 screen
with a gain of 1.4. "Black Diamond™ is
the only screen material available that absorbs all of the unwanted ambient
light in a room, making it a highly versatile screen solution for a
wide variety of applications. Uniquely designed to resolve the negative visual
effects that are caused by light scatter, the proprietary ambient
light rejecting technologies enable Black Diamond to absorb ambient light above,
below, and even in the path of the projector. Not only does this reduce
light scatter over 75%, it also preserve the projector’s contrast by
allowing only the projector’s light to be reflected back into the viewer’s eyes.
This results in more than a 900% boost in contrast compared to
what would be achieved in the same space with the same lighting with any other
screen material, paint or surface treatment." The viewable area measures 92.5" x
52" (106" diagonal) and the total screen size is 99.5" x 57" and works amazingly
in my home theatre room that suffers from ambient light.
Click on the image above for a closer look at the front of the theatre and click
on the three videos below to get some great information on the screen.
You can also visit DIY Reviews
here for some more great videos about this screen.
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