Cinema Room - Minimise the feck ups
Discussion
Good afternoon all,
This we I am started the redo of our cinema / music room. Id like to run past you my current plans to check i'm not doing anything silly or missing anything I shouldn't. I also have a few questions.
Here is the proposed room layout. Yellow are proposed new sockets, Blue is speaker runs and red is hdmi.
Currently, I plan to chase out a channel in the floor and run conduit across to the back wall. The hdmi conduit will then go up the wall to a plate near the projector. Im not sure sure how to do the speakers yet, wether that be 2 plates or just one central plate on the wall behind the sofa. I guess that comes down to speaker setup.
Above is the room in question as of last night. I think its a floating concrete floor, not a skim. The walls maybe concrete in this part of the house.
So my questions are.
What do I need to wire and to where, just in case I missed something.
What shall I put in for redundancy or future upgrades?
The ceiling height is quite low, so im forbidden for putting in a false ceiling for lighting. Any thoughts on what I can do?
I quite fancy blocking off the far door way as its redundant, and the boss wants a bookshelf in front of it anyway. It comes down to how good I can make the plasterboard insert
I appreciate any advice you lot can give me. My new wall chaser arrives tomorrow!
This we I am started the redo of our cinema / music room. Id like to run past you my current plans to check i'm not doing anything silly or missing anything I shouldn't. I also have a few questions.
Here is the proposed room layout. Yellow are proposed new sockets, Blue is speaker runs and red is hdmi.
Currently, I plan to chase out a channel in the floor and run conduit across to the back wall. The hdmi conduit will then go up the wall to a plate near the projector. Im not sure sure how to do the speakers yet, wether that be 2 plates or just one central plate on the wall behind the sofa. I guess that comes down to speaker setup.
Above is the room in question as of last night. I think its a floating concrete floor, not a skim. The walls maybe concrete in this part of the house.
So my questions are.
What do I need to wire and to where, just in case I missed something.
What shall I put in for redundancy or future upgrades?
The ceiling height is quite low, so im forbidden for putting in a false ceiling for lighting. Any thoughts on what I can do?
I quite fancy blocking off the far door way as its redundant, and the boss wants a bookshelf in front of it anyway. It comes down to how good I can make the plasterboard insert
I appreciate any advice you lot can give me. My new wall chaser arrives tomorrow!
Dolby Atmos speaker setups
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/speaker-setup-guides/i...
Also run a couple of cat 6 in case you damage the HDMI lead
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/speaker-setup-guides/i...
Also run a couple of cat 6 in case you damage the HDMI lead
thats a good idea on the cat 6.
I Need to look into atmos. I only have an onkyo 676 or an old 616 to use. Projector will only be 1080p so didnt think i needed to upgrade the amp. From the link you said, Atmost doesnt require any additional wiring. Ill wire for 7.1 through the under floor conduit in case the room designer ever lets me move the Sofa Forward to allow true rear Speakers.
I Need to look into atmos. I only have an onkyo 676 or an old 616 to use. Projector will only be 1080p so didnt think i needed to upgrade the amp. From the link you said, Atmost doesnt require any additional wiring. Ill wire for 7.1 through the under floor conduit in case the room designer ever lets me move the Sofa Forward to allow true rear Speakers.
What floor are you putting down ? Carpet or laminate?
You can run cable happily under laminate - you cut out a channel in the foam underlay. Same with carpet but you round an edge or you'll feel it underfoot.
The ceiling looks a bit low for Atmos. I think atmos is a step too far personally. A gimmic to sell more gear in a market that was already at its peak with DTS DD 7.1 (6.1 is the peak in my opinion ). Just my opinion of course.
Assuming you are sticking a TV on the wall then that's where I'd be concentrating on chasing.
I use flat self adhesive cables for my rear and side surrounds. They blend well once painted and save a lot of work. I'll pop a photo up shortly.
You can run cable happily under laminate - you cut out a channel in the foam underlay. Same with carpet but you round an edge or you'll feel it underfoot.
The ceiling looks a bit low for Atmos. I think atmos is a step too far personally. A gimmic to sell more gear in a market that was already at its peak with DTS DD 7.1 (6.1 is the peak in my opinion ). Just my opinion of course.
Assuming you are sticking a TV on the wall then that's where I'd be concentrating on chasing.
I use flat self adhesive cables for my rear and side surrounds. They blend well once painted and save a lot of work. I'll pop a photo up shortly.
RogerDodger said:
What floor are you putting down ? Carpet or laminate?
You can run cable happily under laminate - you cut out a channel in the foam underlay. Same with carpet but you round an edge or you'll feel it underfoot.
The ceiling looks a bit low for Atmos. I think atmos is a step too far personally. A gimmic to sell more gear in a market that was already at its peak with DTS DD 7.1 (6.1 is the peak in my opinion ). Just my opinion of course.
Assuming you are sticking a TV on the wall then that's where I'd be concentrating on chasing.
I use flat self adhesive cables for my rear and side surrounds. They blend well once painted and save a lot of work. I'll pop a photo up shortly.
Laminate is the plan. From what i have looked the underlay is only 3-4mm thick which doesnt seem like enough for a hdmi cable. You can run cable happily under laminate - you cut out a channel in the foam underlay. Same with carpet but you round an edge or you'll feel it underfoot.
The ceiling looks a bit low for Atmos. I think atmos is a step too far personally. A gimmic to sell more gear in a market that was already at its peak with DTS DD 7.1 (6.1 is the peak in my opinion ). Just my opinion of course.
Assuming you are sticking a TV on the wall then that's where I'd be concentrating on chasing.
I use flat self adhesive cables for my rear and side surrounds. They blend well once painted and save a lot of work. I'll pop a photo up shortly.
Tv is going on a Sideboard i think. however, i may Mount it on the wall. I didnt really think about that as the projector will be most used. The Screen for the projector is still on the ceiling from when the room was Setup before.
Good Point about the room height. i guess if i Change my mind i can always pull some more Speaker cables though the conduit.
ill do some searching for the cables as well.
thanks for the input
You can get flat HDMI. I'm using a 10m run to my PJ. All happily under my laminate (as are Lan cables, speaker cables (flat), phone cables).
Bear in mind this is a very old house. Trunking gets HDMI, rear centre surround, and power to my PJ. The flat speaker cable is below it.
Flat cabling to my side surrounds. You don't notice from a distance. Old house. Chasing would have been overly problematic.
below: Excuse teh mess - this is from behind my AV unit that doesn't get pulle dout often!
The three white flat cables are good quality speaker cable - flat.
The big black cable is flat HDMI.
There is also a small white cable - that's flat Cat5.
And a round phone cable!
All disappearing under laminate flooring with the standard green foam boards underneath that Wickes sell.
Bear in mind this is a very old house. Trunking gets HDMI, rear centre surround, and power to my PJ. The flat speaker cable is below it.
Flat cabling to my side surrounds. You don't notice from a distance. Old house. Chasing would have been overly problematic.
below: Excuse teh mess - this is from behind my AV unit that doesn't get pulle dout often!
The three white flat cables are good quality speaker cable - flat.
The big black cable is flat HDMI.
There is also a small white cable - that's flat Cat5.
And a round phone cable!
All disappearing under laminate flooring with the standard green foam boards underneath that Wickes sell.
I like the approach of fitting flatish cables under the laminate - I'd probably just run video over Cat5e/6 as this is probably more future proof than a HDMI. We regularly use 4k video baluns with zero issues. A semi decent speaker cable wont be much bigger than a Cat5e when laid flat.
After that I would cable for a full 7.4.2 surround setup - you dont have to use them all but it will be easier to add to at a later date.
After that I would cable for a full 7.4.2 surround setup - you dont have to use them all but it will be easier to add to at a later date.
Put conduit or trunking with draw wires to as many locations as you can. This future proofs future cable install.
Depending on av amp location be aware of the number of cables you need to accommodate.
Tv will need power, data and hdmi. I suggest you do not rely on wireless and cat 6 or 7 is as character as chips to buy by the drum.
Do not underestimate power socket requirements. Sometimes speakers can be active so need power and possibly data.
Draw up the interconnects on a sketch.
I put in floor boxes for power and data which is really handy, especially next to seating and under my active speakers.
Depending on av amp location be aware of the number of cables you need to accommodate.
Tv will need power, data and hdmi. I suggest you do not rely on wireless and cat 6 or 7 is as character as chips to buy by the drum.
Do not underestimate power socket requirements. Sometimes speakers can be active so need power and possibly data.
Draw up the interconnects on a sketch.
I put in floor boxes for power and data which is really handy, especially next to seating and under my active speakers.
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