Sports wall of TV's assistance needed

[Chaka]

I apologize for the length of this- I am trying to read the forum but I only have 5 more days to respond to Best Buy's package price offer --hardly enough time to become an HD expert--

I would like some advice on the best solution for my bsmt please. Bear with me as I am new to this HD stuff/anocronyms and I can provide pic of bsmt layout if needed tomorrow.


I currently have a hodge podge of 10 tvs (various sizes 19"- 25")and 8 satellite receivers (+ the 2 OTA ) so i can get each NFL game in its entirety. Also for NHL- HD hockey I believe is the best example to illustrate the benefit to HD vs SD.

Right now they all sit on 10' of homemade plywood stands with cheap wood grain contact paper to somewhat cover the ugly bare wood.

Now I wish to take the jump to the next level and clean things up moving to wall mounts. Open up my basement space too by regaining about 3 ft of floor space.

I know upgrading current setup will cost me some $$ ,but Best Buy 3 yr no interest can buy me time to pay off the tv portion of the investment. Plan to donate plasma 2x/week to pay for it
The rest I need to save where possible.

I have the zimwell 6x16 powered multiswitch already provided by DTV for just the service call of $ 49.
DTV replaced a bad receiver and also the switch just in case it was part of the problem. I heard these retail for nearly $ 500..any truth to that?

DTV is giving me 1 HD receiver free and 50% off the 2nd one- the other 6 I will have to pay full price of $ 600 + tax.
I already got the main floor receiver HD free but $ 20 paid shipping last yr

My current stereo system is an Onkyo one(w/tower Infinity spkrs) I bought in high school 20 yrs ago -obviously wont do any good now. I think it was A8400 model
I had no problems with the unit so I am looking at the Onkyo 6100 HT. I also like the look of the speakers
What price is reasonable for this system?

Moving to the tv's-
I asked Best Buy for a quote on 8- 42" Samsung 42B450 plasma 720p and 3- 26" Toshiba LCD 720

I was quoted $ 679 per Samsung and $ 379 for the Toshibas.
With the Samsungs on sale for $699 I dont feel it is much of a deal over what ordinary single tv purchasers can get...
I am contemplating asking for new quote without the 26's.

For a counteroffer, what is reasonable?

I also asked for quote on the (3) 26" and 8 42" Panasonic 1080P plasma TC-P42U1.. Quote was $ 749 each from $ 899 on the Panasonic and $ 389 for the Toshibas

My basement has 7' 3" high walls and no windows in the living room.
I have a layout of 2 rows of 4- 42" tvs with the (3)26" on the far right. I plan to rotate these 3 about 45 degrees towards the couch on game days.
I know this will be about 14' wide by time I get to the small tvs. This is ok with the room I have.

The couch will be 10' from the tvs allowing 4-5' empty space for the center rear speaker.
Is this adequate space?

My satellite runs into mechanical room directly on other side of this wall for feeding cables

Impossible to get backing between studs with furnace, water heater , masonry vent stack and bdrm closet
To eliminate problems with studs lining up I am running a 1x 10 oak board along the wall with a 1x 12 oak board on top allowing a channel to hide the cables. I will stain black - even though boards will be hidden by tv wall.
.

How close can these tvs be stacked together above/below and side by side?
Overheating issues to worry about?
TVs will primarily only be heavily used weekends for 8-10 hrs/day.
2-3 hrs weekdays

I think 6" from top of ceiling to top of tv is not uncomfortable for viewing but limits speaker position to below the 2nd row of tvs
which is approx 30" off floor depending on space between tvs.
( I need to leave room for the cabinet below for units)

Can these Onkyo 6100 speakers be mounted horizontally without issues?
I assume so but assuming usually leads to problems so I am asking the forum
Horizontal would blend in nicely with the black tvs

Mounts--- I would like the top row to tilt downward slightly. The bottom row fixed and the 3 flankers need to be able to rotate.

What mounts would best fit my situation?

The installer says he can get me good ones for around $ 100. Reading the forum it seems, I would be overpaying vs quantity paying thru monoprice

The biggest issue I have is more of a "want" than a need but its the remote issue.
Having 8 tvs being Samsung and 8 receivers being DTV brand: is there a remote out there with the ability to change each of the tvs or receivers without changing them all?
IE program each tv or receiver as separate button like TV 1, TV 2, Sat 1, Sat 2?
Right now I manually adjust on the receiver tops
A local sports bar has a table top wireless box that you can flip sound to tv you want to see.
I dont want the separate box though because it sounded like crap.

I had an old Pronto remote from my dad for my 42" Hitachi plasma but I hated it. Kept losing programming or button links went dead.

Is there a solution out there for me? At what cost?

As for installation, I have to hire it out. After neck surgery no way I can even attempt.
Can you guesstimate how long to install 11 tvs and calibrate everything?

I have no clue how many cables I would need.
I just dont want to be taken advantage of by installers due to being uninformed

I plan to build a 24" height cabinet about 6'-8' long placed under the middle 2 tvs to store Onkyo unit ,sub and sat receivers.
I will use cloth front doors for heat dissipation

What would you recommend for surge protection for everything?

If I were to hook up a PS2 to the Samsungs, Is burn in an issue? Or just play it on the LCD?

For as much money as I am spending, should I spend the extra $ 100 per tv to move from the Samsungs to the Panasonic TC-P42U1 1080P 600hz Viera? I get so confused because one person says no one is broadcasting 1080 now anyway. Others say you cant tell the difference from 10' back

Personally I have been blessed with better than 20/20 vision and our bdrm Samsung LCD 37" 720p w/HD receiver is about 6' from my pillow(old house contraints) and when i watch ESPN post game interviews, there are times when the brim of a players cap seems to be like wavy if that makes sense.. i see this in background areas often as well. Basketball coach ties with striped patterns is another noticable area of picture imperfections
Obviously I am very close to unit in this example but for what these units cost, its frustrating to see at all.

I would not be opposed to buying 8 Samsungs with 2 Panasonics - which is probably the best solution.
Left to Right the tvs could mount
S P S S S
S P S S S
allowing the 1080 for movies to be viewed straight on from couch rather than off to the far right like:
S S S S P
S S S S P

Any help with the pricing (or other issues) would be greatly appreciated so I can get the ball rolling with the tv portion.
TYVM

[Chaka]

room layout

[rbinck]

Welcome to the forum.

That is an ambitious project for sure.

The Zinwells are here: http://search.solidsignal.com/?q=zin...1.x=14&I1.y=11

The only overheating I'd wory about would be the stacking where the bottom TVs might send hot air up to the top TVs. Seems like a shelf between the two rows would solve that forcing the air out the front. After installation a thermometer could be used to check it and if needed just get some quiet fans to move the air behind the sets.

The speakers should be ok mounted horizontally. You might want to arrainge the so the woofers are toward the center. In other words assume they are standing up then swing one to the left and the other to the right.

You probably can get mounts cheaper than $100 each and if your installer will allow it that would be an option. He may be factoring in some labor or profit on the job with the $100 number so he may not want you to furnish the mounts. Also if he furnishes them there can't be any problem with them fitting the TVs, although these days they are all pretty much standard.

DTV may have remotes that you can have unit numbers. That's something to ask them.

As far as selecting the sound for your sound system I'd say use optical for the two DTV receivers you will use for the movies. I would go with the 1080p for those TVs. then you can select which optical input your sound receiver needs for those. The other receivers could use the stereo analog connections and if your sound receiver does not have enough inputs, you will probably need a separate switch box.

These days they claim that burn in on plasmas is not much of an issue. Seems like you could rotate between the plasmas and not have any problems. People say they play PS2/3s on their plasmas all of the time without issues.

If you go to HD feeds most of the picture issues you talked about should be a thing of the past.

Good luck with that project and I'm jealous.

[Donnie Z]

Where are you located?

To be honest, there is really not nearly as much profit on most flat panel tv's as people think, due to competition everywhere (amazon, ebay etc.)

That's a big project for sure, do you have any local custom home theater installers near you? To be honest, it is what I do for a living and I can't tell you how many times I have had to go back and fix "big box stores" mistakes. Now I am sure that there are some very good installers that work at these big stores, but by far and away you will get much better educated and experienced installers with custom installers.

Good Luck!

[Chaka]

Thanks guys
nice to know I can horizontal mount speakers. Good idea to rotate PS3

I live in Moorhead, MN

It is thru a custom installer- I wont let Best Buy do the install after the auto start fiasco
I havent received the setup install quote yet.

A different company installed the bedroom LCD and it was an HD cable-possible its bad connection then. I had purchased a Monster Cable (before I learned )for install but they used a different one however.
I am using new company because I can never get the first company to finish stuff- like my new OTA antenna still isnt right after 2 months
I'm tired of paying to have them come back.

I'm not looking for free install- just not to be double dipped on. This setup is going to be spendy enough. I do expect a few bugs to iron out with how many items involved

Hoping to finalize tv portion by tomorrow

[Chaka]

Locked in pricing for
8 Samsung 42" PNB450 720p plasma for $ 679 each and
2 Panasonic 1080P TC-P42U1 plasma for $ 754 each

Should be able to get the Onkyo theater system paid for with the savings from the tvs and DTV receiver discount it appears.

[auburnfan23]

Nice Project, I would love to see pictures of this setup when it is done..

[Chaka]

I plan to take lots of pictures along the way Auburn. Right now trying to get all the subs and materials lined up

To minimize remote programming issues with all the receivers and switches etc, I think I may have a solution

Are Sirius satellite radio and DTV satellite (sports packages) in sync since both are satellite signal or is there a noticable lag time?
Onkyo 7100 system is Sirius ready

This would seemingly allow me to change sound on games easier and quicker, would it not?
Plus reduce remote programming costs.

I know when I am talking on phone to someone who has cable, there seems to be about 1.5 second delay..

I have to say Best Buy stepped up to the plate and gave me an incredible offer on tv prices, much better than what I posted earlier.

[Chaka]

tv layout(cell phone camera)-- i swapped the original plan of (3) 26" on the far right for (2) 42"

black paper for templates wasnt long enough - needed the green paper to bring to actual size.

[Chaka]

well -like a typical remodel there's been some changes along the way
for the better IMO-- lot more work and $$$ than planned to spend

decided on 9 tvs (traded 2- 42" plasma for the 63" plasma)
I trusted the sound contractor on the AV receivers and Niles speakers.
I was told we are using the extra receivers to switch audio at reduced cost vs a hd matrix switch.
3 sat receivers into onkyo # 1
2 receivers + 2nd ps 3 into onkyo # 2
3 receivers + ps 2 into onkyo # 3

ipod, main ps3, DVR, escient into marantz

As I cant become an expert in a month or two- I realize many of you may have different ideas on how this can or could have been done.

Comments welcome.



TV units are:
63" pn63b550

2 panasonic 42" plasma
6 Samsung 42" plasma

2- PS 3
1 - PS 2
Marantz ipod dock

Marantz 5003
2- Onkyo 607
1- Onkyo 507

HD DVR
8- HD dtv receivers

Velodyne 15" sub
niles speakers , front-center-right, rear and surround

RTI t3-v remote
Escient VS 100 media server

We put the 4 tvs on the angled walls on once circuit- the 4 -42" on main wall on 2nd circuit so I can cut power during offseason or during week


Ended up taking out a window and turning the tv wall to balance the tvs and viewing area for the better.

Also ran sat feed to two locations below the main 63" for the 3 weeks of the NFL season there are 11 early games.. allows me to bring 2 receivers/tvs from upstairs to catch all 11

Built a small closet for the sump pump but it was distracting to see the closet first as you come down the steps into the living room.
I did some labor trading and we added floor to ceiling tile.
4' run , 3' return and 7' run. Added 3 pendants and counter on the 7' wall. Tile makes nice transition and breaks up 40' of drywall.

The poker area was pretty vanilla (not in photo) so I added racetrack ceiling thru the entire room.
Since the tvs will come out from the wall about 5" or so, we made 8" layer , topped with 6" layer. Should work out nicely tapering down the extended plasmas.

Completion time about 4 weeks.

Sheetrock dust on the camera lens is the spots on the photos

[rbinck]

Looking good. Be sure to post pictures when it is finished!

[Chaka]

getting close to being done- mounting the tvs this week
fed ex has my 63" in town I will pick up tomorrow

Hope to have all the memorabilia and guitars on the wall by this weekend.

Hoping by end of next week to have all the sound operational

[Stew4HD]

IMPRESSIVE UNDERTAKING!! Please keep us posted.

As for commenting on the hook-ups, I'd have to see a schematic of how you plan to hook things up to gain a better understanding.

[Chaka]

TVs need to be final adjusted but here it is.

Mural should be done tomorrow-still waiting for my seats from Yankee Stadium to sit below mural

[jkkyler]

That looks AWESOME!!

( BTW I have funded virtually all my HD setup with plasma donations as well but that is beyond what I had ever envisioned. I have become friends with one of the phlebotomists and he is jealous of my set-up now)