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vega2K's Profile
vega2K's Home Theater Gallery (51 photos)Gallery rating:  (4.9) (76 ratings)
Galleries:
Los Vega's HT - General (10) Los Vega's HT - Updated (27) Plasma Wall Mounting (8) Subwoofer Upgrade (6) Latest picture of my set-upDisplays: Plasma-Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-151FD Projector-BenQ W5000 DLP w/ DIY Anamorphic Lens and Manual Sled Screen: Dual Elite electric screens (92" 16:9/2.40:1) Receiver: Pioneer Elite SC-27 Amp: Parasound 2205AT (220Watt x 5 Channel) Blu-ray Source: PS3 80G Speakers: L/R Front-KEF iQ7, Center-KEF iQ60C, L/R Rear-Infinity Primus 250, L/R Surround-KEF iQ8ds Subwoofers-#1 Acoustic Audio HD-SUB12, #2 Kenwood SW300 10" amp/enclosure upgraded with Dayton RSS265HF-4 10" Reference HF Driver. Remote: Harmony One Details on DIY Star Ceiling - Below and here: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=89351 Details on Dual Electric Screens, DIY Black Velvet Valance and DIY Anamorphic Lens and Sled here: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=116943 (Uploaded Oct 15, 2009 00:49:15) 
View of the Dual Electric ScreensThis shows the two electric screens in action when I first installed them. This set-up allows for three modes of viewing: (1) General/Daytime viewing with Plasma. (2) 16:9 content/DirecTV with projector and 16:9 screen. (3) 2.40:1 cinescope content/blus with projector and 2.xx screen. Notice I had not built the velvet valance yet. (Uploaded Nov 03, 2009 14:07:07) 
DIY Anamorphic Lens & Manual Sled View 1Painted to match projector colors. The DIY AL utilizes wedge shaped "trophy" prisms. The manual sled is attached to undermount drawer rails which allows the AL to slide left and right depending on whether it is needed or not. (Uploaded Nov 04, 2009 22:32:26) 
DIY Anamorphic Lens & Manual Sled View 2(Uploaded Nov 02, 2009 22:11:13) 
Star Ceiling Step by Step - Planned LocationView 1 - Plan on centering with fireplace. At first I had envisioned a really cool idea for the star ceiling - How about the Monolith from 2001 Space Odyssey and 2010 "My God it's full of stars". Sized to the same proportions as the movie with ambient lighting behind it! That would have been awesome. But, I just do not have the material to make that happen or the time to make it really good. Instead, I will be building something more "traditional" with elegant crown molding and ambient lighting behind. If someone is up to the challenge of a Monolith, I would really like to see the progress and the end product! (Uploaded Mar 10, 2009 23:00:12) 
Planned LocationView 2 - Straight on view. Plan on centering with Plasma and Projection screen. Notice the tapes showing the location of the studs. (Uploaded Mar 10, 2009 23:00:22) 
Decided on VelvetVelvet turned out to look the best in my opinion compared to painting and other material. Although it is expensive $25/yd, it will mimic the blackness of space nicely. Picture doesn't do it justice. (Uploaded Mar 10, 2009 23:00:34) 
Fan is goneBelieve it or not, I removed the fan by myself while my wife and kids slept. Thing weighed a ton! Notice the string which shows me the center line from canned light to canned light as well as the piece of tape in the middle showing me the center to the fireplace. (Uploaded Mar 10, 2009 23:10:14) 
Outlet conversionOne thing that worried me the most was the amount of work required to provide power to the SC (tearing down section of drywall, pulling wires, patch work painting, etc). But then I had a great idea - convert the fan electrical box into an outlet and re-position the SC such that the outlet box is inside the frame. Result was a 20 minute job! Notice in the picture I tested for correct grounding and it passed! wall switch is now controlling the outlet which will allow me to turn on/off the SC with a flip of the switch. (Uploaded Mar 10, 2009 23:10:25) 
Framing and bracing completeI centered the frame to the plasma and screen. Note the outlet inside of the frame. (Uploaded Mar 13, 2009 22:00:23) 
Centering was importantHere you can see the frame centered to the fireplace. Note that I painted the L brackets so that when the rope light goes up, the brackets won't be obvious when you look at it from a distance. (Uploaded Mar 13, 2009 22:00:45) 
Test runTerrible picture but here is one of the tests I did to see how well the velvet adheres to a piece of wood as well as how the fiber will look as stars against the velvet. The fatter stars are actually doubled-up fibers. Note that I am not using the actual fibers and that the illuminator is not secured yet. This shows that even with the room lights on, you can see stars. (Uploaded Mar 13, 2009 22:01:06) 
Crown Molding in placeSometimes the best results come from unforseen problems. At first I had planned on using wood crown molding but was faced with less than good results when I tried to miter cut the corners. I just could not get the angles to match perfectly, not to mention high cost of wood. I decided to change to a non-wood (pvc/plastic?) substitute. I then used the corner pieces to avoid any miter cuts. IMO the outcome was better than I expected. (Uploaded Mar 15, 2009 22:44:06) 
Low lightsSorry for the poor picture, but this gives you an idea of how it looks with the rope lights on. One added bonus of using the non-wood molding is that it is already white and the light actually shows through the molding, giving it an almost transparent look at night. This benefits with the brightness in the room and a unique look. When the rope lights are off, it reverts back to looking just like normal crown molding. For now, I will not paint it. (Uploaded Mar 15, 2009 22:44:28) 
The rigid insulation assembled with the support frameI outlined the wood frame on to the insulation using a marker and then cut the insulation following the outline and the frame as a straight edge. I made sure not to cut straight through (I would have damaged my hardwood floors). Once the I partial cut all the way around, I lifted the insulation vertically and bent along the partial cuts and final cut straight through. It was very easy to cut. (Uploaded Mar 19, 2009 22:59:02) 
Panel in placeTest fitting showed some minor adjustments were needed. Mainly insulation extended too far and the assembly was not perfectly at 90 degrees or flat. I cut the insulation where necessary and used wood "shimmies" (pieces of wood which are angled and go from thin at one end to fat at the other) to help flatten the assembly. End result was a pretty uniform fit. Although it may look huge and heavy, the assembly does not weigh very much at all. Also note that there is very low clearance from the ceiling to the top of the wood frame. I checked and the illuminator will barely fit and it has to lay on the insulation itself. I may use velcro to hold it in place. (Uploaded Mar 19, 2009 22:59:13) 
Constellation transferFrom the paper to the panel using the proportional gridlines. I started the gridline patterns at the center of the paper and of the panel, that way you ensure the majority of what you see on the paper will make it to the panel. This is the front of the panel which means it will be covered with the velvet. So once the stars are punctured and drilled, you need to note the constellations and/or the locations of the holes which will require more than 1 fiber. (Uploaded Mar 22, 2009 22:25:32) 
Velvet glued and stapled to panelThe adhesive is pretty sticky, so I had to move the project outdoors. I first layed-out the velvet as best as possible, then I worked in halves. I folded half of the velvet and sprayed the adhesive on half of the panel. I then spread the the velvet over the sticky surface. I worked fast while the adhesive still allowed the velvet to move around. I spreading and working out the wrinkles that remained. I then moved on the the other half and did the same. Once both halves were completed, I moved on to stapling all around the panel making sure the staples hit the wood of the frame. While stapling, you get one last chance at getting rid of any remaining wrinkles. The end result was pretty good. The picture shows how it looked after I glued and stapled most of the panel. (Uploaded Mar 22, 2009 22:25:44) 
Illuminator and fibers location on panelHere's where I decided to place the illuminator. I fastened it to the panel with velcro making sure I had access to the power switch and connector as well as making sure power cord would reach the outlet on the ceiling. I intentionally did not place it closer to the center because I figured in the future, if I ever need to get to the illuminator, this location would be easier to reach. Also, this location had no star holes. Notice that I looped the fiber bundle and made sure it would reach the two extremes of the panel. (Uploaded Mar 22, 2009 22:25:56) 
Here's the first fibers in placeThis is by far the most time consuming part of the project. The fibers seem to never end. This picture shows the first maybe 20-30 fibers in place (out of 200). After four days I was still doing this (although I only do it at night for a few hours). The process goes as follows: select fiber - clip end in an angle so that it can pierce the velvet - run fiber as neat as possible - pierce velvet, use needle first if needed - tape down to secure the fiber line - apply glue to where the fiber enters the insulation - clip end on velvet side if extends too long - repeat. You try to stay as organized as possible, but after a while it's pointless. It's hard to tell from the picture but the panel is actually about two feet off the ground supported by chairs at the corners. When you turn of the lights and turn the illuminator on, it looks like human blood vessels transporting light. It's pretty cool, I'll try to take a picture of it. (Uploaded Mar 25, 2009 10:31:01) 
First starsThis is how it looked after the first day of passing the fibers. I have to figure out how to take pictures in the dark. You can see the big and small dippers to the right. The first thing I noticed is that it makes a huge difference having different size fibers. I doubled-up on some key ones, but having thinner fibers is just as important. I decided to steal some of my wife's fiber optic lamp fibers which are thinner. The ends of thinner fiber strands are joined to the end of a thicker fiber and held together by transparent tape. The light passes through the thick one to the thinner ones and when they are installed, it makes a huge difference in appearance. It looks like it has more depth and looks much more like the real thing. The down side is it now increased the number of fibers I have to pass, but it is worth it. (Uploaded Mar 25, 2009 10:31:11) 
Splicing 1 thicker to thinner fibers(Uploaded Mar 26, 2009 21:09:26) 
Light highway(Uploaded Mar 26, 2009 21:09:47) 
Finished!Surprisingly fast project to complete. I am happy with the outcome and so is my family. I do want to clean-up my HT set-up a bit - move the blu-ray rack, hide the electric screen power cable, etc. I had thought about painting the ceiling as well, but my problem is that this room is adjacent to the dining room and a dark ceiling in a dining room will not cut it. (Uploaded Mar 27, 2009 20:02:30) 
Another viewI am glad to have taken the extra time to center the SC in all directions. The result is much more uniform. The SC does not look out of place no matter where you are looking. This picture makes the SC look overwhelming compared to the Plasma and the Screen, but in reality, it is not. (Uploaded Mar 27, 2009 20:11:51) 
Yet another viewWall switch turns On/Off both the ambient light as well as the star panel. In addition, both the ambient light and the star panel have RF remotes, which means I can have either one on/off at any given time, independent of one another. (Uploaded Mar 27, 2009 20:03:14) 
My favorite View!This picture shows what I had envisioned from the start - The Image seems to extend into the room because of the SC. The effect is more dramatic when a space scene is on screen. The picture was not modified in any manner, this is how it looks when I play a CD in the PS3 and I have the SC on. The only thing I would have liked is if the ceiling was painted a dark color. (Uploaded Mar 27, 2009 20:03:35) 
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way up! Where'd you get your elite screens? 
Thats fine if you really don't like my set-up but I would really like to know what you dislike about it? I always appreciate constructive criticism.