need 3800 plus s/f 4 bedrm home $700,ooo+ (Dallas, Plano: homes, theatre)

[Peachy2007]

Originally Posted by socketz

A good rear projection tv (i.e. the 'Big Screens') are still pound for pound the best choice for value as well because at the end of the day, the picture on these is excellent because the technology is mature. Again, a good HD picture (with good SDTV as well) is a good picture, always will be.

100% agree. I've had my 57" Mitsubishi for 4 years and it still delivers a "wow" in HD that I can't find a comparison to in the LCD, DLP and Plasma screens I see in the stores. The screen-door affect is too noticeable to me on plasma and DLP sets and the LCDs are not "black" enough for dark scenes.

I know most hate the big fat box, but I love it. People seem to like the cool-skinny-factor of the LCD and Plasma and then wonder where they are going to put the dvd/cable/tivo boxes and wind up putting in a shelf system that is basically the same as if they had just went with a rear-projection set and put all that on top anyway. Really nuts.

[socketz]

Right. They buy thin tvs then put them on a $100 stand.

If that's the end game, I think a good tube on a custom stand looks better and is more practical.

I only like plasmas when they are mounted on the wall. To do that right, it takes alot of work or to do it during pre-construction. I had a friend in OC that actually things the reason he sold his home so quickly was because he had 2 plasmas mounted on the walls (his house was also nice). He said Realtors would bring people by to see the house just to show them the Plasmas. Sounds nuts, but wall mounted tvs are dreamy still to many.

Plasmas, LCDs and DLPs really only beat the picture of a 'good' Rear Projection (Hitachi, Pioneer, Mitsubishi) in bright rooms.

They also have better viewing angles.

[GoPadge]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

Speaking from experience (yeah, I've had Magnepan 3.6 speakers, Sunfire amps, Velodyne HGS18 sub...), consumer electronics are silly to chase. I've learned my lesson quite a few years ago. At this point, I wait as long as I can handle, then buy a decent product, but don't spend extra for all the features. The way I figure it, I can buy something good now, then in 5 years, buy something better than was "top of the line" 5 years earlier at Walmart. Consumer electronics are changing amazingly fast.

We still have a 25" tube in the living room... I have been looking at a 32" LCD from Vizio though - maybe next year... Also have a plain old DVD player and a nice, but aging, Denon receiver. I think theonly thing we're looking at doing is putting in some ceiling speakers in a couple rooms, buying a couple of really inexpensive amps to put in the coat closet to have a "poor man's distributed audio". We looked at distributed audio systems and they're just too insanely priced.

We have a similar philosophy for home electronics. We knew what we wanted and shopped around before picking up "last years" model of a Yamaha receiver. We have an older Panasonic DVD player and a 27" RCA tube TV.

We're planning to upgrade the "study" to be a media room, but will do so in a manner that will allow us to remove/hide 100% of it when we're done with it. (The wires will stay in the wall, but everything else can come out.)

[socketz]

That type of media room is a great addition to any home. In fact, the media room craze is moving west. When I was out in Socal last time, one of the things someone actually said was "Oh, your in Texas now, I love those media rooms they put in homes out there". Of course in Cali, space is at a premium, so they are not as common until you get into the mill+ homes. Even then, the media room may be a dual purpose room. Here in TX, I see the media room moving toward the center stage of home value, much the way a good kitchen is valued today. With the advent of services like netflix and the cost of professional grade media equipment coming down - with the cost of going out to a movie going up, you could see this coming.

[lh_newbie]

I'm not sure if I ever see a media room ever becoming center stage. I personally think dedicated media rooms are a fad unless you're in a high-end home. In most homes (median priced), a dual-purpose room that can be used as a media room will be desireable, but not required. In fact, if too large of a space is allocated to the media room, it can be a detraction.

The reason I say this is that as energy prices continue to climb, I think dedicating rooms for a media function that is not used every day will become less common over time (except for the high end). $500+/month heating/cooling bills will certainly make people think about the size of their home. Energy prices are not coming down over the long run.

Sockets - just wanted to touch on your comment about wiring a home for distributed audio during preconstruction... that's only true with multi-story homes. Single story homes don't have the "hidden" space between floors. I've owned both - when building the 2-story home, I spent some time running conduits and pull strings for a flat panel wall mount installation, had ceiling speaker runs put in, etc, etc. Pre-construction is the only way with multiple story homes. I personally prefer our current, one story home. My wife's mom only has one leg - she likes not having stairs, too. And as my parents age, they are liking it more and more. I'm not sure we'd ever go back to a multi-story home...

[socketz]

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

I'm not sure if I ever see a media room ever becoming center stage. I personally think dedicated media rooms are a fad unless you're in a high-end home. In most homes (median priced), a dual-purpose room that can be used as a media room will be desireable, but not required. In fact, if too large of a space is allocated to the media room, it can be a detraction.

The reason I say this is that as energy prices continue to climb, I think dedicating rooms for a media function that is not used every day will become less common over time (except for the high end). $500+/month heating/cooling bills will certainly make people think about the size of their home. Energy prices are not coming down over the long run.

Sockets - just wanted to touch on your comment about wiring a home for distributed audio during preconstruction... that's only true with multi-story homes. Single story homes don't have the "hidden" space between floors. I've owned both - when building the 2-story home, I spent some time running conduits and pull strings for a flat panel wall mount installation, had ceiling speaker runs put in, etc, etc. Pre-construction is the only way with multiple story homes. I personally prefer our current, one story home. My wife's mom only has one leg - she likes not having stairs, too. And as my parents age, they are liking it more and more. I'm not sure we'd ever go back to a multi-story home...

I do see the popularity of one stories increasing for sure, but most one stories I see also have a media/game room upstairs. With the exception of retirees, I still see space like money, it's simply hard to give back once you have it. Since a majority of the buyers out there are families, I'll stick with my prediction that media rooms will only become more popular. If you look at them as a 'Rec Room' as we called it in the 80s, that's really what this room is, an informal space in another part of the house for the family to enjoy time together. Since 9-11, family time has been tops on everyone's list of 'what I'd like to spend more time doing'. I also think this is why kitchens have exploded into popularity as well. People want to spend more time at home and enjoy being together.

One stories also gobble up what little bit of yard you may have, so that aspect makes them less desirable as well because I only see lots get smaller.

[lh_newbie]

I think we're saying the same thing... I'm saying a DEDICATED media room (stadium seating, all facing the screen) is not going to be common place. Your description of a muti-use room that has media capabilities is definitely going to be popular.

I'm so happy homes moved away from a bunch of small rooms into more open, better entertaining spaces. Open kitchens are wonderful! When we entertain, it seems like we have just as many people in the kitchen as we do in the living room!

[GoPadge]

To an extent, I agree that open entertaining areas are great. Where I have a problem is with open spaces just for the sake of having open spaces. I wish our "game room" were enclosed, just to cut down on the noise. (Although with four kids, I don't know how much a mere few sheets of gypsum would help.... ) One example of useless (IMO) open spaces is a formal study/living room with no walls or huge openings. At least an enclosed room could be converted into an office, game/play room, etc. I can't recall how many homes we say with the open study and furniture that you could tell were never used. (The 1995 copy of Reader's Digest was a hint.)

[lh_newbie]

I hear that duct tape is a very good sound deadening material, but it has to be place VERY close to the sound source. Hehe...

[socketz]

I don't have one of the dedicated rooms that looks like finished off attic space. I converted a game room into a Game Room/Media Room. I'm putting a sofa in there with recliners on both ends, then beanbags for the kids. If the projector is up, then the screen is on the wall and the speakers in the wall, all that is on display in the room is the equipment rack, which is in the corner.

I also see this as a room the kids can hang out in as well...

I agree about the 'Formal Den'. So many of those look unused. I set my den up upstairs (with carpet because it is SOOOOO much better if you talk on the phone) as a functional and secluded workspace and used the downstairs room as the guest room. I like a room downstairs in addition to the master anyway for resale (sandwich generation, baby boomers taking care of college kids and their parents).