The Victorian era is known for the highly detailed architecture and classic style. This home owner decided to use the Victorian style and create a theater that could be used for both adult and child entertainment. The theater features many elegant design features including a stone archway and 10 foot wide screen. The floors, walls and all the detail for this room is made from wood paneling. The biggest feature for this theater is the book shelf wall that gives the theater its Victorian look. The bookshelves hold the owner’s vast collection of comic books as well as all his audio and video collections. The designers even made an old library ladder for the owner to climb in order to reach the top shelves. The sound system is completely mounted behind the acoustically transparent screen, which helps reduce the amount of electronics that are seen. The projector selected is the very popular JVC DLA-HD750, which features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, 900 ANSI lumens, and a spectacular 50000:1 contrast ratio.

[via Hidden Wires]

Randy Murray wanted a modest home theater that his friends and family could enjoy. However the attention to detail makes his home theater cozy and also the complete theater experience. Murray devoted his entire basement to create the perfect theater experience. His theater comes with two rows of seating with a comfy recliner sofa in the front row. The 110 inch screen is paired with the JVC DLA-RS1 projector, which features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, 700 ANSI lumens, and a 15000:1 contrast ratio. To give his guests the complete cinema experience, Murray also constructed a complete concession stand loaded with cinema candy. He also designed a lobby area and a game room that comes with pinball and a crane game for the kids. All of his guests also receive a complimentary box of Junior Mints. Murray said, “The lobby lets me indulge in the fun side with movie posters, a lighted marquee, movie props and memorabilia, along with the claw and pinball machines. The theater itself is almost a temple to movies—classy and restrained, with no sign of technology or distraction.”

[via Electronic House]

With the deteriorating economy and the decline in projector sales, InFocus has recently announced that they will be making “aggressive” cutbacks in order to keep from going out of business. CEO Bob O’Malley stated in a press release that the current work force of 260 employees will be cut by to less than 200 by end of August. O’Malley stated, “We’re going to take a more aggressive stance, in terms of job elimination, predominantly because the market is not recovering.” Included in this cutback will be the closing the company’s Singapore factory, which handles manufacturing and parts planning, as well as service, warranty and repair operations. All of these functions will be moved to InFocus’ head quarters in Wilsonville, Oregon.

[via Oregon Live]

Many of the classy highly decorated home theater you see would look cluttered compared to this home theater designed by London Audio. The home owners recently purchased this 50 year old ranch style home and transformed it into a modern industrial style home. The biggest room is the basement, which also is now the family’s personal screening room. The room was fitted with a Runco CL-420 projector, which features 1200 ANSI lumens, a 2800:1 contrast ratio, and HD (1280 x 720) resolution. The theater also has a 110 inch screen and a B&W speaker system. To add to the industrial look, the homeowners removed the felt protective covering from the speakers. Not only does this look good for the room, but it enhances the quality of the sound. Instead of lush comfortable theater style seating, the owners decided to go with modern sofa and chairs directly from London. However, the main sitting area is actually a day bed that allows the owners the relax, lay down and enjoy a movie as they fall asleep.

[via Electronic House]

One of the things that people really like on a hot summer night is the beautiful fireworks display. Sadly in order to see one you usually have pack your family, drive out early to get a good spot, and get eaten by bugs while you wait the several hours for only a thirty minute show. Well the developers from Sega have announced that they have created the fireworks projectors. This projector runs on three AAA batteries, and can display a digital fireworks show onto any wall, ceiling, or even the floor. Unfortunately, Sega is not releasing any specifications until July 25th, but they are announcing that projector will come several preprogrammed shows as well as a library of 55 different pyrotechnic displays in order to create your own fireworks show. The fireworks projector is not expected to release until August and will be priced for about $160.

[via Oh Gizmo]

Do you like to make your own electronic devices? Then you might be interested in this DIY HD projector kit from Germany. The kit comes with everything you need in order to make your very own HD projector. The finished product is actually very stylish and could easily blend in to your home theater with out anyone knowing you built it yourself. The projector uses a high power lamp to shine onto the HD LCD display panel, and then the light is shined through the lens to give the display. Some of the unique feature about this setup is that the lens comes with a manual focus, and there is two fans for cooling instead of only one. The maker of this DIY kit ensures that the fans are silent and won’t distract the viewers from the display. The connections included with this kit are an HDMI, s-video, composite, DVI, and a VGA connection. The HD projector kit retails for only €500 (about $700), but that doesn’t include shipping.

[via Uber Review]

Barco is proud to announce that they have been selected to provide to digital equipment that will provide the “visual assault” for the famed DJ duo, The Crystal Method. This group is known for their digital sound and amazing visual effects during their concerts. Their new “Divided By Night” tour will be using Barco lighting equipment. One of the biggest displays in the show will be a pair of backdrop screens that will be mounted on two circular trusses. Two Barco CLM R10+ projectors will be displaying custom created content on cue during the show. The CLM R10+ projectors feature 9500 ANSI lumens, a 1200:1 contrast ratio, and SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) resolution. Lighting designer, Lawrence “Loz” Upton said, “From a lighting gig standpoint, people love the show. We’ve gotten nothing but rave reviews everywhere we go. It’s humbling, actually.”

[via Barco]

3D technology is well on its way to becoming the biggest thing in theater entertainment. A UK company called O2 is deciding to take 3D technology one step further by introducing the world’s first interactive 3D cinema video game. The game is called Asteroid Storm and it will be tested in twenty Vue cinemas through out the UK. In the game, the audience is the controller and has to help steer the spaceship through the dangerous asteroid field. In order to turn the ship, the game instructs certain sections of the audience to raise their hands. For example; to turn right, the right side of the audience raises their hands and to turn left, the left side raises theirs. The audience participation is monitored by two IR cameras that are connected to the gaming server, which means there is no controller is the projection room, nor is the film pre-generated. The game is expected to be run before major 3D films, including Ice Age 3 and Toy Story 3D.

[via Register Hardware]

One projector that has been available for over a year now is the Optoma HD65. This model features 1600 ANSI lumens, a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and only 720p HD (1280 x 720) resolution. This week at the CEDIA Expo, Optoma is announcing that they have redesigned the HD65 and are displaying it at the show. The change is that the projector will now be able to display 3D content. The new HD65 3D model is expected to retail for the same price as the original, which is just below $1000. This development will make the HD65 an affordable 3D projector that could be used in any home theater. Optoma has also announced that the HD65 will be capable of being paired with the NVIDIA GeForce 3D glasses. Unfortunately, there is no word yet when the new HD65 will be released. More information will be released as it becomes available.

[via AV Review]

Some home theater owners like to display their digital equipment for all their guests to see. The homeowner of this theater wanted the exact opposite. The major request that the owner asked when they hired Media Rooms Inc was that the only equipment that could be seen was the screen. Due to constraints with the room, this request was more difficult than originally intended. The thin walls prevented speakers from being installed and wiring issues prevented the digital equipment from being installed in the bar just outside of the theater. The solution the designer came up with was the make 8 columns that where hollow and would open up to reveal concealed cabinets. These cabinets held the digital equipment as well as a surround sound speaker system. When completed the only gadgets that can be seen is the 119 inch and the Sim2 D80E projector, which features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, a 4500:1 contrast ratio, and DLP display technology.

[via Electronic House]