Number 10 – Donnie Wahlberg’s Home Theater

We will start this list out with some celebrities’ theaters. Obviously, if you work in the movie industry, you might have an increased appreciation for how they are finally shown. Donnie Wahlberg is one of these men. What’s nice about Donnie’s setup is that it is completely attainable by regular people like myself. Donnie’s theater is a cup-holder-equipped four seater theater with a 92″ projection screen and a JVC DLP projector pole mounted to the ceiling. Before making it to the projector, however, the video from the Blu-Ray player or DVD player or XBOX 360 gets sent through a Marantz SR9600 A/V receiver.

The surround sound for his theater is mounted along the walls of the room in the form of Sonance Cinema in-wall speakers and also includes only a single Velodyne HGS-15 powered subwoofer to round out the 7.1 channel audio configuration. All the sound is controlled by a single Elan VIA! 6.5-inch in-wall touch controller.

My favorite part about Donnie’s home theater setup is that it was all built in his twelve by twenty foot garage in the backyard. It is truly a testament to anybody thinking about doing the same thing. It makes the average man’s dreams seem more plausible. With a lot of hard work, you too could own your own theater in a garage.

Number 9 – Jerry Rice’s Home Theater

Jerry Rice is estimated to have made over $40,000,000 during the course of his NFL career. He’s got a home theater to prove it too. I really like Jerry’s home theater because it seems very personal. It really doesn’t feel like a cookie cutter theater, in fact it’s quite the opposite. It really looks and feels like it is his personal living space where he does a lot of his hard earned relaxing.

Even though personal and down played, Jerry has decked out his setup with everything you’d expect to see in a theater of this caliber. He called in one of the most renowned professionals in the business, Andy Chen, owner of Pacific Audio/Visual. Chen’s company is a large firm that builds home theaters for very impressive and very rich clients. They have offices in San Fancisco, Houston and China.

Jerry’s setup projects onto a one hundred twenty three inch screen with a ceiling mounted Vidikron Vision One Projector from any number of video sources. The largely Tannoy speaker system is fed through a Lexicon MC-1 Sound processor. Chen jokes about the fact that he put nearly 10,000 watts into this theater. I on the other hand don’t think this is a laughing matter.

Jerry’s theater also has a fully-stocked snack bar with a neon “refreshments” sign hanging above it that really gives the Rice family the feeling of being at the movies without all the hassle of being a celebrity in public.

You might be asking yourself what it costs to have something like this built for you. You probably shouldn’t. It will only get you into trouble. The wife will never allow you to do it… You’re not giving up though. Jerry spent two-hundred thousand dollars honing his incredible home theater system. Not really something any one of us could just go out there and purchase on a whim.

Number 8 – Ryan Seacrest’s Home Theater

You just might not believe me when I tell you that Ryan Seacrest has a very respectable home theater setup. It may be that I hate American Idol and basically everything else he has ever been involved with, but I just can’t handle Ryan’s on screen persona. On the other hand, in real life, the guy is hilarious and actually is really easy to respect.

His theater is absolutely beautiful. He has dark wood everywhere, a frigging fireplace in there, which although would destroy any movie watching experience is pretty incredible, and overstuffed micro-suede furniture (so smooth). Need to go to the bathroom in the middle of a movie? No problem, Ryan’s thought of that by installing an ensuite bathroom. He’ll even pause the movie if you like from one of his FOUR different controllers located at various positions about the house.

The theater is totally authentic and retro to the point of having a 35mm film projector as his sole means of video projection. The walls hide four speakers and two subwoofers to make the theater experience totally authentic.

Although this is one of my favorite home theaters in existence, it’s certainly not what I’d put in my house. The fireplace is gorgeous and warm, but probably pretty useless if you’re in the theater to watch a movie. In addition, while I wouldn’t necessarily get rid of the 35mm projector, I certainly would have something digital sitting beside it to give me full 1080p resolution. It seems nuts not to these days seeing as very little is released in 35mm and the world of possibilities lying in front of Blu-Ray and other high definition formats.

Number 7 – Opus AVC Home Theater

So what happens when you commission Opus AVC to make you a home theater? They really stop at nothing to produce one of the best and most insane theaters ever conceived. The stops got pulled out for this theater and I don’t think anyone’s ever gonna put them back in after.

First of all, when there’s no basement present, they just made their own. No better way to soundproof a room than to bury it, so with the no holds barred state of mind that was present during this theater’s building, they blasted a hole in the granite large enough to house a theater. One the hole was created in the largely granite earth, concrete and cinder blocks were added to create a soundproof environment that resembles, almost frighteningly, a fallout shelter.

The concrete was then covered with fabric panels and again in a whole host of speakers. Decked out really doesn’t do this theater justice. For example, when someone walks in the front door of the theater, a pre-boot system starts warming up projector bulbs, amplifiers and speakers, all before you even sit down. There’s also a one-switch shut down mode that turns everything off in proper time and sequence to make it a no-brainer when the user has finished watching the movie.

The sheer scale of this project should be enough to floor anybody. At two-thousand square feet, it’s built in a space that rivals most people’s homes. There are three rows of seating and an unlimited amount of gadgets just waiting to steal a good deal of time from you. This thing definitely qualifies as one of the most awesomest home theaters in the world.

Number 6 – The Stargate Atlantis Home Theater

Here is where we venture into themed home theaters. While some may argue that they are tacky and more about presentation than actual movie going experience, I respectfully disagree. I think that home theater should be a personal experience and most often, it is the case that the creator of the theater has put an incredible amount of work into their theater and made it their own.

Firstly, I’d like to take a look at the incredible Stargate Atlantis themed theater. Although I’m not the biggest Stargate fan (it ended for me with Kurt Russell in the movie) this theater is an incredible feat. Phil Chaney and Andrew Caldwell teamed up to create what is sure to be one of the most original themed theaters in existence. Firstly, the projection screen is right in the middle of a ten foot Stargate itself. Granted, it’s not your normal 16:9 screen, but it certainly is much cooler.

On the ceiling, there is a six-foot StarDome from Numinus that houses a stunning fibre optic twinkling star show. The StarDome cove light also dims to give the illusion of a sunset. There really wasn’t a single detail overlooked or left out.

It also features a THX series in-wall Atlantic Technology Speaker setup, a Blu-Ray player, two Sony CX777ES 400 disc players, and to control it all there is a Complete Control four control system.

Lots goes into the creatiion of this home theater, there’s no doubt about that, but my absolute favorite feature of the whole theater doesn’t involve sound or video. The doors are driven by air pistons and hidden in pockets when opened. All you have to do to open them is swipe your hand in front of the motion sensor and you’re in one of the most creative and original home theaters ever conceived.

Number 5 – The Star Trek Home Theaters

First off, this has to be probably the most emulated scene from any piece of cinematic history. There’s really nothing quite like knowing that it is possible you sit on the bridge of the USS Enterprise and that is the reason so many people have spent countless hours converting their homes. The amount of Star Trek bridge themed home theater setups there are out there shouldn’t really surprise you, but they are numerous. Picking just one isn’t really a viable option so I’ll have to show you a few of them at least.

Gary Sekulow found a couple of the consoles and the captain’s chair from Star Trek: Voyager at a Christie’s auction and instead of putting them on display, he turned his entire apartment into the Enterprise. You walk into his theater room and it fells like the set of Voyager but once you sit down in a chair and the lights are dimmed, you’re in an incredible home theater.

One of the most famous home theaters in existence is Gary Reighn’s 2-year $15,000 project. In his Philadelphia home, he turned his basement into a home theater based on the command bridge of the original Star Trek series. He did all the work himself including installation of all the equipment, space view ports and simulated computer screens.

Statistically, his system lacks only making use of a Sony 720p LCD projector, a Polk audio 7.1 surround sound system, a Velodyne subwoofer and a pair of Bass Shakers underneath the two home theater chairs in the front row. That doesn’t make this theater anything less than incredible though.  The two back row seats sum up this theater perfectly for me. Two $50 office recliners that he fitted custom drink holders to.

My favorite star trek theater though is one modeled after the Next Generation bridge. This just goes to show you what a trekkie can do with an spare $3,000,000. The theater has won numerous custom electronics and theater design installation awards and is highly regarded as one of the best in themed home theaters. It was built for a client by Electronic Systems Consultants and is the epitome of overboard.

Number 4 – The Death Star Home Theater

Vic Wertz and Lisa Stevens are superfans of the Star Wars trilogy, so much so that they used to run the Official Star Wars Fan Club and even the “Star Wars Insider” magazine. Even though that chapter of their lives is over, they still like to pay homage to something that is so close to them

The couple invited Doug Chiang, the lead designer on “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones” to do the designs although all of them had hectic schedules. After three designs, what you see before you was conceived, and put into motion.

They finally decided to build the control deck of the Death Star and didn’t spare any details. The floor is backlit and leads to two different paths down the right and left of the theater. Both paths lead you through automated sliding doors but my favorite door is hidden behind the carbonite Han Solo. It houses the couple’s media room and keeps it out of view from cameras and visitors.

There’s also an equipment room across from the media room to keep all the equipment out of the theater. After all, Vader didn’t have a Blu-Ray player on the deck of the Death Star.

Number 3 – The Indiana Jones Home Theater

This is another pretty famous home theater room. It is modeled after yet another George Lucas great, the “Indiana Jones” movie franchise. It is heavily decorated in an Egyptian tomb style with Indiana Jones memorabilia strewn about lovingly. Included in the movie props are the golden idol from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” which is pretty darn cool. It’s got the monkey eating the poisoned date painted on the wall creating a mock doorway.

This theater has been criticized for not concentrating enough on the theater aspect and more concentrating on the Indian aspect. I say, who are you to criticize these people? Where’s your Indy themed theater? They did what they wanted and they’re very satisfied with it.

It was an 18-foot by 12-foot empty room that got transformed into a Indy fan haven. When you look up at the roof, it appears you have just entered a cave with the rock wearing out and exposing the sky. There’s also a spot to house a small equipment room that in addition to all the stuff to make the theater a theater, includes wiring for security, networking, intercom and sound.

For me, what sets this theater apart from the rest is the level of dedication that was invested by the owner’s to not only make it the best, but to make it their own.

Number Two – The Bat Cave Home Theater

I’m sure some of you have seen this elegant monstrosity before. It’s exactly what it looks like: a Bat Cave that plays movies on a motorized 110″ screen. Statically, this themed theater can keep up with the best of them. It boasts a Sony G90, which is a $36,000 commercial 1080p CRT projector capable of outputting 2500 x 2000 pixels. It also has a Triad Silver THX sound system that is sure to impress any audiophile.

For comfort, there are eight motorized black leather recliners keeping the guests perfectly content during any showing. There is also a LiteTouch LC5000 system for lighting control to make sure the mood is just perfect for any given movie.

I personally love the decoration of this theater but wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting in it repeatedly. I think watching scary movies in there alone would be terrifying what with the Tim Burton style dark decoration and stalactites hanging from the roof. There’s no telling what goes on in there.

Number 1 – The Six Million Dollar Home Theater

Yeah it’s the most expensive theater on the list. No that’s not the only reason it’s number one. This is the brainchild of music engineer/producer Jerry Kipnis. Finding a place to start writing about this theater is near impossible seeing as you could talk for years on it but we’ll see what I can do.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most advanced and precise home theaters ever created or even conceived. The Stewart Snowmatte screen is possibly the biggest one to ever appear in a home. The projector is an absolutely insane Sony SRX-S110 digital projector capable for outputting 4,096 x 2,160 pixels. Kipnis refers to the Kipnis Studio Standard as the greatest show on earth. It’s plain to see why.

Acoustically, it’s unparalleled. It boasts 39 separate speaker units (not individual speakers people, speaker units) and powering those speakers are 36 individual amplifiers. The whole thing was conceived to be the pinnacle of home theater in both the audio and visual categories and absolutely no corners were cut. He honestly sees the KSS as a laboratory of sound and video where he conducts insane sound and video experiments.

You really can’t put the hardware specifications in a paragraph. Something like that would completely bastardise the language. It only does any good in a list form so you can see just how long and completely ridiculous this whole room is.

Kipnis plans on building and selling other similar setups to incredibly rich and important movie folks such and Spielberg and Lucas.

What follows are the incredible pieces of machinery that go into making this monstrosity a reality.

The Acoustic Space:

2250 Sq/Ft. Custom Designed, Two-Story Concert Hall with Vaulted Ceiling & Balcony – 1″ Solid Maple Flooring on 4″ tall Pine studs – 12″ spacing, sitting on a solid 16″ reinforced concrete foundation, itself isolated on 4 – 156′ solid steel girders all the way down to bedrock. Features non-parallel walls, ceiling, and floor, with dedicated installed noise isolation system, and acoustic treatments designed to supersede ANSI, SMPTE, AMPAS and AES/EBU noise specifications for professional movie theaters, mixing stages, and anechoic test chambers.

Seating for 3-6 (Arizona Leather Curved Couch & Director’s Chair) or up to 24 (Premium Leather Theatrical Recliners).

Projectors:
Sony SRX-R-110 – 4k (4096 x 2160p) 3-chip SXRD Cine Alta 10,000 ANSI Lumen Theater Projector (short throw Fujinon zoom lens: 1.56-1.90) – Main Projector
Sony Qualia 004 – 1920 x 1080p 3-chip SXRD 2,000 ANSI Lumen Home Theater Projector (short throw Zeiss zoom Lens: 1.43-1.86) – Background Projector

Components (video):
Sony LMT-100 4k Media Block – DCM D-Cinema, X’ Y’ Color Space (Professional Cinema Media Server)
4 – Apple 2.33 GHz MacBook Pros (4k & 2k Digital Media Server)
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-Ray Disc Player
Samsung BDP-1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-Ray Disc Player
Toshiba HD-A35 HD-DVD Player
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD-DVD Player
JVC HM-DH5U D-VHS Recorder
JVC HM-DH400U D-VHS Recorder
Scientific Atlanta 8300HD Cable DVR (72 hours HD recording via Maxtor 300 Gb External SATA drive)
Pioneer HLD-X0 MUSE Hi-Vision HD LaserVideo Disc player
Sony HIL-C2EX MUSE Hi-Vision HD LaserVideo Disc player
Sony MSC-4000 MUSE Hi-Vision HD Decoder
Mark Levinson No. 51 DVD Media Player
Lumagen Radiance XD HDTV Processor
Gefen 6 x 2 HDMI Switcher

Components (audio):
Theta Casablanca III (c) – 8.8 Digital Surround Sound Processor (All digital In/Out – no video switching!) – 12 Separate Decoding Algorithms
13 – Theta Generation VIII (b) – Twin Channel 8x Oversampling Extreme Balanced Digital to Analog Convertors
ELP Laser Turntable – Plays LPs, 45s, & 78s using five lasers to read the grooves – all analog line-level playback
ELP CEDAR DeNoiser – 192 kHz Analog to Digital Converter with Selectable Surface Noise Reduction
Logitech SlimServer Transporter – 96 kHz / 24-bit Digital Audio Music Server (ultra low jitter = 18 picoseconds RMS @ AES/EBU Output)

Speakers:
10 – Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Tower Loudspeakers (80 – 20,000 Hz) (originally designed by Kevin Voecks for George Lucas and Tomlinson Holman at Skywalker Ranch as the very first THX Certified Loud Speaker System)
16 – Snell THX Sub-1800 (18″ Passive Ported Subwoofer (1 – 80 Hz)
10 – Murata Super Tweeters – 1/2″ Ceramic Composite Dome (20,000 – 102,500 Hz)
3 – Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center Channels (80 – 20,000 Hz)

Amplifiers:
30 – McIntosh MC-2102 Stereo Vacuum Tube Amplifiers (operating in Bridged-Balanced Mode) – 440 Class A Watts Each
3 – Crown Macro Reference Stereo Amplifiers (operating in Bridged-Balanced Mode) – 2,850 Class A Watts Each
2 – Mark Levinson No. 33H Mono-Block Amplifiers – 145 Class A Watts Each
1 – MESA Boogie Baron Stereo Vacuum Tube Amplifier – 660 Watts Each Channel (Projection Booth Monitors)

Screen:
Stewart Snowmatte Laboratory Grade Unity Gain Motion Picture Screen (4-way Automatic Motorized Masking – 18′ x 10.125′)

A/C Power:
2 – General Electric No. 868 Hi Voltage Transformers (13,800 Volts to 240 Volts / 800 Amperes Each – One for the Analog Components, One for the Digital Components) -
2 – Equitech 100 kVA Toroidal Balancing Isolation Transformers (240 Volts to 120 Volts Balanced = +/- 60 Volts) – Unique All Differential Balanced Power Supply System
2 – General Electric 917 Master Power Panel Boards (40 Amp dedicated Circuit Breakers are used for each and every component) – Total AC isolation for each component, beginning from the street power!

Vibration / Isolation:
43 – Solid Tech Rack of Silence (Primary Spring Suspension Component Isolation System) – Amps, D/A, Components, etc.
120 – Solid Tech Feet of Silence (Secondary Band Suspension Isolation System)
120 – Solid Tech Discs of Silence (Secondary Spring Suspension Isolation System)
240 – UltraSonic 45 Tube Dampers (a titanium C-ring holds microphonics absorbing Homopolymer isolation pads against the vacuum tube bulbs)
240 – UltraSonic 9 Tube Dampers (Fiberglass/carbon microfiber sleeves surrounding the pads enable a firm grip on the bulb glass. For continuous use to 525°.F (274°.C)
16 – Auralex Sub Dude Speaker Isolation Stands (Snell M & C Towers & Crossover Arrays)
10 – Auralex Great Gramma Speaker Isolation Stands (Snell Sub-1800 Woofer Arrays)
3 – Auralex Gramma Speaker Isolation Stands (Snell LCR-2800 Center Channel Arrays)

Wiring:
Cardas Neutral Reference (All Balanced, identical lengths for each and every component, Analog – Digital – Power – Control – Video)

Fuses:
30 – Hi-Fi Tuning Gold/Ceramic Fuses (Used in all components requiring a fuse)

Lighting:
38 – Chauvet ColorSplash 200B LED Flood Lights (196 – 1 mm Red, Green, & Blue Computer Controlled & Automated LEDs) – 45 degree flood, 15 watts each, no noise or heat!
27 – Chauvet ColorRain PAR 56 LED Spot Lights (99 – 10 mm Red, Green, & Blue Computer Controlled & Automated LEDs) – 15 degree spot.
1 – Chauvet Show Express Plus – 512+ DMX Channel Computer Controlled Stage Lighting System

Acoustic Treatment:
2400 Sq Feet – Auralex 4″ Acoustic Wedge Foam (applied to all exposed surfaces on the ceiling, walls, and doors) – in Deep Purple, to eliminate screen splash-back and subsequent black level washout and loss of true contrast ratio.