Now THIS is a home theater I could get into!

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by JanewayRulz!, Jul 11, 2013.

  1. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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  2. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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  3. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    Surely the problem would not be so much getting into it, but out of it.
     
  4. trekker670

    trekker670 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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  5. TheSubCommander

    TheSubCommander Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    See now he has to have a wet bar that looks like Quark's to go along with the Enterprise-D bridge room!
     
  6. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    I really love those themed home theatres. If you prefer a certain theme it definitely helps you to create a hyper-realistic sensation of actually being there! :techman:

    This TNG home theatre is also featured in this article: http://screencrush.com/amazing-home-theaters/

    Looks like the TNG one wasn't built by Dillon Works, but the Star Wars and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea one were.

    Bob
     
  7. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    That's what a net worth of $500 mil will get ya. Nice!!
     
  8. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ohhhh, for a crowd I like the "Dark Knight" one, and for a more intimate group I love the "Titanic" version.
     
  9. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Which would be better - a two story bar like Quark's, or a Ten-Forward with windows overlooking the ocean or mountains?
     
  10. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Very well done. I had a slightly different idea for a home theater:

    Have a nearly full-replica TARDIS that opens up, on the second floor of the house, to a replica TARDIS control room from the most recent season, with lights and sounds. The hallways on the bottom lead to replica bridges of the Enterprises (TOS, WoK, 1701D, 1701E), and the top leads to the movie theater, which will have a replica ten forward overlooking the mountains. There will be a replica library with 2 floors and hundreds of books and memorabilia. Another room for a game room with an emulator that plays MAME replicated arcade games on a huge 120" wall screen, or switch input to the X-Box 360. Just first I need to win the lotto.
     
  11. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^Oooohhh, my favorite game!

    "What would I do if I won the lottery?" :drool:

    Formal dining room that is a miniature version of the great hall from Hogwarts? Complete with floating candles.

    Home theater that looks like the Dark Knight's domain. (See above)

    My own planetarium that looks like Stellar Cartography from 1701D / ST : Generations. Hmmm. I bet that would double as a video game room, easily.
     
  12. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Damn, jealous....
     
  13. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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  14. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    ...sniff...wah...
     
  15. varek

    varek Commander Red Shirt

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    Ten Forward gets my vote.

    Sorry, Quark.
     
  16. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    Actually, Ten Forward would probably be one of the home theater rooms where the recreation of the original feel could be most easily accomplished, IMHO, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

    Privately and professionally I'm currently preoccupied with the new Dolby Atmos surround sound system, learning with which speaker placement it will probably work best and evaluating the AV-hardware that's now becoming available. Suffice to say, it's a rather complex matter, especially if you aim for "7.1.4".

    Using the occasion I also got myself involved with the improvement of room acoustics (something usually underestimated, apparently / especially in these TNG themed home theatres, way too much reflective surfaces as far as I can tell) but in regard to the acoustic foam sheet candidates, I think it's fair to say that for a devoted TNG fan like myself there can only be one product, because it has been used as a set decoration on TNG, especially in the transporter room (I think there have been other occasions, but except for "The Neutral Zone" I can't recall them this moment):

    http://tng.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x26/the_best_of_both_worlds_part1_hd_005.jpg

    http://tng.trekcore.com/hd/albums/3x26/the_best_of_both_worlds_part1_hd_421.jpg

    Originally, I had no idea what kind of product the TNG set designers used, but finally found it just two days ago: SONEX

    The salesperson at Sonex, apparently a TNG fan, too, told me that the transporter room walls were covered with SONEXOne.

    In the above screencap with O'Brien we see the "male" sheets on the left side, while the right side and the transporter chamber are padded with "female" sheets. If I understood correctly and after watching a YouTube video, the sheets come in one double piece that instantly separates into a "male" and "female" one.

    And these squares in Ten Forward are SONEX "Spectrum" contour tiles.

    To cut a long story short: Looking again at these expensive TNG themed home theatres I have to suspect that the builders had little or no idea how to improve room acoustics (I wonder whether these home theatres actually sound good, regardless of the AV hardware price tags) and apparently no idea either that a product exists, that would give any ambitioned Star Trek home theatre user an "authentic" 23rd century feel.

    In case you want to recreate a TNG themed home theater in your own living room or mancave, I think this is a more economic and - at the end of the day - more authentic approach, and it will have the benefit that it could improve the sound quality of your room and thus the perceived performance of your AV system, too.

    In a few weeks I intend to post a couple of before and after pictures to illustrate the most welcome TNG touch addition to my home theatre.

    I thought mentioning my "find" would be useful to other TNG fans, that look forward adding a 24th Century feel to their rooms and/or home theatres. :)

    Bob
     
  17. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    Just a few corrections after I examined the issue further (trying to find the original materials used on TNG rather turned almost out like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack).

    It appears indeed that for the wall covering of the transporter room they did use SONEXone panels 24" x 48" where the defining pattern characteristic is one row of "positive" (or "male") elements is followed by one row of "negative" (or "female") elements, which can be best seen in this screencap (each triple element measures 5" x 5").

    However, this screencap reveals that for the transporter chamber they used panels with much smaller elements, and to make matters more complicated these feature only the "negative" (or "female") panel pattern.
    As far as I can tell these are probably the lesser known SONEXjunior panels, that come at a size of 24" x 24" and contain approx. 8 x 8 elements at half the size of the other SONEX variations.

    By the end of Season 4 not only did they change the conference lounge wall (:() but the transporter room walls as well, i.e. the original vertical element floor piece then covered the entire area outside the transport chamber.

    As a minor detail, the SONEXOne had a little comeback as the wall padding of the USS Yosemite's transport chamber in "Realm of Fear".

    I hope some of you may find this information useful, in case you spot additional applications of these panels in TNG please tell me or us.

    Bob
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2014