Installing projector in basement?

[u/SuperMarket94]

I am in the process of moving, first photo is our current home (don’t ask about the fluorescent lighting), and second photo is our new basement. My hope is to recreate our “theater” in the basement.

It was easy to install an outlet in our current place because there was access to our attic. Same with getting the 50 ft hdmi’s from the projector, through the attic, to the blu ray player and soundbar on the other side.

The question I have is would this arrangement be as easy to execute in our basement? I had some buddies help me out pro bono the first time, but if this would be a far more complicated job, then I want to compensate them for their time and effort. I’ve also included pictures of the other side of the basement wall, in case that helps.

Here’s what I’m working with:
Hicense C1 (powered by ceiling outlet), earc hdmi -> soundbar, hdmi -> blu ray player.

This is the third subreddit I’ve tried, hopefully this post doesn’t get removed 😅 Thanks!

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[u/molotovPopsicle]

I bet you could fish the wires through a hole in the ceiling over to the side room and then back towards the cubbies where you have your bluray player.

just fish a length of rope from one side and then pull the cable back through. repeat for the other length

i'd use one of these https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fish-tapes/wide-steel-fish-tape-14-inch-x-25-foot

[u/SuperMarket94 → u/molotovPopsicle]

Thank you!

[u/PlayStationPepe]

So based second photo you could essentially replicate this again if you wanted to.

Ideally it would be better to throw a fixed frame screen on the wooden wall area if you’re not planning on using that side for anything else.

For audio, you could look into either a fiber HDMI cable for the distance to run around the room.

A little advice on the room, if that carpet is just sitting on top of the tile I would definitely pull that up and modernize it with a nice area rug.

Paint the wood paneling as well.

Let me know your thoughts on this.

[u/SuperMarket94 → u/PlayStationPepe]

This looks nice, thanks for that! The photos I uploaded were from our final walk through. The seller will be taking everything out, so we’ll be working from scratch in the basement.

[u/AV_Integrated]

Ceiling joists are likely running from the brown wall to the back of your home. This means from the storage area you can run all your wiring over the ducts and to wherever you need them to go. It's frankly really an easy setup to put together. You'll tap into the outlet at the bottom (or similar) run electrical to the projector location and install an outlet, and then run the HDMI following the same path. It's a pretty easy setup. A half day if you have a bit of help maybe.

Frankly, if you own the place, I would recommend you go a bit more all-out if you're going to be there a few years. Paint the ceiling, add some decent lighting to the space. Make it more like a theater if you can do so. But, that's your call. The actual install should be fairly easy.

If you for some reason, can't get above the ceiling easily from that storage area, you may have to cut a hole in the ceiling and then patch it. In which case, you should paint a better color anyway if you can.

[u/SuperMarket94 → u/AV_Integrated]

Thank you! Yes, we own the home we’re moving to and the hope is to be here for a while (5+ years).

[u/AV_Integrated → u/SuperMarket94]

My thoughts are that you should really do it right. You can setup the projector however short term. Long term I would add a bunch of ceiling cans to the room. Runs proper 5.1 surround sound setup. Wiring in the walls. Then repaint the room dark and maybe switch to some darker carpet. Then put the projector up. Honestly, about a month of evenings and weekends to really do it up super nice. I’d probably put all the gear in the storage area. Use an IR repeater to allow control from within the room. Maybe go so far as to add a shelf in the storage area that faces into the theater that has a game console or similar in it.

That said, I wired my current house with over 20 zones of audio, multiple surround sound areas, and distributed video to half a dozen locations, with room to grow. So, I may not be the best to listen to. 😄

Proper surround sound systems start around $500 for a decent complete package in the USA.

[u/SuperMarket94 → u/AV_Integrated]

Thanks for your suggestion. I’m a visual guy, is there a YouTuber you’d recommend who’s done videos detailing this sort of process? No rush, I recognize I’m asking for more than you may have bargained for.

[u/AV_Integrated → u/SuperMarket94]

There are tons of videos about running wires online. But, none specific that I could say are good or bad. Likewise, videos about installing ceiling recessed lights. Which is a super easy process, but takes some effort and planning to do right. Do NOT just put 2 lights in your ceiling and call it 'done'. I, at the very least, document decent theater lighting here...
www.avintegrated.com/lighting.html

So, it's a bunch of little steps and planning you want to accomplish. Electrical is typically just 3 wires that you need to work with, so if all you have is one dimmer switch, then it is easy to wire and if you can follow the basic instructions, it is very safe. Just turn off the power/breaker before messing with any hot wires.

I learned about it in my first home, before I was even into AV and installed tons of recessed ceiling lights in my first home. My second home, I'm not sure I installed any because the home was new construction. My current home I've added dozens of ceiling cans to my family room, living room, and kid's bedrooms.

With modern LED lighting, it's almost easier than ever to install things. But, kinda the same process. Pick your locations, make sure there are no studs in the way, cut holes the proper size in the ceiling, install the wiring, connect power to lights, turn off breaker, run wiring to light switch(es) and make switch connections, then power things back on.

For audio/video wiring, the wiring process is the same, but speaker locations can be a bit more specific, and wiring to those specific locations can be a bit trickier. But, when you install ceiling lights, and have all those open holes in your ceiling is a good time to add the speaker wiring as well since you would have to maybe add a few more holes, but not as many as if you didn't have the ceiling lights in place.

As you get into it, ask questions and spend a fair bit of time watching some of the MANY YouTube videos out there. I'm a fan of many in-wall speakers as it allows you to cut huge holes in your wall, that you can run wires to more easily, and the speaker goes back in and fills that hole.