DIY Network

Tour the Home Theater of Danny Graves Check out the amazing home theater of a major-league pitcher. From "Home Theater" episode DHTW-104

Enjoy a tour of Danny Graves' high-tech and visually stunning home theater!

This is not your average home theater!

The gear is gutsy, the big screen is chameleon for a variety of cinematic choices, the surround sound rocks the house, the remote is custom programmed to control virtually everything, hip acoustic panels create a focal point for the room's impressive interior design and a fiber-optic ceiling with twinkling stars create a peaceful setting.

"If you're asking about the coolness factor of this room, I'm obviously going to be biased," Danny Graves said of his unique home theater. "On a scale of one to 10, it would probably be a 50!"

When the major-league pitcher built his home theater, he spared no expense. "I'm a big gadget guy. The equipment that I wanted in the theater basically was all top-notch. I wanted all the best stuff, all the best sound," Graves said.

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This is exactly what Graves got. His home theater designers built a room complete with all the toys a "grown-up boy" could ever want, including a custom programmed remote (figure A). "Basically for the lazy man," he admits. The remote controls the drapes, lighting, televisions--everything except the faucet.

For viewing television and movies, Danny chose a DLP front projector (figure B), which is positioned in a soffit in the back of the room in a large hole, which provides plenty of ventilation.

His big screen (figure C) is nothing short of dramatic, and when he watches high definition he can see the full 16 x 9 movie screen--but his designers used a special trick for viewing regular television--

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F

• A special motorized screen that actually sends down little side curtains (figure D) on either side of it that create a four-to-three ration (the conventional TV aspect ratio) when he's watching regular television.

The big screen is also perforated, which means it has tiny holes that allow sound to filter through. The center channel speaker is mounted right in the middle of the screen. The amazing thing about this is that the actor's dialogue comes right from their mouths as apposed to from above or below--like with most conventional systems. You feel like the actors are speaking to you.

When it came to choosing a speaker setup, Danny went with a seven-point-one surround-sound system, which delivers the sound to all the seats in the huge room. "When I listen to music in here I feel like I'm at a concert," he said.

To further improve the sound of the room, the designers installed a unique-looking acoustic panels (figure E). They tried to come up with a design that lent a little visual interest, but also served a purpose to make the room sound better. The panels are actually fabric covering an acoustical material. There is a combination of absorptive and reflective surfaces underneath everything. These panels help tame the high frequencies in a home theater, enhancing the overall sound quality.

Danny was extremely particular about the seating, especially the comfort factor and where they were positioned (figure F). "The main thing I had to have for this room was probably the remote controlled chairs," he admits. "At the push of a button you can lean all the way back and lay down and sleep." There are eight chairs in the room, and Danny says he sits in a different one every time he enters the room.

Believe it or not, Danny ended up spending up to six figures on this stunning home theater, and he believes it's worth every penny. "You dream of all these things you could possibly have one day," Danny said, "and to be able to have my own movie theater in my house was just amazing. I felt like a kid gain at my first movie."

Although Danny's home theater cost a lot of money, you don't have to break the bank to build a great home theater. In the final episode Corey and Mark finish showing you how to build a do-it-yourself home theater--installing the big screen, calibrating the speakers and programming the remote control.

For more information on Home-Entertainment Upgrades, check out Fine Living's (one of DIY's sister networks) C/Net package!

RESOURCES :

Don Fillers & Assoc.
Website: www.dfasolutions.com

McDougall Bros. Construction, Inc.
Website: www.mcdougallbros.com

Middle Atlantic Products, Inc.
Website: www.middleatlantic.com

Terratex Fabrics
Website: www.terratex.com

Absolute Sound, Inc.
Website: www.absolutesound.com

GUESTS :

Mark Midyett
Engineer/Designer
Don Fillers & Assoc.
1003 North Broadway St.
Knoxville, TN 37917
Phone: 865-523-4470
Website: www.dfasolutions.com

Ted Hollander
Home Theater Designer
Phone: 407-629-0230
Website: www.absolutesound.com