Other ways to get a cinema experience for homemade theater?

[Devin McNamara]

Hey guys as you all know I am trying to build an outdoor theater for friends and family. So far it has come along really well. I have an excellent sound system composed of JBL speakers and some QSC amps. All mounted in a 40u rack I built myself. A pretty kick ass automation system that I built around everyone’s least favorite Christie ACT. I’ve kind have grown to like the ACT. Complete with switchable lights. I can activate all this from the front panel or from my PC all the way up in my house. And a decent PC built into a junked out DCP-2k4 chassis to play videos, games, and TV shows. All is kept safe inside an 8 x 10 building that I spent all summer working hard building. I only need one piece to really tie it all together. I was hoping the extra DCP-2k4 would have gotten me there but alas either it just can’t do it or my media block was junk. Which is a shame to as the Doremi managed to check all the things I needed on my list. First was the ability to use my JSD80s AES input, second was the ability to seamlessly play movies and previews, and finally (the main driving force behind trying to save this thing) being able to execute commands both through Ethernet and serial to activate parts of my automation system. The thing I like ed most about cinelister was the ability to easily (with the help of all of y’all) create macros that allowed me to change inputs on my processor, turn my lights off, and start up my projector through a simple serial command. I was hoping to either find another DCP player that could do it. But I am unable to find much on eBay. The DSS200 looks nice but it is nowhere to be found. I could go for a DSP100 but I believe I’d also need the DSS100 to go with it and combining both would be a bit cost prohibitive. Especially if it doesn’t work either… I’d rather not try to fork out thousands of dollars as it would not pay for itself very well. I’m not trying to make money off this. I’m just trying to create a place for friends and family to hang out while satisfying my love for cinema equipment. I perhaps thought there would be a media player for pc that could do all this but there doesn’t seem to be much for me do players that can execute macros like the Doremi can. VLC can do most of what I want but this. Which surprised me given how popular it is. Do you guys have any suggestions on what I could find that will let me do all this? Thanks for taking the time to read all of this.

[Vern Dias]

You might want to take a look at some HT tools, if you are comfortable with PC's.

For IP based control, HTWebRemote is a very flexible windows app that can take input from any device that can run a web browser. IP to serial or IR converters are available.

Screenshot (10).png
An example of creating a macro that selects the input on a Denon receiver and sets the laser power on a JVC projector from a single button press:

{
"ItemType": 2,
"Label": "2D PC",
"RelativeSize": 3,
"Color": "Blue",
"Commands": [
{
"DeviceName": "DenonAVR",
"Cmd": "SISAT/CBL"
},
{
"DeviceName": "wait",
"WaitTimeMS": 1000
},
{
"DeviceName": "JVC",
"Cmd": "PMLP",
"Param": "3"
}
]
},​

For a media player, ZoomPlayer is very flexible, including the ability to have up to 10 aspect ratio presets.


MadVR is a PC Directshow filter that can do HDR tone mapping.


I use the tools for my HT which includes a 2.76:1 curved screen and and a JVC RS3100 with and Isco 1.5x anamorphic lens.