Last updated on June 11, 2020
The great thing about technology is that as we discover more efficient ways to make products, the price typically comes down.
20 years ago, the set-up that I have in my basement would have probably cost me $2,000-$3,000. I have an HD projector, a 100-inch screen, and a Bose speaker for audio.
Now, you can buy my 100-inch home theater system for under $500 on Amazon.
Now, you may think that by going cheap that these products are not going to last.
I’m happy to report that almost 3 years later, I haven’t had any issues.
Our family loves to watch movies on our 100-inch screen and our friends come over to watch sporting events on the big screen.
So, what is this set-up? I’m glad you asked.
The Projector
The most important piece of the home theater set-up is finding the right projector.
The right projectors will keep you happy for years. The wrong projector will have you searching Best Buy to go back to a regular TV set-up.
I wanted a projector that was small in size but could produce a 100” image in HD.
I also wanted one that was bright enough to still be able to use when it wasn’t completely dark in the room (low-light situations from window light bleed).
I knew that I was going to get a speaker for my home theater set-up so the sound quality was not an issue.
What I ended up finding was the Wowoto H8 Mini Projector.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little hesitant buying a unknown Chinese brand. But, the reviews and the specs gave me enough peace-of-mind to give it a try.
Let me tell you – this little projector packs a lot of features for the price.
- DLP Resolution: 1280*800 (supports 1080p)
- 3D capable
- 3500 Lumens
- Android OS
- WIFI 2. 4G&5G/Bluetooth 4. 0
- Multi-screen Sharing: Airplay/Miracast/DLNA/Share
- Auto Keystone correction
- Digital zoom
All in a projector that is small enough to fit into a large pocket or purse and weighs only one pound.
The projector is WIFI enabled and it has an Ethernet port if you want to hardwire it.
The operating system is Android 4.4 (which is a bit dated but can be updated with software updates)and you can use it to download apps like Netflix, YouTube, etc.
However, the app selection is limited so I would recommend a streaming device.
I had an extra Roku Streaming Stick I plugged into the HDMI port and used the USB port on the Wowoto H8 for power.
Overall, we really love this projector. The picture fills the 100” screen and it looks fantastic.
The 3500 lumens make it great to use in dark and low-light situations.
The colors are very vivid. So much so that we had to adjust the color settings to dull them down a bit.
Another great thing about this projector is how quiet it is. Some of the bigger projectors have a very noticeable “hum” from a large internal fan.
The Wowoto is whisper quiet all the time. I have never noticed the fan even during quiet moments in movies.
In fact, my electric fireplace makes more noise than the projector does.
There is a speaker on this projector but it, for lack of a better word, sucks. I can’t recommend this projector if you aren’t going to use an external speaker.
It comes with a very basic remote and it takes roughly 15 seconds from the time it is powered on to the time I am able to use the Roku.
I paid $329 for this projector 3 years ago and have been extremely pleased with it.
Total price so far: $329
The Screen
Initially, I was not going to have a screen. I was just going to project onto a wall.
However, the walls in our basement are a light tan color. While the picture would still look good on it, it would have a tan-ish tint to the colors.
For some, that is just fine. Go ahead and save yourself some more money and just project on the wall (especially if you have white walls).
Since I was going to be watching sports, I wanted to have the true color of the broadcast. So, I purchased a pull down projector screen on Amazon.
I bought the VonHaus 100 Inch Projector Screen with manual pull-down for $59. Again, a brand I had never heard of but great reviews and great price.
Plus, it is hard to mess up a big white screen, right?
It came well packaged and already assembled. All I had to do was hang it.
Using a level and tape measure, I had the screen hung in roughly 5 minutes.
The manual pull down and retract is smooth and easy to operate and the screen made of high-quality materials.
It also has black borders so it is easy to get the picture to fit perfectly on the screen and it gives it more of a “theater” look.
Total price so far: $329 + $59 = $388
The Speaker
For a speaker, we wanted one that was multi-purpose.
We wanted to connect it to the projector to play the audio for movies and sports.
But, we also wanted something that we could connect to our phones via Bluetooth and play background music during get-togethers or when my daughter plays downstairs.
We wanted a speaker that had quality audio but didn’t necessarily have to be theater quality.
We didn’t need a separate sub for huge bass or multiple surround sound speakers. Just something that provided quality sound and got loud enough for movie watching.
We found the Bose SoundTouch 10 on sale on Amazon for $110.
It had all the features we were looking for plus a few more that we weren’t.
The speaker is WIFI and Bluetooth enabled which means that it can play music from your phone or it has an app that you can use to preset channels.
Much like the radio in your car, you can preset up to 6 channels from a variety of sources. You can preset the channels to playlists on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Amazon Music, and more.
The speaker then uses the WIFI to play the music when the preset channel is selected. You can use the remote or the buttons on top of the speaker to select a preset channel.
The speaker is small, light-weight, and comes with a nice remote.
Bose is one of the top names in the audio industry so we knew that sound quality would not be an issue.
I mounted the speaker next to the screen and ran a 3.5mm audio cable through our suspended ceiling from the projector to the speaker.
FYI – you don’t have to do this because you can connect both via Bluetooth. But, I had an extra audio cable laying around so I opted for the more reliable set-up.
All you need to do to change the audio from watching TV to playing music is press the mode button on the Bose SoundTouch 10 remote.
The sound quality did not disappoint. It gets plenty loud and everything sounds perfect.
We love we can hear all the little sound effects when watching sports and movies.
Total price: $329+$59+$110 = $498
You Could Go Even Cheaper
I really love this set-up and so does everyone that visits. It looks like a $2,000 home theater system – not a $500 one.
However, you could even go cheaper. Here are a few ways to cut even more costs.
You don’t need to have a projector screen.
If you have white walls you could just measure and then paint or tape off a black border for the screen and save $60.
Even if you don’t have white walls, you could still project onto the wall if you don’t might the colors being a bit off.
You could also get a different speaker than the Bose SoundTouch 10.
Like most big-name products, you pay a little extra for the brand name.
I’m sure there are a bunch of speakers in the $40-$75 range that would provide almost the same quality of sound.
It is not far-fetched to say that you could have a 100-inch HD home theater set-up with great sound for roughly $400 by making these adjustments.
My advice – don’t be fooled, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a quality home theater system.
Buy this home theater set-up
[…] Techfordaddy. The great thing about technology is that as we discover more efficient ways to make products, the price typically comes down. 20 years ago, the set-up that I have in my basement would have probably cost me $2,000-$3,000. I have an HD projector, a 100-inch screen, and a Bose speaker for audio. Now, you can buy my 100-inch home theater system for under $500 on Amazon. Now, you may think that by going cheap that these products are not going to last. […]