So you want a home theater? Fantastic! We will guide you all the way to find exactly the one you want. Continue reading to determine what exactly it is you want out of your new home theater. We will ask you questions so you can get the right idea in mind and follow it to the end of this article.
Ask Yourself
Ask yourself, “How many people do I want this theater to seat?”, “What kind of screen do I want?”, “Do I want surround sound? If I do, how good of a quality should it be?”, “Is this room going to be used for anything else?”, and “Will a game system be cool to include with the theater?”. If you have any questions, please contact us.
After helping you answer these questions, hopefully you will keep us in mind when picking out your home theater.
“How many people do I want this theater to seat?”
For many people this is an easy decision to make, but they may have overlooked some important aspects to consider.
- How much space do you have in your designated room? Optimally, you would want your seats to be spaced 3 feet apart if they are in rows to allow for comfortable reclining and the best view of the screen for the entire audience. The chairs should also not be any closer than 3 inches to the walls of the room, again for the comfort of the audience. If you would like the seating to be a home theater sectional (sections of a couch-like chair which can be arranged to suit your needs) then the space is determined by how large the furniture is and the size of the room as well as how many rows you would like. Spacing guidelines are the same as the above chair arrangements (except sectionals are pushed together on the sides).
- What type of seating would you like? This decision is very important to the comfort of your audience and the quality of sound the audience can hear. The best seating is that of the correct seating height so that there is an optimal sound heard by the movie-goers, the right balance between keeping the audience awake from a firm chair and plushy comfort, and a lower back chair won’t warp the sound. It is also important to note that chairs with speakers inside them do not provide very much difference in sound unless you want that system as your surround sound system (not recommended).
“What kind of screen do I want?”
It is also important to note what type of TV you would like in that room. Here is hierarchical tree:
> Projector Screen
- Permanent Screen: The permanent screen is basically installing a screen directly onto the wall, meaning that room should probably be only used for the home theater
- Pull Down Screen: This kind of screen can either be manually pulled down or there can be motors enabled to lower and raise it remotely (recommended for ease-of-use and customizability)
- Portable Screen: These screens can be the pop-up type or a sort of collapsing frame
- Screen Material: The screen material can vary greatly, and depending on the typical atmosphere of the room for the home theater, one should choose the best type for the best price. The different types allow a greater view quality on some because they reflect more light.
> Television
- LED TV: PROS uses less power than LCD, is the thinnest type, has improved picture quality on some TVs; CONS expensive; SIZES 15 to 60 inches (recommended for picture quality, and size)
- LCD TV: PROS consume a lot less power than plasma TVs, common screen sizes, very thin no matter the screen size, works in bright rooms; CONS: not as good a viewing angle as plasma TVs; SIZES 15 to 60 inches
- Plasma TV: PROS unlimited viewing angle, thin; CONS reflection on screen in a bright room is distracting; SIZES 42 to 65 inches
- Rear-Projection TV: PROS largest screen sizes, 3D capability, cheapest TV; CONS large in depth as well its screen size, you need an adapter to connect to 3D Blu-Ray players to view in 3D; SIZE 65 to 82 inches
“Do I want surround sound? If I do, how good of a quality should it be?”
Surround sound is a fantastic option for any home theater. The different types of surround sound theater speakers are 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1. These numbers may sound complicated but are quite simple: The .1 of the numbers represents the subwoofer and the number before the decimal means how many other speakers there are. If you still don’t know how any of these would sound, come on over to our selection center in Austin to listen to a 7.1 surround sound system. We offer a variety of the best speakers available and we will help you pick the best ones for your needs.
“Is this room going to be used for anything else?”
“Will a game system be cool to include with the theater?”
We have made several homes into transforming rooms so that they, for example, could go from a library into a home theater with dimming lights and motor lowered screen. If you are interested, we can incorporate game systems with the theater and surround sound for the full effect. With a simple HDMI cable, one can bring 1080p HD video with surround sound into any room from practically any device these days. (read more about this cable here)
