A true home theater experience with a stunning high definition picture and crystal clear surround sound should envelope you and carry your senses away as if you were a character on the screen. This should be the experience every time you turn your home theater on whether you are watching a movie, sporting event, or even a TV show. A dedicated home theater room is just what its name says; a room dedicated to great surround sound and great high definition video.
A “Reel” Movie Experience
A dedicated home theater room’s goal is to exactly replicate the movie theater experience within your home with an image reflecting to your eyes from a large scale film screen. There are many variables when designing a dedicated home theater room including room size, screen height and placement, architectural elements, and the number of people you would like to seat in the space. The goal is making sure that all these areas are addressed so that there is not a bad seat in the house. The room should be designed so that everyone watching the screen can comfortably see what is displayed without having to look over someone’s head or around an obstruction. You should never have to stretch your neck to see the screen. Details like these can make or break a room. Our expert staff can help with this to ensure that every last detail is covered so that you get the most out of your dedicated home theater.
Room Design – Laying It All Out
The great thing about designing a dedicated theater room is that you don’t have to worry about anything other than making things perfect for a great picture and great sound. We can help every step of the way from projector, screen and speaker placement to deciding where to hide the components. Other details include soundproofing, tiered seating placement, sound treatment and acoustics, and finish work. Acoustic treatments can make a tremendous difference in how well your components perform together and can often be worked into the décor so that we achieve both form AND function. We suggest looking through our gallery as well as various home theater magazines to get ideas for the design and layout of your room. We have designed and installed hundreds of home theater rooms over the years and have many suggestions to help you along the way. We can also work side by side with your interior designer or decorator to make sure your room looks as good as it performs.
Speaker Placement & Acoustics
Speaker placement is critical in any design, but it is especially important in a dedicated home theater. The most important part of any movie besides the picture is the dialog track. The speaker in charge of reproducing this track is your center channel speaker. Not understanding the dialog in the movie will greatly reduce the experience you have within your theater room. It is fairly simple getting the center channel speaker placement correct in a theater room where you only have one row of seating. However, if your room design consists of multiple rows of seats it’s even more critical that the center channel speaker is placed appropriately so that every viewer in the room has the same great experience and can clearly hear the dialog being spoken. Our staff can help make sure you get your center channel speaker placed in the optimal location.
Your home theaters surround sound speakers should be placed to your sides as well as behind you to ensure a complete surround sound experience. You should have one or more pairs of side speakers depending on how many rows you have and one pair placed to the rear of the room. The arrangement is dependent on how your seating is placed in the room and our staff can advise you on the best placement for your particular space.
Finally, where to put the subwoofer? The worst possible place for a subwoofer is in the middle of your room or high up on a shelf. The primary job of your subwoofer is to emphasize the action and allow you to feel what’s happening on the screen. The best placement is in the corner of your room on the floor. Because of how the subwoofer reproduces the sound from a movie, placing it in the corner allows the sub to use the shape of the corner to increase its depth, punch, and volume. The more subwoofers you have the better, two to four subs is best!
Equipment Ventilation & HVAC Systems
In a dedicated home theater, heat is public enemy number one for both you and your equipment. Too much heat around your equipment can greatly reduce its life expectancy and cause performance quality to deteriorate over time. Your amplifier or home theater receiver will put out a small amount of heat but the biggest suppliers of heat are your cable or satellite DVR and video game console. These devices typically radiate an extreme amount of heat and without proper ventilation can over heat themselves as well as the equipment around them. Drilling holes in your cabinet can help reduce heat but a thermostat fan controlled ventilation system is best to ensure a cool environment for your equipment. Ventilation fans can even be mounted outside of the room or in the crawl space so that you never hear the fan noise.
The equipment isn’t the only thing in the room that needs to be comfortable; you and your guests should be too! Nothing can heat up a room quicker than a group of people watching a movie together and without proper ventilation and air flow the room can become uncomfortable quickly. It is critical to remember that your HVAC technician installs a system that can properly cycle air through the room as well as efficiently heat or cool the space. Remember, it’s always better to have an HVAC system that is a little too large than to have one that is not big enough. Being comfortable is a key component in getting the most enjoyment out of your dedicated home theater room.
Controlling Your Equipment – Even If It’s Hidden
Having a dedicated theater that you can’t control is like having a car that you don’t know how to drive. If that’s the case then what’s the point? A custom programmed universal remote is like the keys and owner’s manual to the car. These remotes give you a simple one button solution to controlling and accessing all the content and equipment in your dedicated home theater room. Many of the universal remotes available have the option of controlling your equipment whether it’s out in the open, hidden inside a cabinet, or even located in another room. We offer a large range of remotes and can assist you with choosing the right universal remote for your exact application.
The Ultimate Dedicated Home Theater
Imagine a room of your home decorated with a movie theater theme containing a popcorn machine, candy, drinks, and large comfortable home theater recliners. A single touch to your personalized touch screen controller dims the lights, turns on your projector and starts the movie. During the film, you are enveloped in the bright high definition picture radiating from the film screen while the high fidelity surround sound system brings the movie to life. When the movie ends, your friends comment that the experience is so much better than going to a commercial movie theater, they can’t imagine why you would ever leave home! Whatever your home theater dream happens to be, our design team can help you turn that dream into a reality.
