8 Steps to Bring the Theater Experience to Your Home
FIRST, FIND THE RIGHT ROOM…
Do you miss the thrill of the movie theater? That goosebumps feeling when the lights dim, the opening scene starts, and you settle into another world… Luckily, you can capture that magic in your own house with a dedicated home theater installation.
But how does one get started? As a home theater installer servicing Prosper, TX, and the surrounding area, we have years of experience building cinematic spaces for homeowners. We’ll share a step-by-step guide of what you can expect below.
SEE ALSO: 5 Tips to Build a Stunning & Versatile Media Room
STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR ROOM
Unless you’re building a new home, you may not have much flexibility in choosing where to install the home theater. But the ideal space is larger with higher ceilings, and we find that rectangle-shaped rooms are better for acoustics than square ones.
STEP 2: FIND A HOME THEATER INSTALLER
If you’re exceptionally handy and think you can tackle an installation yourself, then proceed to the next steps. But the average person won’t know how to treat a room for acoustics, discreetly run cables and wires through walls, and sync all technology to a smart control system. A lot more goes into a dedicated theater than you may think. It will save a lot of sweat and frustration to let the pros handle it.
STEP 3: ADD A RAISED FLOOR
If you’ll have more than one row of seating in your theater, consider a raised floor. Adding an incline isn’t necessarily essential but will make the room feel like a ‘real’ movie theater.
STEP 4: PRE-WIRE FOR AV EQUIPMENT & LIGHTING
When you think of a luxurious theater, it probably doesn’t include a tangle of wires and cables strung along the floor and walls. You should plan for a centralized cabling location for easy access and maintenance before you install equipment.
STEP 5: SELECT YOUR PROJECTOR AND SCREEN
There are countless projector options out there. Should you choose a lamp-based or laser projector? Full HD or 4K? Standard or short throw? There’s no single best option. But try to choose a projector with higher pixel density and brightness (in lumens) for a clearer image.
And as for the screen? If your room has windows or light seeping in from a hallway, you’ll benefit from an ambient light-rejecting screen with higher ‘gain.’ But in a darker room, you’ll do fine with a standard screen with a 1.0 gain.
STEP 6: INSTALL ACOUSTIC TREATMENTS AND SURROUND SOUND
A 5.1 surround sound system includes a center channel speaker, left and right front speakers, left and right ear-level speakers, and a subwoofer. You can go further to a 7.1 system by adding two surround audio sources to the room, broadening the listening “sweet spot.” For even more immersive audio, Dolby Atmos’ upward-firing speakers let sound move from speaker to speaker, never stuck in one channel. Foam and fiberglass treatments on the walls and ceiling will ensure sound frequencies don’t overpower each other and sound their best.
STEP 7: BRING IN FURNITURE AND DÉCOR
Time to get creative! Want an old Hollywood aesthetic or a modern space with a starry ceiling? The possibilities are endless.
STEP 8: PROGRAM MEDIA CONTROLS
If your home theater is time-consuming to set up every time you want to watch a movie, you won’t be inclined to use it. An automated control program will make the experience much more enjoyable. With a smart system like Control4 or Savant, all your speakers, screen, lights, and thermostat are connected to one app or remote.
Looking for a home theater installer? If you live in the Prosper, Texas, area, Simpele is your local AV expert. Contact us here to get started on your new movie theater experience.
