How to Set Up a Home Theater
The Ultimate Guide To Creating a Movie-Theater at Home
Home theater rooms have gained enormous popularity with homeowners in recent years. Setting one up may prove to be a steep investment at the beginning, but it does add substantial resale value to your home if it's done well, and when you think about it, if you can avoid the rising price of movie theater tickets and popcorn, you could make your investment back in no time!
Although home media rooms go hand in hand with a top of the line theatre system, comfort and convenience are of equal importance. This guide provides helpful hints and hot product picks for setting up the perfect home theater room.
Lighting has the distinct ability to set the ambiance of a room, and your media room is no exception. Assuming that the room does not double as a games room, choose lighting that will not compete with your home theatre system. Too much light can interfere with the picture quality of a projection system, or cause reflection and glare issues on a big screen TV. Stick to lamps or Dimmers that provide a means to tailor lighting to your preferences.
Click here for a guide on how to buy a dimmer for your home.
The type of home theatre system you choose will most likely determine how you display the electronic components in your home media room. For instance, a projection system relies on a wall-mounted projection screen, and flat screens can often be mounted to the wall too - and are commonly mounted above fireplaces. If either of these is the case in your room, you might only need some shelving to house supporting electronics such as the DVD player and home theater receiver.
Keep in mind that if you do choose a full entertainment unit to host your free standing TV, the extra shelving always comes in handy to store DVDs, books, nick nacks, and family photos.
When the time comes to choose the furniture for your brand new home theater room, comfort and durability are important considerations.
First, you should take the layout and size of your room into account when choosing furniture. A scale drawing on graph paper will give you a birds-eye view of how your choices will fit in the room.
If your home theatre follows a strict “anything goes” policy, make sure you select a coffee table durable enough to withstand the weight and pressure of tired feet resting on it. If you prefer to keep feet off the coffee table, ottomans equipped with trays might be a better choice for you.
For the ultimate luxury, consider a wall-mounted fireplace to take the chill off winter evenings. These days there are a ton of realistic and budget-friendly options.
Put yourself in the center of the action. The next best thing to actually being at a movie is an awesome home theatre system that brings the exhilaration of the event right into your living room.
Today's technology offers a wide range of options depending on your technical knowledge and budget. Although a wall integrated system is the component that adds the most value to your home, home theaters in a box are relatively easy to set up and much cheaper to buy than the professionally installed systems.
Click here for more information on how to buy basic home theater electronics.
Although a wet bar can't really be classified as a necessity in a home media room, it certainly is a practical treat when you are hosting the boys for the game or the girls for Sex and the City reruns! Newer homes might already be fitted with a wet bar in the basement or bonus room which makes it really easy to upgrade with little luxuries like a wine cooler or a top of the line sink and faucet.
Click here to see a detailed buying guide on sinks.
Considering the number of remotes required to control our electronics these days, you might think about downsizing (and upgrading!) to a universal remote. Avid gamers will sink into gaming heaven with a video game rocker, and you can recreate a true theatre experience with energy saving, room darkening window coverings.
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