Home theaters can be a lot of fun for family members and as entertainment spaces. These additions provide an at-home cinema experience without you ever having to leave the house.
But what should you know before investing in one? How can you approach a decision like this cautiously while still getting the results you want?
That’s the topic of this post. We look at some of the things you’ll want to know or think about before spending any money. This way, you can play it safe.
Things To Consider Before Investing In A Home Theater
What You Want To Build
First, you should start by thinking about what you want to build. While an at-home cinema experience is fun, it is also something that costs more if you do it right.
For example, you’ll want to consider whether you want a space primarily for family or if you intend to have more people over. If it is the latter, you’ll want something larger for public viewings.
You should also think about whether you want the room for gaming or movies. Which you need most will affect the layout.
You should also consider if you need surround sound and furniture, like cinema recliner sofas. These help to make the space feel more bespoke. You could use existing furniture, but that might not have the same effect and prevent you from using the space in the way you want.
Location
Next, you’ll want to think about the home cinema’s location. Start by considering whether you need a dedicated space. Obviously, the latter option will cost more, but it may also improve the acoustics and reduce distractions. After all, home cinemas are often walled off from the rest of the property and not part of an open-plan scheme.
You could also toy with including a cinema in a multi-functional space, but that might not be ideal. The sound could travel, and you could also get noise pollution from using a shared space.
Room size is also a consideration. The bigger it is, the more powerful the sound equipment will need to be. (You will also require a larger screen).
The shape of the room is also worth considering. You may be able to commandeer an existing space, but it needs to be long enough to accommodate rows of seating, and sufficiently wide for whatever screen you want to watch.
Acoustics
You also want to know what the acoustics will be, once the room is finally built and fitted. These can affect the experience for you and anyone else outside.
For example, you want to treat the walls, floors, and other surfaces with acoustic-supporting elements. For example, adding carpets to the floor reduces the risk of annoying echo and tinny treble sounds. It also helps to add ceiling tiles to prevent the same thing from happening in reverse.
Sometimes, it is also worth adding sound proofing, especially if you’re worried about disturbing the neighbors or want to keep the noise down for your children. Usually, this step involves calling professionals to add foam to strategic places, reducing the risk of stray sounds from going too far.
Finally, you want to think about speaker placement. If you’re building something bespoke, it doesn’t matter so much where you put them.
Ideally, you want speakers that can accurately reflect the on-screen action. 7.1 systems are okay, but you can also hire professionals to put speakers in the walls and ceiling for noise from above and below (similar to what you might experience at a professional venue). Again, you’ll need to think about the acoustics and whether the noise is being directed firmly into the room or not.
Audio And Visual Equipment
Another consideration is the specific audio and video equipment you want to use. This can vary significantly, depending on your choice of setup.
For audio, you want at least a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setup. These will approximate three-dimensional sounds, making movie content more compelling.
If you want to go beyond that with bespoke setups, you can. These are handy for movies, but even more useful for gaming, offering real directional noises.
Dolby Atmos is probably the market leader in the space for receivers. These are ideal for setting up your AV equipment and customizing it just the way you like it.
However, if you want to cut costs, you can stick with a sound bar. These still offer reasonable performance and don’t require ripping apart the walls for wiring purposes.
For visuals, you’ll need to decide between a screen and a projector. Conventionally, cinemas used the latter, but these days, you can use the former, given the various improvements in the underlying technology. Large TVs are extremely expensive, but they can be better for multi-use spaces, including for game consoles. These offer the best technologies, making them highly visual.
If you want to play films at standard resolutions and frequencies over a large area, then projectors could be superior. These allow you to shine an image onto a much larger surface, allowing your cinema to take up an entire wall (if that’s what you want).
Consider the resolution you want. 4K and 8K are the most future-proof for movies and gaming, probably lasting another ten years at least. HDR is nice to have (but not necessarily essential). However, it can improve color depth and accuracy significantly, making movie experiences more compelling for you and your guests.
Lighting
You should also think about the lighting you want in your home cinema. You need some light so people can see where they are going, but you don’t want it blazing while movies are playing. In fact, you want the opposite.
The best home cinema setups have gentle lighting in the flooring so people can see where they are going when they want to go to the bathroom. They also have dimmer lighting on the walls and in sconces. Again, these help people find their seats and manage the food they bring with them.
The best setups have remote dimmers or smart assistant integration. With these, you don’t even have to get up from your chair to turn down the lights.
When placing lights, make sure they don’t shine in the direction of the screen. These arrangements could cause annoying glare.
Also, consider whether you want adjustable lighting on your setup. Changing the color and intensity can help with setting the mood. You could even customize it by the film, red for horror, green for action, etc.
Connectivity
Often overlooked, you will also need to consider the connectivity you require. For traditional cinemas, you don’t need anything. But if you want to stream or even watch YouTube, a connection to the internet is essential.
Giving a projector connectivity to the internet usually requires attaching it to a computer. Then the computer can stream services or play downloaded movies.
If you’re using a large TV screen, then it should connect automatically for you. You shouldn’t need to do anything else.
HDMI ports provide additional connectivity. These are handy when you want to play movies on hard drives, or conventional console-based video games. HDMI 2.1 ports may also enable higher-quality video for 8K, which you might not be able to stream over your connection.
Seating
Of course, you can’t forget about the seating you’ll include. This is one of the most important elements.
Most people opt for comfortable recliners. These allow people to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
Modern cinema recliners come with all sorts of perks, including things like foot rests and drinks holders. You can also get some that offer a massage function, making the experience of watching a film even better.
If you want to host more people, you could also consider row seating. While it isn’t as comfortable, it can be ideal for larger cinemas. It won’t have the same at-home vibe about it either, making it feel similar to the real thing.
Just be sure to leave plenty of spacing between the seating in your planning. Cramming people into a home theater can adversely affect the experience.
Cooling
It can get hot in a home cinema, so you’ll want to think about the cooling you use, especially if you live in a hot area. Air conditioning systems should pump cool air into the room, but they shouldn’t interfere with the sound quality.
Also, think about the cooling any of your equipment requires. If you are using heavy-duty audio-visual systems, then you will need to think about how you can lower their temperature.
Cable Management
Finally, you’ll want to think about the cable management you implement. Using cable organizers or even panels is critical if you want to keep everything out of the way and professional. If you want to reduce the amount of clutter in your theater, opt for wireless systems that can do the same thing.
Thanks for stopping by!
Magda
xoxo