You just came back from one of the hardwood-flooring contractors in Salt Lake City to check out options for your next project. One piece of advice is that it’s better to use wood planks rather than tile on cement for better sound absorption.
It’s going to happen. The rest of the house—kitchen, living room, and master’s bedroom—have undergone their renovation a couple of years ago. It’s now time for you to build your home theater. But is it all about the sound system? What are the other primary considerations if you’re planning to make your home theater? Here are a few things that you need to know:
Home Theater and Entertainment System Overview
Rapid advancement in consumer electronics and a highly competitive market have brought the cost down of building a home entertainment system. These conditions also brought more options to consumers, making the cinema-like atmosphere much more comfortable to create in your home than they did a few decades ago.
The number of households in America with some home entertainment system is estimated at more than 61 million in 2019. The forecast is that this will balloon to more than 150 million by 2023. It might be indeed time for you to jump on the bandwagon.
Building Your Theater
Structure your thinking in two ways: one focusing on the entertainment system (e.g., your TV, speaker system, cables, etc.) and the other in the physical room (e.g., the location in your house, wall and ceiling materials for soundproofing, lighting, etc). Given these, here are a few ideas to consider:
- Home-theater-only rule. The designation of the place is “home theater only.” Use it for such purpose only, and some of its extended definition like “for gaming.” It’s not your occasional home office or a place to do your cross-stitch. It’s also not a good idea to create a theater-atmosphere in a shared space. It should be a dedicated space period.
- Light and sound. The rule can be simplified as: keep ambient light and sound out. Use light-blocking curtains or shades. Your house can be noisy, especially if you have kids playing, and appliances roaring in the background, like dishwashing machines. You want to keep these sounds from penetrating your home theater. Soundproof your wall correctly to enhance your listening pleasure.
- The entertainment system. Do you know why Star Wars Episode I happened in 1999, a full 22 years after the first Star Wars (Episode IV) film came out in 1977? “Because the technology wasn’t there yet” is George Lucas’s response. If you want your system to have the cutting-edge technology, build it gradually. Don’t purchase all the components in one go! Read tech reviews and find out what’s coming out within the next few months and cross-reference that, with what’s on the market today. Getting a better component will be worth the wait.
- The TV. This should be at least a 4K resolution. There are now many brands to choose from with their proprietary high-resolution technology. Visit showrooms and compare them before making a decision.
- Go for quality. Your goal is to get the best sound and the best visuals. Going cheap might lead you to a shorter lifespan of your system. High-end stuff is expensive, but make sure that it delivers on the quality that it’s supposed to provide. Make a decision based on your long-term prospects.
You need to decide on speakers, your seating arrangement, and the location of the theater door. There are still a few items on the list. But these ones should get you started on the right path.