Essential Components of a Home Theater System
Having your own home theater is an awesome experience. You’re able to watch movies on a big screen with immersive audio all from the comfort of your own home. The best thing about having your own home theater is that you can make it as big or small as you want. However big or small you do decide to make your home theater there are some essential pieces you need to have.
The Room
What room are you going to make your home theater? The room you decide to make your theater room has a big impact on your viewing experience. One of the first things to check is the amount of ambient light available in the space. Any outdoor light, or light from other rooms can cause glares or reflections on the screen, or if you use a video projector, it can wash out the image.
Second, is your floor carpeted, or not? Uncarpeted floors bounce sound waves easily, causing echos, and an uneven bass sound. Carpeted floors absorb unwanted sound reverberations and make the sound cleaner.
Where you place your screen is another important thing to consider when creating your personal theater. Check out another article on our blog about finding the best screen viewing size and viewing angles for your home theater.
The Display
What will you watch your movies on? If you use a TV, you’ve got LED/LCD and OLED TVs to choose from as well as a 1080p or 4k Ultra HD screen resolution.
Another option is to install a projector, which increases the viewing size dramatically. There’s still resolution to consider, and what kind of screen you will project your movie on to. If you use a projector, you’ll want to make sure that you have better control of the lights in the room, since uncontrolled light can wash out the image of a projector.
The Sound
Memorable movies must have an accompanying immersive audio experience. It’s important that you don’t cheap out on speakers for your home theater. When buying speakers, more isn’t always more. It’s better to have 5 really nice speakers than 12 mediocre speakers. If the speakers you like are outside your budget, save up until you can get them.
Buying speakers isn’t always as easy as it seems. It’s important to buy the same brand of speakers, which helps match the timbre and acoustics of each speaker. Also remember the speakers will sound differently in your home than on the sales floor. Consult with a sales professional to get the best info available before you complete your purchase.
Another key component of your home theater’s sound system is the subwoofer. The foundation of good sound for both movies and music is bass. Many movies have a lot of low bass sounds that speakers can’t accurately reproduce. Since subwoofers only reproduce these sounds, it’s really important you have a good one.
If you have other questions about setting up a quality surround sound system, check out this article.
The Components
What kind of media will you be playing in your home theater? Will you need a DVD player, a Blu-ray player, or an Ultra HD Blu-ray player? Blu-ray players will also play DVDs and Ultra HD Blu-ray players also play Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs. (You won’t need an Ultra HD Blu-ray player unless you have an Ultra HD TV.
Will you want to add other components to your home theater? If you have a cable box from your TV provider, a dedicated streaming device (Roku, Apple TV, etc.), a turntable, or other devices, plan for space and connections to ensure your theater has everything you want.
The Furniture
After the initial impression of the room, the next thing people experience in your home theater is the seating you have. Do you want to have movie theater seating in rows, or individual reclining chairs? Whatever type of seating you have, make sure it’s comfortable. A really easy way to ruin someone’s movie viewing experience is to sit through the whole film in an uncomfortable seat.
The Bottom Line
Each home theater is different. How you want to set it up, is up to you. Your budget and preferences dictate a lot of what you’re able to do. It doesn’t have to be complicated to have a nice home theater, but it’s also probably not something you can put together overnight. If you get stuck, or your not sure where to turn to, let us help you get your dream home theater set up.
