What Are the Essential Components of a Dedicated Home Theater?
Here Are the Main Parts You’ll Want to Get Right
Home cinemas can be very complicated projects. If you are looking to build a dedicated home theater in your Chicago, IL, home, you might be surprised at the myriad of details involved, from the technical to the aesthetic. That’s one great reason you’ll want to hire a professional for the design and installation for the best results.
In this post, we’ll break down the essential elements of a dedicated home theater space. Each of those elements has many details to implement, but if you get these areas right from the start, you're on your way to many blissful hours of immersive home entertainment. Keep reading!
SEE ALSO: Take Your Home Theater to the Next Level
Seating
You might be thinking, why didn’t we start with the screen? Any home theater designer will tell you that the number of seats and the arrangement will dictate most other aspects of your home theater. Why? The seating arrangement dictates the size of the screen and its positioning. Also, today's multi-speaker surround sound systems need precise positioning and calibration to ensure that every seat gets an immersive soundtrack experience.
Beyond the technical aspects of the visuals and sound, you'll want to consider how you use your theater. Do you prefer the more formal reclining lounge chairs with tiers for optimal viewing? Or would you rather select a sofa and chaise lounge arrangement that is friendlier to sprawling, casual viewing? You can choose what's more comfortable for your viewing style, and the rest will follow.
Screens
The focal point of any theater is the large screen. The best solution for a large screen is still the combination of a fixed or hidden screen and the traditional projector. Today’s projectors, like Sony’s, include the latest technology like 4K resolution and HDR for bright, high-contrast images that make any film look lifelike.
Plus, the latest laser projectors boast superb brightness, and light-rejecting screens can mitigate ambient light, whether from windows or room lighting. So, there’s no need to worry about your theater being in a totally dark room. You can also consider room-darkening motorized shades to control the light from windows for casual viewing.
Surround Sound
Multi-speaker, high-output surround sound is a must for any home theater. Modern soundtracks are recorded in Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and other formats, which create a three-dimensional sound field with front, side, rear, and overhead speakers. The best movie soundtracks will make your home theater sound system shine with an immersive experience surpassing even a commercial cinema. There are a number of components needed to make this happen, but it starts with high-end surround processors or receivers, full-range speakers, and powerful subwoofers that provide the all-important low-end bass to movie effects and film music scores.
Acoustic treatments are equally important to maximize sound quality. Barrett’s Technology Solutions partners with CinemaTech to install their patented Acoustic Room System (ARS) treatments to ensure the room has the perfect balance of audio absorption and reflection, providing a rich and beautiful audio experience as well as a gorgeous, cohesive design aesthetic.
Automation
Nothing makes a home theater more frustrating than complexity. If you have to wrestle with multiple remote controls and complex sequences to get your entertainment started, you will likely use your theater sparingly. But if you have an integrated system where a couple of buttons or swipes make your home theater come to life, you'll have an experience you'll repeat over and over.
A home automation system is essential not only to control all the AV in the theater but also lights, shading, temperature, and more. With proper programming, you can have scenes optimized for every activity, whether you're enjoying a film, watching sports, video gaming, or enjoying a Netflix binge.
Are you ready for a dedicated home theater? Barrett’s Technology Solutions have been building custom home theaters in the Chicagoland area for decades. To learn more or get started, call us at 630-898-2850 or contact us here—we look forward to working with you!
