Creating The Perfect Home Theater Setup

The perfect home theater setup doesn't exist... or does it? Here's everything you need to put together the best movie watching experience.

The current pandemic has kept us inside, and many extroverts have been forced to find entertainment indoors. The result has been a massive rise in the use of streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

Of course, no viewing experience is complete without a great home theater set up. What makes a great home theater, though? That's a difficult question to answer because everybody has their own unique preferences.

Many of us prefer to watch movies in the dark because it reminds us more of an actual theater. Many prefer comedies while others like horror.

While we can't speak for everyone about the perfect home theater set up, we can offer some suggestions.

1. Choose a Location

Where you choose to set up your home theater is going to influence other aspects of it. For instance, if you put your theater in a smaller room, there's going to be a limit to how many features you can add. For this reason, using a small room is not recommended.

Some of the most popular choices are the living room and the basement. The living room is a natural choice because it's where we put our television, anyways. However, the living room has drawbacks that a basement doesn't.

Basements are often bigger than living rooms. A living room is a single room, while a basement is an entire floor of the house. They offer more space and tend to be naturally darker than living rooms because they have fewer windows.

2. Acoustics

Which room in your house carries sound the best? Don't be embarrassed if you don't know. Most of us don't think about it until somebody asks.

It's not hard to figure out acoustics if you know how. For a home theater system, the basic rule is to use sound-absorbing materials. This helps block external noises from finding their way into the theater room.

There are several ways to do this. You can add an extra drywall layer to block out more sound, replace the current floor with carpet, and cover any windows with thick curtains.

Following any of the above steps will bring you one step closer to a perfect home theater setup.

3. Lights

We've already mentioned that you'll want to limit lights in your home theater, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have any lights at all. When you're setting your movie, streaming service, or game system up, you'll need to be able to see what you're doing.

Anybody who's ever tried hooking up an old DVD player or game system knows this. Our grandparents' great fish story usually involves walking uphill, barefoot, in knee-high snow to get to school. Our parents' story revolves around the struggle of trying to use anything that's been childproofed.

We, on the other hand, will tell harrowing tales of squeezing into the tiny, shadowy space behind the TV and attempting to figure out the colors of the three small holes where the RCA cables plugged in. All the while, the question kept circling around our brain of why nobody had ever considered putting these things in the front of the TV.

When it comes to lighting, the best option is to install some form of dimmer switch. Being able to control the amount of light that comes on can make your home theater all the more comfortable.

4. Seating

How and where are you going to sit in your home theater? Are you going to keep it simple with recliners and chairs?

Maybe you're the type who likes to go all-out when you do something. You might spring for seats that very closely resemble those in actual movie theaters. You may even add some theater seating accessories to really bring the theater experience home. You may even add some theater seating accessories to really bring the theater experience home.

Even movie theaters don't always agree on seating. There was a time when theater seating was the front seat of your car, and that trend has had a slight comeback as of late.

A few theaters even have beds where viewers can lay down while they watch their movie. This is a pretty rare innovation, but perhaps it will catch on.

5. Ventilation

Though it's not something we consider very often, ventilation is key. You need to make sure enough air is circulating through the room, particularly near the AV systems, that nothing gets overheated.

Some companies have thought this out for you and created ventilation systems or fans specifically to keep their products cool. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, so you should ventilate your theater just to be safe.

6. Projector vs TV

When it comes to home theater set up, the biggest debate is probably TVs vs projectors. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Projectors are more versatile. From sheets to projector screens, and even blank walls, projectors can work on a lot of different 'screens'.

TVs tend to be easier to use. Unlike projectors, TVs can be paired with blu-rays and gaming systems. Wide screen TVs nowadays can compete with the size of projector screens and provides convenient audio upgrades. Many tech companies manufacture sound systems, speakers, subwoofers and soundbars compatible with a 60 inch tv and even bigger sized ones. Most media is specifically sold to play on these systems, which means you don’t need a hard drive or an adapter.

The Best Home Theater Set up for You

When talking about the best home theater set up, it's really more of a question of what the best set up is for you. We've mentioned some popular ideas in the paragraphs above, but it's still your decision at the end of the day.

There are also a lot more ideas to explore than the ones we covered here. It may be best to keep researching.

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