Going to the cinema for just a movie is no longer a practical decision for those who are busy with their work. Majority of people tend to complain about the actions that they are required to do before enjoying the film. That’s why many people, especially the rich have come up with the idea of building their own theatre room at home, for it is convenient for them to enjoy watching the movies whenever they want without going out. However, building a home theatre room is not an easy thing especially if you want to create a home cinema at a good price or meet your budget. There are some important points that you need to take into considerations for an ideal personal theater.
This article aims to illustrate the key components in designing your own theatre as well as the factors or the things that you need to avoid in order to achieve the best experiences with your budget and your preference.
1. Dedicated Space for a theater room
One of the most important things is to decide whether you want a room for just watching movies with the same experience in the cinema or you want to have it as a multi-purpose room. To ensure the best quality and experience, it is suggested to install the theater in one specific room only instead of having it installed in a shared space because the open space could affect the quality of sound and lighting. Although it is possible to dedicate the bedroom for the theatre, you need to make sure that there is enough space to install the screen, the projector and distance for the audience. You need to make sure that you have 14 foot throw distance from the projector have a 150-inch diagonal picture.
2. Lighting
Another important aspect in creating home theater is lighting. You should not look it down because lighting plays a crucial role in the theater because it guides you the way to your seat as well as creating the suitable atmosphere to enjoy the film. That’s why the professional theater or the cinema does spend a large amount of money investing in the lighting system. In order to have a proper lighting in your home theater, there are some points that you are suggested to take into account.
- Lighting Level and direction
To have the best movie experience, you need to make sure that you can get access to the light whenever you want including before and after the movie. Moreover, having excessive lights during the movie will affect the quality of the video together with the atmosphere of your theater. Therefore, it is recommended to choose the product that could produce a little light only so that you can still see your surrounding environment.
On the other hand, although you have to install the dimmable light, you should not have it installed in the place where it could shine directly to the screen, ceiling, and so on. It would be great to have it installed where the light shines on the wall or floor.
- Remote control
Having a remote control to monitor the lights in your theater would be the best option because it allows you to adjust the level, to turn on and off easily without getting up in the dark to turn on the light. It enables you to turn on or turn off the light whenever you want.
- Window covering
If your theatre room happens to have windows, then you should try your best to have the curtain to cover it as well as to block all the lights from outsides, otherwise, you cannot stay focused on the film or get the feel like watching the film in the cinema. Meanwhile, a room-darkening shades curtain is one of the best options that you can choose to prevent the light from entering the room. If you don’t like using room-darkening shades, you can also use the heavier curtain as your alternative as well. Yet, if you have a tight budget, then, room-darkening shades would be your choice because it is much cheaper.
- Colors
You can also use the colors to prevent the light reflection as well. With the use of the correct colors, you may feel that the room is bigger than its actual size as well as maintaining the good lighting. To achieve that result, you are suggested to paint your walls and the ceiling with the dark colors such as balck, or dark blue instead of white. Although white is able to reflect the light at the maximum level, it is not a desirable color when it comes to the home theatre.
3. Audio
To receive a nice sound, it does not mean that you should buy the most expensive sound system. Actually, the smaller sound system also works better with your home theater than the larger one.
- Speaker
Before investing in the speaker, you first need to consider which type of speaker suits you the best. Basically, there are 2 types of speaker which are stereo speakers and surround sound system. The stereo speaker tends to be a good start for those who don’t have much budget and have limited space. Moreover, the stereo speakers require only 2 speakers and you can always add it up whenever you want. While the surround sound system is more favorable in terms of quality because it requires 5-6 different speakers, as a return, it is also more expensive.
There are two kinds of surround sound systems such as 5.1 and 7.1. Among the two formats, 5.1 is more well-known since 7.1 was just published. The only difference between the two is the number of the required speakers.
- Receiver
Besides the speaker, you also need to have a receiver to receive the audio and amplify the signal. With a receiver, you are able to play abc the surrounded sound in your chosen format. In addition, with the advancement of technology, the surround sound has become the mainstream and the standard of the receiver.
- Speaker wire
Next, you also need a speaker wire to connect the speaker with the receiver as well, otherwise, it will not as well. Meanwhile, a normal speaker wire is enough already; you don’t have to spend your money to get the “speaker cable” as it works the same way as the normal one. In some stores, the speaker wire can also be called bell wire. Therefore, you don’t have to be curious and find the one that has the same name of speaker wire.
4. Acoustics and Ambient Sound
Another crucial point you need to consider is the acoustics together with the ambient sound from the other rooms. Some of you might wonder that acoustics does not have any impact on the theatre at all. However, it does affect the sound quality of your theater and ruin your viewing experience since the ambient sound from the outside will be penetrated into the cinema. Therefore, in order to ensure that there is no ambient sound affects your mood, then it is a must to consider the acoustics when you design your home own theater.
- Ceiling and wall feature
It is recommended to use acoustic tiles as the ceiling. You don’t have to worry about the cost of the ceiling because you can actually use the fiberglass tiles with the existing or unfinished ceiling. Moreover, it is also the cheapest way to ensure the quality as well.
Besides the ceiling, you need to pay careful attention to the kind of wall that your house has because those walls that are made of drywall or plaster wall are not an ideal type for the cinema. However, if your walls are one among the two then you need to take some action to ensure that it won’t affect your viewing experience. Basically, you can have lightweight acoustic boards covered with the carpet installer added on the wall. By doing so, it will eliminate the ambient sound from the outsides effectively.
- Floor coverings
Having the best sound system is not enough to guarantee that you will receive the sound quality. The sound will be affected if the acoustics of the room do not cooperate with. Among all the affecting factors, it is said that the surface of the floor plays the major role. Therefore, to achieve the best movie experience at your home, it is very important for you to avoid using wood, concrete, tile or linoleum to cover the floors because those materials have a high possibility of affecting the acoustics. It would be great if you bought a plush carpet because the carpet itself has the fiber absorbing the sound waves, and avoiding them from bouncing the room. If you are afraid of the cost, then you may reuse the old carpet from the other room.
5. Projector
Although the video system is the most important thing, it does not mean you have to purchase the latest and the most expensive device. You don’t have to buy the LED television. You can just buy a projector and have it mounted in the ceiling. The projector is less expensive than the LED TV and you can still get the image of 100 inches at least. Meanwhile, you still also need a screen to work with your projector. For the screen, most people installed the drop-down screen which enables you to tuck the screen when you are not watching the movie. Thus, it helps to save more space as well as allows you to use the space for other activities.
6. Video cable and connection
To connect the video with the projector, you will definitely need the cables. In term quality, HDMI cable and DVI are the best. An excellent video cable enables you to receive the view clearly and boost the signal to the maximum. However, you still have the other alternative if you don’t like HDMI or DVI. Yet, one thing that you need to be aware of is the format of your source and the format of the projector. It can be worked only if they have the same format. Otherwise, it is just useless. On the other hand, to ensure the smoothie of the video, strong internet connection is a must. Therefore, you need to make sure that the wire is strong enough to boost the speed and a solid copper Ethernet cable.
7. Seating Arrangement
As you may know, sitting too close or too far from the screen is not a desirable seat to enjoy the film. Actually, the distance can be determined by the size of the room and the size of the display picture. If you happen to use a LED TV instead of the projector, then the converted room that you use as the theatre room might be just enough to accommodate a large screen of 55 inches.
On the other hand, having a home theatre does not mean you have to install all the furniture or the seating like what is installed in the theatre, otherwise, it will cost you a lot. For the seating, you can just use any comfortable seat that you already have as well. You may also put the sofa with some blanket to maximize your comfortability while watching the movie. Meanwhile, if you want to have the similar seating like the actual theatre, you may also build a wooden platform to upraise the second row; however, this method works only if you have enough space.
Final Thought
To build a personal theatre at home is not an easy thing since there are many things that you need to prepare and take into account. Meanwhile, it is also quite costly as well especially if you want to have exactly the same experience like what you got from the real cinema. However, there are some ways that you can minimize your cost with an amazing design as well. Ultimately, we can say that building your own theatre at home is a worthwhile investment in the long run as you don’t have to spend a lot of time to go out just for a short movie and you can also invite your friends and your relatives to come in and watch the movie with you as well.
References:
- How to Build a Home Movie Theatre Room on a Budget | Money Crasher | Jason Steele
- Designing your Dream Home Cinema | Custom Control
- Create Your Very Own Home Theatre | Instructable workshop | Chrisbritton
- How to build a home cinema room | Real Homes | Lucy Searle
- 15 Tips for Building the Perfect Home Theater Room | The Spruce |Lee Wallender
