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How to Setup a Home Theater Room For the Best Experience
When setting up your home theater, you need to take into account all of the other components that will be involved. Will you need surround sound, a control system, what lighting to use and so forth. These different elements of a home theater system should not be taken lightly, as they can help boost every aspect of your system. You should take the time to figure out how to setup a home theater room for the best experience possible. If you run into any issues, a company that does home theater design and installation in Phoenix will gladly help you out.
Control systems communicate with all the different components of your home theater room, and combine them into one easy to use interface. Control systems can control lighting, temperature, volume up or down, change channels, switch between inputs, turn off and on projector screens or amplifiers, lower and raise screens and much, much more.
Control System Importance – A control system is the most important part of your home theater system. Imagine trying to work all the different components and juggling 10 different remotes at the same time simply to watch your favorite movie. This can become so complex and frustrating that it might make the home theater system difficult or even impossible to use.
Control System Recommendation – We recommend going with a high-end control system that has macros and software that can be customized. You may be thinking “I wonder if there is an app for that?” Well there is, but for many reasons and in our experience we have found it’s best to always have a handheld controller with hard buttons and a lit up screen. A mobile app controller can be a neat feature and add an additional interface the your home theater if you need it, but it should not be your primary controller and it should only complement the handheld.
Surround sound as the name implies involves setting up speakers placed in a configuration around the listener to achieve an immersive sound environment. Surround sound has independent speakers or channels that allow sounds to move about the listener adding depth and a sense of reality for the listener. The most basic surround sound configurations involve a receiver, speakers and subwoofer.
Your surround receiver is basically the brain of your home theater system. Not only is it needed for powering surround sound speakers, it also decodes any audio and video signals it receives and processes them to either be sent the projector or speakers.
Surround Sound Configuration – Surround sound requires at least 6 speakers. An example of this would be a 5.1 setup, the basis of all surround sound systems. There are many other configurations as well such as 7.1, 7.2, 9.2 and beyond. A basic 5.1 configuration includes a Left, Center, Right, Surround Right, Surround Left and Subwoofer Speaker. These speakers can either be in the ceiling, in the walls, on bookshelves or placed as towers around the listener.
Ceiling Speakers – The most unobtrusive and elegant of these choices are ceiling speakers. Ceiling speakers offer exceptional sound quality and almost disappear when installed. Ceiling speakers are great for dual-purpose rooms such as a living room or bedroom.
Speaker Towers – The best choice for audiophiles would be speaker towers placed around the listening position. Speaker towers offer the fullest range of sound possible, and since tower speakers are self contained they are designed to create a flat frequency response, offering the best sound quality.
There are many variations of Surround Sound. The more common configurations are 5.1, 7.1, 7.2. The first number dictates how many full range speakers the surround sound configuration will have. The .1 or .2 at the end of the number dictates how many subwoofers there will be. For instance a 7.2 system includes 7 full range speakers and 1 subwoofer. For most home theater rooms a 5.1 system will be sufficient.
Almost all surround sound programming available in movies and TV shows today are in native 5.1 format anyway. By adding more speakers you are expanding the surround sound field and requires additional processing by your surround sound receiver, generally this is only needed for larger rooms, where the speakers are so far apart there is a discernible difference as a sound effect jump from one speaker to the next.
Furniture is a very important feature in any Phoenix home theater setup. You don’t want to watch the newest James Bond movie from a plot on the carpet right? Furniture can also help with sound dampening, especially in the lower frequencies that tend to bounce off of just about any surface and fly around the room like loose cockatiels.
Seating Styles – Theater seating is you’re preferred choice for any dedicated home theater room. Risers also help to lift each rear row of seats up so that you are not staring into the back of someone’s head. Motorized reclining theater seats also require power, so be sure to consult with your electrician before purchasing your seats.
Lighting includes natural and artificial light sources. Artificial light sources can be sconces, ceiling lights or floor lighting. Natural light sources can be skylights, windows and doors.
Natural Light – For dedicated theater rooms we recommend minimizing natural lighting. This will allow the room to become dark and improve the contrast ratio on any home theater room screen size you have. If you choose to have windows or already have windows in your theater room, we recommend putting in black out shutters that allow you to completely block out natural lighting.
Artificial Light – Artificial light sources can be switched on and off, or be dimmed up and down. For convenience you may want to have all artificial lighting in your home theater room controlled from your remote. For safety reasons floor lighting is a must for any dedicated home theater room.
Acoustics play an important part in the quality of sound in your home theater room. Wall surfaces, flooring and artwork all reflect or absorb sound. The key to great sound in your home theater room is to have a good mixture of reflective and absorbent surfaces. Examples of reflective surfaces include hardwood flooring, tile, glass, drywall, cabinetry and stonework. Examples of absorbent surfaces include furniture, carpet, rugs, drapes, curtains and tapestries.
Reflective Surfaces – The best reflective surfaces that actually improve sound quality will be surfaces that have irregular surfaces, which reflect sound in many different directions such as pictures, artwork, bookshelves, beams, and crown molding. If you have ever moved out of your home, you may have noticed once all the furniture was removed that you all of a sudden could hear an echo in the room. That echo is due to the fact that all your personal belongings were reflecting and absorbing the sound in the room. Once all that remove, the sound simply is free to bounce off the flat walls that are now exposed. Basically the more items you put in a room to scatter, diffuse or absorb the sound the better that room will respond acoustically and the better it will sound. So go ahead, decorate! Put up pictures or movie artwork, hang curtains and don’t be afraid to use carpet instead of floor tile. All these items can improve the sound quality in your home theater room.
Angled Walls – If you are in the building stages of your home theater room talk to your general contractor about angling one or two of the walls. Parallel walls are an enemy for good acoustics. Parallel walls reflect sound back and forth to each other in a ping-pong fashion creating a very noticeable slapping of sound. Ideally you want the walls and the ceiling to either side of the screen taper out away from each other toward the back of the room forming a cone. You will notice this same shape in any professional theater you visit. Crown molding, columns and beams are great ways to scatter sound, and add much appeal to your home theater room.
Acoustic Panels – If your room is still needs acoustical treatment then you may want to consider acoustic panels. They are large pieces of material generally made out of dense foam incased in a wooden frame and decorative cloth. They help to absorb sound that comes into contact with them. They can be placed in the room to optimize the sound and take care of any echo, early reflections and reverb caused by reflective surfaces in your home theater room.
The best home theater rooms will have the audio visual equipment located in a separate room or closet to minimize fan noise, heat and interference. Not to mention when you walk in to a media room or home theater room and don’t see any unsightly equipment taking up space it just looks way cooler!
Media sources are components that play audio or video that will be connected to your home theater system. Typical setups may include a TV service HD set top box, a media streamer, a DVD or Blu-ray Player and a gaming console. Audio components may include a FM/AM Tuner, satellite radio tuner, CD player, turntable or online music player.
Set Top Box – For your set top box, most likely you will have a TV service such as Cox, Comcast, Century Link, DirecTV or Over The Air local TV stations. Most of these services require an HD set top box or DVR for High Definition content, recording and premium channels.
Media Streamers – These are devices that connect to your internet service via Wi-Fi or hard line Ethernet and give you access to online paid or free movie and tv show apps. Typical apps include YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon Prime Instant, HBO Now and various other services.
Each of these video or audio device receives its signal over a wired or wireless connection. Wired connections are preferred. For better dependability we recommend staying away from wireless connections for any HD video playback devices. HD video playback requires a lot of bandwidth and could potentially slow down other devices that are using Wi-Fi, or it may have intermittent connection issues. Wired connections are always preferred over wireless. Even if you plan on using wireless devices, make sure to have your low voltage contractor run the necessary cabling anyway, in case down the road you decide change anything.
RG6 Cables – HDTV service generally requires one RG6 quad shield coax cable, this cable comes in bulk in 1000’ foot boxes or spools and has bare open ends. Your home theater company should have the cable readily in stock. Ideally you should have a minimum of 3 main RG6 cables ran from your home theater equipment location to your networking panel or service drop. This will accommodate internet if your modem ends up living next to your av equipment, it will also accommodate one more TV service such as another satellite service or cable TV. It can also service. If you are going to use more than one TV service, run extra RG6 Cabling. Your Media Streamers and Online Radio will require a different cable.
Ethernet Cables – For the devices that need an internet connection like SONOS, Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, HEOS, ChromeCast, TiVo, and online gaming consoles such as Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii. Also, most HDTV’s, Surround Sound Receivers, Set Top Boxes, and Blu-ray Players need internet connection as well for various software updates, purchasing and online content. It’s a good idea to assume that every component in your home theater system that plugs into the wall is going to need a wired internet connection. The standard cable for internet connection is the Ethernet cable and can be either a Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a. Cat5 Cabling has been out of date for the last couple years and for future proofing your home it’s a good idea to use either Cat6 or Cat6a cabling. The good news is that you don’t have to run an Ethernet cable for every device, you simply need one that is going to your router. You can split that one cable into many using a Gigabit Ethernet switch that will divide the network signal as many times as you need. However, it’s a good idea to run at least two.
Speaker Cables – Speakers need wires too! There is no such thing as a permanent wireless speaker. Speakers need power, and that power is going to either come from an external amplifier, a power cable that plugs into a wall, or a battery which needs to be plugged in and charged after each use. Most in wall or in ceiling speakers require 2 conductor 16/2 cabling. 4 conductor and larger gauge cabling may be needed for high end or high power speakers. Wireless speakers will need power outlets or a power source at least 6 feet away from each speaker. Large tower speakers may need a combination of 16/2 or 16/4, RG6 or Coax cable for built in subwoofer and a power outlet for built in subwoofers.
Additional TV Cables – Your Projector or HDTV screen should have at least 1 HDMI cable running from the AV Rack. Additional cables include Optical Toslink for Audio return if your TV is a Smart TV or if you are using it to tune into standard cable or OTA (Over the Air) channels. Also your HDTV should have at least 2 Cat6 cables running to it from the AV Rack. 1 Cat6 is for wired Ethernet and the other is for an IR control system.
If you are planning on using OTA (over the air channels) or watching standard cable on your TV then make sure you include at least 1 RG6 in the cable bundle from your AV rack to the TV. If you want to future proof your setup I recommend adding 2 more Cat6 for future video formats that have not come out yet. There will always be converters to send video over Cat6.
Wiring Recommendation – To be completely covered you will need the following running from your HDTV to the AV Rack. 1 RG6, 4 Cat6, 2 HDMI, 1 Toslink Optical. It may seem like a lot of cabling, but it’s worth it to have it available when it’s time to upgrade. For projectors the same cabling applies with the exception of the RG6 and the Toslink Optical. Those cables are only needed for TV’s that have built in Tuners.
If you are removing walls or ceilings in your home, you would need an electrician to deactivate existing receptacles and lighting. If you are adding walls or building a new addition to your home, you will need an electrician to run new circuits for ceiling lights, sconces and floor lights.
20A Receptacles – You also need to consider where your audio and video equipment is going to live. Generally it’s a good idea to put 1 to 2 dedicated 20A receptacles near to your audio video equipment. If you are going to have a projector, motorized screen, or flat panel TV mounted on the ceiling or wall, you will need a receptacle for each of those. Powered subwoofers, motorized theater seats and seat shakers all need receptacles as well. It’s best to have the electrician and low voltage contractor work closely together on the project to determine all the necessary circuit locations.
DIY (Do-It-Yourself) PROJECTS
Our recommendation is of course to let a Phoenix home theater installation specialist take care of your project. However, there are many systems that you “Rouge Do-It-Yourselfers” out there can easily install and setup on your own. These systems are user friendly and you can install them without getting your hands dirty.
SONOS Surround Sound – For DIY surround sound we recommend SONOS. It is a hifi wireless speaker system that requires no retrofitting or drywall cutting. Each speaker connects to your existing Wi-Fi network and is controlled right from your smart phone or PC. With a SONOS Playbar, a SONOS Sub and two SONOS Play1’s for instance, you can create an amazing sounding 5.1 surround sound systems that can be installed and setup in about 10 minutes. We at Infinity HD are authorized dealers for SONOS, please contact us for more details on purchasing a SONOS system.
VIZIO Surround Sound – If you are looking for a simple surround sound solution that won’t break your budget we recommend a surround sound speaker bar with a wireless sub and rear satellites. VIZIO has a great, cost effective line of soundbar/sub/satellite speaker packages.
Logitech Harmony Surround Sound – If you are looking for a control system that doesn’t require a dealer license to program then have a look into Logitech Harmony. They have very affordable and easy to program universal remotes that will eliminate the need for you to have 10 different remotes.
As you can see, there are many different components to a home theater room setup. Trying to find the right fit for your room will be a long journey, but when you decide on each component or accessory it will all come together nicely.
Are you looking to get the best experience out of your home theater room? Let Infinity HD assist you in any way possible for creating the best viewing experience in your home. Request your free estimate or call 480-269-0586 today!
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