Guest Post: Building the Ultimate Home Theater

 Photo Credit: Atvinc.net

Perhaps the height of home luxury is the inclusion of a top notch home theater. To create a space dedicated solely to entertainment and comfort is a boast-worthy element in a modern home. Your home theater should be the perfect retreat for those hot summer days or rainy afternoons, when staying out of the elements and relaxing in front of the newest movie releases is your idea of a perfect getaway. But in order to create a home theater that will impress your neighbors, your friends, your family and, of course, satisfy your needs just as well as a trip to the local movie theater, you’ll need a few vital elements.

Keep it Separate

Your home theatre should be a separate space, a room of its own. Nothing feels less authentically like a trip to the movies than having your film interrupted by the home phone, the blender, the vacuum, or any other day-to-day house noises. Make sure you can close your theatre off to the rest of the world.

Noise Isolation and Acoustics

It’s important to consider noise and acoustics when designing your home theatre. Make sure there’s some form of soundproofing to keep the outside noises out, and the inside noises sounding crisp and intense. You don’t want to be left with an echo chamber either: sound bounces between parallel surfaces, so if you’ve got a four-walled enclosed room, try including some measures to cushion the sound and minimize reverb. You could use absorptive materials around the walls to absorb sound, and/or diffusive materials which reflect sound in multiple directions, meaning you’re left with a nice full sound that doesn’t echo or reverberate.

Superior Seating

You should never cut corners on comfort in a home theatre – having cushy, comfy, luxurious seats make a home theatre even better than going to the movies. Couches and recliners are best, and if you can find ones with cup holders, even better! You can even find furniture in which you can install sub-woofers, so the bass of your movie soundtrack actually vibrates you in your seat.

Surround Sound

Without surround sound it would only be a TV room. Go for a high quality stereo system, with everything included as a package. When it comes to power, go for the highest wattage your budget will allow for.

Big Screen

If you’re going for a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, and LED TV is the most energy efficient option, with brighter contrast, more powerful colour and deeper black. Another great option is a projector, which can project onto a drop-down screen, or you can simply project right onto a bare wall (just make sure your wall isn’t textured or coloured).

Internet Connection

There are a few different ways to connect a TV set up to the internet. Some have a built-in capability to do this, or you may choose to use a gaming console, a laptop or a set-top box. Do some research and find out which one would suit your needs best. Once you’re hooked up to the internet you can play games, stream videos and music or watch YouTube clips. Best of all though, you’ll never have to drive to the movie rental store again, or worry about late fees when you forget to return a DVD, because you’ll be able to hire all your movies digitally over the web, or buy them online.

Air Conditioning

Arguably the best part of a home theatre is that burst of cold air when you open the door, just like at the cinema. Careful though, you want to make sure it’s not noisy or rattly; you don’t want to drown out the sound of your film. When it comes to designing your own home theatre, it’s a process of customisation and tuning to perfection. Keep tweaking or adding elements that you think will make create the optimum entertainment experience for you and your family. Just follow these tips and you’ll be on the fast track to the ultimate home theatre set-up.

Cameron is a new home builder in Queensland, Australia. He is currently building new houses in Maddison Estate where he says you can pick up some of the best home and land packages the Gold Coast has to offer. Cameron says that home theaters are very popular at the moment and hopes his tips will help you out.