How to Bring the Cinema Experience to Your Home

5 Things to Consider During Your Next Home Theater Installation

If you’re a movie fanatic, you can appreciate the benefits of a genuinely immersive theater experience. Not only do you have powerful audio surrounding you from all sides, but a larger-than-life screen that commands your attention. Getting distracted on your smartphone is not an option as the lights dim, and the movie begins.

That being said, we understand you wanting to avoid it altogether. Having to deal with limited movie times, stale popcorn, and freezing temperatures can ruin even the best movies. Imagine if instead, you could recreate the theater atmosphere in the comfort of your St. Augustine, FL home? Now it's possible with a custom home cinema room. Get a viewing experience even better than the one at the local multiplex by considering these things.

SEE MORE: 3 Huge Mistakes When Installing Home Theater Systems

Creating the Ideal Room Environment

The first step is finding a dedicated space for your cinema room. Have a place where it's easy to isolate external light and sound? A lot of people often go with basements, for example. That's not an option in Florida, but there are some ways to optimize your room even if it's not entirely isolated. 
Create the ideal lighting environment for the brightest images possible through smart lighting control and blackout shades. Reduce all ambient light at the press of a button as soon as you’re ready to start a movie. Enhance your sound quality by adding a rug, plush seating and acoustic panels.

Designing Immersive Surround Sound

The one thing that stands out in a commercial theater is the powerful audio coming from all sides. How can you get that same experience at home? Upgrade your surround sound to Dolby Atmos which lets the signal move freely throughout the room, so you even hear planes flying overhead.

Paradigm speakers are ideal for robust, pristine sound. Once you have these laid out in front, behind, and above you, pair them up with a Sony receiver that processes Dolby Atmos signals from the latest Blu-ray movies and streaming releases.

Choosing Ideal Screen Size and Fabric

Next, you’ll want to figure out which screen is the best fit for your home cinema room. There are two primary things to consider when choosing a screen: size and fabric.

How big should your screen be? Each theater will vary, but for the most part, you want your viewing distance to be 1.5 times the size of the screen.  Eye and neck strain are common if you go with something that is too big or too close to the viewer.

As for your fabric, you'll need to choose the right color. Reduce the effect of ambient lighting by going with a gray or black model instead of a traditional white one. These screens reflect any light coming from the sides and only absorb the one coming directly from your projector.

Connecting Your Favorite Entertainment

Even the best speakers and screens will go to waste if you can’t watch what you want. Plan with your home theater installer to include any video sources that matter to you: Blu-ray players, cable boxes, digital libraries and even streaming services. Everything goes in a dedicated AV box hidden from sight, so don't feel the need to limit your choices!

Finishing it Off with Intuitive Control

Having great audio and video quality is useless if your home cinema room is not easy to use. A significant benefit of going with a professional installation is that you won't end up with different remotes for your screen, Blu-ray, speakers, and projector.

Not only does Control4 put everything in one place, but it also offers a variety of solutions for you to choose from. Do you want to manage everything from a mobile app, dedicated touchpad, master remote or even voice commands? Go with the choices that make the most sense for your family!

Want to enjoy the real theater experience in the comfort of home? Design the ultimate viewing environment with the help of Southern Cinema Design. Call us at 904.824.8488 or fill out our online contact form to set up a one-on-one consultation.