Most of us love a night at the movies and a great DIY project would be to recreate that experience whenever you want it in your own home, by designing and installing a home theater system.
Here are some tips on how to go about creating a system that will give you hours of enjoyment, including a sensible strategy for making sure you get the installation right, how to pick the perfect spot for your screen and speakers, plus a good reason for taking your time with the project.
Before you start work
If you have invested in a decent HD TV and some awesome speakers that are going to take your movie experience to a new level you will no doubt be anxious to get it all up and running as soon as possible.
The best thing to do before you actually get started with the installation is set up everything up where you intend to put it and have a dry run to see if it looks and sounds as good as you hoped.
It is too late to find out that the speakers could be better positioned or the screen is not at a good viewing angle from where you are sitting if you just go ahead and start installing it. Far better to take your time getting the position of everything just right so that you know it will work when it’s fitted.
Also, aim to have all the tools and fixing you need from somewhere like RS Components so that there are no interruptions to the installation process because you don’t have everything to hand.
Is your room made for movies?
You might be limited with your options as to which room you use in your home for converting to a movie theater but if you can pick the perfect spot it will help to enhance the sound and vision results.
The ideal shape for a home theater setting is a rectangular room rather than a square shape.
You tend to get the best sound projection with a rectangular-shaped setting and if that is what you have got available, aim to position the speakers and the screen along the shortest wall for optimum performance.
Make sure everything is in place
If you are going to be hanging a drywall as part of your blueprint make sure that all the wiring and fixings are exactly where you want them to be to complete the setup before you close everything up. You may want to contact an expert who is efficient in electrical wiring services in Atlanta, GA, or anywhere near your home to ensure that the wires are all in place and are not hanging around making your house look messy.
It always pays to hang the wires and wait to see what else you need to do before completing something you might end up taking down again because of rushing to get it done.
One of the last considerations once everything is installed and ready to go is how you are going to make the room dark enough when you are watching a movie. Blackout-style window treatments are preferable to heavy curtains so try to allow for those in your budget.
