You’ve done the research. You’ve perused several guides. You have an idea of what home theater components – sound systems, a large screen or display, and home theater furniture – you want to include in your setup and where to get them.
Before you purchase these items – whether it’s heading to a physical store or online shopping – read our post for some of the common home theater mistakes and how to avoid them.
According to professional home theater installers, these are the errors consumers unknowingly commit: from not selecting the right screen size for their space to making bad sound systems choices, and not thinking how each component work with the other and controlling them all as one unit.
To sidestep these mistakes and avoid shelling out extra money, read our guide below. We hope the information you find today will be useful to you as you set up your home theater.
Screen or Display
While there’s some truth to the “bigger is better” viewpoint, consumers must consider moderating their screens or displays preferences for it to work with the space they’ve got. Bigger is better only works up to a certain point when it comes to selecting a screen or display in your home entertainment room.
You’ll need to measure the size of your wall. These measurements will let you know the workable space in your room that you can dedicate to a screen or display. You can work with a professional home theater installer to properly understand the size of your wall. Getting the correct measurements of your wall and the space is the first step to determining what screen size to get.
Unfortunately, finding the right screen size for your home theater room is not an exact science. There can be a wide range between “too close to the screen that you can make out the pixels” and “too far away that the display resolution doesn’t show up properly.”
According to TechnologyGuide.com, the screen size should be about 1.5 to three times the screen size. For instance, if your home theater space allows you to place seating 12 feet away from the screen, an 8 feet wide screen or display is ideal for that space.
Speakers
Selecting the wrong sound systems is a common misstep for home theater owners. Nowadays, consumers tend to think that soundbars are enough to achieve that surround sound they want for their home theater space. However, expert home theater installers say otherwise.
While soundbars are a massive step towards achieving good sound quality in your home theater, they are not a substitute for sound augmentation. Nevertheless, home theater audio technology has improved significantly, paving the way for high-quality soundbars available on the market.
Additionally, if your choice is getting a soundbar or no sound systems at all, there are plenty of soundbar options. You also don’t have to shell out a ton of money to afford the best speakers. Even getting small 2.1 speakers and receiver will give you a massive improvement on sound quality over some soundbars.
There are many budget-friendly choices out there if you’re willing to do a fair bit of research. Furthermore, when you’re choosing speakers or sound systems, determine whether you want in-ceiling, in-wall, floor-standing, bookshelf speakers, or object-based systems.
The depth of your space, along with the distance of your home theater seating to the screen are also additional factors to be considered.
Consumers love the space-saving features of in-ceiling and in-wall speakers. And speaker innovations have also made this type of sound systems produce crisper, fuller sound,
Control Systems
Control systems such as Crestron and Control4 are well-known among home theater experts and enthusiasts. These systems allow all your home theater components to be easily managed from one device or remote control. When choosing a control system, consider the technical capability of everyone who will be enjoying your home theater system.
Some of your family members maybe technologically challenged while others can handle it just fine. Avoid family issues by making sure the control system is easy to use for everyone.