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Home
Theater Design Process
You fire up your system, drop a brand new
DVD into your player's disc tray, dim the lights. Almost
immediately, the crisp, bright images and swelling surround
sound draw you into another world…. When it comes to getting
this kind of home theater — the kind that really puts you in the
middle of the movie action — your room plays a crucial role.
The size, shape, and layout of your room affect just about every
aspect of your home theater system — sonic performance, picture
quality, and overall convenience. In this article, we'll explore
how our in-home consultation will help us choose the perfect
equipment for your specific room. You'll also find tips on how
we maximize the performance and usability of your system.
How big is your room?
Are we installing your home
theater system in a small apartment or decorated living room? Or
will you have a bigger, dedicated room just for home theater?
Some A/V components that work beautifully in small rooms don't
make sense for much larger spaces. Your room's size makes a
difference when selecting several of your home theater's main
components — speakers, TV, and more. Below are some tips on how
DYNAMIC AUDIO VIDEO chooses home theater gear for small, medium-sized,
and large rooms.
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Your room is small. If we're designing a
system for a bedroom or small den, we may prefer a convenient,
all-in-one DVD home theater system. (These usually include a
DVD player, surround sound decoder, amplification, and all the
speakers you need.) Many of these systems place emphasis on
being décor-friendly, and are optimized for smaller spaces.
If the emphasis is on performance, we may prefer to mix and
match using separate audio/video equipment with a
satellite/subwoofer speaker system — compact satellite
speakers blend nicely into most rooms, and usually deliver
plenty of sound to fill a small- to medium-sized space. You
may also choose flush mounted in-ceiling or in-wall speakers
which are virtually invisible.
In a small room, the lack of available space may limit our
choice of TVs. Fortunately, newer LCD and plasma
flat-panel TVs can be mounted on your wall, allowing them to
take up zero floor space — a huge help for anyone
putting home theater in a smaller- to medium-sized room.
Beyond the simple fact of taking up floor space, some TVs
might be too large for your room based on the size of their
screen. In a small room where you need to sit close to the TV,
the "structure" of the screen — scan lines, or pixels — may
become noticeable, distracting your attention and taking away
from the overall effectiveness of your home theater. For more
information on selecting the optimum TV screen size according
to your viewing distance, see our chart below.
Standard
(analog) TVs with 4:3 aspect ratio
|
HDTV-capable TVs with
4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio |
Screen
size |
Suggested
viewing
distance |
|
27" |
6.75
ft |
|
32" |
8
feet |
|
36" |
9
feet |
|
40" |
10
feet |
|
45" |
11.25
feet |
|
50" |
12.5
feet |
|
55" |
13.75
feet |
|
60" |
15
feet |
|
|
Screen
size |
Suggested
viewing
distance |
|
30" |
6.25
feet |
|
35" |
7.3
feet |
|
40" |
8.3
feet |
|
45" |
9.4
feet |
|
50" |
10.4
feet |
|
55" |
11.5
feet |
|
60" |
12.5
feet |
|
65" |
13.5
feet |
|
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Your room is medium-sized. Are we putting a home
theater system into an average living room or similarly sized
space? If so, our options are essentially wide open. This
gives us the performance advantages and flexibility of
separate components and hand-picked home theater speakers.
Don't forget the powered subwoofer — we have several compact
models that dish out lots of bass without taking up much floor
space.
Since medium-sized rooms allow for so many options, we let
factors such as personal listening and viewing preferences,
décor, and furniture layout be our guide.
Your room is large. Bigger rooms place greater
demands on the audio portion of your home theater system.
Using larger, floor-standing speakers as your front speakers
(and even as your surrounds) can help your system rise to the
challenge. Or, depending on furniture layout, we may opt for
bookshelf speakers for your front and/or surrounds. If
aesthetics are a priority, we can install flush mounted
speakers which can be painted over to disappear into your wall
or ceiling. Either way, a powered subwoofer is a
must-have for achieving the room-filling bass that makes movie
soundtracks come to life. (Depending on the size of the room,
we may install two powered subwoofers to fully flesh
out the low frequencies in a big room.)
When choosing an A/V receiver for a larger home theater room,
we consider the quantity (and quality!) of amplifier power.
Keep in mind that models featuring high-current power help
give your home theater's sound system more clarity and
realism.
We suggest going with a big-screen TV for a larger room. The
bigger the screen, the more impact your home theater will
have; we suggest going with the biggest TV your room layout,
viewing distance, and budget will allow. If décor is a factor
in your larger room, consider a plasma or LCD flat-panel TV
with a larger screen.
Room lighting and your TV's
picture
We've already mentioned that the
size of your room, as it affects your viewing distance, is an
important factor in choosing a TV. The lighting conditions in
your home theater room are also important; some screen types
perform better than others when it comes to dealing with room
light. If you have a hard time controlling the amount of
sunlight in your room, a direct-view TV (also known as "tube" or
"CRT") may be your best bet, although some plasma and LCD models
also do a really good job in this regard. By comparison, rear
projection TVs are usually not quite as effective in bright
conditions, and front projectors generally require
a dark room.
Keep in mind that TVs which feature a flat screen (including
virtually all the direct-view models offered by us) are less
susceptible to reflected glare than TVs with a rounded screen.
Here are some more suggestions for optimizing your home theater
room's lighting:
 | Windows that let in bright sunlight should have easily
adjustable blinds and/or curtains capable of eliminating any
reflections off the screen.
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| Light from a window behind the TV makes it difficult for
your eyes to adjust to the very different brightness of the
television. For watching during daylight hours, consider
treating these windows with curtains and blinds.
|
| If you're using a direct-view TV, it's best to have
a little bit of light shining on the wall behind it. If you
watch in total darkness, the TV's range of brightness can
cause eyestrain.
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| If you're using a fixed-pixel display, such as a plasma
TV or LCD TV, a little bit of controlled background
lighting can improve picture quality. With these types of
displays, the background light helps give the black portions
of the picture a deeper, darker look.
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| Using a dimmer or a lighting control system in your home theater room, you can precisely
control the amount of background light for optimum viewing
comfort, plus you can achieve elegant lighting effects. |
Viewing angle: more notes on
TV placement
Viewing angle is another factor
that affects a TV's performance. Your TV will look its best when
viewed on-axis (from straight ahead), at a height where your
eyes are level with the middle of the screen. Dynamic Audio
carries a wide selection of TV stands to support your TV and
raise it to the correct viewing height. If you choose a
flat-panel TV, you can either go with a matching stand, or
use a TV wall mount for on-wall placement — an arrangement that
saves considerable floor space and gives your home theater a
nice, finished look.
Most people choose to place a couch or loveseat directly facing
the TV in their home theater rooms. If we're using a rear
projection TV, you'll probably want to be especially careful
to arrange your room for maximum seating directly in front of
the screen. Also, we must make sure to place your rear
projection TV at the correct viewing height; with this type of
TV, the picture tends to look dimmer when viewed off-axis either
horizontally or vertically. (Direct-view, LCD, and plasma televisions tend to give better off-axis views.)
Where will we place your speakers?
Because seamless surround sound
plays such a huge role in the overall home theater experience,
where and how we place your speakers is key. When planning out
the TV placement, speaker placement, and seating in your home
theater room, we keep the following very basic points in mind:
| Your center channel speaker should go on top of, or
just underneath, your TV.
|
| Your front left and right speakers need to be
placed as far apart as possible on opposite sides of your TV.
|
| Your surround speakers should be located on the
back side walls of your home theater room, or in-ceiling behind your listening
position. (For 6.1 systems, surround speakers are usually
placed to the sides and in back.)
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| Since low bass frequencies are omni-directional, we can
usually place your subwoofer anywhere in the room.
Placing it in a corner generally results in the most bass
output. We normally experiment with different locations for
your sub, to see what sounds best. If we're using two
subwoofers for a larger home theater room or a 6.1-channel
system, you may place one in the front, and the other in the
back.
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Placing your home theater
components
Your other home theater components
— DVD player, A/V receiver, Cable Box, etc. — will also need a home.
If you already own or we have picked out a TV stand, we
may have a nice, sturdy spot to store some (or even all) of your
components, since many of today's TV stands feature integrated
component shelves. However, remember that most audio and A/V
components have their own front-panel displays filled with
lights, which some people find distracting if placed directly
under the TV screen.
If you'd prefer to place your components where they'll be out of
the direct line of sight (like against a side or rear wall), or
if your system will also include several stereo components like
a CD changer, cassette deck, or turntable, we may want to
consider using a separate component rack.
When choosing a rack or cabinet for your home theater gear,
we'll definitely need to compare the dimensions of the
shelves to those of your TV and/or components. It's also
important to check the rack's weight capacity versus the
weight of your A/V equipment — many of today's TVs, receivers,
and amplifiers are quite heavy. Here are three important factors
for designing or choosing a rack or cabinet for your home
theater components:
| Number of shelves. Look for a cabinet with enough
shelves to accommodate the gear that you already own, plus the
components that you might add in the future. Giving yourself
an extra shelf or two for possible system expansion can save
you a headache later. Each shelf must be at least
20 inches
wide and 20 inches deep. Adjustable height track for the shelves
is an added bonus.
|
| Easy access to back panels. Racks with an open-back
or open-air design allow easy access to your components' rear
panels — which we'll really appreciate when it comes time to
hook up or service your components. A rack equipped with
casters can be rotated, making it even easier to get to
back-panel connections.
|
| Adequate ventilation. Home theater components,
particularly ones containing built-in amplification, generate
heat during normal operation. If you're planning on keeping
your gear in a fully enclosed cabinet (or custom-built wall
unit), consider installing vents in the top and bottom of the
cabinet's back panel. Of course, open-back or open-air racks
and cabinets usually provide ample ventilation for cooling.
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Home Theater Seating
As
Americans are staying closer to home these days and devoting
more quality time to their families, the trend towards expanding
on home entertainment is rapidly growing. Each home theater is
unique, built to express the individual personalities of the
occupants, a place for having fun and sharing with family and
friends.
DYNAMIC AUDIO VIDEO along with Palliser and SolaraHome are proud to present our collection
of distinctive theater seating designed to compliment and
enhance your custom home theater. Since the early 1990’s the
electronics equipment within home theaters has progressively
made vast improvements. However, one of the most important
pieces of equipment had remained woefully inadequate - the
viewing chair. Until now.
What is a
Theater Chair?
It is
a chair designed to enhance your movie experience by
providing the right support and line-of-sight viewing. An
excellent home theater chair should meet the following
criteria:
Promote a good viewing position…
... by having the footrest extend before the back
reclines, thus preserving the line-of-sight viewing.
Provide proper ergonomic support…
... throughout the entire movie while not sacrificing
comfort. This is accomplished by carefully combining
different foams to create a soft but supportive cushion on
the seat as well as the back - essential for lumbar
support.
The theater chair is but one element of your
theater…
... It should compliment the décor and not dominate the
space. Fortress offers clean designs, upholstered in a
wide range of leathers and fabrics to enhance the overall
aesthetics of the theater; or feel free to send us your
own leather or fabric selections.
Customization is a must…
... Theater seating is often placed in custom
environments, whether it is a dedicated theater or a
family room, this seating should compliment the design. In
addition to our many standard designs you can completely
customize your chair or sofa with regard to design, size
as it pertains to the user, or dimensions to better fit
within the usable space. Everyone is not built the same.
If you prefer a sofa…
... you have all the same options as the theater chair
including a hide-a-bed option should you need another
sleeping place.
Whether you select a theater recliner or a sofa…
... there are a host of electronic devices that need to be
addressed. Theaters have touch screens, gaming devices,
remotes, etc. and we provide storage and display solutions
for all.
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| For more
information or to schedule a free in-home consultation, please
contact
us at (504) 23-MUSIC |
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Copyright © 2008 - DYNAMIC AUDIO VIDEO, L.L.C.
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All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/14/08.
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