Every home theater is different, we all watch and enjoy a wide variety of movies in many ways.
You may want to watch the movie exactly or as close to the director’s intent as possible. Or you want a movie that shakes the room like the best Hollywood blockbusters. The 4 questions at the end of the article will help you better understand the choices you will need to make.
There are a few basic details you need to work out before planning your home theater, the basics. It’s one thing to dream about your cinema, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. Read on for a hint at some of the top questions you’ll need to find answers to.
A home theater is a lot of fun, it’s also expensive, so it’s best to do it right the first time. If a big screen is important to you, make sure you get one, but be aware of the distances between seats, too big and you’ll strain your eyes to look, too small and you’ll feel sad because it doesn’t have that cinematic feel.
These are the 4 important questions to ask yourself before you spend money or start planning.
1. Do I want it to be projector based or TV based? – Large screen TVs can be viewed in daylight, but screen sizes are smaller. Projectors allow for larger screens and a more cinematic experience
2. What about the screen size? – TVs range from around 60″ to 104″, while movie screens start at 80″ to around 150″. For an HD seat pitch of 1.6 times the screen size, that is about 4 meters from a 100″ screen, for example.
3. How many speakers should I have? – Surround starts at 5.1 – Front (Left, Center, Right) Surround (Left, Right) and Sub. 7.1 adds two rear speakers. Atmos adds two ceiling speakers.
4. What am I going to be seeing, what is my source? – all your equipment is only as good as its source, must have at least 1080p HD components as source, Blu Ray is great quality, Netflix has 4k content, and Kodi is a media player that plays anything, pick one, two or all of them.
Once you’ve asked (and answered) these questions, you’ll have a much better idea of what your home theater system will need to provide.
