Introduction
Home theater is one of the most exciting parts of living in a house. You can watch movies with your friends, family, and even yourself. The problem is that home theater often gets more attention than it deserves. A lot has to be taken into account when setting up a home theater system, including: room size, screen ratio, sound locations and speaker configuration. This article will explore each of these points in detail so you can start building your home movie theater!
The size of the screen
If you’ve read our recommended home theater setup article, you know that many elements go into creating the best viewing experience. One of these elements is the size of your screen. The larger your screen is, the better: it allows for greater immersion and more realistic picture quality.
It’s also important to consider how far away from your television or projector (also known as an “image surface”) you will be sitting when using it. Your optimal viewing distance will depend on a few factors, including what kind of content you’re watching, who else will be using this home theater in question (if anyone), and whether they have vision problems such as astigmatism or farsightedness, etc.
While this guide isn’t about determining exactly where everyone should sit relative to their own eyesight needs (that would require another guide entirely), we recommend having at least 50 inches of image surface available for each viewer regardless if they need glasses or not–more if possible!
The screen ratio
The screen ratio is the measurement of the width of your screen divided by its height. Several ratios are available, with 16:9 being the most commonly used for movie content. Other ratios are available and utilized for other purposes, such as 4:3 and 21:9.
If you want to watch a movie on your home theatre system, choosing a 16:9 aspect ratio would be ideal. However, suppose you’re looking to watch sports or play video games that utilize widescreen or 21:9 aspect ratios (such as first-person shooters). In that case, it might benefit you to opt for something different.
Sound
Sound is one of the most important aspects of a home theater system. The sound should be clear and crisp, without distortion, but not too loud or soft. In addition, the balance between left and right speakers should be consistent throughout the room—no one should have to strain to hear dialogue or feel like they’re listening through a tin can.
Sound locations
The surround speakers are placed behind the listener at a 45-degree angle. They can be placed to the left and right of your screen or above and below it. This placement is more important than you might think—it’s not just about having sound come from behind you; it should come from all around you at different locations.
To get this effect, there needs to be some separation between each speaker so that they don’t all contribute identical frequencies or drown out each other with too much bass (or treble). In general:
- The speakers should be spread out as much as possible without creating holes in your coverage area (this is where speaker spacing comes into play).
- Ideally, the centre channel should be roughly equidistant from all sides of your room—so if one side of your listening position has two speakers on it while others have only one or none at all, then this may cause problems as well—you can solve this problem by moving your chair around until you find an acceptable solution that balances both sides evenly so no matter where someone sits they will still experience balanced audio output across their entire seating surface area.
Front speakers
The front speakers are the speakers that are placed on each side of the TV. The centre channel speaker is the one that sits right below or above your TV, delivering dialogue directly to you. The left and right surround (surround back) channels should be placed behind you at an angle of about 90 degrees from each other to provide a complete three-dimensional sound field for all types of programming. Then there’s your subwoofer—the bass cabinet —which typically goes underneath or behind your couch to deliver low frequencies that might otherwise be lost in your room’s acoustic properties.
Surround speakers
Surround speakers are an essential part of your home theater setup. Their role is to provide a surround sound experience, which should be placed at the sides of your screen and as close as possible to the ear level. When looking for a speaker stand, ensure it has enough clearance behind it to place the speaker at least 6 inches above floor level and still have room for people to walk past comfortably. If you decide not to use stands, ensure that there are no obstructions in front of them (like furniture) so they can operate effectively.
Is another thing worth considering is what kind of material surrounds those speakers: walls or open space? If there’s an open area behind them (e.g., if they’re mounted on top of bookshelves), then all you have left is make sure nothing blocks their sound from reaching listeners’ ears directly—that means no mirrors or windows! Otherwise, I’d recommend using diffusers like fabric curtains because these materials absorb sound instead of transmitting it directly into rooms with other activities going on nearby, like conversations between family members who won’t stop talking about politics all night long…
Home theater is a delicate balance that must be achieved.
Home theater is a delicate balance that must be achieved. The screen is the most essential part of your home theater and is also one of the setup’s most expensive and fragile parts. Here are some tips to keep in mind when selecting a screen for your home movie experience:
- Consider the size—the bigger, the better! This can help create an immersive experience where you feel you’re on set with the actors or behind the scenes in post-production.
- Choose your projector wisely—it should have high brightness and contrast ratios so as not to wash out dark scenes or make bright ones look washed out by comparison.
- Keep an eye out for burn-in issues—some projectors will suffer if they’re used too much without an image refreshing on them (like when watching Netflix). This causes permanent damage or glares that may ruin certain parts of your movie-watching experience forever!
Conclusion
Home theater is a delicate balance that must be achieved. The screen’s size and ratio are essential, as well as sound locations and speaker placement.
