A home theater systems brings the cinema experience right into your living room. High-definition visuals and immersive surround sound make watching movies, sports, video games, and more an entirely new experience.
Plus, you’ll save on movie tickets and avoid the hassle of overpriced concessions, annoying crowds, and distracting cell phones. Using smart home controls, you can also customize your entertainment space to fit your style and lifestyle.
Audio
Immerse yourself in cinematic sound with a surround-sound home theater system. Look for a configuration with at least 5.1 channels, which offers realistic audio effects that match what’s onscreen. If you’re tight on space, consider a pre-packaged home-theater-in-a-box that includes a center speaker, left/right front speakers, and a subwoofer. For more flexibility and a better acoustic match between components, opt for an AV receiver. A high-end home theater receiver can support up to 15 channels, which can create a more expansive soundscape that’s sometimes better than what you’d hear in a movie theater.
Many home theater enthusiasts add a subwoofer to their home cinema set-up to amplify low-frequency effects and reproduce deep pitches from movie soundtracks. Home theater enthusiasts may also install a 3D-TV or Blu-ray player for viewing movies and TV shows in stereoscopic 3-D. Whether your home theater system is wireless or wired, make sure it has a surge protector to protect against electrical fluctuations that can damage components.
Video
Home theater systems offer a scaled-down version of the cinematic experience. They can be as simple as a TV and a soundbar, or as elaborate as a dedicated room with reclining chairs and a large projection display screen.
The heart of any home theater system is the audio/visual (AV) receiver, which combines amplification powering multiple speakers and video processing to deliver movie soundtracks that rival those you’d hear at a commercial cinema. For the most immersive experience, opt for a system with Dolby Atmos capability.
The most popular TVs, such as the top-rated PlayStation and Xbox game consoles, are good choices for a home cinema setup because they provide 4K HDR video playback and can also display HDR content via their built-in disc drives. If you plan to use a Blu-ray player or DVD recorder with your home theater, consider buying an AV receiver with built-in Blu-ray and DVD decoding. Other useful components include a surge protector to keep your system safe from power outages and spikes in electricity.
Control
Home theaters with smart control systems provide an even more immersive cinema experience. These smart systems can synchronize lighting, media sources, thermostats, and other devices into a single platform. They can be accessed through an app on your phone or by using a remote. This can eliminate the need for multiple remotes and improve convenience for the whole family.
A home theater system requires a TV set with cable or satellite hookup, an AV receiver, and speakers to create surround sound. The AV receiver is the brains behind the system, processing and enhancing the TV audio signal before sending it to the speakers. It can also have two-way communication with other smart devices, like smart lights.
Luxury home cinemas often have additional features to elevate the experience, such as comfortable reclining seating and a themed aesthetic. They can also include sound insulation and specialized wall treatments to balance the room’s sound and color. They can also have automated scent diffusers that release pleasant aromas during movie scenes.
Layout
A professionally designed home theater typically involves seating and acoustic treatments that maximize the viewing experience. But it also involves careful layout of the components that creates an immersive experience. The basic ingredients are any type of TV or projector paired with speakers and an audio/video receiver that incorporates amplification and processing to mimic the movie-going experience.
A surround sound system is ideal for home entertainment, and it can be configured in 5.1 or even more advanced configurations. The speaker placement is critical, as well as acoustic treatment to minimize bass resonances from the room.
In-wall and in-ceiling speakers are often preferred over freestanding speakers, which can clutter the space. The in-wall speakers may be recessed into the drywall, which eliminates the need for speaker wire to be run behind the drywall. However, in-wall installations require special wall plates to accommodate the system. The plates are usually designed for a specific version of surround sound and are installed using a bracket made for finished or unfinished drywall.