Let's face it; most of us are amateurs when it comes to creating and designing home theaters. Few of us are lucky enough to have built a home movie theater more than once in our lives. Theater Seat Store believes it is always less expensive and less frustrating to learn from other's mistakes then your own, that's why we have listed below the common design mistakes that can negatively affect your home theater performance. There are a number of online resources that should be referenced for home theater design before launching into this project. Let's take a look at the most common home theater pitfalls.
Room Selection
All too often home theaters fail before installation even begins. Your home theater room should be strategically selected to best foster a high quality home theater performance. Amateurs often select a square room which is highly un-conducive for your home theater's sound system. Bass waves regularly under perform in square rooms. Rectangular or oddly shaped rooms are optimal for home theater sound. The second common mistake when selecting the room to build your home theater in is selecting a room with windows. You would think this would be a no-brainer but you would be surprised how many expensive theaters are affected by windows. Even windows with drapes and blinds usually let in some light which can negatively affect your visual performance. Secondly, windows are poor at impeding outside noises from disturbing your theater experience. If you can't avoid windows in your home theater space, there are some window treatments designed specifically for home theater.
Hiding Speakers
Odds are you spent a small fortune buying high quality surround sound speakers and subwoofers. There has been a recent trend of hiding these speakers behind plants, in your theater ceiling and in custom cabinets which can cost almost as much as the speakers themselves. The truth is all of these techniques will negatively affect your audio performance. You will notice that commercial cinemas and THX Dolby theaters do not hide speakers; they know high quality speakers are designed to perform their best in the open at room floor or slightly elevated positions. You already spent the time and money to get excellent speakers, do not muddle their performance by sticking them behind anything.
Home Theater Furniture
Unfortunately, too many home theater amateurs do not consider home theater furniture as part of their budget. These individuals either cheapen the home theater experience by buying or repurposing conventional house furniture or have to delay their home theater premier while they buy home theater furniture piecemeal. Home theater furniture is a major element of a successful home theater and should be a chief aspect of your home theater planning and budget.
Bring in the Pro's
So many home theaters are ruined when inexperienced amateurs decide they can install their equipment without the help of professionals. Swallow your pride and spend a little extra to make sure your home theater equipment is properly installed. You have spent a lot of time, money and effort to get to this step and a poor installation can not only spoil your home theater experience but could also destroy expensive equipment. Best to bring in the experts, believe me there is no shame in asking for some help, you will be glad you did.
