4 Components of a Successful Home Theater Design

Create the Ideal Movie-Watching Experience with These Design Tips

Home theater projects have grown in popularity over the last year and continue to be a rising trend in 2021, thanks to closed commercial cinemas, fresh content from video streaming services, advanced consumer audio-video technologies, and increased time spend at home.

If you’re considering a home theater for your property in the Nashville, TN area, you’re probably wondering where to begin. Take it from our professional home theater designers: Don’t begin with electronics. You can buy the latest solutions in displays and speakers, but they won’t offer the experience you desire if you neglect the layout of your theater room.

Room design must come first. Read below to learn about four design components that make a successful home theater and how Prodigy AV can help you build your ideal entertainment space.

SEE ALSO: Why a Private Home Theater Is Better Than Going to the Movies

Room Selection

Unless you’re adding on a room for your home theater or including one in a new build, you’ll have to choose an existing space to use as your private cinema. Most homeowners may think that a bigger room is better. While size matters if you want a large and immersive movie experience, dimensions matter more. Ideally, you want a rectangular room with high ceilings and walls longer than they are wide. This layout will ensure balanced sound, which is challenging to achieve in square and oval rooms.

Seating Placement

Seating should offer everyone in your home theater a comfortable and balanced viewing experience, no matter which seat they choose to sit in. If your seats are too close, you’ll experience neck and eye strain. If they’re too far away, you could lose some benefits of having an ultra-high-definition display. You must also consider risers for tiered seating. A general rule of thumb is to place seats about 1.5 to 3 times the screen height measurement away from the display, though measurements will vary from room to room.

Display Placement

Seating and display placement go together when creating the ideal viewing experience. As you watch a movie, your head shouldn’t have to move from side to side or up and down to see everything happening in the picture. Instead, the picture should appear balanced as you would see it in real life. Following the rule of thumb that we mentioned above regarding seating and display placement, it’s also generally recommended to place your display two to three feet above the floor. However, measurements will be unique for every space.

Speaker Placement

Seating and speaker placement also go hand-in-hand when creating the ideal listening experience. Every speaker that makes up your surround sound system plays an important role in audio optimization and must be installed in such a way that doesn’t create localization. Your front left, front right, and center-channel speakers should be placed at ear level and aimed at the primary listening position. Surrounds should sit a few feet above ear level and be installed to the left and right of your seats or slightly behind.

Of course, there’s more to home theater design than these four components. But we’ll save that for another blog. Prodigy AV is proud to be your local leader in home theater design and installation. Not only do we specialize in room layout, but we work with the best audio-video vendors in the industry, including Pro Audio Technology and Wolf Cinema. From design to installation and ongoing support, we are your one-stop-shop for custom home theaters.

Let’s start on your project! Schedule a free consultation with us here, or use the live chat box below to speak with a team member today.