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Installation and Design

Home Theatre Design

GUIDE TO BUILDING A GREAT HOME THEATRE

Design and installation needs to follow a step-by-step process.

Step 1 - Establish your wishes in broad terms. This step finishes with signed authorization and a budget to carry out the next step.

Step 2 - Prepare a detailed design. This step finishes with signing of detailed contract tailored to the scope of work. The contract would include installation and tuning services as desired.

Step 3 - Carry out rough in-wiring as part of a new house or fishing for an existing house.

Step 4 - Install and hook-up all the needed equipment. This will occur after drywall, painting and other finishing has been done

Step 5 - Tuning, calibration and documenting. This is the step to optimize performance.

For larger projects all steps need to be carried out separately. For smaller projects, carrying out steps 1 and 2 together will work and combining steps 3, 4 and 5 is also OK. In some cases step 5 is all that would be done.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Seating

Seating location is key.  Seating needs to provide comfort and not obstruct views or sound. Tuning is carried out to maximize the experience at the seating locations.  One seat may be chosen as the sweet spot.

Room Dimensions

To get the best experience, room dimensions need to be carefully selected. Even if the height and width are fixed, adjusting the length may make a difference. If dimensions are not optimized some sounds will be increased and others may be reduced or disappear at selected seating locations.

Sight lines and Distances

Sight lines to the display must be clear from all seats, which could mean working in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.  To avoid seeing individual pixels on the screen and to be close enough for the best picture distances must be carefully selected.

Speakers

Speakers for music may be differently placed than for movies. Height and position in relation to walls, the display and seating may all make a difference to the experience.
Speakers need to be matched to each other and the amplifier driving them.

Surfaces

Wall, ceiling and floor surfaces will all have an effect on both the viewing and listening experience.  Overly reflective and light surfaces will affect the viewing experience.  Surface texture, wall coverings, placement of furniture will all effect the listening experience.

Sound Modifications

Materials to absorb some sounds and to reflect others may be needed to optimize the listening experience.  Designs to reduce sounds in other rooms may be needed.

Lighting

Lighting for different scenes may be desirable.  For example low light might be desired for a movie and task lights for reading while listening to music might be your preference.  The master remote turning lights on and off may be all that is desired.

Heating and Ventilating

Both need to be considered in the design especially if a room is to accommodate more than a few people. Design to reduce noise from this equipment.

INSTALLATION

Drawings and Diagrams

Drawings and diagrams are produced during design and are essential to reduce errors and for communicating with all those involved in installation

Project Management

Producing schedules and task lists before work starts reduces mistakes and requires that the work sequence is thought through and co-ordinated. Working with the trades to sequence and schedule work helps everyone carry out their tasks efficiently.

Construction and Wiring

Labeling and documenting wires reduces costs and makes future work easy.

Setup and Testing

Testing of wires and equipment during prewire makes equipment hookup more efficient

Programming

Programming master remote controls to operate all the equipment reduces frustration and makes the system easy to use and experience

Records and Manuals

At the end a manual containing equipment instruction manuals, wiring schedules, equipment settings, tuning and calibration settings and other desired information will help increase satisfaction and reduce future costs.

SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION

Tuning

Tuning the room and equipment will normally yield very noticeable improvements in rooms where this has not already been done

Calibration

Calibrating displays will also yield good results where it has not already been done.

Optimization

Sometimes it is possible to rearrange furniture and speakers to optimize the experience.