As a builder or developer you may already be aware that of all the areas of “smart” home technology currently being considered by homebuyers today, home theater leads the list. An astounding 68% are interested in a home theater system. One explanation might be the high cost of going out to the local theater (tickets, food), the inconvenience of travel, noise in the theater, not to mention that you can stop the program for a break and not miss anything. Another reason is that what was once only available to the wealthy, the dream of owning a home theater can now be enjoyed by many at affordable costs.

In making the commitment to invest in a Home Theater, numerous design considerations should be addressed; will it be in a dedicated or multipurpose room, what is the optimal room size, room preparation, projection system, viewing surface, audio components and other special item considerations such as seating, lighting, window treatments, system control and hey, maybe even a popcorn machine or marquee outside the room. Typically multi-media rooms tend to use big-screen projection TVs, while true home theater rooms are specifically designed for acoustics, lighting, and seating, and use a two-piece projection system consisting of a video projector and fabric screen.

Generally rooms that are square or near square should be avoided. The optimal room design should be approximately 43% longer than wide. Two established excellent room sizes are 13’1” x 19’ and 15’1” x 21’9”. Actual ratios are available and are key to the aspect ratio of the projection system, aesthetics and acoustics.

The room itself should be acoustically constructed for noise control, containing the theater sound within the room. Conventional wood-stud wall construction allows noise from pets, music, and loud conversation to be heard with noise levels typically in the 50-60 dB range or even higher. Proper room construction can reduce the perceived noise levels by up to 80%.

By implementing the proper noise control solution, the homeowner can blast their favorite movie without making the rest of the family leave the adjacent room or even the house

Even if the theater area is not going to be immediately used, layout the room area now so that the space is not lost. Typically the best basement real estate is taken up by the furnace, hot water heater, etc. because often homeowners don’t allocate the prime space ahead of time.

Since one of your client’s main concerns in a home theater will be the quality of picture, they need to select a good screen and projection unit. Choose a screen offering good reflectivity, true color rendition and improved contrast capability. Also they may want to select one that is acoustically transparent so that the left and right front speakers, along with the center channel speaker can be positioned directly behind the screen for improved audio delivery and better aesthetics.

Couple the screen with a quality CRT or DLP projector in 16:9 HDTV format that has good brightness and high resolution and there’s no better way to experience the atmosphere of a movie theater in your own home. Each of these types of projectors has certain features and also some drawbacks, which should be understood before they make their selection decision. Two things these units all provide are imaging projection larger than any big-screen TV, and movie theater picture quality.

If the home theater is going to be located in a multipurpose room, consider an automatic recessing, ceiling mount screen and also install a projector lift for equipment concealment. The recessing and deployment functions for both are integrated in the master control system panel. Even lighting and automated window treatments can be included in the control system, making overall operation as simple as touching a single button.

Along with the big–screen picture excitement of a home theater, nothing adds to relaxation and enjoyment more than custom audio designed to effortlessly deliver the vast range of today’s digital programming and virtual surround sound processing. Speakers can be ceiling mounted or in-wall to provide clean, pure sound and yet be hidden for eye appealing aesthetics.

These are just a few issues to consider. AllSMART solutions will work directly with you or your client to achieve a personalized theater design based on the homeowner’s “lifestyle” for total system performance and enjoyment.

AllSMART provides custom theater designs (for example- the Concept XI House Home Theater in the Merit Club located in Gurnee, IL) and the Owens Corning Connoisseur System (Installed and featured in the Cavalcade of Homes model by Wiseman Hughes in Naperville). To see the Owens Corning Connoisseur Home Theater System, please visit our showroom in Libertyville. For more information, visit our website at www.allsmartsolutions.com, or call 847.247.4800 to speak to an AllSMART consultant.