A New Home Build Home Theater: Creating the Best Home Entertainment

A new home build home theater offers the best possible entertainment. Instead of fitting it into an existing floor plan, you have a clean slate, a world of possibilities. That said, there are some established principles when it comes to home theater design to ensure your clients enjoy the best movie-watching and game-day experience possible. 

That’s why architects and designers turn to Home Theater of Long Island. 

Here, we’ll explore the benefits of working with a home theater specialist and how this partnership makes your life easier by solving problems before they happen.

SEE ALSO: Maximizing Your Sony Home Theater Experience with 4K Projectors and TVs

The Perfect Partner

Having a partner who knows their area of expertise in a manner that leaves no doubt about their capabilities is a much better match than having to take control to ensure everything gets done on time, on budget, and according to your client’s vision. 

As an architect or designer of luxury homes, you work with a nearly limitless array of specialists. At Home Theater of Long Island, we partner with best-in-class manufacturers. From seating to acoustic paneling, projectors, displays, screens, speakers, and lighting, we know the best options for each unique home theater design. 

The Perfect Space

Room dimensions significantly affect the audio and video experience. Viewing angles, sight lines, and distances from seating to the screen and speakers play essential roles in the final creation. 

Ideally, home theaters should have no windows and be rectangular. If your client wants a wall-sized screen, they’ll need a larger room than one who wants a hidden 80-inch display. While every theater is customized to your client’s vision, generally, it’s important to remember the prime ratio, which is about 1.0 to 1.6 to 2.3. This translates to a ceiling that’s 10 feet high in a room that’s 16 feet wide and 24 feet long. 

Instead of finding out the home theater room was built to specifications that will affect the design your client had in mind, we’ll make sure to get it right the first time.  

Wiring and Infrastructure

The wiring required for speakers, lighting, retractable screens, and projectors, as well as the Ethernet cables needed for streaming services, is much easier and less costly to install before the walls are up. 

Taking a step-by-step approach that includes clear communication with builders and subcontractors results in far fewer costly change orders. 

Soundproofing

Some homeowners want to ensure a home theater without distraction. They want to turn up the volume for fast-paced action films and not worry that the sound is waking the kids or bothering the neighbors. Likewise, nothing takes one away from a storyline faster than hearing the neighbor's lawnmower or barking dog. 

The best time to soundproof a home theater is during the construction phase.

The Ideal Sound

When designing a home theater, the first consideration is the seating. Why? It determines the location of most other elements, including the speakers and screen. If going for the classic tiered seating, minimum 12-inch risers and placing the screen at least 30 inches from the floor ensure clear sight lines.

Dolby Atmos surround sound is the go-to for the most realistic audio available. This system requires in-ceiling or upward-firing speakers, in-wall speakers at or just above ear level, and at least one subwoofer.  

If the speakers are installed before the seating, some people will miss out on the sweet spot—the immersive audio that takes you into the scene.

Screen Placement

Ineffective screen size and placement lead to neck and eye strain and a diminished image. Yet, in their excitement, many homeowners want the biggest screen available, regardless of the room or seating. Once again, the placement of the seating determines the size of the screen. For instance, for a 100-inch screen, the ideal seating distance is at least 150 inches or 12.5 feet.

Peace of Mind

While you’re busy forming plans, finishing drawings, and selecting materials for the home, our Home Theater of Long Island experts will bring in the cabling, speakers, lighting, acoustic paneling, seating, screens, projector, and other necessary elements. Then, using the expertise gained over decades, we’ll install, engineer, program, and calibrate for the best movie-watching experience possible. 

Are you ready to partner with a home theater specialist who resolves problems before they arise and makes your life easier? Contact us to learn more about working with Home Theater of Long Island.