“Home theater system” is a term that can mean a lot of different things. You might consider the television, sound bar, and Blu-ray player in your living room to be a home theater of sorts, but it’s a very different movie-watching experience than what you would get in a dedicated home theater. For homeowners in the Colleyville, Texas area who really want the best audio and visual environment, here is the best approach:

Start with a Dedicated Room

One of the reasons why it’s so difficult to get that great movie quality in your living room is that the space isn’t designed for that purpose. Instead, the room is designed to accommodate other purposes, such as chatting with friends and family. The television’s placement is often an afterthought, based on where the sofa and coffee table look best. And there usually just isn’t a good place to install surround sound speakers.

That’s why it’s best to let your living room be a living room and leave the media systems to a dedicated room. A dedicated home theater is optimized in every way to be perfect for movie-watching. The seating is arranged for easy viewing of the screen, and surround sound speakers envelop you with immersive, robust audio.

Add in the Right Equipment

Not all home theater equipment is created equal, and the best speakers and projector for your system will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size and shape of the room. That’s why you should always leave the decision of selecting equipment in the hands of a home theater professional. A professional installer will be able to design a solution with the right mix of devices. Generally speaking, your home theater system should include a 4K Ultra HD projector and screen along with a Dolby Atmos surround sound system.

SEE ALSO: How Can You Upgrade Your Home Theater System?

If you’re thinking about installing a home theater system in your Southlake, TX residence, there’s one major concern you may not have considered. No, we’re not talking about how you can watch beautiful 4K content, or how you can achieve the best 3D surround sound possible. It’s even simpler than that – we’re talking about how you can minimize ambient light and glare as part of your viewing experience. In this blog, we’ll take you through different technologies that can help prevent washed-out picture in your space. Read on for more.

See Also: How to Choose the Best Screen for Your Home Theater System

Smart Lighting Design

The way your lighting is designed can have a big impact on the amount of glare you see on screen. All fixtures should be pointed away from the screen, so the image won’t be overpowered by them. Moreover, you should have zone controls implemented, so that you can control the lights around the screen separately from the ones in different parts of your theater space.

Motorized Shades

Bringing the movie-going experience to your own home means upping the immersion factors, and truly engaging with films on your screen.  But half the riveting atmosphere is due to clear, high-end audio enveloping you from all sides.  Along with a 4K Ultra HD screen, perfected surround is one of the many features that will considerably enhance your home theater system in your Dallas, TX space.  Read on below to learn more about these essential audio and video components.

Surround Sound

Where you place your speakers is a vital decision.  To create the ultimate surround sound system, setting multiple speakers around the room, depending on your theater’s size, will create the best sound and help the existing acoustics.  Install your seating in the “sweet triangle” precisely between the left and right speakers, so that nothing muffles the sound – and be sure to choose leather or another fabric that doesn’t absorb noise!

If you don’t want that many speakers messing with your home cinema’s theme or décor, there are plenty of hidden options available.  Whether concealed within the walls or hung from the ceiling, you can still maintain your design without the equipment taking up space in the room.

However, bookshelf speakers are a great option if you don’t mind the look of the components, and want to place them on top of cabinets, tables, and other furniture easily.  Perhaps your theme is a more traditional theater feel.  If so, standing speakers are sure to be the focal points of the room that will make your space look like a downtown commercial theater.

SEE ALSO: HOW TO DEAL WITH AMBIENT LIGHT IN YOUR HOME THEATER SYSTEM

Many families these days boast about having home theater systems. Usually, these entail a high-definition TV and a soundbar or surround sound speakers. But what if you could truly recreate the experience you get in a commercial theater? DB Media Solutions works with you to create a custom theater in your Dallas, Texas home that will let you escape into your favorite movies. For that to happen, we urge you to upgrade the following components:

SEE MORE: 4 Reasons to Invest in a Professional Home Theater System

Say Goodbye to Your HD TV

If you want high-quality larger-than-life images, a traditional HD TV is not going to cut it. First of all, it's time to embrace 4K Ultra HD, which has four times the resolution of 1080p (HD). For an authentic theater experience, we also encourage you to go with a screen-and-projector combination. Not only does it help to set the scene, but it is also easier to get larger displays if you opt for a screen rather than television. If you're tight for space, you can invest in retractable screens that disappear into a niche in the ceiling. 

Embrace the Dolby Atmos Experience

A 5.1 surround sound setup or even a quality soundbar is a huge upgrade from relying on TV speakers. But if you want a home theater system designed to impress, you should upgrade to Dolby Atmos. This new technology separates sound into unique objects, rather than relegating them to a designated channel. This way your audio moves freely throughout the room to create a more realistic experience. We help you find manufacturers that offer this technology and design the right speaker layout to optimize your new equipment.

Upgrade Your Media Library

What good is a great home theater setup if you have nothing to play on it? People often focus their investment on expensive televisions and speakers and forget about the rest. Not only do we help you figure out what source components are best for you (streaming services like Netflix, media libraries, Blu-Ray players, etc.), but we also make it easy to manage them. From a universal remote, touchpad, or tablet it's easy to alternate from one to the other, so you don't waste time trying to find what you want.

To create a space that is perfect for movie or television enjoyment, you have to think carefully about every element—the projector, seats, acoustics, etc. Today, we’re going to discuss one of the most important aspects of a home theater system: the screen. To learn how to choose the best screen for the theater in your Colleyville, TX home, read on.

Step 1: Assess the Space

Your room will have a big impact on the type of screen you purchase. When looking at the space you’re going to convert into a home theater, there are several considerations to keep in mind:

• Shape: Most home theaters are rectangular for a reason. A long, deep room provides better viewing angles and a longer throw distance for your projector, which in turn allows you to have a larger screen. If your theater is shaped like a square, it will likely impact how large of a screen you can fit into the room while still giving the audience a comfortable view.
• Size: The larger the theater, the more space there is for seating and a bigger screen. Keep in mind that just because you have a certain amount of space on one wall doesn’t mean that you can buy a screen exactly that large. Depending on the room, you may need to put A/V equipment on either side of the projector, plus you don’t want a screen that is so big that the movie-watchers have to crane their necks from side to side.
• Lighting: Screen manufacturers now provide different materials that are designed to optimize visual quality based on how much light is in the room. For traditional movie theaters without any windows, your best bet is to go with a white screen, but if you do have ambient light in the room, you should consider a gray screen. Darker screens will block out light that isn’t coming from the projector so that you don’t have a washed out image.

SEE MORE: 5 Design Tips for Your Home Theater System

Step 2: Decide on Style

When it comes to screen styles, you’ve got two main options. First, choose whether you want a screen that is fixed in place at all times or one that retracts into the ceiling when not in use. With traditional home theaters, most homeowners opt for fixed placement, but if your theater is more of a media room with multiple purposes, a retractable style is worth considering.

The second choice you need to make is the frame style. You can get a regular, flat frame, or you can install a curved frame. Just like curved TVs, curved frames may provide a better viewing angle and help dispel ambient light. However, you’re not likely to find a retractable curved frame, and if you have a lot of theater seats, the curved style might impact visual quality for the fringe seats.

Needless clutter, broken signals, and uneven audio are just a few of the problems usually associated with a home theater system. Designing your own system on the fly using equipment found off the shelf can end terribly. Video signals need the right cabling, speakers need to be expertly laid out, and a professional needs to ensure that all components are compatible. On the whole, there needs to be a comprehensive plan in place to create an immersive entertainment space in your Westlake, Texas home. 

1.Prepare a Comprehensive Plan

If you learn one thing in this blog, make it this: it’s all about the planning. Whether you’re installing a fire alarm or a home audio system, the best results will come if you lay out every possible detail in advance. Come up with an answer to these questions before getting started:

• Do I want to use a television or screen?
• Will I be transmitting HD or 4K content?
• How many people will my theater seat?
• What kind of stylistic theme do I want to have?

In future blogs, we'll go in depth into some of those questions to help you understand how your answer can impact your home theater installation.

2.Invest in the Best Equipment

If you’re considering designed a home theater system for your Southlake, Texas home, we have a question for you: how do you plan on making it unique? You don’t have to settle for a cookie-cutter home theater design. Instead, you can make your space as personalized and fitted to your needs as you’d like. Of course, to achieve that custom theater look, there are a few design tips you should keep in mind, and you can read about them below.

SEE MORE: How Can You Upgrade Your Home Theater System?

Choose a Theme

If you have a hobby, movie, or location that’s important to you, why not use that as a theme for your home theater system’s décor? Choosing a theme, whether it’s your favorite sports team or a binge-worthy television show, makes it much easier to create a cohesive design for your theater.  

Use Every Space

Yes, it’s easy to plan out the screen and the seating, but what about the ceiling? A popular design choice for home theater systems is to recreate the night sky above you. Twinkling lights provide ambiance to the space without causing too much extra light on your movie screen. Tie in the carpet pattern and lighting sconces into your chosen décor theme, and you’ll have a truly immersive theater experience.

Hide Your Speakers

A blatantly obvious speaker can break through the immersive décor scheme in your home theater, so avoid the clutter of devices entirely by hiding them behind the screen. In order to do this properly, you need the right type of screen—an acoustically transparent fabric that allows the speakers to transfer high-end audio without any loss of quality. 

So you’re ready to make the next upgrade to your home. If that upgrade is a home theater system, you’ve come to the right blog. There’s a lot to take into consideration when making this addition to your Dallas, TX home.

Fortunately, we have a professional team ready to walk through that process with you.

In this blog, we will cover the basic aspects to consider throughout the steps of installing your new home theater.

See Also: Are You Taking Advantage of These Home Theater Services?

1. Room Dimensions and Shape 

Understanding your theater room’s shape and size is the necessary first step before anything else can happen.