Channel Button

There are 2 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #1 by Helium's members.

Computers & Technology   >

Home Theater

Get a Widget for this title

Setting up a home theater on a budget

Setting up a home theater on a budget can be challenging task if it is not planned and organized well. The last thing you want is sitting in the middle of your bedroom with a mesh of wires tangled around you, with no clue as to what goes where.

To set up a home theater in your house, you'll first need to prepare a room, whether it's the basement, the attic, or your bedroom! Then you'll need to acquire the necessary components: TV, receiver, DVD player, speakers. Finally, you'll have to put it all together. Throughout the process, remember that in the end what's important is not snazzy new technology or killer specs but how comfortable and enjoyable your home theater is. Here is a step by step process to setup your home theater in an organised way.

First things first: Prepare the Room

Without a properly outfitted room, even top-of-the-line home theater equipment will be lackluster. For those with a million-dollar budget, this means thick concrete walls with no windows, solid-core doors with yards of weatherstripping, and sound-absorbing baffles on the walls and ceiling. But for the rest of us who just want to retrofit a corner of the basement or the kids' room, there are some simple things that can be done to improve any space's acoustics and lighting.

Start with a rectangular room with as few doors and windows as possible. Open floor plans and vaulted ceilings make it more difficult to keep the sound effects in and the barking of the neighbor's dog out. If the room is oddly shaped, map out a rectangular (or at least symmetrical) space within it to treat as the home theater.

Next, cover the floors. Try adding carpeting or an area rug and outfitting the room with upholstered furniture to help absorb errant sound waves. The same goes for walls and windows a painting, bookshelf, or drapes placed at the sides of the room will absorb unwanted noise. Thick curtains over windows are doubly smart because you also want your home theater to be dark too much light increases screen glare and reduces contrast.

Warning: Keep in mind, however, that staring at a brightly lit screen in an otherwise dark room will eventually strain your eyes. Installing dimmer switches on lighting fixtures will help you find the happy medium.

Part 2 : Put things into place

TVs
There are two things to pay attention to when buying a television: shape and size. To watch movies in their original widescreen format, you'll need a TV with a rectangularly shaped 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the traditional,


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Setting up a home theater on a budget

  • 1 of 2

    by Max Allan

    Setting up a home theater on a budget can be challenging task if it is not planned and organized well. The last thing you

    read more

  • 2 of 2

    by Raven Lebeau

    To get a great home theater system on a budget, it can be fun to visit a local electronics store where a slick salesman will

    read more

Add your voice

Know something about Setting up a home theater on a budget?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

87008

Featured Partner

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has partnered with Helium, giving you the chance to write for a ca...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA