Home cinema

Q&A: Home cinema

With the advancement of audio-visual technology, the idea to move the cinema at home becomes more and more popular. Home cinema systems provide the opportunity to experience the true pleasure of the seventh art without a ticket in the comfortable home armchair. We initially separate a corner in the living room, but as the appetite comes with eating, then we decide to dedicate a whole room to the new home entertainment. More and more new homes are designed with this additional function, and in the old apartments the smallest and rarely used room is rebuilt into a mini theater for film and music performances. There are, however, some conditions that such a space would be good to respond to in order to fully fulfill its new role. Here are some of them...

Q&A: Which room is most suitable for home theater?

The term "audiovisual technique" also covers the most important features of the new space - sound, light and technology. The main features that your chosen room must have in relation to each of them are the following:

It is located in the common part of the dwelling, in the immediate vicinity of the living room - the determining factor here is the sound. The quiet and relaxed sleeping area must be as far away as possible from this loud noise generator. Keep in mind the neighbors - it is recommended that the room is enclosed only by internal walls for your home. Otherwise, you may turn into the "Persona Non-Grata" of the building;
To have a predominantly northern exposure - ie. the amount of natural light is minimal. It is no secret to anyone that movies are projected and observed at in the dark. If almost no direct sunlight comes through the window, you can save your blinds and sunshades in case you want to watch a movie during the day;
To be equipped with the necessary installations and capabilities to deploy the equipment - ie. the chosen room must be the most technologically advanced place in your home. This includes a digital Full HD TV receiver, a projector mount and a Dolby® Digital sound system, an internet connection, suitable artificial lighting, an integrated LED lighting system, and more.

Q&A: What are the most suitable size and shape of the room?

Here the main factor is the visual distance (when viewing an LCD or plasma TV) and the projection distance (when the projector is mounted). Studies have been made and there are online calculators for minimum, optimal and maximum values of these indicators, depending on the technical characteristics of the devices. For example, the distance from which you should watch a HD broadcast with a screen diagonal of 42 "and a 16:9 aspect ratio should be between 0.7 m and 4.40 m, with the best distance being 2.50 m. You will need to keep in mind that the average distance from it to the screen in most models varies between 3.00m and 5.50m. It is logical that the largest size of the room should comply with these requirements. Of course, they are different in each case. As for the shape of the floor and the ceiling, the perfect option is an isosceles trapeze on which the small base is the screen and the viewers are in the wider part. This volume has the best visual and acoustic qualities. The rectangle and the square are also acceptable.

Q&A: How do we furnish the room?

Everything must be reconciled with light and sound. Reflective colors are not appropriate here. The black and the shades of gray with its light-absorbing ability are a good option. The only white surface may remain the wall you will use for cinema screens. The material requirements are related to acoustics. The echo is the biggest enemy of this type of space. For this purpose boldly choose sound-absorbing moss and soft fabrics for carpet, curtains and more. Textile wallpapers are highly recommended in this case. However, if you want to achieve full effect, you will have to fight more professionally with the reflection of sound by installing the so-called bass silencers. These are panels that are installed or embedded in the walls and / or the ceiling of the room. There are three types:

Helmholtz resonators - large, heavy and difficult to install devices that take up excess sound volumes in a relatively narrow range;
Mebrane absorbers (panel silencers) - a better option with a larger range of sound absorption, although they are also large in size and expensive;
Broadband absorbers - made of rigid fiberglass, sometimes in combination with a membrane. They have the widest range of sound absorption. According to experts, this is the best option for domestic use.