Want to recreate the movie going experience in your own home, where you can play whatever movie you want, whenever you want to? In this post, we’ll help make sure you’ve got all the essential elements of a home theater system so that you can enjoy the full movie going experience in your own home theater.
1. The Big Screen
Maybe it is a huge television or maybe it’s a projector. Whatever you use for the movies, it has to be big, and it has to be smart. A smart TV or even a smart projector can help you hook up to the internet and deliver the right movies and tv shows at the right time. The TV is the center point of the room, so definitely don’t go cheap on this one! If you have a more rustic theater setup, a projector might be absolutely perfect for the room, while a more modern setup might go best with a television.
2. Speakers
What makes a movie going experience? Sure, the screen is big and the room is dark, but the surround sound and the loud volume are the things that really put you into the theater experience. When things get loud and the speakers are hot, that’s when you know that you’re at the movies! Plus, movies with explosions and fast cars need to have every sound experienced, while the more artistic and indie films deserve to have the riveting soundtrack blasted.
3. Smart Theater Lighting
Smart lighting can help you set the perfect tone for the room, right between lights out and lights fully on. If the lights are dimmed when the movie is starting, you’ll have the final ambient piece to really put you into full theater mode. Also, with smart lighting, you’ll easily be able to turn the lights up and down using your phone when you need to start the film or get up for more popcorn.
4. A Smart Hub to Bring it All Together
The great news is that if you get smart lights, a smart tv, and smart speakers, you can connect everything to a single smart hub that has a simple app, allowing you to control all of your devices from one place! You can even create a “showtime” setting that automatically dims the lights and raises the volume. Then, if you need to pause the film, a single tap can pause the tv and turn up the lights.
5. The Right Snacks
Investing in an old fashioned popcorn machine or a soda machine might be the perfect move which brings the whole theater experience together. Knocking back popcorn handful after handful is often the perfect companion to a movie, as the crunch and the motion become almost as important to the movie experience as the sound and lighting! But you can also use your home theater to explore the more exotic movie theater snack angles. Stock a fridge or cupboard with whatever you want to snack on!
6. Theater Seating
There is no right way to run seating in a home theater as long as you keep it cool and consistent. You can go for mock theater seating to provide plenty of room for everyone to watch, or you can stick to couches and recliners to keep it intimate and comfy. Or some combination of those things. Just remember that the seating that you choose is really going to set the tone for the room. If you want your theater to double as a place to simply hangout and play games, then you may have to skip the theater seating.
7. Temperature Controls
Being cold during a movie totally ruins your experience of the movie, while if you’re hot, you can easily get sleepy and fail to fully experience the film. Having a solid temperature control is therefore essential to getting the right kind of movie going experience. If you install smart temperature controls into your home theater, you can control them all quite simply from the same smart app as the lighting and TV! Temperature is no less important than lighting and sound, after all.
8. Blankets
A cozy necessity. Buy a basket and toss some huge, fluffy blankets into it. Your movie theater might also become your favorite place to get a quick nap. Plus, nobody will ever perfectly agree on what temperature your theater should be, so having blankets will allow different people to adjust the temperature to their liking.
9. Acoustics and Sound Proofing
Theaters can be loud, and depending on where you live or the relative location of other rooms in the house, you might create a really loud experience for people that you are not intending to do so for. While you don’t have to sound proof the whole room (you could though!), at least consider getting some stuff to absorb the loud sounds of film so that you don’t disturb others. You want to confidently crank the volume without worrying about who can hear your movie.
10. Aesthetics
Your movie theater also doubles as the lobby! Make it a shrine to movies that you love or the art of film. Nothing is too tacky, from classic movie posters to red carpet. Put up decorations that you love and stick to them. Investing in decorations will really help you bring together the total theater experience. But you aren’t stuck to self-referencing movie themes–you can also create a minimalist theater or use a lot of plants to nuance the vibe. Make your theater also a place where you can do yoga!
11. Phone Chargers
Dying phones can ruin the experience of a movie, and you certainly don’t want to pause things so that your friend can run out to their car and grab a charger. Solve the problem by investing in a handful of phone chargers that will keep everyone with fully juiced electronics. If you have the option, you can even put individual chargers next to plugs in the seats. If you run theater seating and then run wiring into the theater seats, you can provide people with plugs for their phone that allows them to also use their phone during the movie.
