Home Movie Theaters

When constructing a home theater, the first thing I recommend is cooperation from your spouse. She had (and still does) complete veto power over every single decision that went into the development of this theater. I first had to convince her to turn a spare bedroom in our brand new townhouse into a dedicated home theater. However, what probably took more persuasion was convincing her of the importance to paint the room an unusually dark color such as charcoal grey with black trim. Or painting the connecting hallway Hollywood red, or the third bathroom metallic gold. Of course, the idea of having "exit" signs all about and life size busts of pretty ugly Hollywood characters took some hard selling, too.

While this theater was my dream, the 7-year project required the support and occasional manual labor from my wife, daughters, son-in-law and a couple of friends. I did consult with Roy Johnson of Green Mountain Audio a few times and want to thank him for his insights.

Tips and tricks for making your system tweakin’ awesome.

Unless you have really expensive tastes, it’s easy to see how spending several thousand dollars on your home theater system can make some very noticeable improvements. That kind of cash could buy a bigger TV, a larger projection screen, a brighter projector, a beefier amp, or a stouter subwoofer. Any of these would put some extra kick in an already kick-butt system. But maybe—like me—you don’t have piles of cash sitting around begging to be stuffed into a store’s cash register. Perhaps you just bought your first HTIB, recently added to your existing system, or (again, like me) you’re simply a classic cheapskate. Whichever it is, let’s say you’ve maxed out your A/V budget for the year. Now what?

Designed to serve primarily as a high performance center channel speaker for home theaters, the compact Encore TF ($499 each) from Martin Logan uses an ATF^TM (Advanced Thin Film) driver, long-excursion low-mass woofers, and sophisticated crossover engineering to produce sound with lifelike clarity and openness. The Encore TF can be discretely mounted beneath a high definition flat screen or used with the included table top stand. Additionally, the Encore TF is highly adaptable, performing equally well mounted horizontally or vertically. The Encore TF can also be used for all 5-channels in a home theater.

A perfect solution for a secondary AV system or for tight quarters, the Modena Series from Omnimount offers a convenient and inexpensive solution for mounting flat panel TV's and holding AV equipment. The three models (37FP, 47FP and 55FP) range in price from $199.95 to $329.95, depending on the size of your TV. The Modena series offers clean lines, smoky black glass shelves and a striking high gloss finish. OmniMount's Lift n Lock system allows for easy attachment of a flat panel TV and locks it securely in place. The supporting back post doubles as a cable management system, to neatly route and organize cables.

Sometimes it takes the combined talents of two professional organizations to come up with a striking, one-of-a-kind home theater. Such was the case with this Florida home. Cinema Design Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and installer of home theater seating, acoustic panels, and custom home theater environments. Along with Boca Theater and Automation, a premier provider of turn-key, custom-built integration systems and home theaters, these two specialists created a home theater that bears the resemblance of the familiar geometric Art Deco designs of the early 20's, yet, it reveals a distinctive 21st century edge.