As you know, the winters we experience here in New England can be nothing short of brutal. We’re often shut inside our Boston homes for days, and cabin fever is sure to creep in at some point. What better way to stay cozy than with a custom home theater, where all the features you want are in one place?

As we approach the holidays and prepare for a long cold season, why wait to build an entertainment oasis exactly how you want it? At Audio Concepts, we’ve installed and customized many impressive theaters. Though each of them featured decor and custom programming that suited the individual homeowner, we’ve noticed three non-negotiable elements in each. Curious? Read on to see what they are.

SEE ALSO: 3 Perks of Adding Smart Home Services Before the Holidays

Choosing the Right Screen

Many people go into home theater planning with a central vision - the biggest, most modern screen money can buy. But a 96-inch 8K display is not for every room, even if your budget allows it.

The right screen size depends on a few factors, not excluding the most comfortable viewing distance for you and the overall height and depth of the room. We’ve found that, as a general rule, the distance from the television to the viewer should be 1 ½ to 3 times the screen size.

In fact, a screen too large for the viewing area results in stiff, craned necks and tired eyes: Think back to when you were a child and sat in the first-row seats at the theater.

An ideal screen depends on seating orientation, so we’ll discuss your seating preferences during your initial consultation. How many people do you plan to seat? Where do you want your furniture? We then help you decide on a screen size that everyone can comfortably see.

Implementing the Ideal Audio
Next, we look at the audio components. Again, it’s up to you! We’ll talk about your priorities to determine which wired speakers are the best fit, what speaker placement will meet your surround-sound goals and how to optimize speakers for your room’s dimensions.

One trend that won’t disappear anytime soon is Dolby Atmos-enabled audio. This object-based sound has a layered, lifelike effect that captivates its audience. This configuration basically consists of a 5:1 or 7:1 surround-sound layout but also uses some additional in-ceiling speakers that make sound effects feel like they’re falling right into a listener’s ears. Whether you hear something soothing like rain or shocking like an arrow whizzing by, Dolby Atmos sound places you right into the movie’s storyline, giving you a completely immersive escape.

Lighting by Design
When you’re designing home theater lighting, the typical “four cans and a fan” setup doesn’t make the right impression. If you want a dramatic effect to enhance your movies, you’ll need well-designed accent lighting. We’ve even seen some cool floor lighting so you can safely exit the room, cineplex style. Whatever light you choose, you want to control it without leaving the cozy space you’ve worked hard to create. Pre-designed lighting scenes can prepare your room for the movie and slowly brighten the room when you’re ready to return to other activities.

Customizing Your Control

Connect every home theater function with Control4. Control4 integrates not only your theater-focused AV systems but other convenient integrations like climate control, so you won’t have to leave your theater to crank up the heat. And it’s scalable enough for any devices you want to add later, including thousands of third-party tools. In case you want to multipurpose your space as a listening room or biophilia retreat, we’ll also sync your audio system to any streaming music services you use.

Contact Us Today!

Have you been planning your perfect home theater space but haven’t made a move just yet? We’re here to help! Call us at (508) 699-8819 or contact us here to get started on a free consultation at your home, or visit our North Attleboro showroom to see some integrated home theater tools in action. We look forward to speaking with you!