Everything You Need to Build Your First Home Theater From Scratch
I finally splurged on a big OLED TV and soundbar during the pandemic and will never go back. Of course, I couldn’t go to the movies anymore, but with the quality I was getting at home, I didn’t miss much. Relatively speaking, it’s a modest setup, but it fits my small New York City apartment. And if you’re a movie buff, I definitely recommend you build your own home theater as well. Even now that movie theaters are back in business, my fiancé and I really enjoy watching all kinds of movies on our setup, which is another benefit of watching a quality movie theater at home. With a little effort and even a modest budget, it won’t be long before you do the same.
What do you need for a home cinema?
When setting up a home theater, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with options, especially since your needs will vary depending on your home. Do you want a TV? Projector? What about blackout curtains?
It’s easy to get lost in all the options and simply splurge on the most premium equipment, and that’s okay if you have the budget for it. But for the rest of us, it helps to have a plan of action before we start shopping. Keep the following in mind and you’ll get the option that best suits your space.
How big is your room?
Before you start looking at equipment, consider how large the room you want to install your home theater in is. This will help you choose your screen size, which in turn will help you choose between a TV and a projector.
For example, if you are sitting seven feet or less from your photo, it doesn’t have to be that big. Here’s what our setup is like, and we’re completely happy with our 55-inch screen. Anything more would make us crane our necks.
If this seems a little cramped, keep in mind that everyone’s home is different. We couldn’t move further away from the screen even if we tried, and trying to see the bigger picture of where we are would be the worst experience. But if you have enough space to sit further, then you might want to consider going up a size. They can reach hundreds of inches and are more reminiscent of a traditional movie theater.
Here’s a trick: Before you start shopping, use RTings’ TV size and distance calculator . These people know their stuff when it comes to picture quality, and with their tool you will find the right size TV for the size of your room. For example, you can use their chart to see that an 85-inch screen from about 12 feet away is equivalent to a 43-inch screen from six feet away.
Should I buy a TV or projector?
This brings us to perhaps the most important decision you’ll make when building a home theater: what kind of TV or projector do you have? A projector may seem like a no-brainer, right? This is what they use in cinemas and we are trying to get the same experience at home. But theater is a highly controlled environment, and the reality is that having the same experience outside of that environment may not mean using the same technology.
Projectors do well in dark rooms with plenty of space, but installing them in a small living room or in a room with a lot of windows can compromise your experience pretty quickly, producing a dull image that doesn’t look as good as it does on your TV. equivalent size. There are models that can compensate for the short distance between the projector and the surface you’re projecting onto, or that add extra brightness, but you’ll pay more for them.
You might be surprised to learn that TVs are actually great replacements for a movie screen at home. Professional movie theaters don’t use them because they don’t play well with analog films and are difficult to produce in large sizes (although some are testing giant TV screens ), but we don’t have to worry about that. house. Choosing a TV instead of a projector can save you money, give you more flexibility in placement and distance from the couch, and give you a brighter picture with more contrast depending on your setup. Oh, and you won’t have to worry about fan noise like some projector models.
There is definitely a place for projectors in the home now, especially if you want to use very large screen sizes. TVs above 80 inches become slightly less fuel efficient, at which point their value can change dramatically compared to projectors. Projectors can also look more authentic, even if they’re not the smartest choice, so they can be fun for hobbyists.
One note: If you also want to use your rig for gaming, I suggest a TV. There are some expensive projectors that promise low latency, but overall you’ll get better response times with a TV because the technology behind projectors inherently means longer waits between inputs and your image being adjusted.
Once you’ve chosen whether you want a projector or a TV, you can dive into the second most important decision: which projector or TV should I get?
The best projectors and TVs for home cinema
Once you’ve decided between a projector and a TV, you can start diving into the details. After all, there is still a lot to explore before you purchase a device.
The most important thing to choose is the resolution, and if you really want to differentiate your home theater from the regular TV in your living room, you should choose 4K. There’s no need to go beyond 4K—most content doesn’t support 8K yet—but 4K will allow you to get the most out of streaming content and, more importantly, Blu-ray. Resolutions up to 1080p will work in a pinch, but if you’re zooming in or sitting close to the screen, the higher the resolution the better.
Next, you will need to select the type of device you will receive. For projectors, this means choosing between laser or lamp models, as well as long throw, short throw or ultra short throw models. For TVs, you will need to choose between screen technologies such as LCD, QLED, OLED, QD-OLED and Mini-LED.
All this vocabulary means different things, and there are even more brand-specific terms. Let’s cut it down to the basics. In projectors, throw distance refers to how far the projector must be from the wall before it can display a workable image, and laser or light bulb refers to the light source. Short throw and ultra short throw projectors are popular because of their versatility, but they all have their pros and cons.
With a big throw, the advantage is usually price and brightness. You’ll need more space and it’s more likely for an object to get caught between the projector and the target surface, but in turn you’ll typically pay less and often get a brighter image. Meanwhile, short throw and ultra short throw lenses tend to cost a little more and have brightness issues. Because they are located so close to the image, they also suffer more from light impacts. You may also see some ultra short throw projectors advertised as “laser TVs”, but they work on the same principle.
To determine which projector is best for you, I suggest using the projection distance calculator on Projector Central , where you can search for a specific projector and see how big your image will be depending on how far from the target surface it is. is.
As for whether you should buy a laser or a light bulb, it depends on how you want to spread out your payments. Laser projectors often cost more up front but don’t require lamp replacement, while lamp-based projectors tend to be cheaper, but you’ll have to buy a new lamp every time it wears out. Laser projectors can also be quieter because they generate less heat and therefore require less cooling than light bulbs.
A TV shows the same picture no matter where you put it, so buying one for your home theater instead means choosing what type of screen you want to use. You can choose LCD, QLED or Mini-LED, which use a backlight, or something like OLED or QD-OLED, which have self-illuminating pixels.
All this has its pros and cons. Backlit display methods may perform better in brightly lit rooms, while self-illuminated display methods inherently have deeper blacks and better contrast, but may suffer from low brightness. I prefer the latter, as poor contrast can hide entire sections of the landscape in a blurry, dark mess. However, this comes with the risk of burnout, so you’ll need to be careful to turn off the TV when not in use, and perhaps also not watch the same 24-hour news channel on it all the time. .
For TVs, the general order of quality starts with LED, followed by QLED and Mini-LED, then OLED, then QD-OLED. There are features to worry about: Mini-LED and QLED TVs are largely interchangeable and tout “local dimming zones” that separate the backlight to allow them to achieve effects similar to OLED. Meanwhile, the big difference between OLED and QD-OLED is that the latter uses “quantum dot” technology for color, resulting in brighter results. This is all very jargony and I wouldn’t go into too much detail as it will vary from TV to TV. At this point, QD-OLED is really a waste of money, so you’ll be fine with regular OLED, which is actually a little more burn-in resistant than its brighter cousin.
With that in mind, here are a few models to get you started shopping, in a variety of options and price points. If you’re buying a TV for gaming, also keep in mind the refresh rate: this is how quickly your TV can refresh the image, and choosing a higher refresh rate means you’ll be able to achieve higher fps.
The best soundbars and speakers for home theater
When it comes to major purchases, the last thing you need to worry about is your sound.
The important thing to remember here is how many channels you need. The more channels your audio solution can use, the more detailed your audio will be.
For example, if you grew up in the ’90s, you’re probably familiar with the terms “mono” and “stereo.” Mono uses one audio channel, so everything is mixed together, whereas stereo uses two audio channels, which means your music can be more directional, sending some of the sound to your left ear and some to your right.
Fast forward to today and we have a few more options. You’re probably most familiar with the soundbar. This essentially combines multiple channels into one long speaker bar that sits underneath your TV and is a convenient way to get reasonably good sound quality without much hassle.
The problem is that soundbars are limited in how much sound surrounds you, as well as the bass. More advanced models can simulate surround sound by spreading the sound around the room, but it’s not quite the same. This is where 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 and other types of surround sound come in.
They are named after the number of speakers, with the decimal number indicating the number of full-range speakers and the post-decimal number indicating the number of subwoofers. The more speakers, the more detailed your sound, since you can place more of them around your viewing area.
Some of these setups also include a soundbar that can handle multiple speakers, and some even include your TV’s built-in speakers as a separate channel for clearer dialogue . What suits you best will depend on how much space you have as well as your needs. Personally, I get by just fine with the Sonos Beam soundbar alone, although I admit that I watch almost everything with subtitles on. If you don’t need on-screen text, you might want to invest in a few extra channels. Here are a few options to get you started.
Seats, curtains and tips
Finally, no home theater is complete without proper seating and a good viewing environment. This is where you can start having fun.
First, if you like a projector but want to place your theater in a room with lots of light, invest in blackout curtains. Even some of the best ones can cost as little as $25 and instantly transform your space into a cave. This is a great way to get a more traditional setup if you don’t have a basement.
If you are using a projector, be sure to select a screen as well. While you can project onto a wall, using a suitable screen will provide a clearer, brighter image and will also eliminate any light leakage issues such as hot spots. These can be purchased for as little as $50, so it’s worth it. Meanwhile, if you use a TV, be sure to invest in an entertainment console or mounting system that places it at roughly eye level, or face the wrath of reddit.com/r/TVTooHigh .
Then figure out how you want to receive your films. If you want to stream, it can be as simple as connecting your favorite streaming card to your TV or projector. But I suggest doing some exercise if you can . Even 4K streams can look compressed and muddy compared to Blu-ray due to the compression required to show movies over the Internet. Meanwhile, Blu-ray discs are so large that much more detail can be packed onto them. It’s true: even movies from the 60s can look as sharp as the latest blockbusters with the right equipment.
What about you? It’s important to feel comfortable in a home theater, so choosing the right seat is important. There are many ways to create theater-like seating at home, but I personally like a standard wide sofa. I use the Movie Sofa from CB2 and it gives me enough flexibility to stretch out, sit up straight, or snuggle up with a partner. You’re at home, so why not enjoy what comes with it?
Which brings me to the last point – snacks! Watching a movie without something to chew on feels wrong. While throwing popcorn in the microwave is easy, you’ll get more customizable results with a dedicated popcorn popper. I also love having a good strong milkshake while watching, so having a good blender on hand is a must.
Here are a few home theater accessories to get you started. The rabbit hole here is huge and I could go on all day if I wanted to. You can go for soundproofing, tiered seating, slanted or overhead lighting and it will all work out. If you find that you want to continue your journey after completing the basic setup, subreddits like reddit.com/r/hometheater can be a great resource. And never underestimate the benefits of buying second-hand, so keep an eye on your local Facebook marketplace. With the right choices and a little effort, you’ll find that going to the movies will become a thing of the past.