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It's all
about the accessories isn't it. Sure you can put a room together with a big TV and a bunch of speakers. But is how you accessorize the room that makes it a Theater rather than a Rec Room.
I admit my room is a hybrid between a Theater and a Rec Room but it's getting there. I would like to add a riser under my second row of seats but that would really limit the
flexibility of the room. I could have also got a row of real theater seats (even though they are way overpriced) and had them bolted to the floor but then again I would be limiting the functionality of the room. Here are some of the things I have added to my "Theater" to give it that "Theater feel"
Leather Loungers
These things rule. They are one my favorite additions to the room. I can't stay awake while watching a flick in these chairs. I remember going to the expensive furniture stores and just staring at these damn things. But they were always soooo expensive. We're talking $1500 for each then you need to buy the wedges and the two other chairs for the set. That's $5000 people!!!
Originally I wanted a couch or a sectional but the stairs were too small so I needed to get something that could be taken apart. Luckily I found this place on ebay that sells them for about $1000 for a set of 3. Good stuff.
I ended up buy 6 of them and using a 12" riser of my design to support
the second row. The riser is made of 2x12 (frame), 2x8s (joists)
16" on center, and 3/4" plywood for the deck and step.
Bean Bag Chairs
Bean bags chairs are a great way to get more seating in your room without making it difficult to arrange the room. They are low enough to put in the front row. They are light enough to just move aside when not in use. And they are really easy to clean so you can let the kids sit in them while you are enjoying the leather chairs. I personally really enjoy the beanbags but I fall asleep within a few minutes of starting a movie.
Wall hangings
Every theater needs some movie posters, best if they are in frames but this is another place where people get ripped off. At a Boutique type store they will charge you through the nose for a poster frame. Then of course there are those posters that are odd sizes. That's a whole different story. My suggestion is to go to
Michael's (craft store) and find some cheap poster frames and paint them yourself. I got mine for pretty cheap at Media Play.
The DTS and THX Logos are also cool. See this link to learn how to make your own. If someone asks you if everything is THX certified you can tell them to get bent. Get real, just because the manufacturer paid extra to have the THX badge on the product doesn't make it better. Here is an example of how they look. This was taken from the AVScience Forum.
Power Conditioner
Here is one area of hype that I do actually put some faith into. As you can tell from my previous rants about getting ripped off or about marketing driving the costs of items through the roof. A good power conditioner actually does make a difference and it also protects your toys from the occasional blast of
lightning. I have a Monster Power 2500. The cool thing about this things is it filters the power supply of any noise that may be in the wires such as RFI. It also has different types of filters for different types of devices. Look at the link I have provided for more details. It's really cool.
Remote Controls and IR Distribution
I currently use a Logitech
Harmony 880 and a Leapfrog IR distribution
system. This is a god send. With it's online setup I can create
"activities" that will allow even my three year old to start up a DVD and play it. I also have it set up to turn on the Dish System,
X Box, PS2 and DVD Player, set it to all the right inputs and give you the
choice of using the projector or the TV as the display. This remote is pretty
much the Cadillac of remotes and is well worth the money. The cool thing about
the Harmony 88o is that is "know" what components are on and what
inputs they are set on. It also has a color screen and is completely
customizable.
The Leapfrog take the signal from my remote, converts it to RF. After
the signal is converted to RF it is picked up my a receiver in the equipment
room, turned back to IR and is blasted at my rack to complete the process.
Furniture -
This is obviously a very personal subject to some folks. We went to Ikea and bought some towers for the equipment and a few shelves for the DVD Collection.
The
Room -
Many times people don't consider the room
a very important part of the theater equipment. But many professionals
will tell you it is the most important part of a home
theater. Setting up the room right is a great way to get more out of
your system. Acoustic treatments, lighting control and decorating are
all great ways to improve your theater. When I bought my new sub I
needed to make some room for it. I ended up moving all of my processing,
amplification and sources into the unfinished section of the basement.
Then I added some curtains to the front of the theater.
 
I also added some light control
(felt from Joann's) by tacking some heavy felt to the ceiling. This
helps reduce the about of reflection off of the ceiling and give the room more
of a tunnel appearance. Make
your own Movie Tickets- While
at our first Rockford Area Home Theater Group Meeting our host handed out
tickets to the feature. These tickets were make using a Excel spread
sheet that he found on the AV Science
Forums. After doing a little digging around I found the file. This
file was created by Jason Hilton and is avalible
here. I
will host it on my site too.
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