As home remodeling specialists, we have helped many East Valley families create the perfect TV watching space. From turning spare rooms into surround sound spaces, converting family rooms, to building new additions to the house to create the ideal theater space, we have helped many families create the space they need and boost their home value.

Home theaters are a hot commodity. It could be a great place to have gatherings with friends, dates or any type of recreational occasion or just a good way to express your creativity. Parks Associates, a leading high-tech research firm, states that an estimated 28 percent of all US households now have a home-theater system. But make no mistakes about it, a true home theater is much more than simply plugging a surround sound system into a fairly large TV.

They can be as elaborate or as simple as your budget allows. However, here are some helpful tips to make sure your media room is a hit and adds value to your house:

Finding the Perfect Room
The room with the least amount of daylight is the best place for a media room. Around the country basements are traditionally the perfect spot. But here in Arizona most homes do not have basements and adding one is usually a huge expense. If you don’t have a basement, the living room or family room will work just fine. Walls may need to be added or removed to create the space that is just right for your family’s needs. In some homes, repositioning windows or moving patio doors is the right solution.

If the living room is too challenging to convert, or if the family does not want to lose the living space, other options include converting a spare bedroom, den or loft into a theater room. With proper insulation and substantial remodeling, even a third car garage may be converted into a great theater space.

If your building envelope allows, adding a studio size bonus room to your house is sometimes the best way to find the room needed, and increase the square footage and value of your home. At Tri-Lite we work with every one of our clients to find the space that is right for them, for their budget and meets the needs of their individual family.

The Positioning
Try to face the TV away from any windows, and use window treatments to prevent picture washout. To further reduce eye strain and glare, place a light with a 10- or 15-watt incandescent or five-watt fluorescent bulb behind the TV. Choose a white light that won t interfere with the colors onscreen. To further improve color accuracy, use a neutralizing flat gray or off-white paint on the wall behind the TV.

The optimum distance between viewer and screen depends on the type of TV. For analog sets with a regular 4:3 ratio (four inches of width for every three inches of height), sit at a distance that is three to six times the diagonal width of the screen. For high-definition, wide-screen TVs with a 16:9 ratio, sit at a distance of 1.5 to three times the diagonal width of the screen.

Professional home theater designers optimize acoustics by properly sizing the room and placing materials that properly absorb, reflect or diffuse sound. They also optimize sightlines by placing seating in an amphitheater style and at the proper distance from the screen.

Wired for Success
Home theaters need substantial wiring. Structured wiring, Category 5 or better for voice and data, and RG6 coaxial cable for video is recommended by experts. Some upper-end rooms even require fiber-optic wiring. Keep those needs in mind and talk to your contractor about any challenges. Seamless integration of the electronics into the design of the room by placing components behind a wall or cabinet with hidden access and placing speakers in the ceiling or wall provides a clean, sleek look to the home theater.

The whole point of a home theater is that your family will be able to enjoy watching your favorite programming in comfort and style. Review your technology options from media servers to digital video recorders (such as TiVo) .

Budgeting
Budgeting for a media room needs to be carefully evaluated as you will need to review not only construction costs but also the high-tech solutions that best suit your needs. Establishing your budget will depend on the amount of construction and remodeling needed to your home as well as on your choices in equipment. The great news is that a mid-range theater room created from a room conversion is a fairly fast paced project that can have you in your new home theater in time to watch the New Year’s Ball drop in Times Square!