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How Can You Convert Your Small Room Into a Home Theater?
How Can You Convert Your Small Room Into a Home Theater?
Do you wish to convert your small room into a home theater, but think it is too small? Like your basement? This should not hold you back. The most important element of a home theater is the sound. An immersive movie experience brings out the sound as if it is in a real world setting. A car moving from left to right will feel exactly that. Unfortunately there is little you can do about the size of the TV in a small room because placing a screen that is too large, makes the viewing a bit unconfutable because of the close distance. Still, you can convert your small room into a functional home theater room with a bit of imagination and the right components.
Get the viewing distance ratios right
Experts recommend that the viewing distance be between 1.5 to 2.5 times the sizes of the screen. If you have a small room, you can go with the lower number. If the room is 5 feet, divide by 1.5 which gives about 3.3 feet (40 inches).
Mount an overhead projector
Projectors images have become of very high quality while the cost of projectors has gone down. It is possible to get a projector for home use at less than $500. The good thing with a projector is that the size can be resized. The projector can be mounted overhead to save on space.
Use a Soundbar
A soundbar combines all the speakers of a 5.1 surround system into one slimline compact housing. A soundbar is self-powered meaning there is no need for a receiver. As such it can be plugged directly into the DVD player and is good to go. A sound–bar is usually placed in front of the TV or viewing wall. A sound–bar costs significantly less than a quality 5.1 surround sound speaker system.
Be imaginative with the sitting arrangement
A small room does not give you the luxury of setting your seats in rows. A large sofa could also hog up the space leaving little space for other loungers. Individual loungers are easier to place in the room. Arrange them in a staggered placement so that everyone in the room has an unobstructed view. The recommended clearance space between seats is 20 inches. However for a squeezed room this can be reduced to 14 inches.
The good thing is that ordinary affordable sound and video equipment work well for a small room. This is because the small space makes the experience more enveloping and immersive.
