Looking for home theater information? We’ve got it! With the right planning, investing in a home theater can be one of the best enhancements to your lifestyle. Home theaters are great for relaxing, entertaining, and bringing the whole family together.
Domes has nearly 30 years experience as the area’s expert, with thousands of satisfied customers. Please visit our Gallery and Testimonials, and then stop by our showroom for a state-of-the-art theater demonstration.
Media Room or Home Theater?
The first step in planning is to decide if a Home Theater or Media Room better suit your lifestyle. Media rooms are modern versions of the “rec rooms” of yesteryear. A media room typically serves as the main family gathering area, computer area, and music listening area. The room usually houses a television of varying size, connected to various sources, such as cable or satellite, a DVD player, a gaming system, with an audio system (stereo or surround sound). Family rooms, living rooms, dens, or bonus rooms are ideal spaces for media rooms.
Whereas a dedicated home theater is designed for specific entertainment: enjoying movies, sporting events, concerts, favorite television programs, and video gaming. Theater systems are usually comprised of a large
flat screen or front projection television as the centerpiece, connected to a high performance audio system
with surround sound. Areas that can be isolated such as basements, attics, bonus rooms, or spare rooms
work well as dedicated home theater spaces.
For many clients, media rooms are a perfect solution. For movie and music connoisseurs, a dedicated home theater is an essential part of the home. These private screening rooms are used for watching movies and listening to music, as well as online gaming and browsing your favorite internet sites. Home Theater rooms integrate audio, video, lighting, room acoustics, even specially designed seating and automation into a luxurious cinema environment. A true cinematic experience evokes the various emotions every culture and generation can understand. The right technology and setting has the ability to transport you to the middle of heart-stopping action, to far off distant lands, to vivid magical places, to a chill producing private performance at Carnegie Hall.
Bringing “Theater” to your Home!
Domes was among the first companies in the nation to introduce the concept of home theater in the early 1980s. We are specialists in the field and have installed thousands. We guarantee that you will be pleased with yours! We design and install systems from small screen, entry level surround sound to “sky’s the limit” elaborate rooms customized with state-of-the-art equipment, acoustical wall treatments, theater seating, cabinetry, and Crestron home automation control systems.
Our design consultants will be happy to meet with you in our showroom, or in your home to answer any questions you may have and to get you started. Throughout the entire design, engineering and installation process, our project managers will work closely with you and your family, or your architect, designer, and contractors to ensure the most professional and rapid completion. Our system programmers will design a customized, hassle-free control system that can simply power on and off, or something more complex that
can dim your lights, operate your window shades, and start your movie at the touch of a single button. Your
system will be user-friendly and a pleasure to relax and enjoy. Now that’s entertainment!
Screen Size and Viewing Distance
The next steps are to decide both the location and size for your video display. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and THX Ltd. (a developer of quality standards founded by Lucasfilm) have recommendations on this subject. This step is very important to get right, and is probably the most difficult one to fix if you get it wrong.
Acoustics and Soundproofing
It is important to have a great picture, but a movie without good sound is not the preferred experience. You must be able to clearly understand dialogue. Great sound immerses you in a film’s sound effects. Some room acoustics do not lend themselves to optimal conditions. Another thing to consider is soundproofing. Will general or late night viewing disturb others? Many practical and stylish solutions are available to address these issues.
Choosing the Right Equipment
This is the fun part for most people. It is fun, but it can also be overwhelming. Our design consultants have a passion for this business. They derive great satisfaction by creating a system that will provide the most “bang for your buck” in equipment and installation. Let our experts assist you in putting together the perfect system for you and your family.
They will guide you through the significant improvements in video technology that give you a great picture for a fraction of the cost compared to only a few years ago. Recent improvements in home theater speakers have added a new dimension to the home theater experience making it even more enjoyable. Choosing the right equipment for your system should be an experience in itself, so let Domes make it a good one!
