Three Common Questions About Home Theaters

Dreaming of a home theater? Not sure if your have the right space? TYM’s Matt Montgomery shares answers to the most common questions he receives from from clients.

During the last two weeks, we’ve had a chance to showcase several of our home theater packages in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes.  We love the Parade. It’s always a great time to showcase some of our best work, and get valuable feedback from all those attending.   There’s three common questions that we’ve received that I thought it was worth answering here.

Dedicated Theater Room vs Media Room

I’ve been surprised how many people think they have to have a dedicated theater room.  So many people say to us, ‘we want to have a theater, but we don’t have a room to do it in.’ Nonsense. You can put a projector in just about any room you want, and frankly I think you should put a projector in your goto room for watching movies.  Sure a ‘Theater’ in it’s truest sense would be a dedicated room where you can control the lighting, and soundproof it perfectly.  That’s all great, but you can have a projector and screen in any room in the house where you want to watch a movie.   If you’re conscious about esthetics you can use roll down screens, and they even have lifts for projectors that keep them stowed away out of site in the ceiling.  But more importantly, it’s ok to put a projector and screen in an open area of the house.

A ‘Media Room,’ or a multi-purpose room.  Yes lighting control is something you should take into account, but it’s not a deal breaker.   You simply need to purchase the equipment that matches your space, but rest assured you can have a rocking theater in a open room, even one with windows and lots of natural light.

Retros & Remodels

So we can install a theater into just about any room, even if it’s never been pre-wired for a theater.  You have two options, go wireless or cut some small holes in the sheetrock that need patching.  Wireless speakers are great, you can get great surround sound from Sonos, and there’s they new WiSA speakers coming out this year that are phenomenal for wireless cinema audio.   You can also do wireless HDMI to your projector.  In the wireless department, the biggest challenge is getting power to your projector, and that can be done with a little creativity.  The other option is to cut sheetrock.  Before you get nervous about cost of cutting sheetrock, understand first what we mean.   We aren’t talking about cutting down your whole ceiling, we cut a few ‘pull boxes’ into the ceiling. These are small square holes, about the size of an outlet or light switch.  We cut several of the pull boxes strategically in the room and use those to pull wires to all the locations you need.  Cost to patch these holes is minimal, but you also have the option of just blank face plating them if you don’t want the trouble of patching and painting.  In any event, don’t be deterred, by a little drywall work.

How Does Projection Compare In Price To Flat Screens

Lets assume you are thinking about a flatscreen in the range of 75-80.”  Talking HD only, not 4K, both Sony and Samsung currently sell their 75″ for $2,499.  Sharp’s 80″ retails for $3,999. Those are great big TV’s for sure, but for the same amount you can purchase a projector and a 120″ screen. Would you rather have an 80″ screen or 120″ screen? If you’re thinking about a 75″ screen or bigger I say go projector. If you are thinking 65″ or smaller, than yeah I say go flat screen.

Free Consultation & Estimates

TYM Homes provides each new client with a free home theater consultation and estimate. Contact us today at 801-783-1958 or sales@tymhomes.com and we will help you design and build your dream home theater.