Table of Contents
How to use this guide
Download the Home Theater Checklist Here
Quality Projector Buying Guide
Quality Movie Screen Guide
Speaker Buying Guide
Theater Seating
Other Good Resources
Downloadable Guide to Home Theater Products
I would recommend printing this out and taking it to the store with you as you look at products or browse the internet. This is meant to serve as a guideline so that anytime you come across a product, you’ll be able to reference it and know what to look for.
It’s so easy to get caught up in what everyone says about a product especially the reviews that seem to contradict everything about a seemingly good product. What ultimately matters is what you want, and some people are way too critical of how something looks or sounds.
The rest of this article is a more in depth explanation of each item on the checklist and why it’s important to consider. I did my best to put in everything that I thought was relevant for each product.
How to Use This Guide
In this article, I’m going to discuss everything I possibly know and have researched about finding the best home theater equipment.
This article is best for people who don’t have the current products to create an essential home theater. While there are décor suggestions featured in this article, it is ultimately meant to be a tool to find the best projector, screen, speakers, and seating for your needs. There are a million different directions to go and way too much information about finding the “best one” of each.
Be sure to look over the checklists to make sure that each product is meeting all your needs.
If you have any further questions, comments or just want to reach out, feel free to reach out at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond!
Choosing Between a Projector or a TV
- TV Pros
- Easy to set up- can do almost anywhere around the household
- Less expensive for better quality
- Don’t need as big of a space
- TV Cons
- Smaller image size
- Less immersion
- More strain on the eyes
- Projector Pros
- Easier for more people to view at once
- More immersion
- Easier on the eyes
- Projector Cons
- Must have a way to mount the projector on the top or behind the viewing room
- Higher quality projectors tend to be more expensive than TVs
- Cords have to be routed to the projector from the front of the room. This picture above will help you better understand that. Just make sure you have a plan to manage cables and cords if you decide to go with a projector.
*If you decide to go with a projector, I recommend getting blackout curtains if your room has a lot of light in it.* This will give you the best image quality especially if your projector isn’t that bright. Plus you can also use it during the day.
Is a 1080p TV and a 1080p Projector the same? While they are technically the same, I honestly think a 1080p projector looks better since the image is a lot bigger BUT it is still the same quality. A smaller 1080p HD TV won’t have as many pixels per inch since it is smaller.
Is a TV cheaper than the same quality projector? No. Projectors offer a better image quality for a bigger size at a cheaper cost per square inch. If you were to buy a 120 inch TV instead of a projector and screen you would pay around $1,500 vs $700.
Quality Projector Buying Guide
Lumens, fan noise, throw distance, and quality matters the most.
- Lumens are how bright your projector is. A projector that is too dim won’t provide an enjoyable experience if you feel like you’re always having to squint to see things clearly. Watching movies like the Dark Knight where there are a lot of dark scenes can become anti-climatic real quick if you can’t see what you’re watching. Make sure the projector has a minimum of 1500 lumens. 2000 and above is ideal!
- Fan noise becomes annoying if it’s too loud. But it’s also important that a projector can properly ventilate without blowing up. Every projector will make a little bit – a moderate amount of sound if it’s on and enclosed in a room for more than an hour. But a good fan won’t be loud as soon as you turn it on. A cheaper projector will most likely fire up a loud fan right away and I don’t recommend one that does that.
- Throw distance is how well a projector can display an image from a given distance. Basically, this is a measure of how well it can display a quality image from afar.
- At least 1080p resolution display. The last thing you want is to spend a decent amount of money and still feel like the image is too grainy. A 1080p resolution display will look fantastic.
** Make sure you have at least 10ft of distance from the projector to a 120-inch screen in order to completely fill it ** You don’t need to actually calculate the throw distance on Google, but use this measurement as a way to tell how well a projector will display on your screen.
Your life can be made a lot easier if it comes with image adjustment and tilting features that can be changed without having to physically adjust the projector. Check out a quick clip in this video to show you what I’m talking about. The full video review of this projector is on my YouTube channel.
How long does a projector last? My family has heavily used our projector for two years now and the bulb hasn’t shown any sign of wear and tear. Bulbs can be replaced for around $100 for the Epson product that I have. They last forever though! Our bulb is estimated to last 5000 hours before replacement, and I can say that after two years, I don’t think we’ re anywhere near that nor will be for another few years.
Below is a video review of the projector that I have. It is the Epson 2040 (2045 is the same model) and I absolutely love it. I actually have an extensive article review on it that you can find below as well. I think this product is a good base product to reference when looking for a projector online or in the store.
This is also the type of image quality you can expect for this price range. Image quality gets better right until you hit the $2000 mark and then after that, I don’t feel the quality is dramatically improved.
Choosing a Quality Movie Screen
The screen doesn’t need to be overanalyzed or thought about as much as the other components. A good screen should be portable, made from cineWhite or synthetic material (the kind they use in movies), and durable. I would also recommend that its easily cleanable, ie it can be machine washed to remove dust, dirt, or any smudges.
There is no difference between indoor and outdoor movie screens. The outdoor ones can be inflatable and I don’t like those specifically because they take longer to set up and slowly deflate throughout the night.
Instead, I would find one that looks easy to put up and bust down. I use the Elite Screens 120 inch projector screen for both indoor and outdoor movies and I absolutely love it. If you want to see why check out the video review below of the one I use.
To recap, it shouldn’t be hard to find the same synthetic material that actually movie theater’s use. If you can ensure that’s what you are projecting on, then you’re using the best material. being able to set it up or move it is also something I recommend looking for.
What to look for when choosing a screen
- Easy to set up and take down. Even if you don’t decide to move it around as much as I do, you want it to be in a space where it’s easy to adjust if it gets. My speakers sit right next to the screen and when I need to get to something in the front, I often have to take the screen down for a quick second. I would also add in that the screen should be lightweight if possible. Most good screens are.
- Machine washable. It will get slightly dirty over time. Dust and outdoor elements like bugs will leave a mark on the screen if you use it outside a lot. Being able to strip it down and throw it in like its laundry means that it’ll never be a hassle to get it clean. You don’t want a screen made from poor material to where it can’t even handle being washed. Ours is machine washable and it’s awesome!
- 16:9 Ratio. I’m not sure why screens come in any other dimensions. I feel that a 16:9 aspect ratio of any size is the best and most natural fit. Most screens will come as this ratio, but it doesn’t hurt to double check.
Should I get a black or a white screen? Black screens have been argued to offer better contrast to color, but I don’t think they’re better. I have a white screen and I think it does its job perfectly. Black screens also work but I think there is a reason the market favors white screens more.
Choosing Quality Speakers
There are 3 types of speakers. They all offer the same quality and don’t vary that much when it comes to that. But some are more practical than others depending on what type of setup you have and how much space there is.
Based on your living space, there are 3 different types of speaker systems. These are all quality examples and it really comes down to how well it accommodates your set up.
Floor Speakers
The above speakers are the Polk T50. Best for a realistic experience, listening to music, or if you have a large TV/screen. They don’t need to be placed on a stand or table and its easy to implement multiple ones throughout the room. It’s best to get a two channel system according to Best Buy.
Going for around $100 on Amazon, it’s affordable to get a second pair and create surround sound with them. Reviews say to get banana plugs so it’s easy to configure your system. It’s also kid-friendly and won’t break as easily since it’s completely sealed around the outside.
Think about how much bass you want with your speakers. I would say these are the best ones if you’re on a budget because they sacrifice the quality of the bass. The higher in the price you go for speakers, the better the bass quality will be.
Bookshelf Speakers
If you plan to get a projector set up, I honestly recommend bookshelf speakers- as those are the ones we have used for many years with great results. They’re easy to set up
Best if you have less space, want the highest audio quality, and don’t care as much about heavy bass. These are the best of the three to create a true surround sound feel. I wouldn’t actually set these up on a bookshelf because the sound won’t be able to diffuse very well.
With these speakers, you can also buy a stand for each of them so they can sit higher off the ground (that’s what we do).
The above speakers are the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2. My family uses the Bose shelf speakers from years ago (they’ve been discontinued for some reason) but we paid about the same price as the above speakers (around $300).
Center Channel Speakers
You can technically use any speaker as a “center channel” and it’s all about preference for this one. Our TV setup has a soundbar and it’s awesome for it.
The best way to really determine if you will like a speaker system is to try it out at a store. I’ve found it hard to search online because you really can’t tell how good the sound quality is just by looking at a review video or article. Once you’ve taken a look at the ones you want, take a look at some tips for improving the sound quality without adjusting the speakers themselves.
I talked to Best Buy about getting the best sound and this is what they said
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- Soft surfaces on walls are good if you can afford to make that an accommodation because the sound will be evening distributed. Bookshelves and irregular protrusions from the wall like medals and décor can diffuse the speaker’s sound. This is also what a lot of us have in our DIY theater rooms, which is totally fine. My family has the most un-ideal wall surfaces but we still highly praise how well our Bose speakers perform during movies and video games.
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- Best Buy does free set-up consultations where they come to your house and do an analysis on which speakers are best for what you have. I guarantee my parents would have utilized this if they knew about this service before getting our Bose speakers. Because we didn’t, we had to try and return out quite a few speakers before we were satisfied with the right ones.
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- Ultimately trust your ears. There’s way too much information online and in stores to make you feel like your getting the best bang for the buck. If you like how it sounds then the other technical aspects don’t really matter. It’s not hard to tell how good a speaker system is.
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*Speakers made for surround sound will have certain presets that further improve the quality. Don’t just go with the default set up if you get a set of 2 or 4. Take some time to look into formatting them correctly for each corner of the room and you’ll be set for as long as you have them.
Good Resources For Home Theater Decor and Seating
- Comfort: this one is obvious but everyone will have their own preference for how they want their seats to feel.
- Accessories: you can easily go the extra mile by getting power reclining seats or ones with cup holders on both sides.
Home Theater Section on Pinterest– This is definitely the easiest place to get inspiration from when looking for set up ideas. Tons of people post unique and interesting ideas on here of all different calibers. This is the first place I would recommend starting if you’re still looking for ideas.
Stargate Cinema– A great website for finding the most unique and high end home theater seats. They also have some interesting accessories like popcorn machines and lighting products that I haven’t been able to find anywhere on Amazon or the rest of the web. They also have some more in depth articles on choosing home theater seating specifically from them.
4Seating– A high end website for the most dedicated home theater enthusiasts. They have some awesome sections that are just about decor, movie curtains, and things you can put on your wall to make it look more authentic. If you visit their site, you’ll also see that they have acoustic wall panels that you can get if you’re really interested in making your audio quality sound better.
Elite Home Theater Seating– The most premium home theater seating website I can find. I like this site the most because you can find a wide variety of chair styles. If you want cool designer style leather seats or cool logos, this is a good site to browse around on. They also have a wide variety that is more than just traditional seating such as their “cuddle” chairs for couples. Big, single seating units can be found as well.
Theater Seat Store: This one is similar to the Elite Home Theater website but what I like about this one is that it has some decent options for floor and carpeting. Their prices are competitive as well, as they offer around $4.90 per square foot. You could easily use this to cover an entire room or even a small portion of it. If you’re really into an immersive experience, they have seat shakers and amplifiers! If I ever become super rich or something then I would probably get one of these at some point.
How much does a complete home theater system cost?
Projector: $650
Screen: $150
Speakers: $600
Total: About $1400.
Setups can fluctuate completely depending on what you decide to invest in. Most people already have a speaker system of some kind so I would say the next biggest investment is the cost of the projector. Some people would call me ignorant, but I don’t think there is any real benefit in investing more than $1000 on a projector. We have a 1080p, 2200 lumen projector and I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to upgrade.
Every time I watch a movie on it I feel like I’m in the same theater as the Regal Cinemas that’s 10 minutes away. All the images look crystal clear, A LOT BIGGER, and it is even excellent for gaming.
What if I don’t have enough space to create a home theater?
Almost any moderately sized room can be turned into a home theater of some caliber (I guess the other word for this set up would be a form of a man cave). My room is actually on the smaller end, and the room itself was never intended to be a dedicated movie room.
You only need about 10ft of distance from the projector to the movie screen to fill the space of 120 inches. That’s honestly not that much! Most rooms in a house will be able to provide that. You just need to be smart about how you select your seating and maximize the space you have. I would also recommend getting bookshelf speakers if your space is small.
Some Unique Decor Items
I did some research and I found some interesting items that would really make a home theater feel authentic.
Popcorn Machines
Do you like popcorn during movie time? If you love it enough then maybe it’s time to look into authentic popcorn machines. I think these can get easily overpriced, but I found some around the $200 that seems decent. This would be awesome to get if you frequently entertain a lot of guests.
Concessions Stand
If you just do a quick search on Amazon or the web, consider getting a model concessions stand to put snacks into. These will make any room feel like a real home theater. Anyone who’s about to walk into the theater room can grab something and it makes the set up look all the more authentic.
Highlight Reel
There are so many variations of these ones that you can get all over the web. It’s just another decor item for the wall that would give a more rustic feel to it. I think the metallic ones look the best.
Conclusion
This definitely is one of the more beefy articles out there. I agree that it’s easy to get caught up in all the information that is out there. There’s no right way to set up a home theater. I think that all these should be used to accommodate the set up that best fits what you want to have.
Think of building a home theater as more of a DIY project/hobby rather than a step by step rulebook. When it comes to the core products like the projector, speakers, and screen, it’s not hard to tell which products are quality or not. I wouldn’t even say that the knowledge of “throw distance” or speaker type is that essential.
I’ve always taken a common sense approach into what works and I think that’s the best way to go at it. If you have any other questions or if I missed anything, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond. Thanks for reading!