Home Theater Placement

The overall quality of your home theater experience depends not just on the components you buy but also on the way that you arrange them in the room.

How to Arrange a Display

Depending on what type of display you choose for your home theater, there are a few placement options.

How to Arrange a Flat-Panel TV

A flat-panel display gives you the most flexibility when it comes to placement. You can:

Mount the TV on the wall: A wall-mounting kit is required to make the 1/4" to 1/2" holes necessary to wall-mount your TV. Some higher-end kits are even automated and can tilt the display in any direction.
Fake the wall-mounted look: If you don’t want to drill into the wall, you can create a fake wall-mounted look by hoisting the flat panel display onto a wide bar that’s attached to the home entertainment center.
Use media furniture: The traditional route of placing the TV in an entertainment center or on a media stand or table never goes out of style.

How to Arrange a Rear-Projection TV

Because rear-projection TVs are still big compared to flat-panels, the options for displaying them are limited. Larger rear-projection televisions are designed to sit on the floor, whereas most midsize to smaller displays can sit in a large home entertainment center.

How to Arrange a Projector

It’s best to mount a projector to the ceiling to prevent obstructions from getting in the way of the image. Initial setup of a projector is the hardest part, as you must ensure that the picture is level, even, and the right size. A flat, white wall is sufficient, but you may choose to use a projection screen to help boost image brightness and contrast.

TVs and Viewing Distance

Viewing distance refers to the intended distance between the display and the viewer. Generally, the larger the display, the farther away you’ll need to sit for optimum picture quality. The rule of thumb for determining viewing distance is to multiply the screen’s diagonal measurement by 1.5–3 or so, and then sit somewhere in that range of distance away from the TV. For example, if you have a 42" display, you should sit somewhere between 63" and 126" (5.3–10.5') away from it. Viewing distance is directly proportionate to screen size, so determine viewing distance before you buy your display.

Projectors and Viewing Distance

Projectors are a secret weapon when it comes to viewing distance. They can be used in an array of room sizes and can display images smaller than 17" and bigger than 100". Some consumers like the idea of a home theater projector because it can create a more theaterlike atmosphere, but there are a few factors to consider:

Controlled lighting: The room should be as dark as possible for the projector’s image to be clear.
Running cables and mounting: Whether you mount a projector to the wall or ceiling or simply rest it on a flat surface, you’ll need to make room to run cables.
Distance and square footage: To maximize the capability of your projector, you need a sizable room that allows a substantial distance between the projector and the screen or wall.
Burnout: Projectors require replacement bulbs, which can cost a few hundred dollars each.

How to Arrange Audio Components

There’s a science to setting up a home theater system—some people even make a living designing home theater rooms and studios that produce optimal sound and image quality. Many variables play into a surround-sound setup.

How to Understand Room Acoustics

Ultimately, a home theater’s sound quality depends on the acoustics of the room itself. Specifically, the shape of a room, any obstructions in it, and the types of materials used within it can affect its acoustics. There are three types of sound waves that play into a room’s acoustical quality:

Direct sound: These sound waves travel directly from the speaker to your ear with no obstructions.
First reflections: Rather than travel in a straight line, these sound waves bounce off of nearby surfaces, such as tables, floors, or ceilings, before reaching your ear.
Reverberation: These sound waves reflect off of several surfaces before reaching your ear. Reverberation gives a room a more cavernous feeling.

To ensure ideal acoustics in the room, try to balance these three types of sound waves so that no one type dominates.

Materials That Encourage Acoustical Quality

The types of surfaces that sound waves bounce off of can also impact a home theater’s acoustics. You can control this by using a balance of absorptive and diffusive materials.

Absorptive materials: Carpets, drapes, and other soft, padded materials absorb sound waves, dampening their quality.
Diffusive materials: Drywall, bookcases, and other hard, flat surfaces reflect sound waves, shattering them into small components that are dispersed throughout the room.

To achieve the right acoustics in your home theater, experiment with different materials in your seating, throw rugs, tables, wall hangings, and other furnishings. You can even buy acoustic absorbers and diffusers—products designed specifically to absorb or deflect sound waves—from companies such as Acoustic Vision (www.acousticvision.com)and Echo Busters.

How to Position Your Speakers

The following guidelines will help you position speakers in a traditional 5.1-channel surround-sound system:

Position the front left and front right speakers in an equilateral triangle from the primary and most direct viewing seat. Angle the speakers in toward the primary viewing seat approximately 30°.
Place the front center channel speaker as close to the television as you can, on top or below it if possible.
Place the rear left and right speakers equidistant from the primary viewing seat and higher than the front speakers if possible. Angle the two rear speakers toward each other.
You can place the subwoofer almost anywhere. However, its sound quality relies heavily on its size, dimension, and placement in the room, so try testing it out in different places until you figure out where it creates the best sound.

(If you buy an HTiB, its manual will include diagrams that explain proper setup of its surround-sound system.)

How to Calibrate Your Home Theater

Once all the components of your home theater are in place, you need to calibrate your display and speakers—that is, adjust them for image and sound accuracy. If you leave your TV and speakers at their default settings, you may not be getting the highest-quality image and sound that your home theater is capable of.

How to Calibrate Your Display

You can adjust the brightness, contrast, color, and other image settings manually or with the help of a calibration DVD. This disc contains various test patterns and may even walk you through the process of picking the right settings for your TV. You can buy a calibration DVD at an electronics store or from a website such as www.smarthome.com.

How to Calibrate Your Speakers

Calibrating your speakers starts with the A/V receiver. Most receivers come programmed with a setup menu that you can view on your TV and use to configure the receiver to communicate correctly with your speakers. This setup process includes choosing the distance between the speakers and programming that measurement into your receiver.

Next, you’ll want to calibrate your speakers for optimum audio quality. There are a few ways to do this:

Use a calibration DVD: Many of the same DVDs that calibrate televisions do the same for speaker systems.
Use special equipment: Part of calibrating your speakers correctly is measuring the sound pressure of each speaker. A sound pressure level (SPL) meter helps you judge the sound levels and achieve surround-sound balance. A spectrum analyzer helps you adjust the frequency of the sound waves (the shape of the room and obstructions within it will affect the desired paths of sound waves).
Calibrate your speakers automatically: Some advanced speaker systems—and virtual surround-sound speakers in particular—can be configured to calibrate automatically.

If you’re willing to spend more money, you can even hire a technician who’s certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) to calibrate your home theater for you.

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