Designing a dedicated home theatre room (1 Viewer)

[Katie08]

Can someone please give me some advice on dedicated home theatres? You all look like real experts on media rooms so I would really appreciate your advice. We are looking to convert two small single bedrooms (each size 10' x 9') into a single dedicated media room by knocking out a separating wall. This means that the room would be a long, narrow rectangular room of approximately 20 feet in length x 10' in width. Is this size OK or is it too small for a 5 foot projector screen? The two bedrooms currently have doors opening out on to a rear hallway that is an additional 4 foot in width and extends down to the laundry. We were wondering whether (or not) we should knock all the walls down and have the media room extended in size to approx 20 feet in length x 12 feet in width. There are windows along the hallway wall (facing the rear garden) but we could block these out with security screens. What is your advice about the size of our prospective media room and what do we need to do to ensure that the area is suitable insofar as acoustics is concerned? What sizde screen would be suitable for this area? Thank you!

 

[Mr645]

Seems a 20' long room would be better off with a screen closer to 8 or 9'. The first step is to finish the room with control over light and sound. External light control is critical with a projector, And sound control is an important step is quality sound, and the typical weak link in most home theaters,
What kind of budget to you have to work with, and what is your goal in the end

 

[greggor]

I think your room dimensions are adequate for a good theater (maybe just a bit narrow) Knowing your budget and which equipment you already have verses what you need to purchase are key to determining the details.
I did a dedicated HT room in the basement of my last house and it was the funnest and most rewarding project I've ever done. With this being said there were some things I would have done differently after the project was completed. Since you used the word dedicated this implies that the room will be a theater room first, which to me means that you'll want it to appear as much like a real theater as possible. You'll want to consider things like hiding your components or placing them off to the side in a built in, so you're not staring at them when you're watching a movie.. You'll want the largest screen you can fit on your wall (this was my biggest regret), and you'll definitely want to get a projector (spend the money for a quality model). When I did my room I ran all the wiring through the walls (prior to dry-walling) and left additional wiring for future upgrades, speakers and components were hidden well placed or hidden well (no regrets here at all). Lighting was integrated into the remote and I had macro functions for watching things like Directv, DVD, Video games etc. You'll want a remote capable of providing you with the same features. Think about seating.
This is just to get you thinking. This will be a very fun project and if you do everything right the pay-off will be enormous. The best advice I can give you is to think about the details and take your time making decisions. When it's finished you'll want a room that is easy to use, logically designed that makes you forget you're in your own house. Good luck!
Greg