DIY Roundup: 10 Links and More to Help You Build Your Home Theater

Whether you are looking to build your first home theater or makeover an existing space, it’s tough to figure out where to start. Much like an artist staring at a blank canvas, you need some inspiration to help you make the leap from empty basement or den to fully functional home theater. We have collected some links from this blog and our website to help you get going on a home theater of your very own:

1. Building Your Very Own Home Theater – Where to Start?
2. DIY Home theater Video from Lane Furniture
3. Ancient Tips to design Your Home Theater – Feng Shui Ideas
4. “Theater-in-a-Box” Packages
5. How To Install a Home Theater System
6. DIY Home Theater Design
7. How To Measure for Home Theater Seating
8. Designing Your Perfect Home Theater
9. Setting Up Home Theater Acoustics
10. Entertainment on Any Budget – Economical Home Entertainment

Image from shutterstock.com

These articles are a great starting point, but when you are in the thick of building your home theater, it helps to have a community of like-minded enthusiasts to answer questions, offer encouragement and share their own projects. To help you on that front, here are three of the top forums used by the home theater community:

1. AVS Forum
2. Home Theater Forum
3. Audioholics Forum

With these links (and the rest of the Internet) at your fingertips, you have no excuse not to get out there and start building the home theater room that you have been dreaming of. Of course, when the time comes, you’ll want to invest in the perfect seating to cap off your home theater space.

Building Your Own Home Theater PC on the Cheap – DIY HTPC Systems Under $500

Image from istockphoto.com

With so many different gadgets attached to your home theater system, you might ask why you need to add a PC (personal computer) into the mix. The answer is simple, a Home Theater Personal Computer, or HTPC is capable of integrating many of the tasks that previously required different components. These tasks include recording TV, watching steaming video, storing digital media files and playing music, to name a few. The best part about HTPCs is that they can cost very little money to build or program, even by computer novices. Also, HTPC’s can be configured to work with a remote, eliminating the need for a keyboard and mouse on your couch.

If you would rather purchase a fully functional HTPC off the shelf, there are many options available that still meet a low budget. Companies like Assassin HTPC and Performance PC offer complete systems for less than $500. System costs go up from there with high end systems available for thousands of dollars.

For those who don’t mind (or even relish) getting their hands dirty, here are three inexpensive ways to build your own HTPC:

Convert a New Computer – Computer manufacturers have created smaller computers called Small Form Factor for light computing tasks like internet browsing or running a cash register. Despite their size, these little PC’s pack enough processor and graphics power to stream HD quality video. They are also small and quiet so they won’t take up much space in your entertainment center. Ideal products include the Shuttle X350 and the ASUS EEE Box. As an added bonus, Windows 7 and 8 come with a Media Center that can do most of the tasks you need. For those who want to stay away from Microsoft, an Apple Mac Mini also makes a great HTPC with plenty of blogs and forums dedicated to it.

Convert an Old Computer – Most people have an old PC gathering dust in their closet or basement. These can easily be converted into powerful HTPC’s with very little money. All you need is an HD capable video card and the XMBC operating system. This Linux-based system is designed to control all of your media functions with very little memory usage. How-to guides and tutorials are available all over the web like this great article from Tech-2.

Build One from Scratch – For those who love to build things from scratch, the Raspberry Pi development kit is a perfect solution. This is a Linux-based computer board that is the size of a credit card and has enough computing and graphics power to make a good HTPC. It’s used for hardware development and DIY projects by students, hobbyists and entrepreneurs. Lifehacker, the DIY website, loves the Raspberry Pi and has a great tutorial on building a raspberry Pi HTPC.

Indianapolis – Area “Superman” Home Theater Goes the Distance with Style and Power

image from electronichouse.com

Vikram Rao did not originally set out to create a superhero-themed theater, but as his “Fortress of Solitude” took shape with high end components, professional sound-proofing and a striking red / blue / black color scheme, HT fans watching his progress on AVS Forum quickly dubbed it the Superman/Man of Steel Home Theater. Rao has been passionate about movies and music since childhood, so he spared no expense to transform a room in his basement into the ideal entertainment space. Rao hired many experts to help complete his vision, including custom home theater builder/contractor Jeff Parkinson, who brings his passion and mechanical engineering background into every project. As this massive project took shape, every detail was displayed on this AVS Forum thread that quickly grew to 32 pages.

Soundproofing: The room is built more like a bunker with 12-inch concrete walls on three sides, and rebuilt walls and ceiling are stuffed with R19 and R25 material. The wall studs (doubled for strength) hold four layers of drywall with Green Glue noise dampening compound in between each layer. The flooring hides acoustic rubber mats underneath the plush carpet, and the stage is filled with many bags of ordinary play sand.

Audio: The peak output of this massive sound system is 15,000 watts. Seaton Catalyst front speakers combine with JTR, Procella Audio speakers and an 18 inch sub to deliver rib-shaking sound that has driven some patrons from the room! Rao worked directly with JTR and Seaton Experts to get the system working perfectly. The seat riser also works as a bass trap to keep the sound from traveling to the rest of the house.

Video: The 144-inch Seymour Screen takes up the front of the room and is acoustically transparent to allow all sound from the front speakers and subwoofer to thunder through. Crisp video is delivered by an Epson Powerline Pro Cinema Projector. This is linked to an Oppo BDP-103 Blu-Ray Player and Sony PS3 to get the best out of DVD and Blu-Ray media.

Design: The Red, black and gray walls and floor are broken up by sweeping curved risers and soffits. Blue LED rope lighting runs throughout the theater and is hidden by custom-made wood lips. The glowing blue light contrasts nicely with plush red carpet, giving rise to the Superman/Man of Steel moniker. Six plush leather home theater seats provide the ideal seating for guests to enjoy movie night.

Electronic House Magazine recently interviewed Vikram Rao about his home theater. You can read the article here. For a jarring contrast, see their slideshow of 5 Bad DIY Theaters.

Building Your Very Own Home Theater: Where to Start?

Many people dream of turning that unused bedroom or basement space into an awesome home theater room. Looking at that empty space opens up a variety of possibilities that are only limited by imagination (and budget!) The biggest problem at this stage is knowing where to start. Do you buy the electronics first? How do you design and build the room? These and many other questions start to flood the mind and make your home theater plans seem like an impossible task. Don’t despair! There are some simple questions to answer that can help you focus your vision and build the home theater of your dreams.

How Will the Room be Used? – Will your home theater be used primarily for watching movies or sports? Will it also be used for video gaming? How many people will be able to use the room at once? Figuring out the use and capacity of your home theater will help you zero in the right size of screen, number of home theater seats, size of the sound system and other factors. For example, a small home theater that the family uses to watch movies will be different than one that you invite your friends over to watch the big game. The former might only need a few seats while the latter will need seats that are stain resistant (from spilled snacks and drinks). Knowing what components you need like a Blu-ray player, game console or media PC will also help you determine the cables and other accessories needed.

What Size and Shape is the Room? – The room’s layout will likely dictate the size of your home theater. Small or oddly shaped rooms may only be able to accommodate a couple of seats while others can have multiple rows. To find the optimal number of seats, use this home theater measuring article to calculate your aisle width, space between rows and distance from the screen. This will help you decide how many seats to put in and the size of the screen, (not to mention if you can put that tiki bar in the corner or not).

What Theme are You Going For? – Some extravagant home theaters are built around a theme like that of a pirate ship or drive-in theater. Others are just a bare room with furniture and components added. Whatever your tastes, figuring out the theme beforehand will save you money in choosing your colors and décor. For example, you may want to build the room around a beautiful painting or memento. This makes it easy to choose your color palette and decorating scheme. You can go all out and design your room from scratch, or use something like this Theater in a Box kit.

No matter what your plans, you should get a licensed contractor to help you build your home theater. A professional can determine the best way to shape your vision and will often think of little things that you might not have considered. Now, get out there and start planning your home theater, and when you’re ready, check out TheaterSeatStore.com to furnish it.

DIY Lane Home Theater Video

Lane home theater seating products are amongst ours and our customer's personal favorites.  The line of seating options available from Lane has expanded significantly since the demise of Berkline to fill the gap that existed with their departure.

Top sellers include the Lane 103 and 175 models which are feature rich and meet excellent price points.  The 103 Matinee includes deep in arm storage and a tray table in a footprint that is large and supportive.  This contrasts somewhat with the 175 seat which has a space savings design but also a high seat back for excellent upper body and neck support.  Both models are available in power and manual recline under a TheaterSeatStore quick ship program.  Lane's legendary brand warrants the products against defect to allow for complete peace of mind and enjoyment.

Here is a great DIY video that the Lane team have developed that educates home theater enthusiasts on how to develop a dedicated home theater oasis.  While the process can be challenging, this video should motivate anyone who is good when it comes to the DIY space and minor renovations and build outs.

Another great resource for a DIY home theater project is this article our team created recently on DIY Home Theater Design.  It provides some great resources on planning and getting ready for the project so that the end result matches your expectations.