HTA 10- Stages of my Home theatre’s construction

Below are the Typical Stages of construction of your Home theatre

1. Deciding on a Theme: Once the room has been finalized, a contractor can help you with the theme, colour combinations, as well as seating layout for your theatre. The possibilities here are limitless, and you can pretty much choose any combination you want as your final look. You also have to consider acoustic panels; Using patterned fabrics or decorative print material, these panels will add an edge to your theatre’s look besides enhancing the audio effect. 
2. Blueprint/Diagrams: This is the step where your architect or contractor lays out the blueprints for the room specifying the dimensions and specifications for the construction of various elements of your home theatre.

As you can see in the sample plans, every minor aspect has to be included here to ensure perfect execution of the theatre. Some little details you’ll want to check at this stage are if you have any special requirements, maybe a custom wood panelling directly into one of your walls, the design proposal has to encompass these aspects.

3. Wiring/ Panelling (Framing)/ Drywalling: Once the design is complete,Wiring is completed for all locations (speakers/AV receiver/Projector/Screen), while contractors simultaneously work on the wood panelling (over the concrete walls) or drywall installation and also the multiple layers of flooring (raised seating levels for recliners at the back etc) in the theatre.
4. Insulation & Acoustics: The insulation material (to be discussed further in the next article) is now added along with the carpeting, and inspections are made to ensure minimal sound escapes the confines of the theatre, and also that the audio quality is optimal.
5. Installation of speakers/AV equipment: All the speakers/Woofers/projectors/other fancy AV equipment you have purchased will now be slotted into their positions and tested.

When is the best time to call a Home theatre expert while constructing your home? Simple Answer: The earlier, the better. Planning for your home theatre during the blueprint stage itself allows you to dedicate a room for the theatre and ensure proper wiring/cabling/wood work/Finishing. However, if you’ve already ventured partway into construction, then don’t fret; we can still re-work on a bare room that has been partially/fully constructed.

If you’d rather have an expert design and deliver the best Home theatre solution for your home, do speak to our experts in any of our experience demo centres in Bangalore (JP Nagar, KR Puram or Sanjaynagar). For address and contact details, visit www.thasmai.net and check out our great budget personalizer as well!

HTA 10- Acoustics in the Home theatre

It’s time to dispel a commonly held notion; that the most important component of your theatre’s auditory experience is the brand of speaker you purchase! While it’s true that buying a high performing speaker can greatly enhance your Theatre’s audio quality, the sound from the speakers is only a fraction of the overall sound ‘effect’ in the theatre. The room itself plays a vital role in the final sound you hear from the speakers, this is where you will encounter an important term- Acoustics.

Acoustics

refers to the interaction of sound waves with the room’s surfaces, the final sound you hear combines the direct sound that travels straight from the speakers to your ears, and the indirect sound — the sound from your speakers that bounces off the walls, floor, ceiling and other material in the room before finally hitting your ears. All the objects react differently to different frequencies of sound depending on what material they’re composed of, and their shapes. Hence, every speaker system will sound different in different room setups.When sound hits a surface, some of it is absorbed, while some part of it is reflected &some is transmitted through the surface itself.

Do not confuse Acoustics with sound proofing, the latter deals with minimal sound loss/shrinkage from the Theatre itself, but Acoustics deals with how to best get optimal sound within the Theatre. Acoustics mainly deal with reducing/eliminating echoes in the room, as well as managing different frequencies to give you the best sound for that room.

Typical Acoustic treatments involve using absorption material like Foam or Wool, and Diffusers, and keeping a balance of smooth surfaces with uneven material/designs to ensure sound travels evenly to all parts of the room, and avoid emphasizing one range of frequency while damping out the others.

In general, the design should have about 50-60% of the surface area – wall, ceiling, and floor area, absorptive, most of these absorptive surfaces should be in the part closer to the screen. The rear end of the room (away from the screen) should contain more reflective surfaces; this helps diffuse the sound from the rear speakers more effectively.

If you’d rather have an expert design and deliver the best Home theatre solution for your home, do speak to our experts in any of our experience demo centres in Bangalore (JP Nagar, KR Puram or Sanjaynagar). For address and contact details, visit www.thasmai.net and check out our great budget personalizer as well!