Home cinema installation in Mildenhall and Suffolk

Dedicated room or living room cinema?

Plenty of people start with the living room and move to a dedicated room later, so we plan wiring with that possibility in mind.

Consider how many people will usually watch, whether the room has to work for gaming or sport as well as films, and how close it is to bedrooms where others may be asleep.

• Dedicated cinema room

  A room used only for watching, often a spare bedroom, loft, garage conversion or basement. It allows a bigger screen, more speakers, darker surfaces and full control over light and sound.

• Living room cinema

  A room that still works for everyday TV and family life, with cinema sound and a large screen that does not take over. The equipment needs to blend in and stay simple to use.

Large TV or projector

A large TV is bright, sharp and copes well in a room with windows, which makes it the usual pick for living rooms. A projector and screen can give a much bigger picture for the space it takes up, and the screen can be fixed or roll away when not in use, but it performs best when light can be kept low.

Seating distance, the size of the wall, whether the room can be made dark and how often it is used in daylight all point towards one or the other. We talk you through both, and in many dedicated rooms either can work.

Projectors also need thought about where they sit. Ceiling mounting keeps them out of the way, but the position is set by the screen size and the lens, so it has to be planned alongside the seating.

Laying out surround sound

Surround sound relies on speakers placed around the seats rather than all at the front. A typical layout has left, centre and right speakers around the screen, surround speakers to the sides or behind, and a subwoofer for the low end. Height or ceiling speakers add sound from above for films mixed to use them.

Speakers can stand on the floor, hang on the wall or be recessed into walls and ceilings for a cleaner look. The exact positions depend on where people sit, so we plan the layout around the seating rather than the other way round.

Room shape plays a part too. Square rooms and seats pushed against the back wall can make bass boomy in some places and thin in others, so small changes to where the sofa sits can make a noticeable difference.

Light, acoustics and hiding the kit

Rooms with hard floors, bare walls and big windows bounce sound and light around. Rugs, curtains or blinds, soft furnishings and darker finishes help both picture and sound, and in a dedicated room it is worth thinking about how much noise carries to the rest of the house. Lighting that dims when the film starts adds to the occasion.

We run cables inside walls and ceilings, place speakers so the wiring stays hidden and put the equipment in a cupboard or rack out of sight. Where a room is still being built or converted, pre-wiring at that stage gives the cleanest result.

One-touch control, and seeing it first

A cinema should be easy for everyone in the house to use. We set up one-touch control, so a single button or app turns on the screen, the sound and the source, and dims the lights if they are connected.

We also make sure it is straightforward for guests and children, with clearly named sources and a simple way back if someone presses the wrong button.

If you would like to see and hear options before deciding, book an appointment at our showroom at 8 High Street, Mildenhall. Call 01638 515551 to arrange a time and we will talk through your room and how you plan to use it.