Going to the movies is fun. The latest action blockbusters, swooning rom-coms, and thought-provoking dramas are best enjoyed on the big screen with immersive sound. It’s an experi­ence that’s hard to beat. But the cinema experience isn’t always perfect. Long queues, high prices, and noisy people with bright phones can sometimes ruin the magic, as well as wanting to hibernate once Tassie’s cooler months hit.

Imagine bringing the immersive experience of cinemas right to your living room – so here’s our ‘take’ on building your own home theatre.

Find a Room

The first step is working out the space you’ll dedicate to your home theatre. Building a home theatre is a different beast to simply upgrading your movie-watching in the lounge room, which you can do so by buying a high quality TV and surround sound. You’ll need a room big enough to fit your screen and seating, and one that can be isolated from the rest of the house. Ideally, a room with four walls and a door is best, so the movie magic can be uninterrupted. While hard to retrofit, a con­crete-floored basement is best for preventing sound from disturb­ing nearby rooms, but even a spare bedroom can work.

Planning and Construction

Seating, acoustics, lighting, and electronics – there’s a few things to plan. Whether you’re modifying an existing room or building one from scratch, this will involve some construction work, such as running cables and installing features. Consulting with professionals is a good idea. Paint the room in darker colours for the best experience, and when choosing flooring, carpet is abso­lutely the best for sound quality. You’ll need an A/V rack, which is where all your equipment will live. The rack should be placed near an electrical outlet, with easy access to internet connections.

The Screen

The main question here is, TV or projector? A TV is the simpler choice but they’re smaller than projector screens. If you’re after that huge cinematic feeling, a projector is the way to go, but they do need installation in the front and back of the room, and the bulbs need to be replaced every now and then. When choosing a TV or projector screen, follow the basic rule of thumb: the ideal TV size (diagonal) is about half the distance between you and the screen. So, if you sit 3.3 metres away, a 65-inch (1.65m) TV would work perfectly.

Sound

You can choose between box speakers that sit in the room, wall-mounted speakers, or in-wall/in-ceiling speakers. The latter is closest to a true cinema experience. You’ll want to decide on your speaker system early because it will affect the room layout and construction.

Seating

Comfortable seating is a must. You can go for single seats, two-seaters, or larger lounge chairs, depending on the space. You’ll also want to decide if you want reclining chairs or seats with built-in cup holders and other tech. Do you want rows of seats, like an actual cinema, or a cosy, single row? If you’re doing rows, it’s important to raise the back rows higher than the front so that all can see the screen.