How to Build a Media Room
While I love the versatility of locating the primary television in a family gathering area, that location often makes it difficult to create an ideal atmosphere for watching movies. If you are a television and movie aficionado and have a spare room in your home, you may want to consider turning that room into a media room.
There are two primary benefits to a media room- better acoustics and better viewing conditions. These conditions are present because of things like: an absence of windows (or good room darkening blinds), low ceilings, dark ceiling/wall paint, dark carpet and furnishings, proper viewing distance and angles, etc.
Identify (or Build) a Room
The first thing you will need to do is to identify a room. If you only have one option, then your job is done. However, maybe you have more than one unused room or can swap the furnishings of one room with another. Or maybe you have an unfinished basement you are currently designing a floor plan. If you are using existing equipment, try to go with a room size that matches your screen size. Here is a viewing distance calculator. If you are working with a clean slate, you can design to your personal preference. I would prefer a fairly large room because it allows flexibility with screen size and furnishings. You can always fill extra space with side tables, a popcorn machine, a DVD rack, etc. I ended up with a room that is 20 feet long and 16 feet wide with a 7 1/2 foot ceiling height (due to duct work). The room is in a buried basement and has no windows. I chose windowless french doors for the entry (that swing out instead of in so that the screen is not obstructed as people enter and exit the room).
Address Pre-wiring, Lighting, Flooring, and Sound Insulation
After you've selected the room, take care of anything that requires cutting drywall. Pre-wire for speakers. Pull adequate electrical wiring. Try to have a dedicated circuit for your surge protector. Is there sufficient lighting? If not, add sconces and/or recessed lights. And remember, any lighting that is controlled by a switch can be remotely controlled. See my article on remotely controlled dimmers for additional details. These dimmers integrate beautifully with universal remotes such as the Harmony One. If you plan to use a ceiling-mounted projector (as I did), you will need to run the necessary cabling (HDMI and power) from the projector to the equipment rack. For power, you can add an outlet on the ceiling next to the projector mount or run the power alongside the HDMI cable. I chose the latter because I wanted the projector to run through my surge protector.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want sound insulation. You can either blow insulation into the wall or attach acoustic panels to the face of the wall. Along those lines, hardwood flooring may not be the best option for good acoustics. If you do have hard flooring, use are rugs to absorb some of the sound.
One final item- I had a 12 inch raised platform built in the back of my media room. It is 6 feet deep and creates a nice stadium seating effect for the rear row of chairs. Or course, this needs to be built prior to installing and flooring.
In Part 2 of this article, I'll cover paint, furnishing, and finishing the media room.
Jon
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[...] Part 1 of this article, I discussed reasons why you may want to build a media room, choosing a location in [...]