Love watching your favorite flicks on the big screen? There’s nothing better than recreating that experience at home with your very own home theater system.
Now we know that a high-resolution television (perhaps even 4K) is a necessity to elevate your movie watching pleasure, but it’s not everything. There are many other components that come into play to make sure you get the best picture and sound, and movie watching experience.
So whether you want a family room (or multi-rooms in your house) well-prepped for weekend movie nights or need to design and install a dedicated home theater room for a client, read this post to learn about all the equipment you’ll need to upgrade your home theater system this year:
Pay attention to cable management
Cable management is by far one of the most overlooked aspects of setting up your home theater system. Messy cables that look like balls of spaghetti creeping up behind an expensive TV, just don’t look classy. But that’s not the only reason you need to pay attention to your cabling.
Pro AV integrators know that you should segregate different types of cables to minimize electromagnetic interference. So for example if you run your power cables on the left, then you should run your AV cables to the right to stop cable interference and also make cables easy to access. While you’re at this, arrange cables at right angles, as diagonal cable setups will lead to tangles.
We recommend:
Affordable reusable cable ties — Color-coordinate, label and manage your cables easily without breaking the bank. 150+ choices!
Rip-Tie® cable wraps and ties — Reliable, reusable cable management, made in the USA.
J-hooks — Prevent snags during installation, strong and stable
Add futuristic equipment
In the past few years there has been a lot of new technology unveiled that can simplify and make TV watching a breeze, by eliminating multiple bits of hardware sitting unused around the house and offering game-changing connectivity.
For example, the NEO HDBaseT Matrix features Ultra HD 4K Video Transmission and allows you to access all of your connected devices from any room. So now you can access your games console, blu-ray player, satellite TV boxes and more on any TV in any room in the house. This can make your movie watching and entertainment experience both effortless and exciting!
We recommend:
Pulse-Eight NEO:4 Professional w/ HDCP 2.2 HDBaseT Matrix — Ultra HD 4K Video Transmission, 4x HDMI Inputs, 4x HDBaseT Class B Outputs, 3 year standard warranty
Save space with a TV mount
Save space by mounting your LED, LCD or Plasma to a free standing TV display system or discreet stand. A tilting, swiveling display stand is excellent for maximum viewing flexibility and when you need to save floor space. A sleek glass stand that houses all of your consoles can be an excellent alternative to a bulky wooden TV closet.
We recommend:
Calrad 47-116 Display Mount Bundle w/ Accessories — Tilting Flat Panel Mount (37 to 70 Inch), 4K Ultra HD HDMI Cable (6 FT), Screen cleaner — Great Buy!
OmniMount ULPC-L Large LCD Mount — Fits most: 37—55” TVs, steel tube construction for maximum strength and durability
Calrad 47-201 Elegant Stand with TV Mount & 2 Glass Shelves — Fits 37”-65” TVs, 2 tier tempered glass shelves, in-store pick up only
Calrad 47-200 Elegant Stand with TV Mount & 3 Glass Shelves — Fits 37”-65” TVs, 3 tier tempered glass shelves, in-store pick up only
Upgrade your cables
If you’re planning to invest in a 4K TV and 4K content, don’t skimp on the cables. For the best performance spend a little extra and invest in good quality 4K cables for superior signal transfer.
Pro AV integrators know that to get the best picture and sound, cables are something that you should not compromise on.
We recommend:
Calrad 4K cables — 24K gold-plated connectors, corrosion resistant, available in any length you need from 1FT to 50FT
Calrad 40-824-350 1 x 4 HDTV Distribution Amplifier (350 MHz) — Split the signal between 4 HDTV displays simultaneously, without loss of quality and resolution
Belden 4794R 12 GHz 4K UHD 75 Ohm Precision Video Cable — Maximize 4K transmission distance over a single coax, 12GHz bandwidth, Belden’s proprietary tri-shield design