Since your new home is empty and the walls are likely to beat up a bit already and you’re thinking about painting anyway, now is the time to make some holes in those walls to hide your home theater wiring!
If you have the time and resources, do some research into wiring several rooms of whole-home audio. You can finally have some tunes playing on the patio for a summer dinner, in the bathroom while you’re showering, in the kitchen while you’re baking, in the dining room while you’re eating, or any of your bedrooms.
Figure out where you want everything and set yourself up for an efficient move. Here are some tips for your home theater planning:
Get good cables – not great
The difference in quality from cheap cables and wires to good cables and wires is great. But the difference from good cables and wires to great cables and wires isn’t big enough to justify the price difference.
Too much is always better
Make sure you have enough cable to get the job done. Walk out the cables you’re going to use and remember that you’ll likely be securing it at right angles, which takes more length of wires than if you just went from Point A to Point B. Plus, you might need to run the wires a little farther than you expected because of the entry points of your entertainment center.
Use cable clips – not staples
When you staple the wires and cables in place, you run the risk of injuring the wires or diminishing the feed coming through. Use plastic cable clips and run them along your baseboards to keep them out of the way – and out of your sight lines.
Choose a wall that doesn’t face windows
Make sure you don’t set your TV up facing a window, or else you’ll be looking at a lot of glare when you should be looking at your favorite TV show or movie. If you have to set up across from a window (sometimes it’s unavoidable), then get some dark curtains to put in front of them when you watch TV.
Backlight your TV
Put some soft lighting behind your television to help you see better. While too much light in a room can affect your enjoyment of your home theater, so can too little light, as your eyes get strained after watching TV for too long.
Keep off the light switch
You don’t want to have your entire entertainment system plugged into the wall outlet that happens to be connected to a light switch. You’ll be shocked how often people will turn it off on you, ruining your chances of recording things on your DVR.
Now is the best time to set up your plan for your home theater! If you’re buying new equipment, like a new HD TV or a set-top box like Roku, make sure you have the best digital services for the cheapest prices.
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This article was contributed by David Gonos, Content Manager at DigitalLanding.com. If you’re buying new equipment, make sure you have the best digital services for the best prices – check DigitalLanding.com to see what TV and internet deals are available in your area.
