Home Theatre and Entertainment Budget

• Some of the hidden costs along with the home theater include its installation, cost of high-end cables and good quality speaker cables, carpeting and soundproofing the room and cut off the light by heavy draperies. These costs can go as high as 15 to 20% of your entire budget.
• Normal TVs last longer than plasma televisions and can more easily be repaired and made good.
• If you love latest technology then don't give in to the temptation of buying a cheap TV that is not HDTV capable to save a few bucks.
• Research for the best features for lowest price on home theatres and get one installed by a professional only.
• Check whether the DVD player you are going to buy can play DVDs of all types and formats.
• You may want to buy a video projector to get the big picture for your own cinema hall experience.
• Low-cost home theatres usually include surround-sound system, amplifier/s, a digital decoder and a DVD player.
• Big and bulky but tested CRT TVs have the best picture quality for much lower price than flat screen TVs.
• You really don't need powerful speakers, amplifiers or huge screens in small rooms. So, choose sensibly.
• For setting up a home theatre system in a lounge or family room, you do not need to a very large projector and floor-to-ceiling carpeting.
• Ground floor is best for theaters and bass sound often tends to diffuse to the lower floors.
• Home theatre room must be dark with a dimmer switch to adjust the lighting to relieve the strain on eyes. Lighting should not fall directly on screen or face of the viewers.
• Use sound absorbing materials such as carpets, thick curtains and acoustic paneling to furnish the room; choose the room that is the quietest and keep it as empty as possible for enhanced audio quality.
• Any bedrooms near the home theater and entertainment room should also be made soundproof.
• Don't use smooth reflective surfaces in this room such as tiles and high-gloss paints that reflect sound, hindering the complete experience.
• For saving space, you can use a roof-mounted projector and an automatically retractable screen.