Start with a good-quality HDTV with 1080p resulotion, and at least 32-in in size for small room, up to a 62-in for a larger room. LCD TV or Plasma? LCD TVs have been coming down in price, and their brightness and contrast have been approaching that of plasma TVs. Look for a LCD with high brightness and special treatment for deep blacks, such as the Toshiba REGZA.

• Help you choose LCD or plasma, the appropriate size, and right features for your home theatre needs.
• Mount the TV on the wall
• Run cables
• Tune and optimize the TV setting s for optimal picture quality
• Integrate with Control4 Home Control
• Calibrate with the player settings

The projector needs to be bright enough for the room – 1,000 lumens should be a goal. The contrast ratio should also be sufficiently high, a minimum of 10,000 :1, for a quality picture. It should be capable of good motion reproduction, and not too noisy, around 20-30 dB maximum.

• Help you choose appropriate size, and right projector features for your home theatre needs.
• Mount the projector on the ceiling
• Run the connecting cables from the projector to the player/receiver
• Tune and optimize the projector settings for optimal picture quality
• Integrate with Control4 Home Control
• Calibrate with the player settings
• Install a local surge projector just for the projector, to protect the bulb, which can be very costly to replace

Fixed or Motorized? If you need to retract the screen from children, or to preserve décor, a motorized screen is a must. A 92-in screen is considered the “typical” size, but you can go to 120-in or even larger.

We recommend a tensioned screen for all retractables, as they will stay perfectly flat for life. As for screen coatings, Draper and most other suppliers offer coatings specifically to enhance movie-watching. Finally, consider an acoustically transparent screen if the room design forces you to place speakers behind the screen.

• Help you choose screen size and features for your home theatre needs.
• Mount the screen on the wall
• Identify correct height/location from seating.
• Connect to electrical supply through on/off control relays.
• Integrate with Control4 Home Control
• Calibrate with the projector

Probably the most under-appreciated and critical components of a home theatre. The sounds has a phenomenal impact on the overall theatre experience. Do not compromise on the receiver!

Choose a good receiver that has high-quality sound reproduction qualities, HDMI inputs, and the DTS, Dolby, and DTS-HD audio decoders necessary to recreate the surround sound effects from the latest Blu-ray players.

• Select the best receiver and power level for the room and speaker sizes.
• Calibrate and balance the sound levels to suit the room and speaker placements
• Run cables
• Test for optimal sound characteristics.
• Integrate with Control4 Home Control
• Calibrate with the player settings

Use 5.1 surround sound as a minimum. Use speakers that are suitably sized for the room – not too small. Use in-wall if possible, as you’ll have no visible wires on the floor, and no speaker to trip up over.

The centre channel speaker is the most important – do not skimp on this one, as 75% of all your sound comes from the centre channel.

• Help you select appropriate size and power levels of speakers
• Install inside walls
• Run cables, in-wall or external.
• Place for optimal effect
• Choose in-wall or on-floor subwoofer

You need a good Blu-Ray player that will load quickly, upconvert regular DVDs to high-resolution 1080i or 1080p, and will successfully load and play your entire library of older DVD movies. You should also have BD-Live (Bonus View) for future compatibility. We like the Panasonic DMP BD55 player.

• Install and test
• Run HDMI and digital audio cables
• Test BD and DVD play
• Integrate with Control4 Home Control
• Upgrade firmware to latest version

You’d never believe it, but clean electrical power makes a very noticeable difference with a home theatre. The picture is remarkably clearer.

• Connect all sensitive equipment to the power conditioner
• Adjust for optimal power protection

Seating can make a big difference to your movie enjoyment. TriVista offers Elite Home Theatre seating. Available in a variety of configurations with options such as motorized recline, cup holders, seat pockets, and the Crowson TES (Tactile Effects System).

• Help you choose the best style and configuration of seating
• Connect TES actuators to your receiver, so you can feel the sound
• Work with your contractor/designer to place seats at the appropriate location/height