From your TV and speakers to décor, we can help you create the ideal entertainment space in your Pacific Palisades home

Whether you’re watching UCLA or USC football in the fall, enjoying a family movie night or hosting a party, your media room is one of the focal points of your home. As such, you want a media room designed for the highest-quality audio and video performance as well as comfort and style. Our team at DSI Luxury Technology has extensive experience building these spaces for homeowners in Pacific Palisades. Today’s blog offers some tips on how creating the best possible media room installation.

SEE ALSO: 3 Media Room Upgrades You May Not Have Thought Of

TV AND SPEAKERS

The centerpiece of any media room is your TV and speakers. Here are a couple points to keep in mind when deciding on the equipment you want for your home.

As far as TVs go, it’s important to balance screen size with image quality. You’ll want to buy a 4K TV, ideally one that also includes high-dynamic range (HDR) imaging to give you a wider, brighter array of colors on the screen. If you want to go all out, consider buying an OLED TV. Unlike older TVs where the screen is lit from behind or to the side, each pixel on an OLED screen is lit individually, giving you higher color contrast and a sharper picture.

Next up: your speakers. You want your media room to be set up for surround sound. That means you’ll need to allocate space for three speakers up front, at least two speakers behind or to the side of the seating area, and a subwoofer. This speaker configuration gives you a basic 5.1 surround sound setup (five audio channels plus a subwoofer). If you’re worried about how your speakers interfering with your décor, you can install hidden speakers in your wall or ceiling.

LIGHTS AND SHADES

While outside light sources aren’t as much of a concern with a media room as they are with a home theater, you still don’t want interference from sun glare. The best, most convenient method to manage the light in your media room is by using smart lighting control and motorized shades.

A lighting control system is a worthwhile investment for your entire home, not just your media room. Smart lighting control gives you streamlined control over every fixture in your home from one device, such as your phone or a touchpad. You can then quickly group fixtures by room to set your lights exactly how you want them, no matter where you are in the house.

Motorized shades work very similarly. Once installation is complete, you can raise or lower any shade in any room from anywhere in your home. For optimal efficiency and convenience, you can integrate your A/V system, lighting control and motorized shades. Integrating these systems lets you create custom scenes that give you control over multiple devices with a single command. Once your scene has been programmed, you can press one button to turn on your TV and speakers as the lights dim and the shades lower.

MEDIA ROOM EXTRAS

Now that we’ve covered the essentials, we can move on to other aspects of your media room.

It’s important not to overlook the seating in your space. While comfort is a significant factor, from a design perspective, the key issue is where your furniture is placed. You want your furniture to be optimally positioned for surround sound and how well the audience can see the screen. Generally, the distance between the screen and the viewer should be about 1.5 to 3 times the size of the screen.

Finally, let’s talk about how to decorate your space. Don’t be afraid to add some personal touches to your media room. You use an aesthetic based on your favorite movies or genres, hang vintage movie posters on the walls, perhaps even add a popcorn machine. No matter what décor you choose, make the space your own.

We’re standing by to help you create your ideal media room installation. To learn more, call (310) 432-2381, click on the chat box in the corner of your browser or fill out our online contact sheet.