I love movies.
I mean I really love movies and going out “to the movies.” Some of my favorite times have been in great movie theaters. Unfortunately, there are very few great theaters around today. If you’re not careful the typical cinema-plex experience is like being herded into a boxy, sticky room with the sound turned up too loud, the bass overwhelmingly, ear-rattelingly extreme, and the audience rude, noisy, and occupied with everything from talking to messing with their phones.
So I built a movie theater in my home. It’s been ten years now and it was a terrific decision. My family and friends have had wonderful times in my little theater.
When I first had the idea of putting a movie theater in my basement it was simply with this thought: if I bought (or borrowed) a projector like we have at work, put a sheet up on the wall and got a couch this could be “kinda like a movie theater.”
And then I discovered just how much you can do with a little time, planning, and the right equipment. It doesn’t have to be expensive, either (or it can be as expansive as you like). Almost anyone can have a real movie theater experience. The “screening room” use to be available to only the very rich and the top Hollywood moguls. The fact that I have one sometimes makes me swell with pride up to Louis B. Mayer proportions.
If you want a great movie watching experience, you have to do more than display the movie. Yes, you can watch a movie on your iPhone or iPad, but it’s not a great movie watching experience. The TV in your family room is not a movie theater.
A great movie watching experience is about huge pictures, immersive sound, and the isolation of everything else. It’s possible to do in your home, just not possible in any room. This week I’ll cover some of the basics of home theater and share a bit of what I’ve learned. It’s worth the effort and the difference is stunning.
Here’s the first thing I learned: everything you need to know is on the AVSforum.com. The people there have some amazing theaters, are deeply knowledgable about the subject, and are happy to share what they know.
My theater? I call it Cinema Murray. And as you’ll see, I tend to take my hobbies VERY seriously.
The You Can Have A Movie Theater In Your Home by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.