The Disappearing Act!

Sometimes a media room can’t just be a media room. Whether it serves part-time as your living room, family or playroom or garage, being multi-functional is often a requirement. Thus tiered cinema-like seating and drop-down projection screens aren’t always at the top of the list—which is why Tha Media Room specializes in being able to create the perfect media space in any home of any size. We cater to your needs, whatever they are. If you’re looking for a media space, but can’t dedicate the entire room on a permanent basis, we can help you make it work!

One of the cool ways to successfully accomplish a multi-use media room is with a hidden TV. There are so many ingenious ways this can be done, from a fireplace mantel-turned-entertainment center to a reflective mirror that becomes a television screen at the click of a button.



Paintings can be pulled down in place over a screen, masking it as a work of art, or you can have a TV that flips up into the ceiling and stores flat—becoming unnoticeable when not in use.



Make your TV disappear completely into a hidden compartment by pressing a button for it to appear or hide away, or the simplest solution of all is to conceal the screen with a hutch or entertainment center that matches your décor.



The possibilities are endless, and we’re full of ideas! Contact Tha Media Room to design your perfect media retreat today.

Box Suite Set - Part 2

Why limit it to one television? If sports are indeed the name of the game then multiple screens will make you feel like you’re on the set of ESPN. You could have a large main screen with smaller TVs to one side, or a huge dropdown projection screen and smaller televisions on opposite facing walls of your media room. Or you can pick something completely different that works for you—it’s all about custom, custom, custom!

Tha Media Room is also your go-to source for speakers and surround-sound systems that will make you feel like you’re right at the game. Placement and quality are both super important in maximizing your speaker’s effectiveness, and we can help you decipher all those sound decibels and wall mounts to achieve the perfect setup. Lastly, consider implementing a wet bar of sorts to hold your cold beers and snacks. Then get ready to cheer on your team to victory! Call Tha Media Room today to create your dream sports haven right in your own home.

Style Me Up

You might have picked out your perfect television or sound system months ago, but have you given any thought to the type of media room you’re after? Our pros at Tha Media Room are full of ideas and explore a few of the possibilities in today’s post on media room styles.

Theater

Following true cinema style can appeal to many, especially if you’re creating an in-home media room or just that: media. Experience the feel of a regular theater without having to leave your own home. Drop-down screens, oversized TVs, projectors and traditional media seating (complete with cup holders!) will accomplish this in style.

Contemporary

Clean lines and simplicity reign supreme in modern-style media rooms. Contemporary sofas are a great start to setting the theme, with slick flat screens, track lighting and minimal accessories adding to the ambiance.

Traditional

If your home is already traditionally decorated, then incorporating a similar style in your media room can be a cinch. Continue the theme found in your other rooms—whether it’s wood paneling, vintage sofas or wall colors—and incorporate into your media room for a seamless consistent look.

Multi-functional

For some homes, incorporating a separate, dedicated media room isn’t always an option. Making the space multi-functional can bring in all those special effects you’ve been wanting without having to sacrifice the room’s use. Hideable TVs or retractable screens as well as ambient lighting are great for this purpose. In addition, arrange your furniture to accommodate conversation with guests when being used for entertaining, but also with a view of the screen for those family movie nights.

Lavish

If you want to impress, your room needs to be dressed as such! Deck out your digs from floor to

ceiling with theater seating, top-of-the-line equipment, speakers galore and even multiple screens. You’ll be the talk of the neighborhood and then some.

Movie Reel

With the growing demand for 3D TVs—like Samsung’s 8000 series we previously discussed, or the impressive THX 3D certified LG INFINIA PX950 Plasma Series—so is the demand for the films to play on them. While it’s still a growing market, Blu-ray has a firm grip on the business as the only current supplier of 3D DVDs. But Tha Media Room has done our homework and foresees the future of 3D to be a particularly bright one.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was allegedly one of the first 3D movies released to the general public, but a slow trickling of additional titles have now reached mass audiences—much to the delight of quality picture film enthusiasts. M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasty adventure film, The Last Airbender, hit shelves exclusively in Best Buy in November 2010 and received a warm welcome. Now many a fan are awaiting the December 2010 3D release of Resident Evil: Afterlife, which will also still be available in Blu-ray 2D and 2D DVD formats.

Aside from DVD releases, upcoming films are promising a huge business boom for the 3D industry. The eagerly anticipated Tron Legacy film hits Imax and 3D-capable theaters on December 17 of this year, preceded by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Seth Rogen takes on his unusual role in The Green Hornet, coming to cinemas in January 2011; and May 2011 promises to be a blockbuster event with the 3D release of Kung Fu Panda 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Thor and potentially the fourth installment of the Spider-Man films.

Now all you need to find are those dang 3D glasses you keep misplacing.

Man Cave Series: Power Speakers

As we continue our fun-fetched series on creating the ultimate “man cave” for your in-home media room, today’s topic falls to the ever important subject of speakers. No media room would be complete without the sonic boom of a sound box, blasting the sounds of your machine gun as you pelt down the enemy in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Once you’ve established the theme or look of your space, Tha Media Room can help determine the optimum speaker placement for maximum effect. There’s no golden spot that dictates where a speaker should always be placed. It often differs based on the arrangement of your furniture, the shape of the room and, of course, your personal preference. When installing surround sound, it’s common for the primary set of speakers to be placed to the right and left of your listening position. They should also be set above ear level when seated, so that they aren’t competing with your front-positioned speakers. There are several typical ways in which surround speakers can be installed, the most likely one to be mounting them in the intersecting corners of the wall and ceiling. However, speakers placed on book shelves or speaker stands are also an acceptable option.

Then there are also choices to consider that the new age of technology has graciously made available. Philips’ Ambisound SoundBar (pictured) is like the all-in-one package, featuring 5.1 surround sound from—you guessed it—a single bar of speakers. Thus installation is easier, wire count is less, and you’ve got a slick looking speaker bar that all your buddies will envy.

The Man Cave Series: Custom, Custom, Custom

Warning: This post is full of man-centric material! Today Tha Media Room is kicking off a three-part series that gives in to the traditional thought process that a media room is the “man’s place.” It’s often deemed the venue where he can install all his high-tech equipment and blast the football game with his buddies over beers. Yes, we know it’s a cliché and yes, we can create media rooms that are just as appealing to women! But we thought it’d be fun to capitalize on the ultimate media room - the “man cave” – and all the ways to personalize and customize it to your heart’s content.

Installing a media room into your home, or transforming an existing room into the media station, is definitely a task for the professionals. We at Tha Media Room have seen it time and again – people try to take on a heavy duty installation job with inadequate tools or working knowledge and end up crossing wires and busting holes in the wall that never had to be there in the first place! Have one of our professionals first come out and examine the desired room and discuss your ultimate goals for the space, from seating to speakers. Then we can propose a customized plan to get the job done and create your ultimate “man cave” from top to bottom.

Remember when taking on the media room challenge, customization is the name of the game. You want that 50-inch plasma mounted on the wall? We can do it. Stadium seating? Consider it done. Don’t compromise yourself when you have a concrete vision in mind; you want to be thoroughly satisfied at the end of day when you walk into your media room to relax and escape.

If you’re in need of inspiration or ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Tha Media Room proudly carries a long list of the top vendors for custom home applications. Browse their websites, flip through a couple catalogues and take a gander at your latest newspaper ads to get a feel for what’s out there and what you are drawn to. Then bundle up all those ideas and drop ‘em off with our professional experts at Tha Media Room and we’ll get started creating your dream space!

Installing a media room into your home, or transforming an existing room into the media station, is definitely a task for the professionals. We at Tha Media Room have seen it time and again – people try to take on a heavy duty installation job with inadequate tools or working knowledge and end up crossing wires and busting holes in the wall that never had to be there in the first place! Have one of our professionals first come out and examine the desired room and discuss your ultimate goals for the space, from seating to speakers. Then we can propose a customized plan to get the job done and create your ultimate “man cave” from top to bottom.

Remember when taking on the media room challenge, customization is the name of the game. You want that 50-inch plasma mounted on the wall? We can do it. Stadium seating? Consider it done. Don’t compromise yourself when you have a concrete vision in mind; you want to be thoroughly satisfied at the end of day when you walk into your media room to relax and escape.

If you’re in need of inspiration or ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Tha Media Room proudly carries a long list of the top vendors for custom home applications. Browse their websites, flip through a couple catalogues and take a gander at your latest newspaper ads to get a feel for what’s out there and what you are drawn to. Then bundle up all those ideas and drop ‘em off with our professional experts at Tha Media Room and we’ll get started creating your dream space!