Sounding Off

The basic sound requirement for an in-house media room is the 5.1 system setup—that translates as five standard speakers and a single subwoofer to maximize the sound from your entertainment resource. But today, more is better. Thus, 6.1 and 7.1 systems are coming into play on a regular basis, encouraging larger speakers, bigger subwoofers and more wires.

However, sound bars have impressively cleaned up the “speaker mess” with sleek designs and a simpler layout. Typically, a sound bar is much like it sounds. It can be 35 to 40 inches in length and five to six inches in height. The thin, slick profiles also complement the thin LCD TV screens that have saturated the modern market—making your home theater system a lot more attractive and less bulk.




Each speaker bar (like Panasonic’s new version, pictured) can include up to 40 individual “mini” speakers that function just like normal-sized ones and are displayed at various angles to best project the sound around the room. This results in a surround-sound experience without all the extra bolts and wires to install various speakers. Sound bars work best in small to medium-sized rooms and can produce the full range of sound quite capably, meaning there’s no need for a subwoofer unless it’s simply personal preference.

Come on in to Tha Media Room today for a breakdown of all your sound options and technology to make your home theater live up to your dreams!

Media Frenzy

We, at Tha Media Room, realize that not everyone has a wide-open expanse in his or her home to transform into a theater-like ambiance. We have worked with numerous sizes and shapes of homes, and rooms, to accomplish the same goal no matter what the circumstances—to create a personalized media space that you can enjoy. It’s important to realize that you don’t have to have movie seats, oversized popcorn buckets, the biggest TV money can buy and a tech-heavy entertainment setup to enjoy your favorite flicks. A few well place furniture items, a clean TV screen, a couple speakers and lights and you’re well on your way to enjoying a custom in-house media space that will be at your beck and call.

Many families turn living rooms into media centers, which means working above or around situated items like fire places or built in cabinets. You can also keep a room for its original function, transforming it into your media space as you desire thanks to drop down projector screens, fold-up television supports and even screens that double as a mirror or a work of art.

Don’t sell yourself short before you let the pros assess your media situation. We can advise some creative options and tactics to address your available space and turn it into a media haven you won’t want to leave. Call Tha Media Room today and let’s get started!

Blueprint Media: Part 1

At Tha Media Room, we walk our clients through every step of creating their ultimate at-home media space. This includes a variety of packages, ideas, options and building steps to completing the space that’s perfect for you. If you’re currently considering an in-house media room, there’s a basic outline you can keep in mind to lay the groundwork for creating and installing a super space that’s exactly what you want. Enjoy our three-part series on some of the key points to consider before designing your new media space!

First, consider the space itself. It can be a specific room in the house that you wish to convert into a media room or it may already exist and you’re simply looking to improve upon its current condition. It’s also not uncommon to consider using just part of a room if space is an issue or even converting a former garage into your desired media room.

Next up is furniture. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate setup. It can a simple arrangement of recliners and a sofa or it can be an over-the-top installment of theater-grade chairs in a stair-step tier. Give some thought to the type of furniture you’ll ultimately want in the room and how you might like to arrange it. This will give you a good blueprint to work from as you assemble the various facets of your media space.

In part two of our post, Tha Media Room will cover some of the big tickets items like your TV and a speaker system, so come on back!

Tips and Tricks - Part 1

Media rooms come in all sorts of shapes—big and small, long and short, tall and wide. The key is to making your room work for you. Tha Media Room has a couple tips and trucks up our sleeves to share with you to help achieve the best setup.

Make the screen the focus. This is a great rule to follow, especially if for any reason you’re unable to incorporate a supersized TV or projection screen. Use what you have and put it in a prominent position in the room.

Curtains are your friend. If black out shades aren’t on the menu—or simply aren’t your style—consider using heavy curtains on any windows in your media room to block out light. The same curtains and style can be used to frame your screen, which also imitates those used commonly used in cinemas.

If you’re intent on using your media room for watching only, then don’t be afraid to go dark. Black leather seating like media chairs or sofas and black or charcoal walls will make the space seem dark and quiet—perfect to kick back and watch your favorite film. Keep the theme up by incorporating dark accents in pillows, lamps and more.

Stay tuned for Part 2.....