Home Theater: Ready For The Final Cut – Finishing Your Home Theater

Part Two

by: Liz Roberts

By now your home theater should be ready for your screen, projector and light dimmer. You’ve already settled the audio in place and it should be ready to rumble – literally. It’s now time to put the finishing touches on your in house movie plex. Just proceed with the same care that you had when installing the audio.

Movie screens can come two ways. One is “glued” to the wall using special paints that will accompany your screen kit. Another is mounting using a mounting board. The first method involves first priming the intended area with a special paint that's included in your screen package.. This is done with the first marked bottle of “solution” that comes with your screen (everything will be included along with instructions). You’ll apply this with a specially designed roller (also included in the kit). Now mark the perimeters of the screen area with masking tape. Prepare the adhesive paint according to the kit’s instructions and using the specially designed roller, Spread it onto the designated area. Roll on the included optical surface mixture After this you’ll want to make a frame for your screen to absorb often rough edges of the movies that will be shown. Use a doorway trim or molding for this. (you can make it yourself or go to a DIY store) and paint it a flat matte black. Miter the frame’s edges and carefully place it and the screen onto the wall according to instructions.

The second method involved making a mounting board in which to “ hang “ the screen. Before installing the screen two holes have to be put into the sheet rock. One will be for the television’s cable while the other is for the electrical receptacle that will provide power. At this time you can also set up the universal remote that ‘s a basic master control. It will power six pieces of equipment. It communicates with a master censor that receives and relays both signals to the TV and other components. Try sitting with the remote firsthand to get a better sense of where you’ll guide it and the easiest way to activate your controls.

Now bore two more holes through the bottom of the wall to where your wires will go. Push the wires through this to your nearest outlet. Using fish tape, pull the opposite ends through to the two holes. Set in an electrical box, and attach the wires through this to a receptacle. Mount the outlet in place and attach the cover plate. Now that they wires are in place you can mount your plywood spacer. Screw it directly into the wall studs. Next attach the television mounting plate. This piece was also secured to the wall studs with heavy lag screws to bear the TV’s weight.. Drive these in using a socket wrench. Attach the accompanying mounting brackets to the back of your TV screen. Carefully set the screen on a large table (or floor if there’s no table around) so power and cables can be attached to it. Now, with an assistant’s help, lift the screen into place . The TV’s weight will automatically be transferred to the wall studs. It can then be locked into place so it won’t be knocked free. Install the sensor box in the corner of the same wall the screen is on.

After this you can now install your projector if needed. The best place for it to be is mounted on the ceiling. This will give your home theater a more polished look. Before doing this, however you’ll need to know the fixed distance between the projector and screen. Every projector has a different throw ratio – that is the distance from your screen and the width of the image being projected. The closer the projector is,. The smaller the image will be. Ten feet is a good width away. Before you mount, experiment with different distances to get the most easiest picture on your eyes. You don’t want to wind up with any kind of eyestrain after watching your favorite films. You can have your projector switch from being a ceiling one to a table one as well. Just don’t permanently mount it. Allow it to be detachable.

Another important factor in any movie theater is the lighting. An automatic dimmer can effortlessly take you from light to dark and vice versa. Dimmers are relatively easy to install. First of all, shut off the circuit at the main service panel and remove the housing over the switch. Unscrew the switch and lift it out. If the box is metal, be very careful not to let the screw terminals on the switch’s side touch the box. Test the power with a neon tester (a device that glows to let you know if the electricity is on our not). Probing one switch terminal and the bare grounding wire. Now repeat this test for the other terminal. Proceed if the neon test light doesn’t glow.

Cut off the wires in the switch terminal, using a wire cutter or stripper. Strip about ½ inch (12mm) away of insulation of the two cut switch wires. Wire your dimmer. Remember, that if it has two black wires, it has no polarity so twist each dimmer wire together with either one of the switch wires. Screw on a wire nut. If the dimmer has a green wire, connect it to your grounding wire.

If your dimmer has black and red wires, then wire the black one to the incoming power (line) and the red one to the lights (load). To identify the wires pull both switch wires out of the box. If you have a plastic outlet box, pull out the bare wires too. Keep them far apart from each other. Have your assistant restore power. Again, use the neon tester to probe one switch wire and the bare wire(or the metal box). If the tester glows, that is the line while the other is the load.

Once the theater is finished, you can now dim the lights, and pop in your favorite movie. The work and the time invested are definitely worth it. You’ve made a home theater that would rival Steven Spielberg’s. Sit back, relax and watch. Popcorn is optional.