The best home theater experience is achieved with proper home theater room setup.
A home theater cannot be setup like any regular living room or den - it has special requirements so you can get the full experience from the sight and sound of the movies you watch. There are very specific things you can do to make your viewing experience the best it can be.
While it may be tempting to put your seating and equipment at interesting angles and your speakers on whatever is handy, this will degrade the sound and view of your home theater. The best set up, of course, is one much like that of a full sized movie theater. The room should be carpeted or have an area rug to give the best acoustics, and the walls should be decorated with non-reflective items - blankets, tapestries, and other similar wall hangings are good for absorbing sound.
The seating in your home theater room setup should be thick and comfortable, with thick upholstery to absorb sound waves. It should positioned in the rear center of the cinema facing the center for the screen.
The display itself should be centered and facing the viewing area. The center speaker should be either above or below the display and aimed at the center of the seating. Left and right speakers should be to the side of the display, and the left and right surround speakers should be alongside and just behind the seating, elevated a few feet above the viewer's head.
Light should be as controllable as possible. Use opaque curtains to block all incoming light, and make sure all lights can be turned off. If nothing else, view only at night. Blocking out all light is essential to getting the best picture. Also try to minimize noise in your home theater room setup - it should be as close to completely quiet as possible when no movies are playing.
Good home theater room setup will give you the best most full size theater-like experience.
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