Fun ways to improve your home theater experience

We are living in the midst of one of the most exciting eras of television and technology – from edge-of-your-seat action series to big-game sports. And with more great films becoming available at home sooner, and gaming becoming increasingly realistic, the need for superior home entertainment systems is growing.

In fact, U.S. consumers spent $18 billion on home entertainment in 2013, according to recent statistics from The Digital Entertainment Group.

So if you’re thinking about giving your home any upgrades this season, one change that will increase the enjoyment of your family room or living room is improving your home entertainment system. There are a number of fun ways to update your home entertainment system to ensure family movie and gaming nights are extra exciting:

Ambiance

To get the real movie theater experience, set up your home theater system in a room without windows, such as a basement or interior rec room. If that’s not possible, consider a thick set of curtains to completely block out natural light. This will give your room the right look and feel while enhancing the picture quality of your movies, shows and games.

When it comes to curtains, framing the screen with a velvet red, gold or purple curtain adds a touch of old-time theater elegance. Consider setting up an automated system that simultaneously dims the lights and draws back a curtain in front of your screen. If you want to go all out, paint the walls black, maroon or another dark color and install theater-style seating and red carpeting.

Show Time!

Whether playing the newest video game or enjoying a movie in your home theater, remember that bigger is better. Luckily, innovations in projectors are making them a great bet for home use.  A slim design that’s portable and starts up quickly is a great versatile choice that can be used at home, or on-the-go.

Look for options that are low-maintenance and energy-efficient. By opting for a hybrid laser and LED light source for your projector, you won’t have to worry about brightness degradation over time as you do with mercury lamp projectors, which lose half their brightness after 3000 hours of use. For example, Casio’s SLIM series of projectors, have a light source that can last up to 20,000 hours, which means less maintenance than lamp-based projectors which require frequent  lamp replacements, making operation more eco-friendly and affordable.

Delight the Senses

Now that you have your eyes and ears covered, consider the rest of your senses. Offer family and friends traditional theater snacks. To invoke the movie-going experience, consider an old-fashioned popcorn maker.  You may also want to stock your rec room with a mini fridge so you never need hit pause on your game or movie for your next beverage.

With a few tweaks to your space, you can turn your ho-hum family room into a superior home theater.