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The two main things most people are looking to achieve with projectors are quality and size of image. These are directly affected by the location of the projector, as some projectors have a minimal required distance from the screen, for example – 4000mm .

There are a few ways projectors can be installed: on the ceiling, on the wall, wall-integrated or shelf mounted. For example, to achieve a 120 inch diagonal picture in a room that’s 6 metres long, it might not be possible to place the projector right on the back wall. It may have to be somewhere between 4100 and 4500mm from the screen. So before buying a projector it’s important to determine the right model for the room size and for the picture size you’re after.

Epson projectors are generally quite large and have a telephoto lens, which gives you more options for placement. Placing this projector at the back of the room could be fine to produce a 120 inch diagonal image, for example. Other brands like Optima, cost a bit less but might have to be placed at around 4 metres from the screen to produce the same 120 inch image. But if the extra capacity of the lens like on Epson projectors is not needed, Optima might be a better way to go for the cost. People sometimes buy projectors that are not suitable for the space they have, and this can cause quality issues. Projectors are not very complex, but they do require a bit of thought for planning and setting up of the room.

For image quality Full HD is suitable for most set ups. You don’t generally need to pay for 4K Ultra HD capability as currently there’s not a lot of content available at 4K. A good quality screen always improves the quality of the image. It is much better than projecting straight onto a wall. Fixed screen is always the best type of screen to have, as they work better for image calibration. Screens are made from a few different materials to achieve certain qualities of image reproduction. Screen Science and Amber Technology are two good screen suppliers.

Projector types

There are a few types of projectors – LCD, LED and laser are the main groups. LED projectors are a bit more expensive than LCD but you don’t have to replace the lamp as in a standard LCD projector (this usually costs around $300-$400). LED projectors last around 20000 hours or more when lamps in LCD projectors around 2500 hours. LED projectors also run a bit cooler than a standard incandescent lamp projector. When projectors get hot that can mean they might be a bit noisy with fans having to cool them.

Laser projectors are popular because they give a better contrast, blacks are blacker that in a traditional projector. Generally one of the ways to tell a good projector is how black the black is. Also newer laser and LED projectors on the market are getting smaller in size, which can be important for your set up. The most common projectors and cheapest are still incandescent lamp LCD. They are still good, just require a bit of maintenance with changing the bulbs. This may require a ladder, and they may need to be recalibrated after, ideally by a professional.

The best way to reduce the number of remote controls would depend on your set up and the extent of your understanding of the equipment you have. There are a few ways to do it, with 2 main ones. First one is to use all the devices you have and set them up utilising all the integration features they have available. Second option is more involved and would require installing a custom control system over the top of all the equipment already installed. 

Set up a primary device remote

In most cases using the existing controls efficiently is a great way to start. A lot of devices use CEC (Consumer Electronics Control)
With CEC you can use one device’s remote to control multiple devices. It could be a projector, TV or an AV receiver. Once CEC is set up the devices talk to each other and it lets you eliminate a few remotes. There can be some limitations with this. In my experience Samsung and LG TVs don’t seem to work well with CEC, they prefer their proprietary control systems.

For example CEC could work with a Sony TV, AV receiver with some devices connected like Apple TV. You would turn on the TV with a remote, then an AV receiver would turn on and the volume on the TV remote would control the volume for the AV receiver. Newer Panasonic and Sony TVs remotes often have a Netflix button on the remote as well. Often remotes for projectors are great as a primary remote as they are backlit which is great for in dark rooms.

These days when people get a new TV they often set it up with Netflix, ABC iView or other TV on demand services. So they would use their TV remote for pause, play, input switch, volume and cursor control. This is a nice simple way to operate your components easily. Adding other devices like Apple TV can be set up with CEC control. Some newer TVs also use Chromecasting for connecting devices computers and mobiles Chrome tabs. TVs have become a primary device for more people over the last few years. And you don’t tend to need as many external devices. CEC doesn’t cost extra and it can work with soundbars, projectors, bluerays, TVs, AV receivers. It doesn’t work for Foxtel, but in this case you just have 2 remotes, TV and Foxtel. And it’s generally fine as Foxtel users tend to use it more than any other content.

Custom control systems

If you do have a big complex set up then investing in a custom control system could be a good option.It would control all the devices as a “macro”. Pushing one button would trigger a number of different things, like turning on a projector, receiver, and select the right input on the receiver. It would generally make sure you have the right controls ready to operate, like Apple TV, Blue ray or Foxtel. This option costs from $1500 and is generally used for higher budget complex installations.

It can be set up with a control device like iPad mini. Being a backlit screen this is a good option for dark rooms. Regular iPads can work also but people often find them a bit big and less comfortable. Also some prefer a remote with tactile buttons rather than a screen.
Push controls is popular system for iPads. And RTI is another system on the market.

DIY

These options are inexpensive if you are happy to go through the instructions and give it a go. There can be some limitations with this in my experience, some functions might not work well. Some brands to consider are One For All and Logitech.

Something to keep in mind – buying a bunch of different devices could cause a problem for integrating them and using less remotes. It is a good idea to get advice from a professional installer about what equipment to get in the first place for the best result. This can save you costs buying unnecessary equipment and ensuring that the gear you buy works well together.

If you enjoy playing around with settings – device apps is another alternative for reducing the remotes. They are free from app stores and are constantly improving.

We recommend equipment that we consider good quality and value. This is not an advertisement or an affiliate content. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your installation – feel free to contact us.

The space you’ve selected for your home theatre will dictate a lot of your speakers choice. A dedicated home theatre room will give you a lot more choice than a living room. For living room, aesthetics of the room are very important as the set up needs to work well with other interior and not take too much space. For this often integrated or in-wall speakers are best, as they take little space and can be unobtrusive.

Speaker types

For dedicated rooms there’s a lot more flexibility for speakers: over-head ceiling, floor standing, integrated boxes with acoustically transparent screens. Integrated powered or passive units can be installed at an optimum ear height. Building a false wall will accomodate it’s physical dimensions and have a flat aesthetic across the front. Ceiling over-head speakers are the best option for Dolby Atmos dimensional sound, to create those special sound effects. Typically they will be integrated flush mounted. Placing them over head in my experience works better than upwards firing speakers that reflect sound off the ceiling. Four ceiling Dolby Atmos speakers are best, but having two also works well.

In-wall speakers require more installation work to fit them in and conceal all the cabling. Floor standing units will take less to install, and a on-wall system could be a good middle ground between the two, especially when smaller boxes are needed. But typically once the speaker budget is worked out then we work out what would be the best value for that budget when considering options.

Subwoofers

Subwoofers add a lot to a good home theatre system, they add energy you can feel. Having two subwoofers works best in my experience, they balance out the low frequencies across the theatre system. You won’t have to over-drive them and they will provide plenty of sonic impact. Subwoofers are usually big in size. An integrated subwoofer that looks flush with the wall from the front will have a big box going into the wall. These can be installed prior to wall linings, but they also can be retrofitted. Powered subs are the most common, big boxes with 8-14inch drivers.

Brands

Some people prefer to see speakers, like floor standing or wall mounted boxes. It doesn’t detract from the look of the home theatre, just more of a personal preference. Brands like Klipsch, Monitor Audio, Bowers and Wilkins are popular for the floor standing units. Sonance and Monitor Audio do good integrated wall/ceiling/flush mounted speakers. There are lots of great products made by different brands, and its fine to mix and match some speakers. For example your Dolby Atmos could be by one brand, your LCR (left, centre, right) could be another, and a sub by a third brand. Some companies specialise in a particular type of speakers, like Velodyne with subwoofer. Speakers are often made with minimal branding, and if all of them are black boxes, for example, they would look fine together.

We recommend equipment that we consider good quality and value. This is not an advertisement or an affiliate content. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your installation – feel free to contact us.

If you are looking for a more traditional 5.1 set up but that’s still compact – Integra Slim Receiver DSX-3 might be a great option. Its small enough and it runs cool to fit inside cabinets, with plenty of power to drive a 5.1 system and give you bigger sound than a soundbar alone.

Full features in a slim design

This receiver has a simple design, it doesn’t have too many buttons, while still being full-featured with all the Dolby surround sound features like Dolby Atmos. Object based sound is a really nice feature from Dolby, for a more immersive 3-dimensional sound. When adding ventilation inside cabinets is not a option, this cool running receiver is a great space-saving product.

It can be connected to your local network and controlled by a mobile app, which you can get for free. This is very handy if you are in another part of the house and would like to change playlists, streaming services or skip songs.

What speakers to choose

Any of your preferred choice of speakers can be installed and connected to this receiver. For a clean minimal look we would recommend integrated speakers that don’t take up space in your living room, like in-ceiling, cabinet mounted, or wall-mounted speakers. Or if the typical free standing floor speakers are your style this receiver has plenty of power to drive those as well. There is also an packaged option available where you can get this receiver with a Dolby Atmos soundbar and a subwoofer.

Integra DSX-3 is a really nice option when a simple minimal set-up is required, while still providing most of the best features you get in a high quality full size Audio/Video Receiver.

We recommend equipment that we consider good quality and value. This is not an advertisement or an affiliate content. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your installation – feel free to contact us.

Home theatres do require a lot of equipment, so its good to have an understanding that there is a bit of cost involved prior to approaching a professional installer for a consultation. Typically having a whole dedicated room for it is a good start, so often its home owners that would look for a service like this. Typically our customers ask us what can you do for $10K and what for $15K. $10K would be a minimum for a good quality installation and $20K installations would produce a really high grade result.

From here the next step is deciding what you would like to achieve, and typically the result people are looking for is a full cinematic experience, its got to feel impressive, not just like watching TV with surround sound.

As we touched on previously, to achieve this impressive cinematic experience a good projector would start around $2500 and go up to $4500-5000 for a higher grade one. Adding a good quality screen is another couple of thousand, and receiver with speakers another couple. Investing in this and doing it properly will produce a great result.

Using cheaper equipment just doesn’t produce the quality result, and is a waste of money. Components might not work well together, and might not sound good. You can spend $5000 getting a lot of equipment on sale and not get great results. Unbalanced audio, can become just noisy when watching a movie or just TV. When it is possible to spend even $5000 on less equipment but get a higher grade system with smooth and tuned installation that will work much better and will be worth the money. Everything will work seamlessly as a complete package, keeping things simple but also unlocking all the needed features in the electronics.

Installation itself has also other implications. Even things like terminating and routing the cables, keeping equipment neat and tidy will affect the longevity and ease of servicing down the track. For example you can just wire the speakers into the terminals, but we like to use a special banana connectors on the ends of wires that plug nice and neatly and they can’t short out. They might cost $10 a connector, but if you are spending $10-20K on a home theatre, these little differences go a long way.

The value of spending money on a home theatre is in your perception as a customer – if you enjoy the outcome, and get the immersive cinematic experience you wanted. And thats what we enjoy to provide, we know where its worth spending a bit more and where spending more won’t make that much difference, so we optimise the outcome. When you turn it on you got to go “Wow!”. The detail in the surround sound and object based sound from Dolby Atmos – feel like they invigorates and stimulates your movie experience. And the aim is to get an even better experience that going to the movies, some movie theatres can have an unbalanced sound. When in a well-installed home theatre you can feel the whole room.