Solutions to the Most Common Home Theater Setup Issues

Solutions to the Most Common Home Theater Setup Issues

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Solutions to the Most Common Home Theater Setup Issues

You’ve just installed your brand new speakers and screen in your Minnetonka, MN home only to find out your brand new entertainment space isn’t quite delivering as you expected. From not finding the content you want to low-quality audio and video, there can be a lot of frustrating aspects to a DIY installation. Below we highlight some typical home theater setup issues our clients encounter and showcase some of the best solutions.

SEE MORE: How to Enhance the Sound in Your Home Theater Setup

Problem: Can’t Get Content to Show Up

This is one of the most common complaints we hear and it’s not surprising. Correctly linking up all your source components—including Blu-ray players, streaming services, and cable boxes—can be one of the most challenging tasks in a home theater setup. Not only do you have to make sure the AV distribution chain is working, you then have to remember how to pull up these sources when you’re ready to watch.

  • Solution: One of the biggest aspects of a professional installation is having a properly designed AV rack to make sure your home theater receiver, speakers, projector, screen and source components are all linking up correctly. With intuitive control from a universal remote, touchpad or even mobile app, it’s then easy to switch from one source to another when you’re using your theater.

Problem: Surround Sound System Isn’t Working

There are a variety of issues people encounter when it comes to surround sound setups. Sometimes the audio is not coming through clearly or loudly. Other times it comes out disjointed or flat—defeating the point of having surround sound.

  • Solution: If the audio is not coming through clearly or it’s coming out flat, the issue probably has to do with your source components or the cables you’re using. If you’re using a Dolby Atmos surround sound system, you need to be using HDMI cables. Though AV receivers can upscale the signal, to get the best quality, you should look for sources already mixed for Dolby Atmos surround sound. If the audio is disjointed, upgrade to an AV receiver designed to balance out the sound in the room. We can also make sure that speakers are properly laid out and calibrated.

Problem: The Room Has Too Much Light

Ambient lighting can be one of the biggest challenges for DIY installations. The light from windows or overhead fixtures can create glare, wash out images, and ruin the movie watching experience.

  • Solutions: You can eliminate a lot of the light coming into the room with blackout shades. Link these to your home theater system, so they close as soon as you hit play. Design path lighting pointing downwards so that it doesn’t affect the screen.

For any light remaining in the room, there are a few things you can do so it doesn’t affect the images on your screen. Keep ambient lighting from bouncing around the room by painting walls a dark color and removing any reflective furniture or decorations (for example, movie posters in glass enclosures). If needed, Screen Innovations offers special screens designed to reject ambient lighting.

Let us focus on the installation issues while you reap the rewards. To learn more about our home theater setup services, call us at (612) 353-5087 or fill out our online contact form.

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Home Theater Setup
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