Custom Home Theater Installation: What to look for in an installer
Just because you want to have a custom home theater system doesn’t mean that you have to design and install it by yourself. Too often people end up with a custom home theater system that doesn’t seem to fit their home layout because they weren’t able to match the speakers and components with the layout and acoustics of their home. This is where hiring a professional home theater installer can come into play, as these individuals are skilled with home theater design and will ensure that you won’t experience any “dead spots” or areas with poor audio quality anywhere within the room or rooms that your home theater system will reach.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should just choose the first home theater installer that you find. You’re going to want to make sure that the person or team that you choose is skilled in home theater design and that they are knowledgeable of all of the equipment options which could help transform a basic home theater system into a custom work of entertainment technology. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when shopping around for a custom home theater installer.
Business Focus
When choosing a home theater installer to design and install your new custom home theatre system, you’re going to want to make sure that you find someone who knows audio and visual equipment inside and out. Look at the nature of the installer’s business. Do they have a primary focus on electronics and home theater entertainment or is their installation service just a perk that’s given for buying a big-screen television or stereo system from their electronics department? Do they have dedicated installers who do A/V and home theater design as their primary job function or will the installer just be an hourly employee who received a basic training course? Take the time to make sure that the person who will be installing your custom home theater layout has both experience with the task and is highly knowledgeable of what it takes to get great picture and sound out of a home theater setup.
Options Available
Another major consideration that you should keep in mind when looking for a home theater designer and installer is that different sales and installation companies will have different options and components available for purchase. Talk to someone at the store (preferably the person who will actually be installing your custom home theater) and see exactly what is available to you and how you can maximize the enjoyment that you’ll get from your new system. If possible, bring photographs of the room or rooms that you’ll be installing the home theater system in so that the designer can see exactly what they’ll have to work with and how much space will be available for speakers and other components. Help them to get a feel for exactly the sort of custom home theatre system that you want, and see whether they’ll be able to create one that meets your specific needs. Be sure to let them know of any special items that you want in the package, such as an HD DVD player, digital video recorder, Blu Ray player, or any other items that might not be included in a standard custom home theater design.
Cost and Value
Obviously, it’s important that you get the best deal that you can on a home theater design since most home theater components aren’t going to be cheap. Do some research before you go out looking for a home theater installer, making sure that you have an idea of any specific components that you are wanting and how much they are likely to cost. Shop around at different stores, seeing how much each will charge for the custom home theatre system that you want including the price of installation. If you have a budget for how much you want to spend on your home theater layout then try to stay within that budget, and don’t be afraid to compromise on specific brand names if you can get a better value on a lesser-known product. Compare the quotes that you receive so that you’ll know which business is offering you the best value for your money (which may not necessarily be the one that offers the lowest price.) Remember that you’re the one who’s going to have to use the resulting home theater system, so be sure that above all else you end up with a system that you enjoy and that works well.
~Ben Anton, 2008
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