A home theatre can be an unruly beast. With wires from a cable box, Blu-ray/DVD player, game consoles and an external speaker system all snaking around the floor to your big screen TV, the whole thing can look like a robot octopus is attacking your living room. Let’s not even mention all the extension cords you need because Murphy’s Law dictates there will never be enough electrical outlets where you need them to be. But don’t worry. It’s Home Theatre Month, so we’re going to show you how to tame the home theatre beast and turn your entertainment area into a beauty.
One Remote to Rule Them All
Everything has a remote these days, because who wants to get off their comfy couch like a sucker? But with a great number of remotes comes great headaches. Not only do you have to spend half your entertainment time juggling remotes like some techno circus clown, but whenever you have guests over you’ve got to practically book an IT session to train them to change the channels. Do everyone a favour and pick up a good multi-purpose remote that will do away with all the others. If you really want something slick, go for the Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home – Black.
This thing not only lets you control all the gadgets in your home entertainment system, but it also can work with other connected devices you may have in your home, like lights, blinds, thermostats and more. You can bet everyone will be fighting over control of this remote.
Mount Up
If you still have your nice big flat screen sitting on a table, you may want to consider reconfiguring your living room space and mounting your TV on the wall. Not only are you freeing up valuable real estate, but it could also help prevent someone accidentally knocking over your pricey and prized TV. A full motion TV mount is what I’d want, so you can position it perfectly for your viewing pleasure no matter where you are in the room. Another must-have for a sleek-looking home theatre is a good cabinet for all your various entertainment components. It does away with that octopus-cable problem, and if you can put it beside or under where your TV is placed, the majority of your cables can just be tucked away behind. Of course, you’ll still need some handy cable and wire wraps that’ll go a long way towards helping you keep everything neat, tidy and out of the way. And make your life a little easier by investing in a solid power bar to free up precious electrical outlets and safeguard your electronic components.
The Wireless Way
We live in an age where everything has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, so upgrading some of your home theatre components to wireless or streaming versions is also a good way to do away with the cable clutter. This is especially true and necessary these days when it comes to your sound system. If you’ve got speakers all over the place for good quality surround sound, then you know how difficult it is to conceal all your wires. Many new home theatre systems come equipped with wireless speaker systems already, or you could try a nice soundbar. And, for the ultimate in beautifying your home theatre area and adding some posh to your man cave, look into what Tom said about the advantages of in-wall speakers.
Our home theatre systems are getting more and more complicated and the proliferation of gadgets, boxes, consoles and add-ons coming out to enhance our entertainment areas is only going to keep expanding. But with a little upkeep, organization and even some upgrades, you can keep it all under control. Happy Home Theatre Month.
Those are all great ideas @Steven_Hill , Cable management and universal remote solutions are key in keeping the equipment presentable. There are great wireless and networking solutions, that can integrate with many Home Theater receivers which include dual zone capabilities. From Wireless headphones, to networking wireless amplifiers and speakers from Sonos, Polk Audio and Denon to mention some.
Tsk, it’s the mess the company leaves behind, that can get tedious after a while.
It’s the left over beer and beer bottles, empty take out food boxes, that I need a solution for. I know it’s not part of a Geek Squad Service plan, but it would be great if it was
. Then again I rarely have to cook a meal on weekends, and I usually end up with some extra wobbly pops..,and the deposit on the empties.
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