How I turned my living room into a movie theater for cheap

There’s so much more you could be doing to enjoy your movies and TV shows in your home. You may think that you have a great setup, but you probably don’t have as good of one as you could have. Making the most of your entertainment setup is important for anyone that considers themselves a TV buff or a cinephile. If you’re spending valuable time watching shows and movies, you want to do it the best that you can.

Of course, there are devices that you can add to your setup that are going to benefit you but cost a lot of money. A new $3,000 projector with a screen that comes down from the ceiling sounds great. When you have one of those, you also have to account for a good speaker system, which can run you a few more thousand dollars. Just because you have the sound and visuals taken care of doesn’t mean you have a place to sit down and enjoy them from.

Not everybody has tens of thousands of dollars to throw at their TV area. You have to be smart with your money and make it count. That’s why there are some shortcuts that you can take when it comes to enhancing your home theater setup. The additions you can put in can be a big boost to your TV room and won’t be a big hit to your wallet. Think smart and frugal while still getting the experience that you want.

4

Backlighting can make a big difference

Sync it up to your TV

While backlighting may not give you the feeling like you’re sitting in a movie theater, it is a great addition to your entertainment setup because it works with your entertainment. It provides an immersive feeling because it can enhance your TV by providing illumination from behind. But not only that, with some backlighting options, like the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite, you can match the lighting to the screen, meaning it will cast a color from behind the TV that mimics the colors on the screen.

This makes it feel like you’re looking through a lens and you’re not only staring at a TV but you’re staring at one and past one as well. The rich colors and brightness match the screen well and they fluctuate based on the scene. Something like can cost you less than $100 but make you feel like you’re in the movie.

Hub Required

No

Music Reactive

Yes

Color Range

RGBICW

Number of Panels

30 LEDs/m

Voltage

12 Volts

Wattage

24 Watts

3

A soundbar can make your audio pop

Not all of them are expensive either

TCL

Even the most ardent supporters of their own TV can agree that the audio is not the best. The speakers that are built into your TV are often good, but they can be improved upon. If you have an older TV, chances are the audio is one of the worst features of it, as enhancements in sound have come a long way. Whether your TV supports Dolby Atmos or has other audio-led technology, it can definitely improve the sound. If it doesn’t, you’ll really want to upgrade to something simple.

A soundbar doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, as many of them are under $300 and can be found on major shopping holidays discounted heavily. The key is finding out how many drivers there are in the soundbar. If there are many, that’s when the price can rise. Of course, the sound is better in those, but for the right price, you can find deals that will still serve you well.

2

External speakers give you that surround sound feeling

You don’t need a subwoofer or an amp

When you’re in a movie theater, the sound is coming from speakers that are built into the walls and shooting downward at an audience. This provides you with a surround sound experience. The audio is coming from all directions, immersing you within a scene. This is actually much easier to achieve at home than you might realize, depending on the layout of your room. Let’s say the TV is against a wall on one end of the room. If you place speakers on the side walls or in the corners next to the TV, it’s still going to only be coming at you from one direction.

But adding speakers behind you or to the side of you can increase the number of sound waves and enrapture you. This can be done with expensive speakers that cost hundreds of dollars per speaker and you’ll get great sound. But, for smaller spaces, you’ll do fine with bookshelf speakers or smaller ones that are raised up on shelves or even small ones that you mount in the top corners of a room. It’s all about the direction from where the speakers are coming from if you’re looking for minor upgrades in audio.

1

Smart home curtains can be a big plus

Blackout curtains can make the room go dark

Pocket-lint

Movie theaters have a special ambiance that brings you closer to the film that you’re watching. The lack of light helps you focus more on the screen. If you’re at home and watching a movie during the day time, the sun shining in can not only cast glare on your TV but also keep you more distracted. You may be more likely to have your mind wander or pick up your phone if there’s a lot of light in the room. Adding blackout curtains is an effective way to minimize light in your viewing room.

You can get really cheap blackout curtains for under $40. You can then spend any extra money on a smart home curtain controller, which will hook up to your smart home devices and open with voice commands. Sitting down with your popcorn, turning on the TV, and getting ready for a movie while also telling Alexa to close the curtains is an ideal way to start a movie.