Your room with a view
Besides the electronics, construction, and accessories, the other big-ticket category is furniture. A home theater chair may have only the cup holder in common with those in commercial cinemas. Leather upholstery and motorized reclining can push a chair's cost into the thousands. Big lounger makers, including Berkline ( berkline.com ) and La-Z-Boy ( lazboy.com ), all aim lines at home theaters. Berkline will even preinstall a "ButtKicker," a device that will vibrate the chair to enhance the rumbling of a good action flick.
A number of Web sites have sprung up to help daring do-it-yourselfers, including hometheaterforum.com and avsforum.com . But those who find computers complicated might be intimidated by the back of a high-end, audiovisual receiver and its many connector slots.
Ritzy remotes. The challenge of getting the gear to work together makes hiring a professional to do the installation more appealing. Today's fancy remotes alone can cost $10,000 to $50,000, with much of that spent on customizing the software after long talks with the owners to decide exactly how the system should respond to each button. Does pressing "Play DVD" just start the movie, for example, or does it also dim the room's lights? And all of this custom programming has to consider that more than one person will use the remote. "I want the wife or kids to know they can watch a movie without worrying they're going to screw things up," says Bill Green of Q Audio and Video, an installer in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Finding a home theater professional can be as easy as a trip to the local retailer. Smaller chains like Tweeter, Myer Emco, and Ultimate Electronics offer in-home installations for basic setups. Homeowners who want the real theater look might turn to specialists who only do custom setups--a list can be found at cedia.net, although word-of-mouth usually works best. The builder for an addition to Rappaport's home recommended his installer, Integrated Media Systems of Sterling, Va. About 18 months after it was finished, Rappaport says he has no regrets about the dollar investment--which he asked U.S. News not to specify, though he says it was near the average for a well-decorated custom home theater. "It's one of my favorite rooms in the house," says the high-tech executive.
That's the case, too, for Andy King, a salesman in Cape Girardeau who had Green install his theater about four years ago. Dedicated media rooms were just appearing in his small town along the Mississippi River in southeastern Missouri about the time he installed his. "Two neighbors have since added their own," he says, "after seeing ours." That's helped convince him he'll get back most or all of his investment, which was about $60,000 for the 30-by-16-foot room. In the meantime, the family of four regularly uses the theater, as well as its popcorn maker: "We spend a lot of time together at home watching Disney stuff, like Old Yeller ," King says. "In fact, I can't remember the last time we went out to a movie."
Make my matinee
Accessories can add the finishing touch to a home theater. Here are just a few that are available, and the Web sites that sell them:
Antique popcorn maker with 6-ounce kettle (left) ($900, HTmarket.com ). Popping supplies and theater-style tubs and boxes are extra.
Custom-built ticket booth facade ($2,500, vintage vending.com ). Available in either mahogany or Art Deco styling.
Glass-front candy case in a concession stand ($1,815, hometheaterdecor.com ). Comes in five different colors, with metallic accents.
Automatic curtain system with remote control ($730, hometheaterinteriors.com ).Drapes can cover up to 9 feet of wall space.
Two chrome posts and 6 feet of red velour rope ($595, homecinemadecor.com ). For about $450, add a backlit poster marquee. -David LaGesse
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