How to Hide the Technology in Your Home Media Room

What is the difference between a media room and a home theater? Honestly, we don't know. OK, we're being a little facetious here, but we'll explain. You can call that best place in the house to watch movies, Falcons games, Netflix binges, or anything else whatever you want. If you think it's the home theater, that's what it is. If you prefer the media room, then it shall be so.

That said, there are some differences in what most people might think of between a home theater or media room. The home theater is more likely to be a dedicated space, and the media room is more likely to be a multipurpose space. However, by no means is any of this is set in stone. You can have whatever you want, and there are solutions for creating any type of media room or home theater you desire.

Whether it’s a home media room or theater for your Duluth, GA, home, one thing people tend to want is technology that is unobtrusive, fits the décor, and does not get in the way of a home’s aesthetic. We’re going to discuss two ways of hiding the tech below – please keep reading!

SEE ALSO: How to Turn a Spare Room into the Ultimate Media Room

Hiding the Screen

Depending on the size of your media room, you might opt for a large flat panel TV, a short-throw projector, or a full-ceiling or wall-mounted projector. If your room is a multipurpose living area, then you might not want those screens showing all the time. With the size of today's 86 and 98-inch flat panels, you might not want a big black rectangle on the wall when the show isn't playing. Several solutions exist to hide your screen. Movable artwork covers can slide horizontally or vertically out of the way to reveal your screen at the push of a button. Or you can opt for custom furniture where your display rises out of an elegant cabinet that fits with your furniture style. Make it even easier when you integrate the motorization into a home automation system that turns on the AV, dims the lights, sets the temperature, and more.

For projector screens, options abound for making the screen disappear. A popular method is to make the screen roll up and hide in the ceiling. Other methods are similar to hiding a flat panel; doors or artwork (depending on screen sizes) can open away to reveal your media screen. Projectors can be motorized to lower from the ceiling, or with additional construction, can be embedded into a rear wall in an equipment nook. Short-throw projectors can sit on a regular media cabinet and be positioned only inches from the wall, but for the ultimate in hidden tech, a custom motorized cabinet can lift and lower the projector too.

Hiding Speakers

Your options for hiding speakers are almost daunting to consider these days – but choice is good. Ultra-powerful, multi-driver built-in home theater speakers that rival freestanding ones can be neatly installed in front walls. Don’t like boxy subwoofers? Architectural models can be embedded in walls and even ceilings! A plethora of ceiling speakers can be discreetly mounted overhead to give you the impact from 3D surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos. And if you like the voicing of particular speaker brands, you’ll be pleased to know that almost every hi-fi speaker brand – like Klipsch, Focal, Monitor Audio, and others – offers a variety of architectural speakers to choose from. You will not sacrifice sound quality when you go with hidden speakers in your media room.

Are you considering a new or upgraded home media room? Let GHT Group design and build it for you! Contact us here, or use the chat box below to quickly connect with one of our media room design experts. We look forward to working with you!