You fire up your system, drop a brand new DVD into your player's disc tray, dim the lights. Almost immediately, the crisp, bright images and swelling surround sound draw you into another world…. When it comes to getting this kind of home theater — the kind that really puts you in the middle of the movie action — your room plays a crucial role.

The size, shape, and layout of your room affect just about every aspect of your home theater system — sonic performance, picture quality, and overall convenience. In this article, we'll explore how a little bit of planning before you buy can help you choose the perfect gear for your specific room. You'll also find tips for maximizing the performance and usability of your system.

How big is your room?
Are you installing your home theater system in a small apartment or decorated living room? Or will you have a bigger, dedicated room just for home theater? Some A/V components that work beautifully in small rooms don't make sense for much larger spaces. Your room's size makes a difference when selecting several of your home theater's main components — speakers, TV, and more. Below are some tips on choosing home theater gear for small, medium-sized, and large rooms.

My room is small. If you're buying a system for a bedroom or den, you may prefer a convenient, all-in-one DVD home theater system. (These usually include a DVD player, surround sound decoder, amplification, and all the speakers you need.) Many of these systems place emphasis on being décor-friendly, and are optimized for smaller spaces.

If you prefer to mix and match, consider pairing a space-saving DVD/receiver combo with a satellite/subwoofer speaker system — compact satellite speakers blend nicely into most rooms, and usually deliver plenty of sound to fill a small- to medium-sized space. Depending on your specific room, larger tower speakers might dominate the floor space and crowd your seating location.

In a small room, the lack of available space may limit your choice of TVs. Fortunately, newer LCD and plasma flat-panel TVs can be mounted on your wall, allowing them to take up zero floor space — a huge help for anyone putting home theater in a smaller- to medium-sized room.

Beyond the simple fact of taking up floor space, some TVs might be too large for your room based on the size of their screen. In a small room where you need to sit close to the TV, the "structure" of the screen — scan lines, or pixels — may become noticeable, distracting your attention and taking away from the overall effectiveness of your home theater. For more information on selecting the optimum TV screen size according to your viewing distance, see our suggested viewing distance chart.

My room is medium-sized. Putting a home theater system into an average living room or similarly sized space? Your options are essentially wide open. Some folks prefer the more discreet option of a DVD home theater system for this kind of space, while many others opt for the performance advantages and flexibility of separate components and hand-picked home theater speakers. Don't forget the powered subwoofer — you'll find several compact models that dish out lots of bass without taking up much floor space. Again, when shopping for a TV, consider what the distance will be between the screen and your seating position (see link to viewing distance chart, above).

Since medium-sized rooms allow for so many options, let factors such as personal listening and viewing preferences, décor, and furniture layout be your guide.

My room is large. Bigger rooms place greater demands on the audio portion of your home theater system. Using larger, floor-standing speakers as your front speakers (and even as your surrounds!) can help your system rise to the challenge. Or, depending on furniture layout, you may opt for bookshelf speakers for your front and/or surrounds. Either way, a powered subwoofer is a must-have for achieving the room-filling bass that makes movie soundtracks come to life. (Some A/V enthusiasts even opt for two powered subs to fully flesh out the low frequencies in a big room.)

When shopping for an A/V receiver for your larger home theater room, definitely consider the quantity (and quality!) of amplifier power. Keep in mind that models featuring high-current power help give your home theater's sound system more clarity and realism.

Consider going with a big-screen TV for your larger room — like a rear projection model. The bigger the screen, the more impact your home theater will have; we suggest going with the biggest TV your room layout, viewing distance, and budget will allow. If décor is a factor in your larger room, there are space-saving big-screen options available, like an LCD projection model, or a plasma TV.

Room lighting and your TV's picture
We've already mentioned that the size of your room, as it affects your viewing distance, is an important factor in choosing a TV. The lighting conditions in your home theater room are also important; some screen types perform better than others when it comes to dealing with room light. If you have a hard time controlling the amount of sunlight in your room, a direct-view TV may be your best bet, although some plasma and LCD models also do a really good job in this regard. By comparison, rear projection TVs are usually not quite as effective in bright conditions, and front projectors generally require a dark room.

Keep in mind that TVs which feature a flat screen (including virtually all the direct-view models offered by Crutchfield) are less susceptible to reflected glare than TVs with a rounded screen. Here are some more suggestions for optimizing your home theater room's lighting:
Windows that let in bright sunlight should have easily adjustable blinds and/or curtains capable of eliminating any reflections off the screen.

Light from a window behind the TV makes it difficult for your eyes to adjust to the very different brightness of the television. For watching during daylight hours, consider treating these windows with curtains and blinds.

If you're using a direct-view TV, it's best to have a little bit of light shining on the wall behind it. If you watch in total darkness, the TV's range of brightness can cause eyestrain.

If you're using a fixed-pixel display, such as a plasma TV or LCD TV, a little bit of controlled background lighting can improve picture quality. With these types of displays, the background light helps give the black portions of the picture a deeper, darker look.

Using dimmers in your home theater room, you can precisely control the amount of background light for optimum viewing comfort, plus you can achieve elegant lighting effects. For the greatest convenience (and the biggest "wow" factor!), look for dimmers that are remote-controllable.

Viewing angle: more notes on TV placement
Viewing angle is another factor that affects a TV's performance. Your TV will look its best when viewed on-axis (from straight ahead), at a height where your eyes are level with the middle of the screen. Crutchfield carries a wide selection of TV stands to support your TV and raise it to the correct viewing height. If you choose a flat-panel TV, you can either go with a matching stand, or use a TV wall mount for on-wall placement — an arrangement that saves considerable floor space and gives your home theater a nice, finished look.

Most people choose to place a couch or loveseat directly facing the TV in their home theater rooms. If you're using a rear projection TV, you'll probably want to be especially careful to arrange your room for maximum seating directly in front of the screen. Also be sure to place your rear projection TV at the correct viewing height; with this type of TV, the picture tends to look dimmer when viewed off-axis either horizontally or vertically. (Direct-view, LCD, and plasma televisions tend to give slightly better off-axis views.)

Where will you place your speakers?
Because seamless surround sound plays such a huge role in the overall home theater experience, where and how you place your speakers is key. When planning out the TV placement, speaker placement, and seating in your home theater room, keep the following very basic points in mind — and also be sure to see our detailed article on home theater speaker placement for a closer look:
Your center channel speaker should go on top of, or just underneath, your TV.

Your front left and right speakers need to be placed on opposite sides of your TV. All three of your front speakers should be the same distance from your primary listening position.

Your surround speakers should be located on the side walls of your home theater room, or behind your listening position. (For 6.1 systems, surround speakers are usually placed to the sides and in back.)

Since low bass frequencies are omni-directional, you can usually place your subwoofer anywhere in the room. Placing it in a corner generally results in the most bass output. It's a good idea to experiment with different locations for your sub, to see what sounds best. If you're using two subwoofers for a larger home theater room or a 6.1-channel system, try placing one in the front, and the other in the back.

As you plan your speakers' locations, try to envision the path along which you'll run your speaker wire. Measure the distances so you can order the right amount wire, adding an extra few feet per speaker to allow yourself a margin of error. (For more details, see our article on Choosing and Installing Speaker Wire.)

Placing your home theater components
Your other home theater components — DVD player, A/V receiver, VCR, etc. — will also need a home. If you already own or have picked out a TV stand, you may have a nice, sturdy spot to store some (or even all) of your components, since many of today's TV stands feature integrated component shelves. However, remember that most audio and A/V components have their own front-panel displays filled with lights, which some people find distracting if placed directly under the TV screen.

If you'd prefer to place your components where they'll be out of the direct line of sight (like against a side or rear wall), or if your system will also include several stereo components like a CD changer, cassette deck, or turntable, you may want to consider using a separate component rack.

When choosing a rack or cabinet for your home theater gear, you'll definitely need to compare the dimensions of the shelves to those of your TV and/or components. It's also important to check the rack's weight capacity versus the weight of your A/V equipment — many of today's TVs, receivers, and amplifiers are quite heavy. Here are some more pointers on choosing a rack or cabinet for your home theater components:
Number of shelves. Look for a cabinet with enough shelves to accommodate the gear that you already own, plus the components that you might add in the future. Giving yourself an extra shelf or two for possible system expansion can save you a headache later.

Easy access to back panels. Racks with an open-back or open-air design allow easy access to your components' rear panels — which you'll really appreciate when it comes time to hook up or service your components. A rack equipped with casters can be rotated, making it even easier to get to back-panel connections.

Adequate ventilation. Home theater components, particularly ones containing built-in amplification, generate heat during normal operation. If you're planning on keeping your gear in a fully enclosed cabinet (or custom-built wall unit), consider installing vents in the top and bottom of the cabinet's back panel. Of course, open-back or open-air racks and cabinets usually provide ample ventilation for cooling.