Soundproofing

It’s late, your family is sound asleep and you are in the mood for a movie. Not the latest romantic comedy or drama, but the new action-packed blockbuster everyone has been talking about at work! You know as well as everyone else that this movie can only be enjoyed with the volume cranked up! If your room isn’t properly soundproofed the moment a loud explosion takes place on screen, you run the risk of waking everyone in the house.

If you find yourself in the middle of a home theater project or want to remodel, you have the opportunity to implement three industry-accepted techniques. But before we get ahead of ourselves it’s important to understand how sound travels in your home.

Sound, most commonly, travels through electrical outlets, light fixtures, and the studs that connect the ceilings and walls. It’s important to remember sound travels through the studs of your home, not the air.

When researching options that are available to soundproof your home theater, you will come across suggestions that will leave you with varying results. It’s important you start with a solid soundproofing foundation to ensure you are experiencing your new home theater to its fullest potential.

According to Anthony Grimani, president and founder of Performance Media Industries, when combined these three key practices will help you achieve superior sound.

Mass – Damping – Decoupling

“The right mass, correctly damped with sufficient decoupling, will give you very good separation between spaces.” -Grimani

The objective of decoupling is to essentially build a room within a room by creating a double frame.

During the remodeling, by adding mass to your walls, damping wall surfaces so they don’t vibrate, and decoupling structures so they are no longer physically connected is the route to perfect sound isolation in your home theater.

Mass: Doubling up on drywall is the most common way to add mass, but this does not make an enormous difference while trying to achieve complete sound isolation. It’s when damping and decoupling are put into place, we are able to make a dramatic difference.

Damping: This is where engineered drywall should be applied. You want to reduce vibrations and the transmission of sound in the ceiling and walls of the room.

Decoupling: The objective of decoupling is to essentially build a room within a room by creating a double frame. This double frame provides an air gap between the inside and outside layers of drywall. By constructing a decoupled structure you will prevent the bass from going through.

With these airtight techniques and with our home theater services, you can enjoy your high-octane film, worry free. You will no longer have to juggle between volume levels in anticipation of the deafening sounds of an action film.

A Good Chair Can Make All the Difference

March 21, 2017 / FNC Home Theater / 0 Comments

When you go to the theater, you are probably so focused on the movie playing that you forget everything around and absorb yourself in the ambiance of the theater. But imagine if you had to deal with uncomfortable seats. Your attention would move from the film to your discomfort; it would impact the entire theater experience!

It is no different in the movie-watching experience at home. In fact, it’s even more so important! Due to the fact you may be re-watching old movies, playing games for a few hours, or enjoying some music, you surely will notice the difference a comfy leather seat makes. At FNC, our experts are here to help you design the home theater system of your dreams! In order to turn those dreams into a reality, there are many components that go into designing your home theater system. In this blog, we’ll take a look at an essential part of your home theater design – seating!

Things to consider when choosing your seating

There are many things to scrutinize when looking into home theater seating. When installing any piece of furniture, you want to know the size of the furniture you will be getting and how many pieces you can place in your room. The same goes for chairs. If you get recliners, make sure there is enough room to comfortably recline your seat. If you lack the space, consider fixed seating. Also, durability is key. Spilled popcorn, candy, or soda can wreak havoc on a chair. Make sure you have furniture that is easy to clean so that messes don’t sit. You want your theater to draw people in – not repel them!

Types of theater seating options

Theater Seats

There are benefits and drawbacks to each type of seat. If you choose theater seats, you have a number of great semi-recliner options. Theater seats can be floor mounted so if you have tiered flooring, these additions can be essential for your home theater. Theater seats also offer a number of amenities such as cup holders, in-arm storage, footrests, USB charging, and other unique features like decorative lighting! You can match the lighting with the décor of your theater and make for a truly breathtaking home theater setup.

Recliners

If you go for regular recliners, you’ll be able to recline your chair further than a typical theater seat and view your screen from different angles. Some also come at a significantly lower cost than theater seats. Like theater seats, most recliners are highly comfortable and may come with built-in drink holders or arm compartments to hold remotes, video game accessories, and other TV items.

Couches and Love Seats

If you want another economical way to save on seating while allowing multiple seating options in a room, you can choose to have a couch or love seats. You lose the lateral viewing comfort, but on a budget, this is still an excellent way to enjoy your theater system and allow for more seating while saving money.

Seating can transform a room and also determine how often that room gets used. No one wants to spend long periods of time in an uncomfortable chair! Contact the professionals at FNC Home Theater to discover the perfect seating options. Transform part of your home into a beautiful theater today!

Why it’s Smart to Invest in a Home Theater

February 15, 2017 / FNC Home Theater / 0 Comments

The days of going to the movie theater to have the best cinematic experience possible is over. With the advent of OLED screens and 4K resolution TVs, you can create that same tantalizing, multi-sensory environment in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

While a nice screen is important, it’s just as vital to invest in high quality speakers. Leading electronics companies have spent many years creating audio data that replicates the quality sound you’d hear at a modern movie theater. That booming, movie theater sound is nearly impossible to emulate on a standard TV set, which is why you need to consider the life-changing magic of a complete surround sound system. However, figuring out which system is best suited for your home can be a hassle.

FNC Home Theater saves you from that headache by professionally designing and installing your home theater setup. We’ll carefully guide you through the entire process while providing the latest audio and visual equipment on the market.

Depending on the size of your room, you will want to invest in a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup. 5 refers to the number of speakers and .1 stands for the number of subwoofers that will deliver the bass. In a typical setup, you would have a center speaker for dialogue, two speakers in front of you, two speakers behind you, and a subwoofer nearby. This is how you create that same sense of immersion from the theaters.

Perhaps you already own a full home theater system, but feel like you should be getting more out of your investment. That’s where FNC can help. We can find that perfect arrangement of speakers and calibrate your room to auditory perfection. That way, no matter what you’re watching, we can dramatically improve your system’s sound and effectiveness!

Instead of dealing with the crazy food and beverage prices at the theater, get in touch with FNC Home Theater and we’ll show you all the technological advancements we can install! To learn more about how we deliver home theater perfection, check out the Episode signature speakers we carry: http://fnchometheater.com/hearing-perfection/. You can also discover the great promotions and packages we provide at this link: http://fnchometheater.com/promotions-and-packages/.

The Risky Business of Rentals

January 12, 2017 / FNC Home Theater / 0 Comments

Having a rental property is a great way to generate supplemental income and, with the advent of short-term rentals like those offered by Airbnb, they have become more convenient than ever. If you are interested in turning your home into a vacation rental, you might want to consider the risks involved, as well as measures you can take to protect your home, your belongings, and your guests.

Renter Beware

Airbnb has over 2 million listings around the world and quite a few are right here in Katy, TX. While not common, thefts from Airbnb rentals are not unheard of. In August of 2016, one family rented their home through the site for a few weeks and, when they returned, found over $5,000-worth of their belongings missing.

The FBI reports over one million instances of home burglary in 2015 alone, with more half of these offenses taking place during the day. Daylight is clearly not a deterrent to thieves, but a security system is! That’s why FNC Home Theater supplies only the highest quality security systems the industry has to offer.

Protecting Yourself and Your Guests

FNC Home Theater recommends installing CCTV security cameras around your home, which would not only provide you with evidence of any wrongdoing but, would also act as a deterrent to thieves. Simply informing guests about the security system you have set up could save you time and money—it’s harder to do wrong if you know you’re being watched.

Whenever possible, avoid having valuable amenities like large flat screen televisions available for your guests, especially if your property is exclusively used as a rental and is not your primary place of residence.

While Airbnb has a system for reporting theft and damage, having proof of ownership and damages, like surveillance footage, can expedite the recovery process. Airbnb also recommends keeping receipts for any items in your rental that might be of value. Not only would those receipts support any claims made to Airbnb, they would also be helpful if a police report is necessary as well.

If your rental property is empty for extended periods of time, it is in your best interest to install an alarm. The alarms offered by FNC Home Theater are an excellent way to deter burglars from entering your property.

Be prepared for accidents and theft by having FNC Home Theater install an easy-to-manage and effective home security system on your property!

Stay Secure With The IC720

December 15, 2016 / FNC Home Theater / 0 Comments

Our customers’ peace of mind is extremely important to us here at FNC Home Theater and that is why we offer one of the best surveillance cameras on the market, the IC720 by IC RealTime. The IC720 is a 360×360 degree, 4k security camera that won’t miss a thing. You may be asking yourself “What does 360×360 mean?”, as well as “what else can this little camera do?” Allow us, the experts in home security cameras, to explain.

First off, 360×360 means that the IC720 can rotate in any direction. Up, down, right, or left is not a problem for the IC720 security camera. Say goodbye to blind spots! Due to its 360×360 design and gyro construction, the IC720 has ZERO blind spots. Yes, that says ZERO.
The camera is also app ready. The camera can be controlled and maneuvered remotely from your smart device. Wherever you point your smart device is where the IC720 will be watching.
The camera also features full high definition (HD) recording. Blurry and unwatchable footage will be a distant memory after installing the IC720.
One of the most important aspects of the IC720 is its sleek and compact design. You will be able to mount the camera in any discreet location. It will be out of sight and able to keep watch on your home, office, or wherever you need that added security.

So there you have it. The IC720 may be small, but it packs quite the punch and will not let you down when it comes to surveillance and security. We at FNC Home Theater are proud to call this our featured and most popular surveillance product.

FNC Home Theater Blog

The Power of a Connected Home

Soundproofing

Mass – Damping – Decoupling

A Good Chair Can Make All the Difference

Things to consider when choosing your seating