Cutting the Glare

THE PROBLEM: If you don’t have the luxury of being able to build your theater from scratch, chances are there will be windows in the room. Maybe even a lot of them. While big, expansive windows are great at providing a view of the outdoors, they can be a home theater’s worst nightmare. They introduce light into the space, which can wash out the picture on your home theater display. Artificial lighting from recessed ceiling fixtures, wall sconces and lamps exacerbate the problem, making what could have been a bright, crisp image look dull and muddy. Manufacturers of TVs, projection screens and video projectors have made huge inroads in developing materials to combat bright room lighting; even so, you’ll be assured of the best quality picture by dealing directly with the source of the illumination problem.

THE SOLUTIONS: The obvious solution for preventing sunlight from entering a home theater is to cover the windows with shades, blinds or draperies. It’s effective, but you may find drawing the drapes and pulling the shades each time you want to watch a movie a big hassle. The better solution, therefore, is to invest in motorized window treatments. Attached to a motorized track or housed inside a motorized roller, drapes and shades can be adjusted easily at the touch of a button on a handheld remote, a switch on the wall, or when they receive a signal from a home automation system. Through programming by a custom electronics (CE) professional, the drapes and shades can be synchronized to move together in one fluid motion.

A control system can also simplify the task of dimming the room lights before a movie. Instead of flipping several switches, you can press one button to make every light fade to black, or at whatever intensity level you prefer. Most control systems can consolidate the operation of the lights and window treatments, so that one command from a remote, tablet, smartphone or keypad can sweep through the room to prepare both the windows and the lights at once.

You can also minimize the effect of sunlight and artificial light by selecting a screen with anti-glare properties. Light-rejection screens are becoming increasingly popular, as are video projectors with a high-lumen output, which basically means they are able to produce pictures bright enough to be seen clearly even when the drapes are open and the lights are on.

CAVEAT: Motorized tracks and rollers come in a variety of styles. Some are powered by electrical current; others by batteries. Naturally, battery-operated units may be easier to install but may not be able to move as much material as an AC-powered system. Be sure to determine the size and weight of the fabric and the distance of travel before buying a motorized track or roller for your win- dow treatments.

TAKE ACTION: An easy and affordable remedy is to replace the light switches with smart dimmer switches. These will allow the intensity of the lights to be controlled, either manually or from a handheld remote, or maybe even from an app on your tablet or smartphone. Also widely available and easily installable by DIYers are battery-operated motorized drapery tracks.