Do You Need Elevated Seating in Your Home Theater?
How to Bring Tiered Seating to Your Private Cinema
When you walk into a commercial movie theater, you’ll likely look up at many rows of elevated seats. Some cinemas are large (like AMC), while indie theaters are smaller. But wherever you sit, you’ll have a clear view of the screen thanks to the raised elevation. Even if the person in front of you is wearing a pom-pom hat or tall ponytail, you should still be able to see the movie without distraction.
The same can be true of home theaters, but many homeowners skip elevated seating. If you’d like to have more than one row of theater seating, it’s a good idea to add an elevated platform for a comfortable experience.
As a home theater company in the Zionsville, IN area, we design perfectly-angled platforms for tiered rows of seating. In this article, we’ll share how risers work and why they benefit home theater seating!
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Should You Install Elevated Seating?
Before selecting a projector screen or TV, you’ll need to consider where seats will go. This is one of the first questions we ask when designing a home theater. If you only use a sectional or one row of seats, then you won’t need raised platforms. But if you want more than one row, elevation will improve sightlines so no one will need to strain their neck to see.
Ensure There’s Enough Space
Once we’ve determined where the seating will go, we can think about the screen’s dimensions. You don’t want to overwhelm viewers in the front row, so we don’t recommend using a screen that consumes too much of your field of view. If a display is too large, it can lead to headaches, strained eyes, and even motion sickness.
We also need to consider the depth of elevated platforms. Your family and guests will need to walk behind seats and move about the theater. Will there be enough room? Risers should be at least six or seven feet deep, so there’s space to walk around footrests. If you aren’t planning to use recliner seats, platforms can have a more shallow depth.
Trust a Professional
Some people are determined to DIY their home projects, but home theaters become tricky when elevating the floor. Do-it-yourself platforms often turn out hollow, causing vibrations when surround sound plays.
But when you work with a home theater company, we use sturdy, dense platforms that are perfectly measured for sightlines. You won’t even notice all the precise measurements that went into the elevated seating—you’ll be too immersed in the movie!
If you’re ready to bring jaw-dropping visuals, audio, and seating to your Indiana home theater, The Premier Group is here to help. Contact our team of experienced installers to get started today!