New Answers about Home Theater Seats

Answers to several of the most commonly asked home theater seating questions, provided by Wil Kovacs, who has worked in the home theater seating business since 2002.

Tampa Bay, FL (PRWEB) January 27, 2006 -- Today, many new homes are being built with home theater rooms. Home theater rooms need home theater seats. Even older homes are getting home theaters. Finished basements, garages, bonus rooms, across the USA, they are all being converted into home theater, movie viewing rooms.

There are basically two categories of home theater seats. The first is the real, authentic movie theater chair, exactly like you sit in at an actual movie theater. These are available online at websites such as SeatsAndChairs.com and HomeCinemaDecor.com. They have flip-up seats, cup holder armrests, and may feature lift-up armrests as well. For example see the Elite model at SeatsAndChairs.com: http://seatsandchairs.com/products.asp?CategoryID=2

The second category is the reclining lounger. The leather reclining home theater chair is the most popular; with it’s cup holder armrests and flip out footrests. For an example of this type of chair see the Orion at SeatsAndChairs.com, at: http://seatsandchairs.com/products_detail.asp?CategoryID=2&ProductID=67&pagesize=200¤tpage=1

The bottom line is, home theaters are fun. Having a home theater at your house makes movie watching an event. Video games come to life. Music sounds live. And sitting in a comfortable home theater seat adds immeasurably to the fun and excitement of the whole experience. Below are answers to several common questions. To learn more see the attached MS Word document “HT questions 1.26.06” by Wil Kovacs, where you will find answers to the 13 most commonly asked questions regarding home theater seats.

1. What are home theater seats?

A. Home theater seats are chairs specifically engineered and designed for viewing movies in a personal home theater setting. Most home theater seats share these features: 1. A cup holder built into the chairs armrest. 2. A shared armrest between each seat. 3A. For the real movie theater style chairs, a flip up seat cushion, or 3B. For the leather reclining lounger type home theater seating, a flip out foot rest. Additional upgrades like storage compartments, snack trays, and even electric motors to recline the chair are available, depending on the model.

2. What size should the home theater seats be?

A.    The most popular real movie theater chairs are 22 inches wide, from center of armrest to center of armrest, and the seat is usually about 20 to 22 inches deep, and 36 to 40 inches tall. This is larger than say, 30 years ago, when the average theater chair was only 18 or 19 inches wide.

B.    The most popular recliner style home theater chair is 24 inches wide, for the actual individual seat cushion. Heights usually run about 40 inches tall.

3. How do I determine the row length?

Most chair widths are given in center-to-center dimensions. So a chair “22 inches wide” is measured from the center of one armrest to the center of the other armrest. So you multiply the number of chairs times the width. So, 3 chairs at 22” center to center equals 66”. That’s fine, but that is not the total length. You now have to add the other half of the armrests, at the ends of the row. This is usually 4 inches. So in the example, 3 X 22” = 66” + 4” = 70” total.

4. How many chairs will fit in my room?

A. Here are the basic things you need to take into consideration. You want the person sitting in the front row, actually the person’s head, to be 1 to 2 times the width of your screen, away from the screen. Say your screen in 100 inches wide. Then you want the eye of the person to be100 to 200 inches from the screen. Another basic thing is your aisle widths. A doorway is 36 inches wide, so use that as a guide. Some people like wide, say 48-inch aisles, others don’t mind a 20-inch aisle. Remember to allow room for doors to open, for stairs, and if you are using the recliners, allow room for the footrest. All of these issues need to be taken into consideration.

See… http://www.seatsandchairs.com/images/theaterlayoutmarquee.gif

5. Which home theater chair upgrade, or features are most popular?

A. Lift up cup holder armrests on the real movie theater chairs is very popular. Real Tempur-Pedic memory cushions are available on some models. There are real movie theater chairs that have rocking back only, and then there is the true rocker, in other words with a true rocker, both the back and seat rock when you lean back in the chair. A silent gravity lift seat bottom prevents the need for maintenance or lubrication. Leather reclining loungers can have a power option added. Also look for a wall away feature, that means the chair can be set up close to a wall, and still fully recline without hitting the wall.

See… http://www.seatsandchairs.com/LeatherHomeTheaterSeatingTool.html

6. Do I need a riser?

A. This concerns your line of sight. If you can get the bottom of your screen high enough off the floor, then no you do not need risers. Usually if your screen is 3 feet off the ground, that is enough. Riser height can vary from 4 inches to 12 inches per step. With 6 to 8 inches being the most popular height. However if you want tall chairs, say 40 or 42-inch tall chairs, then risers may be necessary.

See a very helpful diagram at… http://www.seatsandchairs.com/HomeTheaterRiserPlatformInstructions.html

7. How much do the home theater chairs cost?

A. Prices range from $99 each (+S/H) for a used chair up to $1,500 each chair (+S/H) for a new state-of-the-art leather recliner home theater chair, with all the bells and whistles. And practically any price in between. The Elite or the Vegas home theater chairs at SeatsAndChairs.com run around $350 each (+S/H). You can see the prices, and order online at http://www.SeatsAndChairs.com, or you can simply call toll-free at 1-800-632-7657.

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