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Recommendation for type and number of lights in a dedicated media room?

post #1 of 7
12/5/12 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 
I am having a new house built and the builder will put "sconce" type lights in by default. These stick off the wall (where people's heads could hit them) and also seem to be more "glaring" as in providing distracting light. I'm thinking instead about getting so-called "eyeball lights" in the ceiling - 4 of them - they mount in the ceiling and the "eyelid" can be rotated so the light mostly hits the wall and the floor. Would these be better than sconces? I'm thinking yes. But are there other types of lights that would be even better? Quick answers appreciated, especially those with pictures of examples.
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post #2 of 7
12/5/12 at 1:55pm
Kinda a duplicate of your other post, but sconces should NOT be the only source of light in a theater. They will spray light onto the screen - could be some, could be way too much depending on the choice of fixture. You'll need to at least dim them, and may have to shut them off completely when using the screen.

Downlights are good, but control is very important overall. You want multiple sources of light, on separate dimmers/switches so you can vary the light levels depending on the usage. You can see my lighting layout in my thread in my sig - if I did it again I would have added more can lights directly over the seating positions, again on a separate dimmer circuit, to allow for reading while watching the screen.

Jeff
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post #3 of 7
12/5/12 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Awesome setup you have there, Jeff! How do you get that wooden beam ceiling like that, with the gaps in between? Something the builder did or something you added after-the-fact?
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post #4 of 7
12/5/12 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jautor View Post

Kinda a duplicate of your other post, but sconces should NOT be the only source of light in a theater. They will spray light onto the screen - could be some, could be way too much depending on the choice of fixture. You'll need to at least dim them, and may have to shut them off completely when using the screen.
Downlights are good, but control is very important overall. You want multiple sources of light, on separate dimmers/switches so you can vary the light levels depending on the usage. You can see my lighting layout in my thread in my sig - if I did it again I would have added more can lights directly over the seating positions, again on a separate dimmer circuit, to allow for reading while watching the screen.
Jeff

I take it you are not a real movie connoisseur. I don't think I have ever been to a real movie theater where someone was reading in the audience during a movie. The only exception would be where some idiot was using his cell phone during a movie. Now if you are talking about a multi purpose room and not a dedicated home theater I might understand about the reading.
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post #5 of 7
12/5/12 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macfan View Post

I take it you are not a real movie connoisseur. I don't think I have ever been to a real movie theater where someone was reading in the audience during a movie. The only exception would be where some idiot was using his cell phone during a movie. Now if you are talking about a multi purpose room and not a dedicated home theater I might understand about the reading.

rolleyes.gif

My theater is dark enough even with the lights on that it's difficult to read the liner notes.

And it can be used for more than movies. I might watch more "TV" and sports in the theater if I could read the paper at the same time. Which is why I said those lights would have been on another separate dimmer. They certainly wouldn't be on when we're watching a movie.
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post #6 of 7
12/5/12 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdoherty972 View Post

Awesome setup you have there, Jeff! How do you get that wooden beam ceiling like that, with the gaps in between? Something the builder did or something you added after-the-fact?

Ya obviously didn't read much of the thread! wink.gif

Not wood beams, just a coffer ceiling with eight trays. Ceiling joists were raised a foot and framed back down to form the soffits. Here's a shot of the ceiling "naked":

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post #7 of 7
12/9/12 at 10:06am
You really need a combination of accent, general, and task lighting in your room. Sconce for accent areas on the walls, task lights for areas where you need light directly focused on a location such as areas for reading or even near the rack or movie storage area, and general overheads for "all on" situations such as entry/exit or cleaning.
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