Home theaters continue to grow in popularity, with sales of equipment increasing an average of 5 percent per year since 1995.

Under the category of home theater equipment come direct-view color television sets 25 inches and larger, DVD players, laser disc players, projection TV sets, hi-fi stereo VCRs, and surround-sound processors.

The basic components of a complete home theater package include a large-screen TV, a video source such as a VCR or laser disc player, and audio electronics that control the whole system and create a surround-sound effect by using multiple speakers.

Many builders offer home theaters options that can be financed in mortgage packages, which is not surprising, because complete systems cost, on average, $3,500.

Surveys have shown that, given a choice of theater, study or bedroom for a 12- by 14-foot room off the family room, more than half of buyers would take the theater. The home theater could be offered in basements or second-floor bonus rooms as well.

It appears that home theaters are something that many buyers are willing to wait for, and how long they are willing to wait is determined by the depth of their pockets.

"The interest appears to be greater among higher-end buyers, although the technology is getting more affordable," said Kira McCarron, vice president of marketing for Pennsylvania-based Toll Bros., which builds luxury houses in 19 states. "It is all tied in with home security and upgraded whole-house wiring. Even if they aren't going to install a home theater now, they want the house to be wired to accommodate it."

Wiring is an issue. Most existing homes have Category 1 telephone wire, which is designed for voice communication. So-called smart-house wiring uses Category 5 data/communications wiring, which involves four twisted pair of wires, instead of one.

This wiring moves data and voice signals quickly, which is especially important to buyers who plan to make heavy use of home offices. The Category 5 wiring is coupled with an upgraded coaxial TV cable that enables video signals to travel to television and computer monitors throughout the house.

The cost of such sophisticated wiring has been dropping so rapidly that what once was a $10,000 to $15,000 optional upgrade now costs between $700 and $2,000.

Buyers who express an interest in such theaters focus on the basements in the Northeast and Midwest. In the South and Southwest, where houses usually don't have basements, home theater are on the first or second floors.

Some experts lately are seeing a trend away from separate home theaters, which were common in the late 1980s and 1990s. Parents became concerned that children were staying in the home theater and away from them, so such entertainment is now being offered in a portion of the family room.

Home theaters seem to generate greater interest among buyers of new houses than older ones. Wiring is again an issue, of course, and most older houses -- unless a complete renovation involving removal of walls is involved -- can't be as inexpensively wired with Category 5 cables as new houses.

An addition to an older house is another matter because it involves construction of new walls. Still, home theaters in older houses are not things that come up every day.

If you are planning to build a home theater, here are some things to consider:

• If you want to ensure crisp and larger-than-life screen images and full surround sound, cable or a digital satellite system is a must. You should consider investing in a DVD player, and replace your existing videocassette recorder with one that offers high-fidelity sound and a four-head video system.

• You should choose a screen that is large enough so that you will not be distracted by activities to the left and right of the screen. Conventional wisdom says that you should buy a screen with a picture size that, in inches, is four to seven times the distance, in feet, from your screen to your seating position.

• For surround sound, you will have to select an audio-visual receiver or surround processor that can decode the new digital audio systems and is compatible with tens of thousands of analog surround titles and television programs.

• Because surround processors provide six full channels of surround sound, having speakers that are matched at the three front channels is essential. You'll need to add a sub-woofer, which is designed to produce bass.

When the home theater opens for business, what will most homeowners be showing?

According to a survey by Lutron Electronics of visitors to its home theater exhibit at DisneyWorld's Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla., 51.6 percent picked action/adventure videos. And most respondents -- 67.1 percent -- would watch them on weekends.

For more articles by Al Heavens, please press here.

Published: October 5, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Al Heavens writes about real estate and home repair and improvement. He is the author of What No One Ever Tells You About Renovating Your Home: Real-Life Advice For Hassle-free, Cost-Effective Remodeling.