U.S. News & World Report - February 15, 1999 A Movie Theater for Five The ultimate '90s status symbol for high-tech homebodies: a media room By Mike Romano When John Elway dropped back to pass on Super Bowl Sunday, he took up every inch of John Putier's 7-foot-wide television. The sound of colliding shoulder pads cracked out of five surrounding speakers. Purrier, a Microsoft mogul, says he enjoyed the game more in his new high-tech media room than seeing it in person. "Plus, I can get whatever I want to eat," he says. Of course, for the $350,000 that the room cost-half for construction, half for the electronics-Purrier could have had some pretty good seats in Miami. As entertainment technology grows more affordable, media rooms of all sizes and prices are increasingly common. Rather than just adding a big-screen television to the family den, designers build the room around audio, video, and Internet technologies. When Purrier renovated his Seattle home last year, he hired local remodeler Michael Tenhulzen to turn his basement laundry room into a multimedia center befitting an Internet honcho. Designed as an art-deco cinema in miniature, the room-really an alcove off a larger library-feature two tiered rows of red velvet lounge chairs (cup holders included), matching velvet curtain to cover the giant TV screen, and wall-to-wall bookshelves. A refigerator hides under the green marble wet bar, adorned with an antique peanut warmer that Purrier bought over the Web. Laser disk and higher-quality DVD players are neatly tucked behind custom cabinetry. A touch-screen remote control built into the armrest between the front two seats controls an overhead projector, five speakers (three in front, two in back), and Nintendo 64. The remote can also dim lights, shut automated window shades, and arm a home security system. Decent equipment for an entry-level entertainment center, with large-screen TV and five-speaker surround-sound system, can run about $2,000, says Mark Sipe, owner of Madison Audio in Seattle, who has been installing home theaters since the 1970's. Design and installation add 10 to 20 percent to the tab. The first few thousand dollars in upgrades, suggests Sipe, might go to sound: better speakers, a DVD player along with a five-channel Dolby digital processor that routes sounds independently to each speaker. To plan and install your media room, experts recommend … hiring experts. This is harder than it sounds, according to Billilynne Keller, executive director of the nonprofit Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association, based in Indianapolis. "There's so much business that our industry can't handle it all," she says. Because of the shortage of qualified system designers and installers, CEDIA is busy training recruits and plans to add a certification course later this year at its annual trade show. The trade group offers nationwide referrals at (800) 669-5329. "Television has replaced the fireplace," sighs Joseph Luna, AIA, of Luna Design Group in Lynnfield, Mass., who won a National Association of Home Builders design award for a high-end yet homey media room outside Boston. Luna is currently designing a media room for his family. "Is it good for society? I don't know. I'm not a sociologist. They just pay me to build things."