Room Design
The screen, the projector, the speakers and the subwoofers in one room — every seat, every layer, and every result kept in step as you change any of them.
Printed at the top of the report. Like the rest of the design, these details are kept in the link — a link you share shares them too. The report is signed with TekScene's own contact details.
Type any length the way you'd read it off the tape — 13' 6", 13 6, 6 1/2", 4.1 m or 410 cm — in any field, whichever unit is selected. A field keeps the unit you typed into it; the toggle resets them all. Arrow keys nudge by an inch or a centimeter.
Planning a theater and want a second pair of eyes on the layout? Let's talk it through.
Get in TouchScreen is off. Tick it on its tab to add it: the screen: its type, size, height and where it sits.
Plan
A planning aid, provided as is. Before you buy or install anything, please confirm the results against the manufacturers' documentation and the room itself — TekScene can't be responsible for errors in the tools or in the details entered. Terms of use
One room, designed as one system
A home theater is a set of decisions that pull on each other. The screen sets how far back the seats can sit and how high the picture goes. The seats set where the speakers must be for their angles to work, and whether a second row needs a riser to see over the first. The subwoofers interact with the room’s modes differently at every seat, so the same bass placement can be even in one row and uneven in the next.
Planning those one at a time hides the trade-offs. Room Design keeps the room, the seating, the screen, the speakers and the subwoofers in a single model: move a row and the speakers are re-placed for it, the sight lines are checked again, and the seat-to-seat bass is recalculated — all from the same room, in the same views.
Each part is a module with its own tab, in the order a design comes together: Risers and Seating, Screen and Projector, Speakers and Subwoofers. The Risers tab builds the platforms the rows stand on, with their steps; the Seating tab places the rows, how far they recline and what each sees over the row ahead. The Screen tab sets the picture’s type, size and height and grades the view from every seat; the Projector tab places a projector for that screen — throw distance, zoom, lens shift, brightness and whether the beam clears every head. The Speakers tab places the layout from 2.x up to 9.x.6 and beyond for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D and checks it from every seat against CEDIA/CTA-RP22; the Subwoofers tab models how each subwoofer position excites the room’s modes and compares the bass at every seat. Any module can be switched off — a design can be a room and its seats alone — and the plan, side section, wall views and 3D view show whatever is on.
Every tab counts its problems — a red ✗ for errors, an amber ⚠ for warnings — so a change in one part that causes trouble in another shows at once, on that tab and on the row, platform, pair or subwoofer concerned. The report puts the whole design on paper, each part on its own pages, with every measurement and every check.
What this model does and does not tell you
The speaker placement is geometry: angles, distances, heights and the paths from each speaker to each listener, checked against the formats’ guidelines and RP22’s spatial parameters. It does not model the speakers’ sound in the room — reflections, treatment and how a given speaker measures still need to be verified in the finished room.
The bass model is a rectangular, closed room with rigid walls. It compares seats against each other rather than predicting absolute level, and it does not account for openings, irregular walls, furniture or bass trapping beyond the damping you set. Treat it as a way to rank placements before anything is installed, then confirm with measurements in the actual room.
Platforms and steps are drawn to the dimensions you enter, and the steps are checked against the International Residential Code’s figures for a rise and a tread. Your local building code may differ, and a builder still measures the room.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start designing a home theater room?
Work from the fixed things to the flexible ones. Enter the room’s width, depth and height, then the seating: how many rows, how far from the front wall, and whether the rows recline. If the back rows will stand on platforms, add them in the Risers tab — the rows rise with them. Set the screen next, because its size and height decide where the front speakers and the first row can go.
Then choose the speaker layout your processor supports — or what is already wired in the room — and let the Speakers tab place it for every seat. Finish with the subwoofers, which depend on the room and the seats far more than on the other speakers.
Why do the speakers move when I move a row?
Speaker positions are set from a reference position — usually the middle seat of the main row — so that the angles each format specifies land where people actually sit. Move that row and the reference moves with it, so the speakers are re-placed to keep their angles. Every other seat is then checked again from where it now sits.
Should I place the subwoofers before or after the speakers?
After. The main speakers are placed for their angles to the listeners; the subwoofers are placed for something else entirely — how evenly the bass reaches every seat, which is governed by the room’s modes. Once the seating and speakers are settled, try subwoofer positions in the Subwoofers tab and compare the seat-to-seat spread.
Bass integration with the main speakers — crossover, level and delay — is set later, in the processor, ideally from measurements.
Do I need a riser for the second row?
Usually, unless the rows are far apart or the screen is high. The second row has to see the bottom of the picture over the heads of the row in front — or, if you accept a head covering a little of it, over their seat backs; you choose the rule for the whole design, and heads is the default. The Seating tab checks every row’s sight line, upright and reclined, and the Screen tab’s height guide shows how high the picture needs to be.
In the Risers tab you can fit a platform under a row — as wide as the row, from its footrests reclined to its backs — set its height, and add steps. The steps are checked against the International Residential Code’s limits: a rise of 7¾ in. at most and treads of at least 10 in. Check your local building code as well.
What do the red and amber badges on the tabs mean?
They count each part’s problems: a red ✗ for errors — a speaker outside its format’s range, a row that cannot see the whole picture — and an amber ⚠ for warnings. A change in one part that causes trouble in another shows on that part’s tab at once, and on the item concerned: the platform, row, pair or subwoofer.
The list under each tab’s panel says what each problem is and, where it can, how to fix it. If you decide to live with one, accept it: it leaves the badges, and the report lists it as accepted. If it is solved and comes back later, it shows as new.
Do I have to use every part?
No. Each tab has a switch: turn a part off and it leaves the design, the views and the report; turn it back on and it returns as it was. Some parts need others — the speakers and the subwoofers need the seating, and the projector needs a screen — so turning one on brings what it needs with it.
How accurate is Room Design?
The geometry is exact for the dimensions you enter: angles, distances, heights and sight lines. The bass model assumes a rectangular, closed room with rigid walls and compares seats against each other rather than predicting absolute level.
Neither part replaces measuring the finished room. Use it to compare layouts and avoid costly mistakes before anything is installed.
Which speaker layouts does it support?
From stereo up to 9.x.6 and beyond — including wides, extra side and rear pairs, and front, middle and rear overheads or height speakers — for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D, with CEDIA/CTA-RP22 as a design basis alongside them. Choose the layout in the Speakers tab; the tool places each speaker and says which formats render it.