How to build a media centre at home

The fragmentation of digital media platforms in recent years has led to some ostensibly strange, yet actually commonplace, occurrences.

We read books on tablets, listen to music over the internet, watch films on smartphones and play games which are preloaded onto TV sets.

As a result, entertainment is always at hand – yet many of us fail to appreciate it properly.

The ancient art of mindfulness involves concentrating on one thing to the exclusion of all others, which is the antithesis of today’s distracted and attention-deficient behaviours.

One way to regain an appreciation of art and entertainment is to build a media centre at home – a dedicated place for the consumption and enjoyment of creative material.

This might form part of a family room, a teenager’s den, a man cave or simply the living room.

Wherever it is, and whoever it’s aimed at, these are some of the key elements to incorporate into any media centre…

Wired broadband

Depending on your broadband account, it may be possible to position the wireless router in or near the media centre and hardwire larger electronic devices to it via Ethernet cables.

If not, since high-speed connectivity is likely to underpin several activities, use Powerline adaptors or mesh extenders to ensure connectivity is as rapid and reliable as possible.

A home with 11Mbps broadband will always struggle with multiple online activities at once, but any Fibre to the Cabinet connection ought to be sufficient for most streaming and gaming services.

Wireless headphones

Investing in a high-quality pair of Bluetooth headphones can be transformative – for the media centre user but also for everyone else in the house.

Noise annoys, and the explosions of a first-person shooter game or the pinch harmonics of heavy metal music may not be appreciated by anyone else.

Set up one pair of headphones across every device to achieve seamless wireless audio output. Noise-cancelling headphones are more immersive; choose over-ear sets with padded cups.

A high-quality TV set

Film and TV content shouldn’t be watched on a five-inch smartphone. It should always be experienced on a large screen where background detail and captions can be appreciated.

OLED isn’t essential, though it is superior to standard LED. Optimal screen size is dependent on available space and distance from chairs, but bigger screens tend to be more immersive.

If you’re predominantly going to use wireless headphones, sound output is secondary. If not, look for higher-wattage speakers – soundbars may cause picture and sound to be out of sync.

Multiple chargers

From games controllers to smartphones, from wireless headsets to tablets, you shouldn’t build a media centre without charging cables or mats to support every peripheral and device.

The increasing adoption of USB-C will minimise the historic spaghetti of wires needed, though a few different cables should still be allied to a wireless charging mat and a trove of batteries.

Keeping these in the media centre means you can continue to use every device while it charges, without turning the house upside down in search of a USB-A to Lightning cable.

A computer

Smartphones do an incredible job of acting as pocket computers, though many activities are better when they’re conducted on a desktop or laptop computer.

A few examples include online gaming, anything involving email, editing audio/video files and designing online content (including websites).

A modern laptop could power an array of full-size peripherals through a docking station, without requiring a monitor alongside the TV (or a bulky tower).

A hi-fi system

This may not be a universally desired choice, though the increasing commodification of music rather overlooks its power to immerse, entertain and soothe.

Investing in a stereo which supports cassettes, CDs and/or vinyl enables physical music collections to be enjoyed as the artists intended, free of adverts and mouse-clicks.

There are many stunning music systems on sale, though it isn’t necessary to spend thousands of pounds on one. Speaker or headphone quality is more important than aesthetics or branding.