Many homeowners with basements would assume that the best use for the room will be a home theater. Cliché as it may sound, the basement can indeed be made into an entertainment center. This will free up the living room from tall media cabinets and gaming chairs strewn on the floor and leave it as the inviting area to receive guests. Just like any project, however, this conversion will entail careful planning and a cash outlay to equip the room with the home theater devices you want. The basement has its own challenges that is unique to it so familiarize yourself with these first before starting on the project.
Basement Quirks
Before starting on your home theater design, take a good look at your basement. If the space is unfinished and musty, chances are, you will have to shell out more to finish it. Often, the floor plan of basements is oddly shaped, with corners and posts blocking views and passageways. An ideal home theater room will have a good-sized rectangular room for your family to experience the best sound quality. An extra-large basement that you want to divide for some other purpose such as a studio or a play room can still function as a home theater as long as you are able to put up walls between the designated areas. The issue of moisture build-up can be addressed by keeping your basement ventilated.
Home Theater Transformation
Since a third to 40% of your budget will go to snagging the best audio system you can afford, you better have some idea of the acoustics make up of your basement. Otherwise, you may need to hire a sound technician to design the optimum speaker positions and calibrate them to get the best sound quality. Along with your plasma TV or projector screen you may also need to plan for the layout of the wires behind the walls. A dark windowless basement can enhance your movie-watching, but since you will need lighting nonetheless, throw in a dimmer on top of your lamps or recessed lighting. Plan the layout of your room so you can have enough space to store the devices, your DVDs and games. In budgeting for the project, make sure that you have wiggle room for those extras that you might want like a popcorn machine or a fresh coat of paint.
Source: http://www.basementideas.org/basement-home-theater-system.html