Building a Smart Home Theater: Lights, Sound, and Automation

My home theater room went through three phases. Phase one was a TV on the wall with a soundbar and too much glare from the windows. Phase two was adding blackout curtains I had to manually close and some bias lighting I controlled separately. Phase three — the current setup — ties everything together so that when I say "movie time," the lights dim to a warm glow behind the TV, the blackout shades drop, the receiver switches to the right input, and the Apple TV opens to my streaming apps. Getting here took some trial and error, so let me share what worked and what did not.

Bias Lighting: The Cheapest Upgrade That Makes the Biggest Difference

Before you spend money on anything else, put LED bias lighting behind your TV. Bias lighting reduces eye strain during long viewing sessions by reducing the contrast between the bright screen and the dark room around it. It also makes the picture appear to have better contrast and deeper blacks because of how your eyes perceive the image relative to the surrounding light.

Govee TV Backlight T2 (~$70 for 55-65" TVs, ~$90 for 75-85") — The Govee T2 has a camera that sits on top of your TV and matches the LED colors to what is on screen in real-time. Movie explosions make the wall glow orange. Underwater scenes cast blue light behind the TV. It is genuinely immersive and works with any content on any input since it reads the actual screen image via camera rather than requiring an HDMI connection. The adhesive LED strip sticks to the back of your TV and runs to the camera/control box. Setup takes about 15 minutes. It works with Alexa, Google, and the Govee app. Home Assistant integration is available through the Govee LAN API if you want local control.

Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip (~$230 for 55" version) — The premium option. The Hue Play Gradient is a single lightstrip with individually addressable zones, so different parts of the strip can show different colors simultaneously. When synced with the Hue Sync Box ($230, sold separately — yes, the total cost is steep), it matches on-screen content with extremely low latency via HDMI passthrough. The Hue ecosystem integration is the best in the business: HomeKit, Alexa, Google, Home Assistant, and full scene support in the Hue app. The color accuracy and brightness are noticeably better than the Govee, but you are paying three to four times as much for the complete setup.

My recommendation: start with the Govee. If you love the concept and want better performance, upgrade to the Hue system later. Either way, bias lighting transforms the viewing experience.

Motorized Blackout Shades

If your theater room has windows, controlling ambient light is critical. Manual blackout curtains work, but having to get up and close them every time you want to watch something gets old fast. Motorized shades let you include window control in your automation scenes.

IKEA FYRTUR/PRAKTLIEST (~$130-170 per shade) — The budget option that actually works. These are Zigbee-connected blackout roller shades that work with the IKEA DIRIGERA hub. They have gotten steadily better since launch and now support HomeKit (through the DIRIGERA hub), Alexa, Google, and Home Assistant. The blackout fabric does a good job, though some light bleeds around the edges since they are not side-tracked. Battery-powered with a rechargeable battery pack that lasts about 6 months depending on usage. The selection of sizes is limited compared to custom shades, so measure carefully before buying.

Lutron Serena Shades (~$400-800+ per shade) — The high-end choice. Lutron uses their own wireless protocol (Clear Connect) which is rock-solid reliable — no WiFi interference, no Zigbee mesh issues. The Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge provides HomeKit, Alexa, Google, and Home Assistant integration. Serena shades are available in custom sizes and a wide range of fabrics. The blackout options are excellent with optional side channels to eliminate light bleed. The Pico remote that comes with them is a beautiful piece of hardware that you can mount on the wall. Expensive, but if you are building a dedicated theater space, the quality and reliability are worth it.

The Harmony Hub Is Dead — Here Is What to Use Instead

Logitech officially discontinued the Harmony line in 2023, which left a massive hole in the home theater automation world. Harmony hubs were the go-to solution for controlling multiple AV devices with a single remote or automation trigger. If yours still works, keep using it — they still function, they just are not making new ones or providing updates. But if you need a new solution, here are your options:

SofaBaton U2 (~$200) — This is the closest direct replacement for the Harmony Elite. It is a universal remote with a hub that handles IR, Bluetooth, and WiFi control. The hub plugs into your entertainment center and sends IR signals to your devices, while the remote communicates with the hub over WiFi. The SofaBaton app lets you program activities (similar to Harmony activities) that turn on multiple devices and switch inputs with a single button. The remote has a small touchscreen and physical buttons. It works, but the software is not as polished as Harmony was in its prime. No direct smart home integration — it is purely a remote control solution.

Broadlink RM4 Pro (~$45) — A tiny IR/RF blaster that learns commands from your existing remotes and replays them on command. It connects to WiFi and works with Alexa, Google, and Home Assistant. The concept is simple: point your TV remote at the Broadlink, press the power button, and the Broadlink learns that IR code. Now you can trigger it from an automation. It handles IR (most TVs, receivers, projectors) and 433MHz RF (some motorized screens, fans, older devices). At $45, it is a cheap way to bring dumb IR devices into your smart home. The downside is that programming it is tedious — you have to teach it every command one by one.

Home Assistant as Universal Remote — If you already run Home Assistant, it can serve as the brain of your home theater control. Use a Broadlink RM4 for IR devices, HDMI-CEC for TV and streaming device control, and native integrations for smart devices. HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is built into every modern TV and lets connected HDMI devices control each other. Your Home Assistant box (if connected via HDMI, like a Raspberry Pi) can send CEC commands to turn the TV on/off, switch inputs, and control volume without any additional hardware. Combine that with a Broadlink for your AV receiver, and you have full control from a Home Assistant dashboard on your phone or a wall-mounted tablet.

Audio Automation

Smart speakers have gotten good enough that some people use them as part of a theater setup, though a proper AV receiver and speakers still sound dramatically better for movies.

Sonos — If you have a Sonos soundbar (Beam at $450, Arc at $900), it integrates well with the broader Sonos ecosystem. The Sonos app lets you group speakers so movie audio plays in the living room while music continues in the kitchen, or you can set the whole house to the same source. Home Assistant has excellent Sonos integration for automations. The Sonos Arc with Sub and surround speakers is a legitimate home theater audio system that does not require running speaker wire.

Denon/Marantz HEOS — If you have a Denon or Marantz AV receiver (the most popular brands for home theater), they include HEOS multi-room audio built in. HEOS supports Alexa, AirPlay 2, and Home Assistant. You can use Home Assistant automations to set the receiver volume, switch inputs, and even select sound modes. The Denon AVR-S770H (~$400) is a great mid-range receiver that gives you real surround sound processing along with HEOS smart features.

Putting It All Together: The "Movie Mode" Scene

Here is how my "movie time" automation works in Home Assistant:

• Bias lighting sets to 15% brightness with a warm white color (2700K).
• Ceiling lights in the theater room fade to zero over 5 seconds.
• Motorized blackout shades close (IKEA FYRTUR, takes about 20 seconds).
• AV receiver powers on and switches to the HDMI input for the Apple TV (via Broadlink IR).
• TV powers on via HDMI-CEC.
• Living room Sonos speaker volume reduces to 10% so it does not compete.
• Phone notifications are suppressed (via Focus mode on iPhone, triggered by a Shortcuts automation that detects when the Home scene activates).

I trigger this with an NFC tag stuck to the coffee table, a voice command ("Hey Siri, movie time" — exposed via Home Assistant HomeKit Bridge), or a button on my Home Assistant dashboard. The reverse automation — "lights up" — raises the shades, brings the ceiling lights back to 80%, turns off the bias lighting, and powers down the receiver.

CEC Control: Free and Underrated

HDMI-CEC deserves special attention because it is free, built into everything, and most people do not use it. CEC lets HDMI-connected devices send control commands to each other. Practical examples: when you turn on your Apple TV, it can automatically turn on your TV and switch to the right input. When you turn off the TV, it can put the Apple TV to sleep.

Most TVs have CEC enabled by default but call it different brand names — Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG calls it SimpLink, Sony calls it BRAVIA Sync. Check your TV settings and make sure it is turned on. Then enable CEC on your streaming device and AV receiver. The result is fewer remotes and more things just working automatically when you start using a device.

If you run Home Assistant on a device with an HDMI port (Raspberry Pi, Intel NUC, old laptop), you can send CEC commands programmatically using the HDMI-CEC integration. This gives you "free" TV power and input control without buying any additional hardware.

Start with One Scene and Build From There

Do not try to automate everything at once. Start with a single "movie mode" scene that handles lights and maybe shades. Get that working reliably, then add AV control, then add the finishing touches. Each layer you add makes the experience a little more seamless, and doing it incrementally lets you troubleshoot issues without wondering which of ten things broke. A well-built theater automation makes you feel like you are living in the future, and it is one of the most satisfying smart home projects you can tackle.