Whether you’re throwing the Super Bowl party of the century or just inviting some of your neighbors over for the game, you’ll want to make sure you’re ready, and this includes the technology. Here’s your just-before-game-day checklist to make sure your home theater has its game face on.

Remote Control? Check.
Make sure your remote has fresh batteries. Even though there’s only one channel anyone will be watching, you’ll want to be able to lower and raise the volume quickly and easily. If you’ve been fumbling with multiple remote controls (DirecTV or cable box, Blu-Ray, HDTV, etc.) you’ll want to consolidate with a Universal Remote control solution. Now’s the time.

Clean the Screen
Nothing will ruin the mood worse than fingerprints on the screen during the big play. Clean your HDTV screens using a dry microfiber cloth. For stubborn spots, use commercial LED screen cleaner or a mixture of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. Find out more here: http://jdpro.wpengine.com/how-to-clean-your-hdtv/.

Safety First: Is Your HDTV Screen Mounted Safely?
If you had a licensed, insured, home theatre professional install your LED screen, including mounting the screen using the right hardware, you shouldn’t have to worry, even when your friends start jumping up and down and pounding on the furniture.

If you mounted your new HDTV screen yourself, make sure:

• You purchased the right size mount for your screen
• You drilled the mounts directly into beams.
• If you are mounting the screen on brick, concrete or concrete blocks, specific hardware may have been required. Did you follow all manufacturer’s instructions for mounting your screen?

If you’re not sure about any of this, now’s the time to get the right mounting hardware, call a friend for help, and do the job right. Your screen may never see this much action again, but you don’t want to risk embarrassment, or an injury, at your Super Bowl party.

Get Wired Right
Do-it-yourselfers often finding mounting an HDTV screen pretty easy … until it comes to wire management. You may find yourself with messy wires hanging dangerously. A wire management kit can easily conceal wires on the wall in tubing. If it’s too late for that, though, use zip ties to bundle wires and pick up any slack so there’s nothing hanging that could be a safety hazard.

Next time, though, consider calling a home theater professional with the tools to run wires through your walls, concealing them completely.

Now, on Sunday morning, your technology should be good to go, so you just have to make sure the beer’s cold, the wings are hot, and guests are on their way. Remind them to leave early because traffic anywhere in the New York Tri-state area could be a disaster. But, hey, at least they have the option of walking to your house, which is way better than a $51 bus ride to MetLife Stadium.