Using Your DVD Home Theater System
Do you remember the Betamax-VHS war? If you do, youve been around long enough to see how vastly home entertainment has changed. Betamax died a short, agonizing death and the VCR became the undisputed ruler of home theater. Its reign was long and popular, but the VCR format definitely had its drawbacks. Bulky video cartridges that took up more space than your entire bookshelf, and broken, frayed tapes that were eaten by the player are just two of these routine annoyances.
The times have turned again with the advent of the DVD home theater system. Digital video disks (DVDs) made their debut in 1995-1996. To make the transition even more palatable, some of the electronic kings Philips, Sony and Toshiba along with movie studios came to an agreement on DVD standards that brought uniformity to the technology. By the time DVD home theater systems moved into your living room, these DVDs looked just like music compact disks (CDs) and computer CD-ROMs. One important difference is that your DVD home theater systems are able to store at least seven times the amount of data that a music CD can hold. For you, this means that you can watch Gone With the Wind all three hours of it- without changing disks.
How Do I Use It?
Using your DVD home theater system isnt difficult. In fact, more than ten million American homes use this technology. Your system is further enhanced by the use of AC-3, a digital version of Dolby Surround Sound. Youll find that AC-3 uses digital compression to provide CD-quality sound in as many as five surround channels; left, center, right, and separate right and left rear channels. Theres even a sixth channel for a low-frequency subwoofer. Your DVD home theater system will deliver extraordinary sound quality as well as cinema-quality video reproduction.
Fortunately, you dont have to be an electronic genius to operate and enjoy your DVD home theater system. All the technological work has been done for you; you dont have to understand it to use and enjoy it. But you should know the industrys buzz words like AC-3 and Dolby Surround Sound when you purchase your system. This lets the electronics salesman know that youre not a techno-idiot and you want your moneys worth without a lot of sales talk. You may not know how it works, but you do know what you need.
Yes, youre going to have to read the manual. However, even these how-to guides have become more user friendly. You do need to have patience in setting up your equipment; your DVD home theater system isnt a toaster. But it is an investment for you and your family unless all you need are re-runs of inane reality shows.
Best Home Theater Systems
To find wireless home theater components, you can go to your local home theater store and ask for help.
When picking out your home theater furniture, but sure to choose pieces that are large enough to accommodate the people who will be enjoying it. These will give your guests a great experience at your home. That way, youll hear sounds from all directions, placing you right in the middle of it all. It used to be that when you wanted to hear the quality youll get from you home theater audio system, you had to buy expensive tickets and go to the theater. You need to decide how big you want the picture to be, and whether you should use a television or a screen with a projector.
There are advantages to having surround sound, which further enhances the movie viewing experience by combining the awesome audio effects through a PC connected to the surround sound speakers.
A television has more options, while a projector and screen can cover a bigger space. You can get a DVD player or recorder, an audio tuner for music, a CD player, a gaming console and so much more. Each day, there are more and more home theater accessories. There are disadvantages to this product as well however, such as that it does not have a stand, a tuner, or speakers, has sparse input selection, does not include a digital input, cannot change aspect ratios with HDTV sources, and floats backs. You hear every clash of metal on metal during deadly sword duels.
While the Intervideo home theater Platinum 2 bundles come complete with a remote control, the TV card isnt included.
Finally, you can build a home theater to your own comfort standards. Once you have your entire setup, its time to decide just how you want the home theater system installation to proceed. You need to decide how big you want the picture to be, and whether you should use a television or a screen with a projector. Dont forget the most important part. Remember that the sound system can be coordinated based on where in the room people will be sitting to enjoy the home theater system. Without going overboard and buying an expensive projection screen, it is still possible to transform the video image by exercising care when purchasing your home theater projection screen in order to complement a good quality projector. |
