Getting Started With Your Home Movie Theater
Everything changes, of this we can be certain. The preceding generation of the 1950s and 60s remembers when gas was 22 cents a gallon, including full-service by a nice man in a white uniform; car hops brought hot dogs and root beer on a tray to your car, and movie-going was an exciting experience. Drive-in theaters had horrible picture quality and even worse sound; nobody cared because making-out was more important than the feature. Movie theaters didnt come in clusters, and were velvet-lined and richly carpeted even in the balcony.
Today the home movie theater is making a stunning debut. Mall theaters are still drawing a crowd, but many prefer the convenience of home viewing. Encarta defines a home movie theater as a combination of high-quality sound and video reproduction in the home. These systems range from simple and inexpensive to complex, expensive and high maintenance. A nineteen-inch TV hooked up to a couple of extra speakers in the family room may technically qualify as a home movie theater, but true enthusiasts would sneer at the mere thought.
Lets Do It!
To get started with a home movie theater, picture yourself as Russell Crowe playing Maximus in Gladiator. Youre standing in the middle of the Coliseum in Rome, surrounded on all sides by roaring crowds, advancing opponents and pounding chariots. You hear every clash of metal on metal during deadly sword duels. Its as if you were right there, experiencing the sights and sounds along with Maximus. Now youve got the idea: your home movie theater should create an atmosphere of virtual reality.
Theater enthusiasts will tell you that two things are essential to start building your in-home movie theater: a large television and a surround sound system. Consider strongly a TV of at least fifty inches, preferably the sixty-one inch, high definition models. You want to be there, remember. A decade ago, big screen TVs were twenty-five inches; today, a true theater-quality TV less than fifty inches is a contradiction in terms.
In addition to the TV, the heart of your home movie theater sound system is the surround decoder. This device recreates the experience of multi-channel cinema sound right in your home. The decoder separates all audio signals from a sound source and sends the signals to various speakers placed throughout the room. Dolby surround sound indeed puts you into the arena with Maximus. The sound isnt coming at you from the TVs speakers, its coming from all around you, depending on how youve strategically placed your speakers.
Now that youve acquired the basics of your home movie theater, youll want to think further about the location of the theater, its furnishings, and other extras that can turn any evening into a stunning cinema experience.
Home Theatre Equipment Scematic
A nineteen-inch TV hooked up to a couple of extra speakers in the family room may technically qualify as a home movie theater, but true enthusiasts would sneer at the mere thought.
Instead, go out and buy a home theater projector and enjoy movie theater quality in the comfort of your own home. This is speaking in regards of the equipment you can purchase, and the costs involved. Its meant to make you feel as though youre there, experiencing the action.
You know what you want in a home theater entertainment center and keeping in mind your media collection and your electronics there is an endless stream of possibilities to designing and making your home theater experience truly memorable.
You will also need an audio/video receiver or processor component that includes Dolby Digital technology, in order to be able to decode the Dolby Digital signal into its six discrete output channels. No matter how you arrange your home theater seating, you will be able to have a room that allows for many hours of entertainment for you and your family. 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. Do your homework and navigate the multitude of brands and designs available, both on the market as well as online. You may not know how it works, but you do know what you need. Youve decided that you want a home theater.
The sound was meant to blow your hair back.
It certainly will enhance the users audio and video experience. Remember that the sound system can be coordinated based on where in the room people will be sitting to enjoy the home theater system. 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. Youll need a large-screen TV at least fifty inches or youll have a great sound system with a sub-standard picture. Acquiring a good home theater system is a very viable option for many people today. Betamax died a short, agonizing death and the VCR became the undisputed ruler of home theater. |
