Shoppers in this new millennium are much more knowledgeable about electronic goods than people were at any time earlier. The older generation of today grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s when everyone in the West had a television set and a stereo. Earlier generations were not so lucky for financial and technological reasons. Therefore, most shoppers nowadays have no compunctions about going shopping for complex electronic equipment like a home theater.

It is in the shoppers’ best interest to research and comprehend about the components that go into making up a good home theater. It is not particularly exacting and many if not all of the components involved have been around for at least a few years now. Consider what goes into a home theater:

a screen – can be a television screen, a canvas screen for a projector or a modern plasma or LCD screen. Stop thinking about the modern types of screen, they are still fundamentally TV screens and they have been around for 80 years or so. Same with a projector.

a player – a DVD player is just an improved CD player and they have been out for 20-30 years. You have possibly had one for most of that time. (You can add another dimension to your home theater here by swapping an Xbox for the DVD player, but games machines are not new).

speakers – they are nothing new either. Speakers have been about as long as the television set.

So you see, there is nothing in that package which you should feel awkward about buying. Fair enough, you will be buying state of the art examples of what I listed above, but they are essentially the same. You attach them all together with their special plugs and wires and then plug them into the mains. Switch on and it will work.

So the next issue is: do you buy a kit or do you buy the elements and build your own home theater? The answer to that question really depends on your level of competency. A kit is easy and may work out cheaper too, but will it have the flexibility that you want? If you have a standard sized and standard shaped room, then I am convinced that you will be able to buy a kit that will suit you. If you think that the speakers are sub-standard, you could always sell them on and upgrade after a period.

if you want to be certain of getting exactly what you need, I think that most people will have to buy the components separately: that is screen, player and speakers.

The size of the screen depends on the size of the room and how close you are sitting to it: a distance of between three times and five times the diagonal of the screen is about correct. However, some people like to be dominated by the screen and others do not want to wear their glasses, so it is up to personal preference.

The DVD player is a matter of personal preference too. They are all much of a muchness, but some people prefer Sanyo while others prefer Philips. If you want gaming functionality too, use an Xbox instead of an regular DVD player.

Most rooms will require at least a 5.1 surround sound speaker set. These ought to be acquired as one package to ensure that they are all well-matched. That is five normal speakers and a sub-woofer.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home theater speaker placement. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Wireless speakers are not the height of technology that they were not so long ago, but they are still fairly new. The good news is though that the cost of good quality wireless speakers has come down to an reasonable level for most people. However, the constant march of technology continues and it is almost impossible to be on the forefront of it for more than six months before something new comes out.

So, I have come to a deliberate decision not to be on the forefront of technology any more. Twelve months behind is good enough for me these days. It can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars to make that decision. I am sure that you are already aware how much items like computers, in particular laptops, and plasma TV screens have come down in recent times.

So, now is the time to get into wireless speakers. They are a good idea in any circumstances, because you can move speakers around without needing extension leads, but they are particularly practical in a home theater because people will not be able to trip over the wires in the dark.

Wireless speakers have come down in price because there are more manufacturers making them, which is the normal reason why this occurs. Many of the newer manufacturers are in the Far East, which is also nothing new, but the quality is just as good. They are just cheaper.

Wireless speakers are one of the first up-grades you should think about if your system is a couple of years old. Wireless speakers allow so much more freedom to move your speakers around to get the best sound out of your home theater set-up.

One suggestion if you want to try to save a bit on your purchase of wireless speakers is to buy online. But, do not rush into it. First of all do the round of the shopping malls and find out which wireless speaker systems you like. Take a note of three brands or models. Then go online and check the prices for these models.

You should note down the models, the online prices and the URL of the store where you saw them online. Then, go back to the stores where you first saw those models and ask if they are willing to equal, or better, the price. If they are willing to price match, all well and good. You have won because, if there is a problem you can return them locally. If they will not, you must weigh up the value of a local purchase to you.

You can easily end up with a top quality home theater system with wireless speakers by going about purchasing your up-grades in this way. You really ought to go the way of wireless speakers and if you do not believe me, just walk around the shopping mall one Saturday afternoon, you will soon be persuaded.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Home theaters are very popular in the West now for many reasons, but partly due to the recession. However, I predict that after the recession is over, home theaters will take off like a rocket. In my estimation, this is because, the slump has forced people to examine their spending, which usually means cutting back. Going out, eating out and movies are all in the front line of these cuts. However, the slump is upsetting and people have to get some enjoyment from somewhere.

In the medium to long term, it is cheaper to build a home theater for a family than take them to a proper movie theater every week. Taking a family of four to the movies costs $50-$100, whereas a modest home theater might cost $1,000. It does not take long to recoup those costs. And it saves you the hassle of travelling there and back, the noise and mobile phones during the film and high prices for candy and snacks.

OK, maybe people at the moment are buying cheap packages of home theaters, but one of the first things they will replace when they get a bit of money again will be the speakers, I bet. Evidently, you need a good quality, large screen, but after that, it is the sound and the bulwark to good sound is usually poor speakers.

The most important consideration in the design of your home theater is the dimensions of your room. If the room is small, you will not require so many speakers. Perhaps three speakers will be sufficient, if the room is small. However, if you only need three speakers and a sub-woofer, get good ones.

If you have a bigger room however, the basic three home theater speakers may not be enough. You may need to put up to six speakers and a sub-woofer around the room. The position of these speakers is up to you and can depend on the shape or and size of the room anyway, but typical layouts are:

3.1 system: one speaker to the left of the screen, one to the right and one below it. You can put the sub-woofer on top of the central speaker or at the back of the room. Try it and see.

5.1 system: as 3.1, but with two speakers at the back of the room too.

6.1 system: as 5.1, but with another speaker between the rear speakers, as in the front.

7.1 system: as 6.1, but with two speakers central rear, slightly away from each other. You can move the existing rear speakers around to the sides too.

This set-up requires a lot of wires as you can envisage. Now, you could staple the wires to the skirting board, but you should only do that after you are dead sure that you have the speakers in the right places. Or you could hang the speakers on the walls. However, although that sounds good for music, it does not always sound all right for a movie.

The best option is wireless speakers. Wireless speakers can be moved around to suit the number of people watching the film or moved out for cleaning or redecorating purposes. You do not want to bash your nice, new, expensive speakers with the vacuum cleaner, do you?

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

If you want to get a home theater system, there are a few essential principles that you should keep in mind. However, no matter how much advice you are given, if your level of know-how is insufficient to understand it, it is useless. Therefore, you have to be honest with yourself and admit to yourself how much you know.

Luckily for most of us, the Baby Boomers are the most electronically savvy older generation ever, because many of today’s older generation grew up in the 70’s when everyone had a TV and a stereo.

Music and sound quality is important to Baby Boomers. However, if you were one of those who was not interested in electronics, a home theater kit is probably for you. On the other hand, if you feel competent to take on the task, you will be better served by a system that you compile yourself.

This is not to say that kits are not much good, it is just that there are several variables that must be taken into account before purchasing a home theater system.

Sound or acoustics depends on the dimensions of the room where the home theater system is installed, most of us understand that, but because we are unlikely to want to remodel the room to suit the theater, we have to select a speaker system to fit the room.

Likewise with the screen. Bigger is not always better. There is a ratio that can be used to help you work out the size of the screen you should be thinking about, but even this proportion depends on individual predilection.

The formula says that you should sit 9-15 feet away from a 36 inch screen, but you might have poor eyesight and prefer to have a 48 inch screen. This is where packages fall down.

In general, home theater packages suit regular shaped, smallish rooms. By that, I mean 12 – 20 feet in length and combinations thereof. Then, depending on the room again, you will have to consider the sound system. Stereo is not up to the job, if you want to replicate the sound of a full size movie theater. In order to do that, you will need surround sound with at least three speakers and probably five or more.

All in all, you will get the best system for your home movie theater if you buy the components separately, especially if you have an odd or oblong shaped room or certain personal preferences. However, a standard package delivers a quick and easy, passable solution for many modern, ’standard’ sized rooms.

One last piece of advice though, if you do buy a kit, make sure it is one that you can upgrade, particularly in the sound section. A TV screen is just a matter of a connection and they are all the same, but if your home theater kit comes with three or five speakers, maybe you will want to add some more one day. You may also want to think about adding games functionality to your system too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.

A home theater requires a sizable investment of money, thought and installation, especially if you have a high quality home theater. Therefore, it is a shame that so may people just assemble all the pieces in a room without giving any thought to what other things they should be doing to enhance it. Unless you hire a professional consultant, you might not achieve the full potential of your home cinema system. However, it is not necessary to hire an adviser, if you just pay attention to a few common blunders made by a lot of home theater owners

The lighting in any cinema is very important, as I am sure you already know. Why is it then that many people do not treat it as important in their own home cinema? You never see external light – sun light – in a specialized movie theater and you should not want any in yours either. Hang heavy curtains over every window in the room and let them overlap the window by a good border.

Heavy curtains will not only keep external light out, but they will also dampen street sounds, something else you never hear in a real movie theater. If you have neighbours close by, it will also help to preclude them from being bothered by your loud films or music.

Do not try to save money by purchasing poor quality speakers. Do not mix and try to match speakers either, unless you are sure you know what you are doing. If you need five speakers and a sub-woofer, but can only afford three and the sub-woofer, buy speakers from a well-known brand that you know you can get hold of again.

Do not buy end of line speakers, as you will find upgrading hard. The best approach for the novice is to get a 5.1 surround sound set of speakers. Then, if at some point in the future you want to upgrade, you can quite easily, either by buying more or exchanging the lot in one go. One thing is for certain, a lot of the magic of going to the theater these days lies in the surround sound and you need to reproduce it at home.

It is not rocket science to put a home theater together whether it comes in kit form or not. However, if you do not feel comfortable setting it up, you would be better off having it done for you. Clearly, it is up to you how you go about this, but you could ask a relative or friend or neighbour or hire someone from the shop where you got it. My speculation is though that any reasonably competent eighteen year old has already seen one set up before and can do it for you.

Your movie theater, if it came in a kit, will or should have detailed instructions for you to follow. Please read the handbook before you start plugging things into each other. Read the handbook and inspect the parts until you are well acquainted with the installation process and the recommended positioning of the equipment.

Make sure that the voltage is adjusted appropriately before you plug it into the mains. Most equipment is made abroad for sale to many countries, so they usually have some sort of selector for the voltage. Get it wrong and you could blow a part of the equipment, probably the amplifier, the DVD player or the screen. that could mean replacement of the module or poor reproduction of sound or picture.

It is not hard to get the installation of your home theater right, but you do have to pay some attention to detail, if you want to get the best out of it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home theater speaker placement. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

If you do not buy your home theater in one box, as many people do, then you will have to choose a screen at some stage or another. However, not only that, but you may be faced with deciding between a TV-cum-monitor unit and a drop down canvas screen.

It really all depends on the dimensions of the room you want to use as your home theater. If you are going to convert the box bedroom into a movie theater, then a 28 inch TV screen might be enough for you, but if you are going to use a long room and people might be quite a few yards from the screen, then a projector and drop-down screen would almost certainly be the right answer.

However, for most people, a normal TV screen would be sufficient. There are various types of television sets on the market at the moment, so we will take a look at them in turn later. Firstly, I would like to talk about the dimensions. It has been standard practice for hundreds of years to place a painting five times the diagonal of that painting from the viewer’s eyes. In other words, if a painting or a screen or a window, is two feet diagonally, then the best place to view it from is ten feet away.

This is a general rule, it is not written in stone. Personal preference and eyesight come into it too. Therefore, if you used a 28 inch television set, the optimum viewing distance would be about 12 feet away. So, 28 inches would be plenty for most spare bedrooms, but perhaps not for a converted attic or basement. This relationship between screen and room size is the most important to get correct, otherwise the rest is a waste of money.

It all boils down to: do you like to sit in the front of the movie house or at the back? [We are only discussing viewing the film here]. If you like to be dominated by a huge screen, then the proportions I gave you must be decreased, otherwise they should be about accurate. Assess yourself: how far do you like to sit from your TV? Is it more or less than 5:1?

There are basically three types of view screens and they are: plasma, rear projection and front projection screens. The first is the modern flat screen TV, the second the conventional TV and the third a system with a projector.

Plasma Televisions

These televisions give the best quality, particularly for watching movies that are formatted for wide screen viewing. They have a much larger viewing area than traditional televisions and they also come in a wide variety of sizes in order to adapt to many varieties of home theater needs. The biggest problem with these beauties is the price, but that is dropping every month too.

Rear Projection Televisions

This is the standard cathode ray tube TV that we have all been watching since were born. Their major problem is that they are lumpy, but that was not a problem for decades, so if it suits your room, do not let it be a problem to you now,

Front Projectors

This is what you see at the movies or on old Cine 8mm – the drop-down projection screen. But, do not write it off. It still produces high-quality images and for larger rooms, it is basically the only screen for your home theater.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.

Many people like to relax after a hard day at work by going to the movie theater. However, if you go straight from work, you are apt to get caught in a traffic jam and you will not have had the chance to freshen up. However, if you go home first to have a shower and get changed, sometimes you can not be bothered to go out again. That is how it works with me in any case.

So, would it not be nice to be able to reproduce that authentic movie going experience in your own home? Not only can getting to the cinema be a hassle, you can be hassled once you are there too. People talking through the film or giggling right behind you, someone with his feet up on the back of the chair next to you, cell phones ringing, babies crying… It is enough to put you off. And it is not even as if it is a cheap experience anymore.

If you fall into this category, home theater was made for you. It is not necessary to have a spare room in which to set up your home theater, you could just as easily use the living room. The size of the screen is important, but that is a function of the size of your room or, more accurately put, a function of how far away from the screen you will sit.

If you require a very large screen, you could go for a projector, although for most people a 36 – 60 inch screen should be enough. Then speakers. You must have surround sound or you will miss out on a lot of the authenticity of a genuine movie theater experience. Again, the number of speakers depends on the size of the room. A 5.1 configuration will do for most rooms. That means quadraphonic sound, plus one extra speaker under the screen and a sub-woofer.

If you like to play games, then you could replace the standard DVD player with an Xbox for a truly awesome experience. Those are the basics of a medium to excellent home theater with possible games capability, but there are other things you can do as well.

A set of heavy curtains is a good idea. They will not only stop light coming in, but the will muffle sound getting out Seating is a necessity and I would add a few occasional tables too for drinks and snacks. If the room is not near the kitchen, a small fridge would be handy as well.

The seating provisions are important too. Some people just put a few couches in the room and that works well enough. Others prefer a few armchairs. If it is to be used primarily by kids, half a dozen bean bags is all they need to have fun. However, if you or you and your spouse want to make the experience really something else, why not get a couple of recliners or even better still electric massage chairs? You could be sitting there watching a film with a drink and some snacks on a near-by table while having all your troubles and stress from work being gently massaged away.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the Home Theater Chair. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Do you love going to the movie theater and get lost in the realism that their superior sound systems create? If you do, then I bet you are also one of those people who dislikes going there, only to have a potentially wonderful evening ruined by irresponsible people talking through the movie or letting their cell phones ring.

I used to love the movie theater, but that was in the time when people respected the rights of others to listen to a movie in silence. There were no crying babies, ringing mobile phones or noisy youths in cinemas and if they got in they were soon kicked out if there was any noise.

These days, cinema managers seem to take the easy route of letting these people spoil it for others. As a result, more and more quiet people are staying at home and the cinemas are becoming even noisier. If you are one of the stay-at-homes, but miss the cinema, why not recreate one in your home?

Build yourself a home movie theater with surround sound. You will never regret installing surround sound in your home, because you will be able to play your favourite films, the TV and your music through it. The distinction between surround sound and stereo or even quadraphonics is breath-taking.

Different people have different requirements, aspirations, funds and even hearing ability, so it is difficult to suggest a system to a mass audience, but there are ways and means for going about the purchase of your own home theater system. A lot of people buy a kit home theater. This is fine, if funds are limited, but you will want to upgrade the screen and the speakers before very long. If you just want to put a home theater in a small spare bedroom and do it quickly and easily, then this approach is for you.

If, however, you want a bit more, then you might prefer to get a bigger screen and make do with the speakers that came with the kit. These can easily be renewed later. If you want to get everything part by part, you will need a screen, speakers and DVD player. If you want to play games too, replace the DVD player with an Xbox.

But back to the speakers, whether you are renewing or putting your own system together, the strategy I suggest hold true. Write down the dimensions of your room or better still do a little plan of it to scale. Take this around the shops and malls and try to listen to a few installations in a room similar to your own. This could be difficult, but you might be lucky.

Work out whether you need a 3.1; 4.1; 5.1; 6.1 or even 7.1 set of compatible surround sound speakers. Basically, it all depends on the size of your room, but the shop assistant will be able to show and advise you. As a rule, a 5.1 surround sound set will be sufficient for most rooms. The figures stand for normal speakers and sub-woofers: ie 5.1 means five normal speakers and one sub-woofer.

The arrangement of the speakers depends on the size and shape of the room and on your personal preference, but the standard layout would be: one speaker the far left and far right of the screen and one beneath it with two more speakers a little apart from each other at the rear of the audience. The sub-woofer can go at the front or the rear.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.