Even with the cost of theater tickets going up and a large popcorn costing as much as lunch at a decent restaurant, I would still, fork over my hard earned money. Why? Because some movies I just wanted to experience in a movie house. I could not imagine the latest superhero action blockbuster on my meager home screen. I wanted the big screen experience.
A few months ago, I decided to realize a dream and build a home theater. I had been planning this for years, and quietly stashing away money while continuing to improve my home theater plans. Finally the day had come, and now you will never see me in a theater again. A movie house cannot compare to a good home theater system; from personal experience - here's why;
1. Picture Quality - sure some theaters have begun to upgrade to digital, but they still cannot keep up with the advances in the home consumer market. As of this writing the typical resolution of a high definition television is 1080 pixels using a progressive scan. Newer sets use 120hz and 24fps creating and even smoother, crisp picture during fast pans and fast action scenes. Using a top quality plasma television of 1080p projector, your home theater will beat a movie house picture hands down.
2. Customization - Movie theater normally adhere to industry standards in setting contrast, brightness, color balance, sharpness, etc. This standard set to what accurately represent to a wide audience what the filmmaker had envisioned. This may or may not be your taste. If not, it's your home theater, you are free to adjust the picture to what is perfect for you.
3. Environment control - Too cold? turn the thermostat up, or get a blanket. Never again miss a critical part of the movie because you had to use the bathroom or refill you popcorn. You have a lovely little pause button. You control the volume, when the movie starts, you can even go back if you missed some important dialogue.
4. A good sound system, such as the one I purchased is in an entirely other league than a movie house. The surround effects are amazing, and the clarity of shattering glass will make you flinch. Car crashes and explosions will shake your seat and literally pound your chest. You don't just hear the movie you feel it. If a crystal clear display allows you to feel like you are looking through a window into the film makers creation, a good sound system will make you feel like you are actually in the movie.
5. Comfort - I have seven leather recliners with built-in cupholders. Try finding that in a theater. The carpet is free of sticky soda residue and candy.
6. Sharing - It's great to share this experience with friends and to enjoy a good movie with close friends.
7. Sports - You can also enjoy all the above while watching the NBA playoffs and or watching the Superbowl.
For my home theater I opted for a 1080p projector with a 110" screen (that's 9.2 feet) and a 7.1 speaker system with two 10" 300 watt subwoofers. A 7.1 system means I have a center speaker for dialogue, two front speakers, two surround speakers and two rear speakers. Since I have two subwoofers I guess you could call it a 7.2 system.
While spending years planning out my system and countless hours testing out components and displays I have amassed a good deal of expertise in home theaters.
Build A Home Theater
Now we should learn about some technical terms and standards so that we know how to build a home theater system. This should be an easy home improvement project, but can be a very expensive project.
High Definition TV, HDTV, the new broadcast standard format for digital TV signals is ATSC for the USA and DVB for Europe and most of the rest of the world. HDTV also supports surround sound audio 5.1-channel.
The United States plans to cease broadcasting analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009 for metropolitan areas, rural areas may still have analog signals. Check with your local TV stations if you live in a rural area to see if they are going to change to digital broadcasting.
If you have a newer analog TV set in the USA , you may still be able to use the old TVs. There is a "TV Converter Box Coupon Program" that USA house holds can use for two $40.00 coupons which can be used to get a qualified converter box. The new HDTVs have an HD tuner built into it.
HDTV systems are defined by three parameters, frames or fields per second, number of lines in the vertical display, and the scanning system.
The progressive scanning system draws a complete image per refresh frame, it is labeled p. The interlaced scanning system draws every other line first then fills in the other lines on a second pass per refresh frame, and it is labeled i.
A 1280 x 720 pixels TV with progressive scanning at 60 frames per second is called a 720p60 monitor. A 1920 x 1080 pixels TV with an interlaced scanning at 50 frames per second is called a 1080i50 monitor. Some of the newer HDTVs have a refresh rate of a 120 HZ or frames per second.
Choosing a quality home theater receiver for your home theater is a demanding task. The cost varies from a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. How do you select the right one for your home theater. First you should understand what the receiver can do and what you want then you will know how to build home theater.
Blu-ray has won the next generation DVD player battle. The Blu-ray DVD unit still has a high cost. It may take a year or more for the price of these units to come down.
The kind of speaker system you get can be either a stereo system or a surround sound system. The surround sound system come in a number of versions. The current ones are a 5.1, 6.1 or 71. system. The size of your theater room will determine how large of a system you can use. You should size the system to your room.
The Telephone companies are adding fiber optic cable that will support internet access, telephone service and video. So this is another choice for a distribution system of either fiber,cable or satellite.
Both Ronald.varghese & Bruce Contryman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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