Home theater gives you entertainment at home with a little extra excitement. It is actually a combination of video and audio equipment put together in your home in such a way that you feel you are actually sitting in a movie theater as opposed to in your own living room or family room. Unlike what many people think, home theater does not have to run into big bucks. Instead it can be as basic or as advanced you want to make it.

A home theater can consist of as simple or as elaborate a system as you prefer. For example a 32-inch television set with a DVD player and/or a HiFi VCR with a stereo and speakers can equal a home theater experience. Make it whatever you like.

High Definition or HDTV programming is gaining strength all of the time, in the form of broadcast, cable and satellite service. HDTV can greatly increase the entertainment value of a home theater. For example the audio of HDTV video comes in surround sound. What this does is it takes complete advantage of the surround sound receiver of HDTV broadcasting.

Although a DVD is currently not available in a high-resolution format, it displays what is known as a progressive scan signal. It is a progressive scan which makes the DVD player work to its optimum best. The majority of new DVD players today have the ability to offer progressive scanning and it is this function that gives the movie watcher an image that is clear, smooth and greatly recreates the quality of a film seen in a movie theater.

When looking into setting up your own home theater to receive HDTV signals, you must first find out what particular sources are available in your area. HDTV can be obtained from three different sources. The first and most commonly accessible source is over-the-air (otherwise known as terrestrial) broadcasts that can be received by way of an aerial (or rooftop) antenna. You must live within a sixty-mile radius of the nearest transmitter to make use of this source of HDTV signals for your home theater and your property must have an unobstructed view for the signals to clearly come through.

The second most widely used source is HDTV via satellite. Crrently there are only two networks that broadcast HDTV by way of satellite. These are DirecTV and Dish Network. DirecTV offers the channels HBO, Showtime and HDNET, while Dish Network offers the Discovery channel, HBO, Showtime, a 24-hour pay-per-view channel, an HD demo channel and the national feed of CBS HD.

The third source of HDTV for home theater is cable. Not all cable systems carry HDTV broadcasting as it varies from location to location. Keep in mind an important point, and that is that a ?digital cable system? has no association whatsoever with DTV transmitted by way of cable. Digital cable is basically just regular cable that is digitally transmitted but with a multitude of other channels. The closest thing this could compare to is digital satellite. If you want to go this route it is important that you get in touch with your local cable company to find out if it is even possible to do so.

To decode and convert HDTV signals into the format that the TV can recognize you will need an HDTV tuner or a television with HDTV built in. A true HDTV has a built in tuner built in and is not merely HD ready. With the advancement of the technology this is becoming easier to find and the prices are coming down.

Shop around and you will be able to build a home theater system that will be the envy of your friends.