Why venture out to a movie theater when you can stay home and watch almost any movie you want in the comfort of your own home?
Today’s technologies let you buy, rent, download, or watch movies on demand—it’s just a matter of having the right equipment to turn your home theater experience into one that can rival any local theater.
Fortunately, the right equipment is easy to purchase and use. Four key components are must-haves for any home theater: a high-definition television (HDTV), a surround-sound receiver, a DVD or Blu-ray player, and speakers.
High-definition television
With a home entertainment system, HDTV is a must. An HDTV lets you view TV programs and movies in a 16:9 aspect ratio—widescreen, just like at the movies. How big that widescreen is will depend on the size of your room and your personal preferences. There are several types of television displays, though, to consider: plasma, liquid crystal display (LCD), digital light projection (DLP), rear projection, front projection, and light-emitting diode (LED), Just to name a few.
Also read: LCD or Plasma TV: How to choose?
LG 42LK450 42 inch Class LCD HDTV
LCDs offer a high screen resolution with incredible detail and crispness—especially in HDTV—and low glare. LCDs have a wider viewing angle than other types of TVs, and can be hung on walls for optimal viewing. They come in a wide range of screen sizes and price points and a nice one is the LG 42LK450 42 inch Class LCD HDTV ($579.00). The 42-inch slat screen television has the prerequisite full HD 1080p resolution needed for high definition TV. It has a technology called Picture Wizard II that enables a user to self-calibration key picture quality elements such as black level, color, tint, sharpness and backlight levels. It has eight picture modes and enough connections to satisfy any technology buff including 3 HDMI/HDCP input, 1 digital audio out, 1 PC audio input, 2 component video in and a headphone port, to name a few.
Rear-projection displays, like the Panasonic 61" LIFI Projection LCD HDTV, project images from behind a screen through a reflection process and are a relatively inexpensive way to get a very high-quality picture. Front-projection displays can use a screen or even a white wall. An additional benefit of projection displays is that they can come in larger sizes than a standard display—LCD front-projection displays, for example, can go as large as 25 feet in diameter!
Samsung PN43D450 43-inch plasma HDTV
At first glance a plasma television and an LCD one may appear to be the same, slim with sharp images, but it goes deeper. At the very basics the difference is one uses charged plasma cells and the other is two sheets of glass with liquid crystals in between that are altered by varying the charge. Not going into an ‘us against them” rant, the basic advantage plasma brings is a darker black since LCD has light leakage between pixels, although the advantage is getting smaller and better viewing angles.
A good plasma television is the Samsung PN43D450 43-inch plasma display ($539.00). The display has a 720p resolution and is designed for a home theater with SRS TheaterSound for crisp sound and support for multi-channel sound. It has a technology called ConnectShare Movies that allows a user to connect a digital camera or thumb drive for use as an additional media source. It also comes with a range of input and output connectors including 2 components in and 2 HDMI.
The Receiver
Once you have your television set, you'll need something that will connect the rest of your home theater components to it: a surround-sound receiver. The receiver takes the audio signal sent from your video device—like a DVD or Blue-ray player or a satellite receiver—decodes it, and sends sound through the system so it can be fed through the appropriate speakers. This allows the sound to “move” around you. A jet that is moving from left to right on your screen, for instance, is also moving left to right in your ears.
Right: Yamaha RX-V471BL
While the television is the most obvious component for a home theater since it will be what all will see, a receiver could be the most important component since it is what ties all of the devices together. With that in mind you will need to decide what components you will want to ensure that the receiver can handle all of the inputs and attachments. It does more than work as a crossroad where the various components meet but it also plays a vital role in decoding audio signals and ensuring that they reach the appropriate speaker so that sound can follow the action on the screen; if a car is racing from left to right, so is the sound.
The Yamaha RX-V471BL ($329.95) is designed specifically for the home theater market and has the capabilities to meet most any need. It features 5.1-channel AV Receiver with HD Audio decoding, 1080p HDMI support and has a range of interfaces including ones for a set-top box, Blu-ray player and a DVD player. It also supports 3D with its Audio Return Channel (ARC) and features a technology called CINEMA DSP 3D that creates a wide, high and dense sound field. It has Virtual Presence Speaker so that it can deliver 3D sound without presence speakers and it supports HD audio sources. It even has features for iPod/iPhone features with an optional dock, optional wireless adapter and a front side USB port.
DVD or Blu-ray player?
DVD or Blu-ray? That is a question that many people ask themselves when developing a home entertainment center. Blu-ray technology was designed to replace DVDs and has slowly beaten back rival hi-definition efforts to become the standard. The specification was developed in large part by Sony and it has been the first to market with players and has continued to develop on that strong beginning. One of the top-of-the-line models is the Sony BDP-S580 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (right; $159.00)
Designed to provide full theater quality viewing with its 24p True Cinema mode and native HD 1080p resolution the player is designed to also support 3D media. It has built in Wi-Fi, support for iPhone/iPad or Android use as a remote control, and can connect wirelessly to PCs to stream video, music and photos.
Speakers
Part of the enjoyment in a home theater system is getting as close as possible to movie theater–quality sound. You need a minimum of five full-range speakers set up in your room to accomplish this effect—left, center, right, surround left, and surround right—plus a subwoofer. This is called 5.1 surround sound. To get maximum sound out of your system, depending on the type of receiver you have, you can add two more speakers to create 7.1 surround sound, which is used in many of today’s home theater systems. makes a Blu-ray player for less than $200, too.
JBL SC500.5 Cinema Speaker Package
Speakers are often sold in sets to help you build the right sound for your theater. The JBL SCS500.5 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package is a complete 6-piece home cinema speaker package that includes four 100w satellite speakers, a 100w center speaker, and a 150w subwoofer. It’s everything you need to pull great sound together if you’re building a home theater from scratch.
True sound aficionados, however, can pull together speakers from various sources to create a truly customized sound. Go with a center speaker and 600-watt subwoofer from JBL, and add surround-sound side speakers from Harman Kardon, for instance, at individually selected sizes, styles, and ranges to meet your needs.
Dolby Digital Facts
Dolby Digital is often referred to as the Dolby 5.1 format, a nickname that refers to the number of channels that the original Dolby Digital format supports. The 5 refers to the (front) right, left, center, right surround or right rear, and left surround (rear) channels. The .1 refers to the low-frequency effects (LFE) or subwoofer channel, which is considered a lesser channel, because the signal it receives translates to a much lower frequency—roughly one-tenth, or 0.1, of the frequency the other channels receive. In addition, 6.1 and 7.1 surround systems exist; a 6.1 surround system adds a single rear speaker, and a 7.1 surround system adds two side surround speakers. The choice of systems entirely depends on you and your listening preferences.
When you’re ready to bring together your home theater, Adorama can help. We’ve got the home entertainment equipment you need—from televisions and receivers to speakers and DVD/Blu-ray players. Let the experts help you create your dream movie theater.
