A Beginners Guide to Home Theater Systems: From Basic to Advanced

Presenting Home Theater Systems in a basic way so that everyone can enjoy the the movie theater experience in their own home. In this series of articles, I will explain what goes into a home theater system, why they are important and how to set them up correctly.

Home Theater: An Introduction

Once found in only the most expensive homes, home theaters and home theater systems are now finding their place in the normal, average American household. The wide availability of high definition video sources, along with decreased equipment prices, has made home theater systems a viable choice as an in-home entertainment option. Although home theater system advertisements can be seen everywhere, many people may still be confused as to exactly what a home theater or home theater system entails. In this series of articles, I will help you understand the different elements involved, the choices available, and how to set everything up to provide the best entertainment experience possible.

To begin with, it is important to distinguish between a home theater and home theater system. A true home theater is the ultimate in-home entertainment. It is, in fact, what it sounds like, which is a movie theater in the home. With this, I mean it is a room or set of rooms, dedicated to watching movies. Such a room will be set up like a movie theater, many times using authentic movie theater seats. The décor can run from simple to elaborate. Many home theaters are designed after classic movie theaters or they may have a movie related theme such as a science fiction or horror theme. Some may even have a concession stand, ticket both or lobby. And of course, all home theaters will include a home theater system.

Home theater systems include several different components. First, you will need a large video display. Although you can go with a 60” or 70” inch LCD, DLP or Plasma television, if your room allows it, the better option will be a video projector. This will give you a bigger picture plus a more movie-like experience. Just as with televisions, there are several different types of projectors to choose from. LCD, DLP, and CRT are the three main projector types at the present, and each offer their own benefits and disadvantages (which I will explain in the video portion of this series).

Once you have your video display, you will need to have a quality source to use with it. The source can came from high definition cable/satellite channels, a Blu-Ray DVD player, online HD content, or even an up-converted standard definition DVD. When comparing various video displays and sources, many different numbers will continually come up such as 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. These numbers indicate how many lines are displayed and in what way they are displayed. The more lines that are present, the higher the resolution will be. The resolution is also affected by how the lines are displayed, which will be either interlaced (i) or progressive (p). With interlaced video, only half of the lines are displayed at any given time. With progressive scanned sources, all lines are displayed for each frame presented.

The final element to a home theater system revolves around the surround sound system. The surround sound processor along with the accompanying audio equipment, recreate the sonic experience that you would have in a movie theater. There are several different types of surround sound processors ranging from traditional analog Dolby Pro Logic using 5 or 6 speakers to digital processors using 7 or 8 speakers. The types of systems can also range from home theater in-a-box systems where everything is included in one package, including the DVD player to a completely separate system where each and every component is in a separate, individually selected unit. Of course, as with every element, the price will range from the cheaper side to the extremely expensive side. Therefore, it is important to understand what you need to buy and why you need it, thereby ensuring that you do not buy equipment that is ether much more than you need or not good enough for what you desire.

Although a home theater system may seem complicated at first, in the coming articles, I will break down each element in order to help you pick the right equipment and set it up in a correct manner. Before you know it, you will be able to enjoy the latest blockbuster in the privacy of your own home without sacrificing the big screen experience.