What Equipment Do I Need For A Home Theater Setup?
Posted by: Brad
Tags: home audio, home theater, home theater setup
Putting together a home theater in one’s basement or spare room has become a popular pastime in the last few years. Television screens continue to grow larger even as the cost associated with these one-time luxury items continues to shrink. The advent of high definition televisions and Blu-Ray compact discs has greatly improved the quality of the larger pictures now available, making a theater quality viewing experience at home available to the masses.
The first and most obvious requirement is the television. The television world has been transformed to an almost unthinkable level over just the past five years with the advent of cheap flat screen sets that can be easily mounted on the wall and take up almost no space. The ultimate size screen required for a respectable theater experience is dictated by the distance the viewer will be seated from the screen. If your seating is within six feet of the set, anything above 34 inches will be adequate. If, however, your sofa will be 12 to 20 feet away, a correspondingly larger screen will be required.
Of course, some type of playback mechanism for the movies themselves is also required. VHS video tape is just not up to snuff for the high definition and large screen size of modern televisions. Standard DVDs will deliver an adequate viewing experience, with progressive scan models being superior. For the ultimate in clarity, the newly-minted hi-def standard of Blu-ray DVD cannot be beat.
The other vital component of a home theater setup is the sound system. Again, watts and speaker size will be dictated by the size of the room, but the minimum sound system must include five speakers and a subwoofer. It is even now possible to purchase a “home theater in a box” package that includes a DVD player, stereo amplifier, and all six speakers bundled together.
The Home Theater Setup Guide is an A-Z resource for the intricacies of installing and enjoying home theater.