People are growing less enamored of going to the movies, dealing with loud crowds and paying high prices for refreshments. This can be eliminated with the help of a home theater. With home theaters gaining popularity as a viable option for domestic entertainment, standing in long lines is now a nightmare of the past. The high cost of tickets for entry into theaters, along with all related expenses, can be eliminated with the help of a home theater system. When installed in the home, viewing movies with family and friends can be fun. It’s a thrill to watch a movie in your own home.
Another crucial aspect of a home theater system is the superior image quality generated by the theater system. Home theater systems have revolutionized the concept of modern theater. They have brought movie halls right into the home. It is an astounding experience that most people are willing to undergo over and over again.
There are numerous home theater packages available to meet individual requirements. The packages are convenient options for those who are concerned with all parts of the video in a home theater system. A diverse range of home theater packages is available in the market, and customers can choose according to their needs.
Here are some packages: Eiki EIP-1000T DLP Home Theater Projector; Da-Lite Model B HDTV Format High Contrast Screen – 106″” Diagonal; Ceiling Mount kit for Projector; and Oculus Home Theater Wiring Solution.
Another package in great demand includes an InFocus ScreenPlay 5000 DLP Home Theater Projector, Da-Lite Deluxe Model B HDTV Format High Contrast Screen – 106″” Diagonal, Ceiling Mount kit for Projector and Oculus Home Theater Wiring Solution.
One of the other popular packages includes a Mitsubishi HC3000U DLP Home Theater Projector, Da-Lite Perm-Wall HDTV Format High Contrast Screen – 110″” Diagonal, Ceiling Mount kit for Projector and the Oculus Home Theater Wiring Solution.
By: Jason Gluckman
Archive for October, 2009
Home Theater Projector Packages
October 28th, 2009TV Viewing Distance and Screen Placement in the Home Theater
October 22nd, 2009
The optimum TV screen size is directly related to the available viewing distance – but there are other factors as well that need to be taken into consideration.
Viewing Distance: Is it just a matter of personal preference?
Sit too close to your big screen TV and you will be able to see the image build-up structure – scanning lines or pixels forming the image – thus distracting your attention and spoiling your home theater experience. Yet, sit too far away, and the impact will be lost.
There are differing opinions on the best way to determine the optimum TV viewing distance for a specific screen size. Just go to the movie theater and you will soon realize that it is all a question of personal preference – some would sit at the very back. Others would go straight to the front row, as they prefer the bigger picture and a wider angle of view, while some would simply choose their seat randomly somewhere in between these two extremes.
The truth is that there are no scientific rules her. This does not mean that there aren’t any guidelines that you should follow when planning a big screen purchase or a would-be home theater room.
SMPTE Recommendations and the THX Certification standards:
The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommends that the screen size for home theater use should occupy a 30 degrees field of view – in the horizontal plan – for the audience. Alternatively, the ideal TV viewing distance should be such that the screen width occupies an angle of 30 degrees from the viewing position.
This 30-degrees viewing angle seems to have been accepted by many as the standard in home theater and motion picture viewing.
This SMPTE guideline is also in line with the THX certification standards in that these recommend that the back row of seats should have at least a 26 degrees viewing angle and while recommending an optimum viewing angle of 36 degrees.
It is believed that within these viewing angle limits, the viewer will get better immersed into the action movie itself.
Vision System limitations:
There is also the issue of TV viewing distance based on visual acuity. This does not represent the optimum viewing distance – rather, this relates to the maximum viewing distance beyond which some picture detail will be lost.
Technically speaking, visual acuity is a measure of the eye spatial resolving power and indicates the angular size of the smallest detail that a person visual system can resolve. A person with 20/20 (or 6/6 when expressed in meters) normal vision can resolve a spatial pattern separated by a visual angle of one minute of arc angle i.e. 1/60th of a degree, at the eye when viewed at 20 feet away. Expressed differently, a person with normal 20/20 vision is capable of identifying an object with a height of 1.76mm at 20 feet way.
In terms of TV viewing distances, these represent the point beyond which some of the picture detail will no longer be resolved by the viewer vision system.
So How Does All This Translate In Practical Terms?
A few rules-of-thumb can help put in practice the guidelines detailed above. These rules for viewing distance refer to the screen width rather than the screen diagonal and therefore apply to both 4:3 and 16:9 display formats.
A general rule for the TV viewing distance based on the SMPTE and visual acuity guidelines, is that the nearest TV viewing distance between you and your big screen TV should be limited to approximately twice the screen width (more precise 1.87 x screen width for a subtended angle of 30 degrees), while the furthest distance being no more than five times the width of your screen.
This rule of thumb should give you a fairly good approximation for your TV viewing distance. It does not necessarily represent the ideal home theater viewing distance but rather the limits within which your TV viewing distance should theoretically be out of the trouble zone.
In other words, move closer than twice the screen width size, and the picture scanning lines, pixels and any other video artifacts will become too visibly intrusive – leading to distractions that will spoil your movie watching experience. Move further away than 5 times the screen width and your vision system will no longer be able to resolve all the picture detail.
But…
It is also important to realize that these maximum and minimum viewing distances should be seen in the light of the video signal definition.
A fully resolved high definition TV (1080i, 1920×1080) supports a closer viewing distance than standard analog TV. Thus while twice the screen width would be the ideal TV viewing distance for a HDTV display, it would be a bit too close for standard TV; in the later case, a three times the screen width would be a better option.
Similarly, the five times the screen width as the maximum view distance, while more than adequate for a standard analog TV picture, is a bit too far away for a person to see the fine detail supported by a HDTV picture – a three to four times the screen width represents a more practical limit for the maximum viewing distance in the case of HDTV.
These rules-of-thumb work best with big screen TV sizes in the range 42-inches and over.
When it comes to the use of regular-size standard definition analog TVs in the home theater, i.e. up to 36” / 40” diagonal, the optimum viewing distance range is between 8 feet and 12 feet. TV sets smaller than 36-inches aren’t big enough to qualify for Home Theater use; their smaller screen size will not provide the desired impact on the viewer.
Vertical Angle of View & Screen Height:
For optimum viewing, the eyes of the viewer should be level with the center of the screen.
Maximum vertical angle of view: In those home theater set-ups where this is not possible, the SMPTE guidelines suggest that the maximum vertical angle measured at the seated eye height from the front row center seat to the top most part of the projected image should not exceed 35 degrees.
This does not represent the optimum viewing angle but rather the limit beyond which the viewer will be subject to an increased neck strain.
This maximum vertical angle limit is always measured from the front row as this represent the extreme angle of view.
Minimum angle of vision: While there do not appear to be any specific SMPTE or THX guidelines in this respect, yet studies have shown that if the screen size occupies less than 15 degrees of the viewer’s vertical field of view, than that image appears small.
Practical Considerations:
In a typical home theater set-up, you do not need to really worry about neither the maximum vertical angle of view, nor about the minimum vertical angle of vision for an effective movie theater experience.
If one were to adhere to the recommended TV viewing distance of twice the screen width (as further detailed above based on the SMPTE guideline of 30 degrees horizontal field of vision), you would automatically be complying with the minimum angle of vision. The reason being that there is a fixed relation between screen height and width in accordance to your home theater screen aspect ratio of either 16:9 or 4:3.
Further more, in a typical home theater setup, it would be very difficult to exceed the maximum vertical angle of view beyond which you will be subject to an increased neck strain.
Taking into account that most home theater rooms are approximately 10 feet (3m) high, the resultant vertical viewing angle is normal well within the maximum of 35 degrees detailed in the SMPTE guidelines – all you have to do is just remain within the twice the screen width guideline for your viewing distance.
By: Andrew Ghigo
Home Theater Buyers Guide
October 21st, 2009
Having your own Home Theater is something for the entire family to enjoy that can be rather fun while shopping for your home theater and setting up your system. The biggest problem is most people do not understand the terms used and so born is our Home Theater Buyers Guide.
I will honestly say that most people are overwhelmed by the terms used in electronic equipment like AC3, Aspect Ratio, Bridging and the list goes on. Most of the term relating to home electronics are baffling to the majority and really intended for technical purposes…So do not get discouraged and give up. You can see our Home Theater Dictionary for an explanation of the terms used in home theater electronics.
The two most important thing in your home theater is to know what viewing quality you want and what sound you desire.
By visiting your local Electronics store you can get a good idea from viewing the equipment up close for picture and sound quality and most sales people have the knowledge of there equipment that can convey to you in laymen terms.
Once you have decided on a practical system you can buy from the Electronic store, or go online where the best deals are made.
The items listed below are what you should be concerned with in selecting a home theater system.
Video Selection #1 in Level Of Importance
1. Choose a TV at least 27 inches, preferably the bigger the better that will fit in your home theater area with plenty of room left over for comfort and a screen size that you do not have to strain to view.
Most larger TVs are as cheap as the smaller Tvs today…so get what you want the first time around.
The items listed below are what you should be concerned with in selecting a home theater system.
2. Flat screen TVs are the most common for good non glare viewing and are LCD (liquid crystal display) and have optional Plasma screens which is a display technology that you may not notice unless you have the two side by side.
3. Some TVs have built in DVD/VCR and we recommend purchasing a DVD/VCR as a separate component in case of failure.
4. Rear projection TVs are available in TVs with larger screen size of 42 inch and above and is not a advantage in viewing quality.
5. DLP (Digital Light Processing) projection system bring more light from lamp to screen. It also features better color uniformity over time–no burn-in, screen aging or color-shifting possible and is recommended feature for crisp, clear picture viewing.
6. HDTV (High Definition TV) is on the way is and will be the future of TV and is recommended as a must have.
7. HD Ready (High Definition Ready) is a TV that supports high definition signal when using a separate set box.
8. AVR Receivers(see audio section)for TVs relate more to audio, but do play a role in the refresh rate of the screen, provide video input for games, other devices and synchronizes the sound to the picture. Other type receivers are satellite and HDTV.
9. DVD player/recorder/VCR play and or, record from DVD disks and can be separate components, or all in one unit called combo units. Some DVDs support Windows media such as CD/CD-RW for playing music and, or showing your stored pictures and music.
Sound Selection #2 In Level Of Importance.
Sound is not as important to some as related to the core of the home theater….which is the picture they see.
TVs have speakers built in that will suffice for the better part of us, but add a few good speakers and you have quality sound.
Your home theater room, or area plays a major part in how the sound is interpreted in relation to the acoustics of the room,size, furniture, walls, curtains, carpet etc that absorb the signal. As an example a long rectangle room with carpet will have better acoustics than a square room with hardwood floors.
Really do not expect exact movie theater sound from your existing rooms because a theater is designed especially for this purpose, unless you plan to build a special room. Whatever you decide you will experience better sound with the right components.
1. AVR Receivers control every aspect of your sound system and video and is the brain that takes the video portion then transmits signals into sound. AVR Receivers come in various watts that have separate channels to control and balance speakers.
2. Speakers come in all sizes and shapes and are a good investment if you want the most out of sound . The quality of sound is determined by the watts of power they produce..ie a 100W will produce more sound quality than a 50W. The receiver is matched in wattage to correspond with the wattage of the speaker. Of all the audio components below, speakers are the most important of all so get the best you can.
3. Sub woofers increase the bass capabilities of your sound system. Not a necessity unless you like the sound of thundering explosions in an action movie.
4. Surround Sound will deliver a cinematic sound quality to your home theater, but is not an essential component.
Home Theatre Mini System (”In A Box”)
With a mini system all you need is the TV and installation is much easier than using separate components which may require you hiring a professional. You can get a mini system with just about any feature you want to include DVD/DVR/VCR/AVR/CD, speakers, sub woofers, surround sound etc…The systems are much cheaper in cost than purchasing separate components and the drawbacks are you may be limited on what you can output if you want additional add-on such as video games,extra speakers etc. The mini home theater is basically to run the components provided in the kit and if you want to add on you may not be able to. Another drawback is you may be sacrificing superior video and sound quality for lower a price. Just like anything else there are good mini home theaters and better ones…So get the best if you go this route.
By: Chet Holcomb
