Home Theater Systems » Home Theatre Systems

Lights, Camera, Action – Building the Perfect Home Theatre System

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:59 +0000

Home theatre systems have come a long way from the days of placing two huge speakers on either side of your television and listening to records while watching Saturday Night Fever on your VCR and television. These days there are as many ways to design a home theatre system as there are customers to buy them.

“The basics of the home entertainment system haven’t changed much in the last 15 years or so. What have changed are people’s tastes and priorities,” explains Adam Bowden of Bose Home Theatre. “Fifteen to 20 years ago a home entertainment system meant music. People would spend hours in stores and bring in a variety of music and listen to the various speakers before selecting a unit to buy. Today a home entertainment system is a visual experience focused on movies, and people make decisions based on aesthetics, under the assumption (and rightly so) that the sound will be exceptional. They will purchase a home theatre system that is visually appealing and assume that the sound will be appealing as well.”

“Prices are falling on flat panel televisions and the quality is going up so more people are incorporating bigger flat panels and surround sound into their home theatre system design,” says Joe Strang, President of Show Case Home Theatres in Alberta. “The other big thing is the all-in-one touch pad controls.”

The price of a home theatre system depends on how seriously you take your entertainment needs. According to Strang, you can buy a “big box” system for $5,000. But to really get the whole experience, he recommends having a custom system installed.

“You have to start with speakers, remote control, and flat panel all installed and you can do that for about $9, 000,” he says.

But if money’s no object then there’s no end of fun to be had. “We’ve done media rooms that are $500,000 for one room. For that you get projectors that have better than movie theatre quality, sound so good that when someone’s whispering on screen it feels like they’re whispering in your ear.”

Some homeowners go for the total theatre experience and have custom theatre seating installed in their media rooms, with one-touch remote controls in the arm of each chair, massage units and heated seats.

“We’ve even put motion in the seats so that when there’s motion in the movie you feel it in your seat,” he says. “And I don’t mean it just vibrates…it actually moves.”

Other options for your home theatre system include custom draperies, acoustic paint, and sound-proofing. This may seem like overkill but Strang says that most homes over $700,000 now come with a media room or dedicated home theatre room.

“I find that we usually install home theatre systems that are about 10 per cent of the value of the home, not just in the home theatre room but throughout the house, multi-room sound, lighting, automation and such. So for a $1.5 million home, you’re looking at $150,000 worth of home entertainment equipment.”

By: Amy Bostock

Home Theater Solutions

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:04:28 +0000

Home Theater – Out of the box

What has made the home theater experience more accessible and affordable for more people in recent years is the emergence of what the industry now calls “cinema in a box”. This is a great option for the home-theater novice, those in apartments or renters as it is most cost effective.

For as little as a few hundred dollars, you can enjoy basic cinema sight and sound. You need to look around for all the latest specials in this area. Just go into your local shop and ask about “cinema in a box”.

For those on a budget this provides an ideal way to create a home theatre from scratch. Instead of having to choose and buy expensive separate components, you get all the equipment you need for one fixed price.
Will the home theater fit in my room?

Where you decide to put the home theatre is just as important as the equipment itself. The position, size of the room, along with how many windows it has, will influence your cinema experience to some extent. Large, uncovered windows and wooden floors will detract from the big screen as it will introduce the unwanted ‘glare’ factor. It would be a great idea to hang heavy curtains to reduce this glare and to lay carpet in the proposed cinema to eliminate noise reflection.

Square rooms are the worst for home cinema because sound waves bounce off the rear wall. So a rectangular or odd-shaped room will be much more suitable when it comes to sound if that is possible.

Several manufacturers now offer a solution to this in their home-theatre systems that will automatically balance the sound between all speakers, making it easier for the home-theatre novice.

So where is home theater headed in the future? Wireless! Actually it is already here so keep your eyes peeled for more news on that!

By: Steve Knowles

XM Radio and Your Home Theater System

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:13:06 +0000

An XM Radio-ready home theater system makes it easy to connect an XM Mini Tuner and Home Dock to your audio components. This will allow you to receive XM Satellite Radio reception in the room your main system is in, or throughout your home if you so desire.

XM Radio is a subscription service which allows you to receive over 170 digital radio stations via satellite, no matter where in the United States you are, for an affordable monthly fee. If you have problems with FM radio reception where you live, you should definitely consider adding this option to your home theater system. There is a radio station for everyone in the family to enjoy, and it is an economical way to experience a wide variety of music with very little effort.

The addition of digital radio service is a logical choice for a home theater system. You can use the components you already have in place to enjoy commercial free music, sports, talk shows and news. Many of the home theatre systems available are XM radio ready. Some of them are also capable of recording music from your favorite satellite radio channels.

Detailed instructions are available to enable you to equip your home theater system with satellite radio. Generally, you connect the digital receiver into the line level input of your audio system. Then, connect the power adaptor and home antenna, positioning the antenna in such a way as to maximize the signal strength that will turn your home theater system into a veritable smorgasbord of musical enjoyment.

You owe it to yourself to maximize your investment in a home theater system by including the delights of satellite radio. Ever wonder who was singing a certain song? This information is displayed on an easy-to-read screen on the front of the digital receiver. With satellite radio, you will get music choice and variety, and may even discover new artists who will quickly become your favorites.

The improved sound quality of the digital signal, coupled with the excellence of your home theatre system’s speakers, can make listening to music a truly memorable experience.

By: George Wood

Wireless Home Theatre Systems

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:19:47 +0000

Have you ever purchased a home theatre system and been met with a hundred feet of wire? If you have, you are not alone. This seems to be a problem that many individuals have faced. They have found that the rear speakers have around 25 to 50 feet of wire that has to be concealed throughout the room. Even the front speakers can have a considerable amount of wire. However, it always seems that the center speaker never has enough length. This means that a wireless home theatre system is probably going to be the way to go on your next home theatre purchase.

A wireless home theatre system eliminates the need for all of those wires. This means you don’t have to stand there trying to figure out how you are going to conceal every inch of wire around a room. That in itself takes much longer than actually hooking up the speakers to the subwoofer and connecting the subwoofer to your television. You could actually have the entire system hooked up in a matter of minutes. You don’t have to worry about hiding wires behind your baseboards and you do not have to worry about them falling all over the place and being unsightly.

Another great thing about a wireless home theatre system is the fact that you can place your speakers anywhere you need them within range. This means that you can have an optimal surround sound experience, which is an experience you won’t have if you are restricted with wires. Many people are unable to fully enjoy the potential of their system because they can only take them where the wires will let them. Again, this is not the case with wireless systems. Just imagine being able to place your speakers right behind your couch or on each side of the room where you want them. Some individuals cannot place speakers in the proper places because the shape of their family room may not allow it.

Just know that when you invest in wireless home theatre systems, you are not only getting the best possible sound experience, you are getting much more than that. No messy cords, no difficult installations, and no tearing up your baseboards or walls to conceal the wires. That in itself makes it worth the investment.

As for where you can find wireless home theatre systems, you can go on the internet and find great dealers offering these systems for great prices. You don’t have to pay a fortune to have one, so don’t. Compare prices, check reviews, and find the system that is going to fit your home theatre needs. Once you have everything hooked up and ready to go, you’ll be glad you did.

By: Ian Pennington

Home Theatre Magazines – What To Look For?

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:00:08 +0000

If you are thinking of buying a home theatre system, then becoming a subscriber of a home theatre magazine is a great idea. These have a lot to read and gain from user’s point of view. There are many advantages of reading these magazines. Here are some of them.

1) You will get expert articles and tutorials that can be very useful to learn more about home theatre equipments tips and tricks for improving performance. These article also give advice on which models to select and which to avoid.

2) You will get to read reviews by real customers. Such reviews are very useful if you are planning to buy a new or trying to replace your old system with a new one. Such reviews normally talk about performance or even bad service of the company so that you can save your time.

3) One of the best sections that can save your lot of time is comparison pages, where various systems are compared according to prices, weight, dimensions, colors available, output parameters, audio/video qualities and their units, accessories etc. This is a great way to go for the right model you are looking for

4) Industry news and introduction to upcoming and new models available in the market can read directly in the magazines.

5) Another great benefit of such publications is that you may find discount coupons from sponsored manufacturers. Sometime these are printed coupons, which you must cut out and carry to the mentioned store to get nice discounts on not only complete systems but their accessories too. This is a great way to save money in holiday seasons. It can also be helpful if you want to buy any accessories as gifts.

6) Are you an expert in home theatre systems? Then you can even earn money from such magazines. Many magazine editors are constantly looking for new articles and informative articles so that they can keep their customers happy. If you happen to know any knowledge about home theatres then it can be great opportunity to write for them.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

By: Shrinivas Vaidya