Now that you have installed your new Home Theater System, you will want to adjust the picture and sound for the best overall entertainment. This requires a little planning and set up at the beginning but should require little if any daily maintenance.
First the HDTV screen settings may need adjustment for the room lighting. If the room has a window that allows sunlight for daytime viewing then you will need more brightness and possibly more contrast too. Some advanced remote controls may have a day/night settings button. If not, you will have to experiment on what looks right to you if you want a nominal setting that you do not have to change. Some DVD movies are also darker than others requiring adjustment each time.
Your surround sound system has many adjustments, some you may not be aware of. First, the typical treble and bass settings need to be adjusted for the sound reflecting or absorbing elements in the room. Curtains, wall board and furniture can cause a dead sound and some interiors may give a slight echo effect like being in a hall. Both of these can be enhanced using adjustments available on your Surround Sound amplifier.
To add color to a dead sound you might like the DSP Mode adjustments. Some include a choice of CHURCH, THEATER, HALL, or STADIUM sound. If you have Dolby adjustments, you can adjust the Panoramic, Center Width, Dimension, and Automatic Balancing controls. Some amplifiers include Pro Logic II for even more custom sound parameters. Read your manual to see what affects you can adjust for an improved sound.
You should be able to adjust the volume of each speaker channel too. This takes some trial and error. Some systems have a Test button that will buzz each speaker one at a time to insure all are working. The Sub Woofer will need to be tested using a movie with some heavy bass sounds like explosions. And finally save all adjustments by pressing the Memory button.
The large screen HDTV, the Surround Sound all seem impressive right out of the box, but you will enjoy your Home Theater System a lot more by making these final adjustments to add improved viewing and listening quality.
By: James Hayslip
Posts Tagged ‘Remote Controls’
Home Theater System – Final Adjustments
April 19th, 2010Posted in Articles
Tags: Bass Sounds Echo Effect Explosions Hdtv Screen Home Theater System Improved Sound Memory Button One At A Time Pro Logic Ii Remote Controls Room Curtains Room Lighting Screen Settings Settings Button Sound Amplifier Sound Parameters Sub Woofer Test Button Treble And Bass Trial And Error
Home Theater Decorating Tips For Comfort And Function
March 6th, 2010
A home theater needs to be functional before it’s anything else. Those who have put in the expense to build a “theater” in their home need to be sure the sound and visual and placement of seating is just right before they’ll delve into decorating, but when that time comes, there are some tips to add to the room aesthetically without taking away any of the functionality.
A room of this sort is bound to have floor speakers, and speakers that surround your peripherals and centrally located speakers for both the front and back of the sitting area. In some of the newer homes or the more expensive remodels, some, if not all, of these speakers may be placed in the walls of the home. Yet usually the floor speakers will remain out and near the television. The tops of which may be a prime opportunity for knickknacks when decorating. There may be shelving on the walls in this room for speakers or for remote controls. Those shelves are also a great place for decorative touches.
A typical theater room is designed something like this: The television is centrally located either mounted on the wall or standing just in front of it. There are floor speakers on either side of the television and another smaller speaker centrally located above the TV. There will be more speakers either mounted or on stands placed on either side of the seating area and one more speaker centrally located behind the seating area. Finally, there will be a special speaker called a subwoofer placed somewhere to the side of the seating area. The seating area is located around what some refer to as the “sweet spot” because during the action scenes in intense movies when the music swells, the vibrations of that sound are felt in the seating area. All of this is necessary for the functionality of the theater room. What’s left is what you have to decorate.
In order to keep the functionality of a theater room, you must realize that the room needs to be dark. This is no room for growing plants or bright colors painted on the wall. Rich earthy tones will work here. Along with this, keep knickknacks to a minimum. This room is for viewing the television, not your china collection. Do not place fragile things in this room. There will be much vibration in this room and that may cause a fragile item to fall from its perch and break. Keep your d
Home Theater Control – It’s The Remote, Stupid!
December 10th, 2009
It’s the one piece of equipment that can really make or break your home theater system; the remote control. It’s no good to have the latest and greatest gear and world’s biggest DVD collection if you can’t figure out how to use anything. True home theater nirvana is a fantastic performing system anyone can use with a single button press.
Many of today’s home theater receivers and surround processors come with a “smart” remote control. Some of these are actually pretty good too. B&K and Denon come to mind. If you know what you are doing, you can get one of these babies programmed to orchestrate your entire system pretty well. If you haven’t the time or inclination for such a project yourself, hire a professional installer to bring everything together for you. A great place to start is CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association). They have member firms in every state, and many foreign countries, that are experts in making complex home theaters easy to use.
Remote controls come in several flavors. The one most people are familiar with comes with almost any electronic component you buy these days. For the most part it does a pretty good job at making the particular component do what you want. Some of these even let you control other components, especially if they are from the same manufacturer. This way, for example, you can use your TV remote to also control your VCR or DVD player.
The next rung up the remote control ladder is the so called “smart remote”. This type of remote is able to control multiple pieces of equipment from different manufacturers. Some can control up to 8 or 10 different components. They are usually set to control each piece of equipment by entering a 3 or 4 digit code. Some of these units will learn control functions from other remote controls. This is helpful if the unit you need to control is not in your remote control’s internal database. You usually accomplish the learning by entering a “learn” mode on the smart remote, pointing the “teaching” remote at the smart remote and pressing the desired button. Viola! Your smart remote has learned the command from the original remote control.
If you want things even easier than using just one remote to control everything, you need a remote that does macros. These are command sequences initiated by pressing one button. For example, you want to watch a DVD. Typically you would have to turn on your TV, DVD player and surround receiver. Then you would have to switch your TV to the component input and your receiver to the DVD input. With a macro capable remote, this sequence is programmed into the remote. The remote then plays back all the commands in the appropriate order so you don’t have to.
If you want a remote that controls everything, you need a remote with a lot of different buttons. This can make the remote a little intimidating. Sure it can do almost anything but make toast, but where to start? If you have the budget, now is the time to get a touch screen remote. With a touch screen, you typically have only a few actual buttons. These are typically the most used functions such as volume up / down, channel up / down, mute and possibly cursor functions.
All other buttons are just icons on a screen that you touch to initiate the desired command. The beauty of this approach is that you only need to have just a few icons on the screen at any one time. This really cuts down on button clutter and confusion. The icons can be graphical representations of the command, which makes everything very intuitive. For example, you can have an “NBC” logo you touch to go to the local NBC station.
Touchscreen remotes come in four basic variations. First there is the choice of color or grayscale. Color looks better and more information can be conveyed more quickly. Grayscale units are much less expensive. Next, the communication with the remote can be one way or two way. Two way communication allows status to be updated on the remote itself. For example you can display album and artist information from a music server or check the status of your security system or thermostats. Two way communication has been provided via a two way radio link, similar to a digital spread spectrum telephone.
The latest two way remote controls being introduced from companies such as AMX and Crestron use WiFi. This allows a whole host of other possibilities. The range is spectacular for one thing. You can roam around your entire home. On some units you can browse the internet too. Imagine, you are watching a game but you want updates from around the league. Just go to ESPN.com on your remote and take a look.
The remote can really make or break your system. You can have an unusable system with 7 different remotes or a slick system that even visitors can use with no instruction. It’s all up to you, your budget and your programmer.
By: Steve Faber
Posted in Articles
Tags: Button Press Cedia Control Functions Custom Electronics Design Different Components Digit Code Electronic Component Entire System Flavors Foreign Countries Good Job Home Theater Receivers Home Theater System Home Theaters Inclination Internal Database Member Firms Professional Installer Remote Control Remote Controls
