When it comes to putting money into the development of your home, one of the very worthwhile investments is an ideal home theater system. To ensure crisp sound, great visuals, and an amazing performance, you want the best equipment for your particular space. Not everyone is able to have their home system custom installed. Follow some of these worthwhile tips if you are bringing your stereo equipment home and installing all of the components yourself. Installation is not as simple as placing the plasma TV and speakers up to the appropriate shelf of your home entertainment stand. For the less than technical, it may take a couple of hours to sort out the appropriate wires and connection cables and layout the correct plan for all of the home theater equipment. Take your time and feel comfortable with the plans. Make sure that the equipment you bought has all of the appropriate parts for solid installation. Taking the time to assess everything will save you stress later on. Some pieces, such as a projector system, will require calibration and adjustment in addition to mounting. If you are unsure about how best to do this, schedule to work on installing everything in a couple of days so that you won’t be pressured to install equipment incorrectly or to settle for imperfect calibration. Ask your retailer when you purchase a home theater system about any optional or “not included” components that may best go with your home theater design. This will save you from having to make several trips to the store for additional parts. Most home theaters designs include a television – whether plasma, LCD, projector system, or CRT – some form of speaker package for the audio home theater system element, a DVD player, and a cable box, satellite TV system or other connection system. Depending on how sophisticated you wish your home theater to be, you may include high-end receivers, subwoofers, and universal remote controls. Choose what is right for your household – don’t succumb to hypes or pressure. It is your home atmosphere that matters.As you are planning your room, decide where the best speaker placement is for the size of your room. If need be, move furniture around for the best sound or buy longer wires to easily connect your components in the way you want. Most manufacturers will recommend placement options for the particular speaker types. Subwoofers can generally be placed to the front and left of the TV. Other speakers should be placed to the right and left of the TV and, depending on how many you have, midway in the room on both the right and left and behind the main viewing area. As you place speakers, stop and play your favorite DVD and see if you are getting the sound you want. Move the speaker if you are not.
. Once the speakers are in place, connect them to the DVD player, cable box and the television, placing each component in the proper place as you get it connected. Play your favorite DVD in as you put on the finishing touches to test the sound quality, connections and the room lighting. These tips are simple but they could save you a lot of time if you are installing a home theater system on your own.Ben Anton, 2007
By: Ben Anton
Posts Tagged ‘Visuals’
Home Theater Design Techniques – What To Remember When Putting Your System Together
January 27th, 2010Home Theater Speakers – More About Subwoofers
November 6th, 2009
We all know what bass can do to a movie soundtrack. It can create drama, danger, even a feeling of strength depending on the visuals that go along with it. Bass is one of the most important elements of any audio format because it provides balance and contrast to the overall score of a movie, television show, even commercial. Quality bass in a sound system is impressive while not being overpowering.
In a 5.1 surround sound system, one of the most common for home theater installations, the ‘.1′ is the bass. The speaker for the bass sounds on a soundtrack is called a subwoofer. Lower frequency sound waves use a larger diaphragm to move the amount of air it takes to make these sounds. While smaller speakers can produce these lower frequency waves, they typically cannot produce the kind of quality that one would expect from a quality theater. Smaller speakers can often sound tinny when trying to produce these lower sounds. Large home theatre speaker towers are capable of handling this part of the soundtrack though it may require the reduction of sound quality from the mid and high range frequency speakers.
Choosing a good sound system with a quality bass speaker is not impossible, even for people who do not have a lot of experience. First, start with the subwoofer. Homeowners will need to consider whether they require a passive sub or an active woofer. A passive subwoofer does not need a separate power supply. Rather it uses power from the same amp that is driving the other home theatre speakers. Volume from the amplifier can usually be controlled, there is less control overall with a passive sub. An active sub has a separate power supply. This means that the signal received from the amplifier/receiver is enhanced by the subwoofer itself, without taking any of the power from the other speakers.
Once you have your home theater subwoofer and other speakers picked out, lay them out to get the best sound from each. Bass sound is omni-directional, meaning that it goes out from the speaker in all direction. To decide where to place the subwoofer, put it in the same position that you will be sitting in, whether it is on the couch facing the television screen or in a home theater chair. Turn on a favorite film then move around your room and listen. Find the spot that the bass sounds best and move your subwoofer to that location. It can be set on the ground, on a shelf or off of a wall depending on where you feel the best low tone sound is heard. Since the sounds are going out and bouncing around the room in roughly the same direction, the sound should be great when you get it into place.
We’ve all heard the laments of mothers and fathers forced to deal with the incessant thumping and pounding of boom box bass lines from their adolescent’s car or room. There is something to say for the potential for this phenomenon to occur in a home theater as well. While walls, ceiling and floor will generally block high sound frequencies from leaving the room, they can actually increase the volume of the lower range sounds. While laying out your speakers, try to also find the right volume balance for all frequencies that your family can enjoy the sound quality a bass can provide without driving your neighbors crazy.
~Ben Anton, 2008
By: Ben Anton
Home Theater Setup Basics
July 8th, 2009
Time to turn an area of your home into an entertainment area? Tune up your house with a home theater by following these basic steps.
1. Determine where you would like your system set up: in a family room, an entire basement level or only one section, etc. Grab a pencil and some graph (or other) paper and get to work with a blueprint. Don’t leave this to “notions” or things get messed up – and quickly. Pencil in (a) your focal point – usually a television or other huge screen or home theater personal computer (HTPC) (b) seating (c) other main screens – projector and table / speakers and amps / computer / gaming consoles / DVD player, cable box and VCR (d) storage – shelves / remote and guide organizer (e) misc. – do leave some empty space. Cramped quarters are no fun!
2. Next, research your family needs. A home theater can incorporate: video game playing with any of the popular console systems like from Xbox, Nintendo or Playstation; it can feature a computer, DVD player and other recording and playing devices. Plus it can feature fancy audio equipment with multiple speakers. Add seating, lighting and screens into the mix. And plan ahead, too, looking to the future a little to prepare for the unexpected and for growth. For example, add extra outlets (for phone hook ups / computers / power supplies / cell phone, battery and other chargers, etc and leave extra space for the unexpected – extra shelves, equipment add-ons, storage for DVDs, CDs and remotes, etc. Grab your blueprint from above and pencil in your ideas.
3. Then comes set up time! Begin with your focal point and consider that your projector can reach to adjust distance from the screen for maximum effect. Test equipment at this stage before adding everything else into the area to make sure you get the results you like. After visuals, add audio into the mix. Set up your surround sound amp with plenty of video and audio inputs for all your fun systems. Then add the speakers and test again.
4. Then arrange other items (if you have a media center computer, many of these may already be part of the system): VCR, DVD player, gaming console and other equipment.
Then round out everything with seating, lighting, shelves, storage organizers, etc.
Party time! Invite your family, friends and neighbors over to enjoy and celebration. Have fun!
By: Hyun Kim
