Selecting the Right Home Theater Equipment

Ah!! There's not much like the thrill of seeing the latestTelevision).
Hollywood blockbuster on the big screen! ExcitementSome useful information for picking out the perfect
fills the air as the house lights dim. The low murmurtelevision: Flat-panel TV's come in nearly every size
from the speakers begins to rise and surround you asand run between $700 and $10,000; rear-projections
the sounds permeate the theater from back to front,are typically 42" and up to about 70", and will cost
left to right- adding a bit of vibrating excitement frombetween $1,000 and $5,000. Front-projections with High
the tips of your toes up to top of your head. EveryDefinition start at $1,500 and head upward, but require
hair on your body stands up on end. This experiencea very dark room for a decent picture. LCD is best for
can be recreated in your very own home, as long asa light room, while Plasma TVs have darker darks and
you have the right home theater equipment.richer tones to create a better overall experience.
A DVD player is mandatory, as the output of such aThere are ideally 5 speakers in a home theater- a
device is over 500 horizontal lines of resolutionlarge one to place above or on top of the television,
compared to just 200 lines on a VHS tape for a VCR.one smaller one to each side of the TV, and one at
Prices for these players can run from $30 to $250 oreach rear "corner" of the room. Basically, the four
more depending on the amount of extra doodads yousmaller speakers should be in the corners of a square
want to have. DVD players can also play the majorityor rectangle that creates your home theater room. If
of music CD's, therefore alleviating the need for ayou have high, slanted or cathedral ceilings, or aren't
separate system.thrilled with the idea of drilling holes to suspend the
The television in most home theaters is one of thespeakers from the ceiling, speaker stands will work
widescreen models, as the majority of DVD's arejust fine. If the stands are chosen properly, as well as
created in this particular format to imitate the theaters,the speakers, they can either stand out or blend nicely
but you can play DVD's on any type of screen. Mostinto your room's décor. And don't forget the
new televisions larger than 27" diagonally are madesubwoofer to create the rumbling bass-sound for the
only as widescreen sets, including those in the threeechoes of explosions and/or the oncoming entourage
main types of sets sold for home theaters: flat-panel,of airplanes, as what would a home theater be without
rear-projection and front-projection in plasma, LCDthose.
(Liquid Crystal Display) and HDTV (High Definition