| Over the years, I have grown really attached to my | | | | allow light to pass through them. LCD projectors |
| home theater system. I must say, of all the rooms in | | | | produce brighter images, and they are known for |
| the house, my own little movie theater is the one I | | | | having excellent color saturation. In the end, you will be |
| could not live without. I am absolutely in love with my | | | | hard-pressed to notice a great difference between |
| home theater system and, if you are anything like me, I | | | | the two types of projection systems. |
| am sure you will love yours too. I found, when I was | | | | When shopping for a new projector, keep your |
| initially building my system, that there was so much | | | | particular needs in the forefront of your thoughts. As I |
| information to absorb. Every product out there | | | | mentioned above, it is really easy to lose yourself in |
| seemed better than the next, and I found myself | | | | the minutiae of each particular system. Connectivity is |
| unsure about which to buy. Here are a few things to | | | | a definitely something to be mindful of. Make sure that |
| keep in mind when shopping for a new home theater | | | | you are able to connect all of your components, |
| projector. | | | | including your gaming system. Nothing beats playing |
| There are two main types of projectors on the | | | | Halo in real-life size! Contract ratio is another important |
| market; DLP and LCD. DLP stands for digital light | | | | factor; the higher the ratio, the better the picture will be. |
| processing. It was invented by Texas Instruments, and | | | | The brightness of your projector is another thing to |
| utilizes a microscopic array of over 2 million mirrors. | | | | consider. Light output is measured in ANSI (American |
| DLP has a higher contrast than LCD, but there are | | | | National Standards Institute) lumens. You will want to |
| some unfavorable consumer reports that note | | | | avoid a projector that produces anything shy of 1000 |
| something called the "rainbow effect". The "rainbow | | | | lumens. As you are likely aware, the projection |
| effect" is noticeable when looking from one side of the | | | | resolution is extremely important. This refers to the |
| screen to the other, and is characterized by a sudden | | | | number of pixels that can be displayed on the screen. |
| burst of color. | | | | Go for something that is no less than 1024x768, as this |
| LCD stands for liquid crystal display. These projectors | | | | will allow you to fully appreciate the depth and quality |
| have three distinct glass LCD panels inside; one for | | | | of HDTV. In the end, you should buy the projector that |
| each component of the video signal (red, green, and | | | | is in line with your needs and your budget. Soprano's is |
| blue). While DLP chips reflect light, the LCD panels | | | | coming on right now! Time to go! |