Choosing a Home Theater System

Watching movies is a neat escape from the stressful lifestyle we live in. Watching movies in a wide screen and surround sound take you far away and into the movie scene you are watching. You watch it as if you were there in the movie scene. Of late, we can only experience this escape in a cinema. However, modern technology may be able to provide this same sight and sound experience right in your own living room. We will discuss the basic components of a home theater system in this article. Read on to understand how these basic components can deliver the best cinematic experience to a home theater system.

Home theater experts state that the most important consideration in setting up a home theater system is the size of the room where you will set up the home theater system. The most important component of the home theater system, which is the television, is dependent on the size of the room. Although, the recommendation is 27 inches television set at a minimum is necessary for your home theater set up. It is also a recommendation that a flat television is good for a home theater system because it exhibits fewer glares and produces a crisper image. Another major component of a home theater system that depends on the size of the room is the speaker. The number of speakers for your home theater system is dependent on the size of the room. You may add up to six speakers from the basic three speakers if you want a more lifelike sound. Adding a subwoofer may also be good to achieve a complete surround sound like in the movie theaters. Three speakers should be the minimum; you may go up to six if the room is big.

Another major for your home theater system is the DVD player. It is a recommendation that DVD players with progressive scan will be the best choice. This is because progressive scan produces sharp and flicker-free pictures. This however points back to the choice of television unit; you may need to check if the flat television set supports progressive scan signals. You may also acquire a five-disk carrousel DVD player. This will avoid having to stand up from your seat to change discs every so often. A minor consideration is the power rating that will determine how loud your speaker can be. Of course, almost all these depend on the size of the room to where the home theater system is going to be set up. Small room requires from few types of equipment, bigger rooms may require more and adding home theater furniture to your home theater system may be best. A bigger room thus requires more investments. A smaller room might require fewer but of good quality equipments to avoid the too basic feel of the home theater system.

Finally, you may acquire a beautifully designed home theater system if you consider hiring a home theater expert. If you can afford this, it will be best for you because the home theater expert will be able to effectively design and set up your home theater system. Your home theater designer may also add some features like home theater seating and other home theater furniture to be able to give the complete home theater package that closely resembles a real movie theater. Having the finest and high-quality home theater system will give you the most sought after set up that you could flaunt and enjoy to the max.

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About the Author: Rob Thomas is a writer for The Tech FAQ and has contributed articles including Home Theater, Build a Home Theater, and Home Theater Speaker Systems.

Largest LCD TV in existence (from Sharp)?

I found some news articles from 2004 about Sharp developing a 65-inch Aquos - the largest LCD to date. Sure enough, three years later the model is available for purchase - LC-65D64U. Apparently, that's how long it takes. The price tag on this LCD monster is about $8,000. The largest model that Sharp has built seems to be a 108-incher. I have not idea how much it might cost.

	Features

	Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) Resolution
for the sharpest picture possible.

	10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio and 4ms1 Response Time
produces spectacular picture quality.

	Three HDMI™ (version 1.3) and Dual Component Inputs
for the ultimate in terminal flexibility. All HD inputs are compatible with 1080p sources and compatible with X.V. color for extended color gamut.

	Wide Viewing Angles (176º H x 176º V)
Sharp's AQUOS LCD TV viewing angles are so wide, you can view the TV clearly from practically anywhere in the room.

	Enhanced Black Level
provides the deepest, most accurate blacks of any flat panel TV.

	High Brightness (450 cd/m2)
AQUOS LCD Televisions are very bright. You can put them virtually anywhere – even near windows, doors or other light sources – and the picture is still vivid.

	Built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners
provide access to DTV and analog TV channels.

	AQUOS engine with ASV Technology
provides high-performance video processing for the brightest, most vivid colors and images.

Good tip for Aquos buyers

It seems as if some store like to carry the same models as everybody else, but they want their customers to be unable to compare their prices and the prices that the competition has to offer. Perhaps as a side effect or possibly even deliberately, these stores deprive customers of the ability to find reviews of the products they are planning to purchase. For instance:

It is believed that the Costco lcc3242u - 32" Aquos LCD TV, is the same model as Sharp lc32d43u. It is extremely difficult to find reviews of the Costo model, while a search for lc32d43u returns thousands of pages. Of course, this way you can also find a better price. But I would not recommend that, because Costco's warranty cannot be beaten!

Sharp Aquos vs. SH12U

The irony of watching commercials about television sets ON a television set never escaped me. When I see commercials about Sharp Aquos (D62U series), those TVs sure look awesome. They look awesome ON my Sharp SH12U! The quality of the picture of SH12U is so great that I honestly cannot see too many improvements when I compare the too in person. In theory, I know that Aquos should have an improved black level. In my opinion, however, Sharp already achieved pretty good levels of black on their previous models. It's just something they worked on, apparently. LCDs have a bad reputation for not having very good black levels. Supposedly they are not very good for watching movies in a dark room. This was a bit of a problem with my old ProView LCD, but SH12U simply makes it a no issue. So, I am still pretty happy with it, even though it is possible that Aquos is approaching "the look and feel" of a plasma screen TV.

Sharp SH12U

This is a 26-incher. They seem to be sold at Costco and similar places. When I compared it to a similar Westinghouse the difference in the quality was quite visible to me. I've read that Westinghouse keeps their prices low because the brand is now owned by an LCD manufacturer. Well, I did not like the quality of the LCD. At the store, while the demo HDTV signal was displayed I could see the difference in the areas that were supposed to be a certain pure color. Red, for instance. On the Westinghouse unit I could see some pixelation even when I was not standing close to the screen. I mean, it's ok. You can probably get used to it. But Sharp simply looked better. I have been reading some reviews later and it appears some of the Sharp's units are really among the best. Visually it is certainly true. I would say that there are only two nuisances about it. I don't think the speakers are loud enough. I very much dislike loud sounds, but I think that in the summer, when the air-conditioner is on, this TV will have to be set to the highest volume possible. So, it is a huge plus if you have some kind of separate sound system. Also, it takes a second or two to go from channel to channel. And it takes a few seconds to warm up when you turn on the TV. But if you are not a channel flipper you'll be just find. The good news is, however, that you can see both digital and analog channels on the same remote, so to speak. Ordinarily I would not think twice of it, but after having seen a Mintek LCD/DVD combo I appreciate this feature. On the Mintek you would have to switch constantly between digital and analog channels!

This LCD TV has a QAM, as well as a terrestrial HD tuner. This is nice, because if you have standard cable chances are that you can get all the free HDTV channels available off the air in your area.

• Screen Size: 26"
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Resolution: 1366 x 768
• Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
• Brightness: 450 cd/m2
• Response Time: 6ms
• Lamp Life: 2 60,000 hrs.
• Viewing Angles: 176°H x 176°V
• Tuning: NTSC/ATSC/QAM
• Stand: included
• Limited Warranty: 1 year parts, 90 days labor
• Dimensions (w x h x d) (in inches): 26-5/16 x 17-3/4 x 4-9/16 (TV only) 26-5/16 x 19-11/16 x 9-9/16 (TV and Stand)
• Weight (lbs): 25.4 (TV only), 28.4 (TV and Stand)

Official TV

As it stands now, if I am not mistaken, Sony is the official TV of NFL, and Sharp is the official TV of MLB. What should one choose? I am partial to both sports. Baseball, however, lasts longer. Sounds like a better investment.

My cheap LCD story

This is totally inspirational and uplifting. At the time when cheap LCD TVs are getting cheaper and cheaper it appears as if I was able to snatch the ultimate cheap TV. A free one. That's right. Zero dollars. The downside is that I had to return it. Well, here is what happened. Almost two years ago I got a little 19" Proview LCD. It did not even have a HDTV tuner, which was eventually rectified through the purchase of a Samsung DirecTV receiver. I got this unit at Costco for about $300. You'll say that it's not free? OK. Two weeks ago the thing broke down during a baseball game. The big question at the time was how much I'd have to pay the city hall to have it removed. Surprise! As it turned out, Costco extends manufacturer warranty on TVs up to 2 years! I was able to return the unit for full refund. That's what it means to have owned a real cheap LCD TV for almost two years!