Getting Started

Home theater system installation tips,tricks and advice for beginners

Home theater system installation tips, trick and advice for beginners ... great idea you are probably thinking I haven't got a clue where to get started with my home theater installation and I could do with some handy hints so I don't make a total hash of it. Well have you noticed that most men ... myself included always start to do things the wrong way round? Let me give you an example we decide we are going to decorate the bedroom don't know one end of paint brush from another but it will save money.

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Which Home Theater Selection Mistakes Do You Make?

So which home theater selection mistakes are you making or have made in the past? We all want to own home theater equipment but so many people don't carry out the required research to get it right first time round. As a result, they end up with systems that don’t do what they need them to do which I have to confess has been me on more than one occasion. I still frequently kick myself knowing that I should have brought that Bose system I

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Common Solutions To Home Theater Sound Problems

Common solutions to home theater sound problems is something I get asked for frequently by readers of home theater fanatic almost daily.

Sometimes a? reader? thinks they have assembled the perfect home theater system only to find themselves dissatisfied with the performance which more often than not is a sound issue rather than picture.

? In some cases, this is attributable to just simply? making a? poor purchase or buying incompatible equipment.Today I am going to look at some common causes of disappointment and will look at how such problems can be avoided by choosing products that better meet your needs and will enhance your pleasure with your home theater equipment.

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Why buy a video projector for your home theater system?

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Prices are crashing and with increased demand the cost of video projectors for home theater are set to drop even further.

The truth is there has never been a better time to consider buying a video [tag-tec]projector[/tag-tec] for your home cinema set up.

If you have just forked out for the latest amplifier and speaker set up and were looking forward to that ultimate movie experience and then felt robbed when the TV set just didn’t do it for you then you could be the ideal candidate for a home theater upgrade to a video projector either an [tag-tec]lcd[/tag-tec] projector or a [tag-tec]dlp projector[/tag-tec]

The harsh reality is if you have the space even a massive plasma screen can’t match he image of a projected image the size of the wall in your living room or den.

Over the last 2-3 years the technology behind video? projectors for home theater has moved on by leaps and bounds which has lead to more and more people looking seriously at using a projector in their homes? to create massive picture sizes for watching their movies , play video games and even enjoy their favorite sporting? occasions.?

Just imagine watching the Superbowl or the US Grand Prix life size ? Or maybe you could see yourself playing with your new wii? – Got to be an experience to be lived? in my book.

But the best thing about the projectors of today? and the advances that have been made is that they are now with in reach of the average American home theater enthusiast and no longer the preserve of those that have six figure bank balances.

Of course? with this increase in quality and reduction in price the video projector is now also? increasingly also turning up in the boardroom of even smaller companies to assist with presentations. All this as projectors become more accesible and portable their range of? uses expands and now when combined with a decent laptop any company can create a credible multi media presentation for use in their business.

I will be? talking about the potential of the use of video projectors? in your office and business in a future post and you can bet you will be excited as I will be showing you how your company can benefit in more ways than you could imagine possible.

But for now I want to explain why things have changed and what that means for the typical home theater fanatic..

Just a few short years ago the vast majority of video projectors used a techology LCD (you might be more used to seeing it in the context of TV’s) and whilst many people are still using this type of projector and with new and ongoing? developments it may come to the top again. But for the time being at least Digital Light Processing (DLP) has started to establish it’s self as the more popular choice amongst those buying home theater projectors today.

The advantages it offers are perfect picture geometry, higher contrast and ratio levels and potentially longer lamp life with out any picture degradation.

So lets look at what at what some of these terms mean and what you should be looking for in a home theater video projector ?

Projection Distances:- This is the distance between the screen and the projector to achieve a sharp image of a given size. The shorter the figure the nearer the projector can be to the screen or wall. Technology has now made it possible to reduce these projection distances making the home theater video projector suitable for smaller rooms as well as giant ones.

By knowing this distance before buying your home theater projector you can calculate how large you expect the image to be in realtion to your intended location of your projector and viewing area.

Contrast Ratio :- A problem associated with projectors of afew years ago was the fact that they would not function well unless the room was totally blackend out. This was quite simply due to the fact the light was not intense enough (contrast ratio was to weak) whilst there have been significant improvements in this area it is still pretty much impossible to use a video projector in a fully lit room.

But it is now quite possible to enjoy movies with out sitting in total darkness and provided attention is paid to the siting and use of lighting in the room you should no longer experience major problems.

Of course as would be the case for a front or rear projection TV or even a plasma or LCD TV of for that matter a standard CRT TV they won’t function in direct sunlight. In my view just? some discrete lighting helps add to the ambiance and movie type experience without making it dangerous to move about if needed.

Connecting Your Projector : – Depending what type of equipment you intend to use with your projector will to some extent determine the type of connections you will need. HDMI and component video cables will normally be the best and will be essential for any High Definition images . For? older set ups SCART? will be used or possible in some cases Super VHS cables. I have found that cables from? Best Cables have worked great for my setups so you might want to check them out.

High Definition:- If buying new equipment make sure you purchase HD as anything less will leave your system obsolete in a few years and this could have been avoided for few extra bucks.

Aspect? Ratio? :- The standard for most of the world? now is widescreen or an aspect ration of 16:9 with the advantage of video projection you will be able to enjoy the full benefit of this enhanced viewing? option to the full creating a true movie theater picture.

Keystone Correction :- This is clever? technology which allows you to site the projector where it is best to do and the circuitry with in the projector? makes adjustments so that the picture displays perfectly on the screen. This means until now you needed the projector to be directly in front of the? screen or viewing wall but using keystone correction the images can be projected from the corner of the room and still appear straight . Pretty neat? huh !

Noise? Levels – Nothing could be more off putting than when the leading man and lady of the movie are about to go in to a romantic clich and all you can hear is the helicopter like fan of your home theater projector whirring in the background so make sure the fan is not so obtrusive as to kill the mood.

Hopefully by now you can not only see why but what to look out for when buying a video projector for your home theater system and to help you with your choice I have included some of the models I think are worth checking out.

Super Slim DLP Projector with 2000 Lumens? ? ? ? ?

1024 x 768 pixel resolution 2000:1 contrast ratio Texas Instruments DLP digital light processing 2X optical zoom enables you to fill a 60 inch screen in an office that s less than 6 feet deep Inverse Meniscus Condenser (IMC) lens makes it possible to reduce the size of the lens by 30 Digital vertical keystone correction & manual focus 10 5/8 inch W x 1 11/16 inch H x 7 13/16 inch D.

Professional Series HDTV Compatible DLP Projector with 3500 Lumens

1400 x 1050 native SXGA resolution 3000:1 contrast ratio 4:3 native, 16:9 and 5:4 compatible aspect ratios Innovative Wind Tunnel cooling system designed for whisper-quite operation and minimal light leakage DVI-I HDCP, VGA, component, composite, and S-Video inputs 16 3/16 inch W x 12 5/16 inch H x 4 5/8 inch D; weight: 10 lbs. Includes remote control with laser pointer, S-Video cable, VGA cable, USB cable, and lens cap.

DLP Projector With 1000 Lumens

854 x 480 pixel resolution 2000:1 contrast ratio 4:3 and 16:9 compatible aspect ratios 6 segment 5X speed color wheel helps achieve flicker free, high grade images with accurate color reproduction Sealed optical system prevents dust, dirt and smoke from entering the core components of the projector 12 1/2 inch W x 4 1/4 inch H x 11 1/8 inch D.

DLP Projector with 1100 Lumens

1280 x 720 WXGA pixel resolution 2500:1 contrast ratio 16:9 Native (5 aspect ratio selectable) Component, composite, S-Video, and HDMI inputs 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i signal compatibility Senseye technology De-interlace with 3:2 pull down 15 inch W x 4 1/2 inch H x 11 13/16 inch D Includes remote control and BNC to VGA adapter.

Sharp XR -20X DLP HOme Theater Projector, 2300 Lumens XR-20X

Sharp XR-20X DLP Home Theater Projector, 2300 lumens – 2000:1 Contrast Ratio, 1024×768 Max Res

Optoma Movie Time DV10 DLP Digital Projector DVD w/speakers DV10

Optoma MovieTime DV10 DLP Digital Projecter DVD w/Speakers -1000 Lumens.

This is quite a selection at varying price points so check out the different offering and decide for yourself I will be looking at each one of these in greater detail in a further post hopefully just after Christmas and the Holiday Season.

So if you want to treat yourself to a new years gift this could be a good time?

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Have you discovered Microsoft’s Media Center Online Spotlight ?

If you have discovered that now your PC and home theater system do not need to be regarded as alien to each other you will probably have discovered the Online Spotlight? as part of Windows XP Media Center

This new feature? provides you a myriad of choices including free, premium and subscription services from Microsoft and other selected third party providers.

from Online Spotlight you can watch movies, download the latest soundtracks and music as well as access to news, sports updates and a huge range of [tag-tec]entertainment programming[/tag-tec] which is set to expand.

Showcase : – With the show case section of windows XP? media? center edition you can access a? massive data base of [tag-tec]music downloads[/tag-tec] as well as being able to buy offerings from MTV , AOL Music ,? Napster and many more ..

Music and Radio :- Within this category you will find satellite radio , napster , aol , live 365 and MTV which gives you access to more than 5,000 internet radio stations spanning dozens of generes.

TV and Movies :- Using your broadband? (ADSL) or cable connection you can download and stream movies currently there are more than 1200 movies available to browse, buy and watch through services by Movielink and Cinema Now. Just select you favorite’s and download to enjoy. In addition in addition you will find great TV from ABC , and Titan TV.

News and Sports :- Get the latest news and sports offerings from Fox Sports, Newsgator, Msn and Reuters and NPR.

Games:- No multimedia entertainment program would be? totally complete without at? least some gaming options and media center has certainly not? ignored this either. Discover Games and Games on demand being available to satify the gamers needs.

Lifestyle :- Gallery Player , Kodak? offer a? wide range of pictures from all different walks of life as well a black and white photography? and fine art images. In addition the life style offers a suite of organisational software which includes contacts, calendar and a home organiser.

Without doubt this is the future if Microsoft and Bill Gates have anything to do with it and I I feel it is only a few years down the track that visting your favorite DVD store or DVD rental outlet will become a faded memory.

If you have experienced the new windows multi media system lets hear what you thought about it ?

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Buying A Home Theater Receiver Where to Start ?

If you are setting up a new home theater or upgrading your old one for a holidays gift to yourself, then you need to know that the choice of new home theater receiver is probably the most important home theater component of the entire system.

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