More and more people are taking their first step into the wonderful world of home cinema and many more beyond that are beginning to think about taking that first step. The biggest obstacle that most people who are trying to get into home cinema face is not knowing where to start.
This guide is about how to setup a basic home cinema. We will look at locations for your home cinema, screens and the sound setup as well as the various technical jargon used in the world of home cinema.
Where to Locate Your Home Cinema.
The first thing you need to consider when it comes to setting up a home cinema is whereabouts are you going to locate it in your house?
If you are lucky enough to have a spare room and have enough free money at your disposal then you may wish to build your very own home cinema room specifically for the screening of your movies.
Unfortunately not everyone is lucky enough to have the free space in their home to have a dedicated home cinema room. This does not mean that you cannot have a stunning home cinema. It just means that you need to be a little bit more creative when it comes to the initial design.
Most people who own home cinemas actually incorporate their home cinema setup in their living rooms and to be honest when you are just starting out starting off in your living room is probably your best bet. After all you already have your television set in your living room so you can simply gradually build up your setup one component at a time so the cost is not that great.
Choosing the Screen.
When it comes to choosing the screen for your home cinema there is certainly plenty of choice for you out there. If you are trying to keep the initial cost down you may choose to just keep your existing television and maybe upgrade it at a later date. This would allow you to spend more cash on the purchase of your home cinema sound system.
If you do choose to buy a new screen when initially setting up your home cinema make sure you do not fall into the trap of buying a screen that is far too big for your room. While a large screen may well look stunning in the shop it can overwhelm a living room quite easily so take this into consideration.
Once you have decided upon the size screen you are looking for you then have to decide between plasma, LCD and LED screens. Much of this can be down to personal preference and everyone seems to have their own version of what is the best technology. This is why it is important to have demos of any television before purchasing it.
It is always a good idea that has a wide viewing angle so it is viewable from as many angles as possible. Also make sure that any television you buy is full HD and not just HD ready. A full HD television set will display the picture at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 while HD ready only sets only display a picture at a resolution of 1280 x 720.
Choosing the Media Player.
If you are setting up a home cinema system then you are going to need a media player of some description so that you can play your movies.
As we all know the good old VHS cassette is long gone and even DVD is on its way out. In today’s world of high definition content the industry is leading towards Blu-Ray players and live streaming of movies over the internet.
You can pick up a DVD player for as little as $20 but these machines are definitely on their way out. A Blu-Ray player will allow you the option of playing DVD’s and Blu-Ray’s and allows you to watch your movies in stunning high definition.
My personal opinion would be to choose a PlayStation 3 as a media player. Sony’s PlayStation 3 will play DVD’s, Blu-Ray discs and will also allow you to stream movies over the internet from services such as LoveFilm and Netflix.
Choosing the Sound Setup.
Most people will only consider themselves to be the owner of a home cinema setup once they have surround sound.
There are several ways to go about setting up surround sound and also several different types of surround sound available.
First you are going to need a way of decoding the surround signal. Nowadays there are televisions and media players that will decode the surround signal without the use of any other device and this is certainly an option but proper home cinema setups use separate components to decode and amplify the sound.
When it comes to type of surround sound your options are as follows :-
Stereo.
Stereo sound consists of two speakers and two channels of sound.
Dolby Pro Logic.
Dolby Pro Logic was the first surround system that became popular in home cinema. Dolby Pro Logic takes your standard stereo speakers at either side of your television then adds a centre speaker behind the television for things like speech and then two speakers at the rear for the surround sound. The rear speakers are not stereo they are only mono. In total there are four channels in the Dolby Pro Logic setup.
5.1 Surround Sound.
5.1 surround is where the true magic of home cinema really begins to amaze you. A 5.1 surround setup consists of two stereo speakers at the front, two stereo speakers at the rear and a centre speaker behind the television. 5.1 also have a totally separate channel for the bass sounds.
You will be amazed at the difference a stereo over mono field at the rear will make to your listening experience.
6.1 Surround Sound.
6.1 surround sound is the same as the 5.1 surround sound setup only 6.1 has an extra speaker place in the centre of the room to the rear.
7.1 Surround Sound.
7.1 surround sound is the ultimate in home cinema surround sound. 7.1 surround sound is just like 5.1 surround sound only with 7.1 you have four speakers to the rear with two separate stereo fields. The surround sound with a 7.1 system gives a more surrounded experience and can place any sound anywhere in the room.
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