Monday, October 12, 2009

How to Build a Custom Home Theater System

By Owen Jones

Watching movies is a great way to escape from the stressful life we all lead these days. Watching movies on a wide screen with surround sound can transport you away from that stress into the plot of the movie you are watching. You live the plot it as if you were really there in the movie itself.

Until recently, we could only experience this escape in a movie theater. However, modern technology has progressed far enough to be able to redreate the same audio-visual experience right there in your very own living room. We will now talk about the most basic components of a home theater system in this article. Read on to discover how these starter pieces of kit can deliver the best cinematic experience in a custom home theater system.

Experts in home theater contend that the most important factor to consider when setting up a custom home theater system is the size of the location where you will install the home theater system. The most important factor in your custom home theater system, the television, is dependent on the size of the room, although the guideline is that a 27 inch television screen is the absolute minimum necessary for your home theater installation.

It is also a recommendation that a flat screen television is advisable for a home theater system because it shows fewer reflexions and produces a crisper image. Another major component of a custom home theater system which depends on the size of the room, is the speaker system.

The number of speakers for your custom home theater system depends on the size of the room. You need at least three speakers to create a believable surround sound, but you may have to place up to six speakers, if you want a more lifelike sound. The addition of a subwoofer may also be a good way to achieve a complete surround sound like in the movie theaters. Three loudspeakers is really the bare minimum, but you may go up to six if the room is larger.

Another major piece of kit for your custom home theater system is the digital DVD player. It is said that DVD players with a progressive scan are the best choice. This is because the progressive scan reproduces sharp, flicker-free pictures. However, this points back to the choice of television unit; you may need to check that your flat-screen television set supports progressive scan signals. You may also want to purchase a five-disk carrousel DVD player. This will stop you having to get up from your chair to change discs quite so often.

A minor cause for thought is the power of the DVD player as that will determine how loud your loudspeakers can be played. Of course, almost all this depends on the size of the room in which the custom home theater system is going to be set up. Small rooms only require a few types of equipment, bigger rooms probably need more and the addition of some proprietary home theater furniture to your home theater system will make a huge difference. A bigger room therefore needs a larger investment. A smaller room might require less, but still high quality, equipment to prevent your home theater set-up under-performing and feeling 'cheap'.

You might think about hiring a home theater expert to design a perfect, custom home theater system. If you can afford it, this is probably the best option, because a home theater expert will be able to design and set up your custom home theater system most efficiently.

That custom home theater specialist may also recommend installing some additional features like a specialized home theater seating structure and even other home theater furniture, such as small tables for snacks and drinks in order to make your custom home theater system more complete and thereby make it more closely resemble an authentic movie theater. Having the finest and highest-quality custom home theater system you can afford, will give you a most sought after set up, one that you can really be proud of and one that will enable you to enjoy your movies to the fullest.

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