When people start shopping for home theater systems, the first thing they need to decide on is what sort of television they'll have, because this is usually the centerpiece of the home theater. The two main choices these days for large screen televisions are the plasma and the LCD. And each of these will work better for different types of viewing. So you'll have to assess what your primary uses will be for your television before choosing one for your home video system.
LCD televisions are better suited to more brightly lit environments, even though plasmas actually have better contrast. You'll need to assess your own home video environment to determine whether your primary viewing will be in brighter or more dimmed conditions. And even your home theater seating will be a deciding factor. LCD televisions don't view so well from an angle, losing their contrast and skewing the colors, so if your seating is spread to the side as much as in front, then a plasma television might suit you best.
Other choices will involve video players, gaming boxes and other home theater accessories. For example, you may want to get a Blu-ray player to plug into your television. If you were thinking of getting one of the in-a-box home theater packages, you may find one that includes a Blu-ray device, while others include DVD players. But you can also connect with standalone players. Many Blu-ray players, as well as playing videos, can also connect to streaming video services like Netflix or Pandora. So you'll want to read a lot of reviews before you buy one of these video devices.
You have so many choices available for your home video needs. It's even still possible to get a rear projection television, though LCDs and plasmas are now the main choices. And of course, other home theater systems deals involve going whole hog with the movie screen and ceiling-mounted projector option. You can hook up the projector controls to handle television, movies, gaming and internet connection, the same as with the big screen televisions. The only limitations on what you can do will be your pocketbook and your own imagination.
Home theater systems generally have the same basic components, with some individual extras that people add on their own. But the main things they contain are a television, a receiver, a disc player or two, for playing both CDs and video discs, and several home audio speakers, anywhere from two to as many as eight of them. All these components carry out pretty standard functions, but not all of them perform the same way or meet basic standards in a satisfying way. So you'll need to look for certain things as you do your shopping.
One of the most important pieces of this large setup is the home receiver. In its most elementary form, it receives AM/FM radio signals and connects to your speakers, as well as having connections for CD or MP3 players. But the more elaborate receivers go much farther than that, and have many more features. These would encompass the basic features all receivers have, perhaps adding a capacity for surround sound, or including an internet connection. When looking for a home theater system, you first need to decide which of these features you want, and make sure you get a receiver that can handle everything you need.
Then you need to look for the various players and speakers. If you're creating a Blu-ray home theater, you'll need to get the right player; otherwise you need to make sure your DVD player can "up-convert" pictures for a high definition television if that's what you've got. The sound for home theater systems, meanwhile, can either be handled by out-of-the-box systems that handle surround sound if that's what you want, or you need to choose the individual speakers yourself, and a receiver that can interact with them properly.
With home theater systems, integrated and component based are the two main types. Integrated systems come with everything already designed to interact with each other. Yet often the sound from the speaker systems isn't generally as good as with a system you build yourself, component by component. The problem with a component based system, though, is that it costs more, and is usually harder to set up. So you need to know what you're doing and decide for yourself which type of system will work best for you.
Some people set up a home theater system for movies, while others concentrate more on the quality of the sound for playing their music collection. Most people want to do justice to both, which is why so many these days are shopping for home theater systems. There's just nothing like listening to a symphony on a sound system that makes every note amazingly clear or watching movies with visuals and sound that make you feel like you're right in a real theater.
The sound and visual equipment, of course, is paramount for your home theater system. At the very least, you'll want as large a flat-screen television as you can get, along with a DVD or Blu-Ray disc player. And because the sound is as important as the visuals, and television speakers never create good enough sound to match their picture, you'll need to investigate speakers. If you've got the space, and especially if you've dedicated a whole room to your theater, you may want home theater surround sound, which will mean at least five speakers and probably more like eight.
You'll undoubtedly want to have a music player connected to your home theater system as well, to make the entertainment complete. But if you're in a dedicated room, then why not go whole hog and make this a real theater and add a home theater projector and screen? Many systems have projectors you can mount on the ceiling, which play movies on a large, full-fledged theater screen on the wall. Add to this some comfortable home theater seating, and you've come as close to a real theater or concert hall as you can possibly get.
Your own level of expertise or that of the people helping you will determine if your home theater system is bought in a single package or if the components are chosen separately and integrated through your home receiver. The package is easier to set up and is designed to integrate, while a system made of disparate components also costs more. Yet the latter setup also usually sounds and looks better in the end. The route you take will depend on how well you know audio and visual equipment, what sorts of results you're aiming for, and what tradeoffs you're willing to make.
Once you've decided to buy that big screen television and set up a home theater, keep in mind that the speakers you choose are not merely home theater accessories. You should regard them as equal in importance to all the visual equipment you buy. For some reason, even the best flat screen televisions are not provided with speakers good enough to do the remotest justice to the excellent picture, so buying the right home theater speakers is absolutely paramount.
Because home theater speakers are so important, you should take advantage of website review sites that will give you details from people who have actually tested and used the speakers. At www.hometheatermag.com reviewers go into a lot of detail, though you do need to know if the system you're considering is floor standing, compact or wall-mounted, and you have to search a bit for specific systems. The site www.toptenreviews.com provides home theater reviews in, as the name suggests, a Top Ten format, but you can go on and read reviews for all the rest of the products as well.
The site www.cnet.com does its home theater reviews and speaker reviews in price categories, which can help make it easier for you if you are limited in what you can spend. So for example, in the five hundred dollar range, you'll see the single Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 speaker given an "Excellent" rating, with a caveat or two. In a lower price range, speakers like the JVC TH-BA1 receive a "Very Good" rating, with the note that they don't provide HDMI connectivity. The summaries of good and bad points for these speakers can be useful in your final decision.
Different reviewers will provide different details about home theater speakers. A site like www.amazon.com will have actual user reviews so you'll see what glitches real users might have run into, or what unexpected benefits they discovered. If your theater design includes hardwood floors, then you'll welcome details about whether tower speakers come with pads underneath, or how much their cases will vibrate. Research for as much detail as you can find, so you will choose the best possible speakers for your home theater.
There may not quite be a million different home speakers for you to choose from as you start putting together your home theater system, but there are so many options that it may feel that way as you start to do your research. Audio systems can have many components to them, standing on the floor, sitting on stands, mounted on walls, even hanging from ceilings. How are you going to choose among them, or be able to tell which ones would work best in your home theater?
The first thing about speakers to become familiar with is their shape and construction. This is important because you only have so much space in your room. You need to be able to choose speakers to fit your space, knowing they will perform well there. But different shapes and sizes also have an impact on performance in general. Floor standing speaker systems, for example, can accommodate the widest frequency response and have the highest output. Compact or "bookshelf" speakers, only one to two feet high, need to combine with a good subwoofer. And wall-mounted speakers can be similar to either type, but have their own challenges as well.
Many floor standing home speakers provide great sound while saving space. However, the more recent versions, which are very tall and slender and often in an aluminum case don't cover lower frequencies that well and would still need an added subwoofer for that. Another type that may need that subwoofer is the compact speaker, which handles all frequencies well except the lowest. Meanwhile, in-wall speakers have enough concerns with space and the limitations imposed by studs and other wall design issues that you would really need a home theater installer to come in and install them properly.
As you compare home theater systems, you need to pay attention to the size and shape of your home speakers before you can even assess features and performance. That may feel like you're throwing another monkey wrench into everything, yet you're also helping to narrow things down. If you know you're looking at just one category of speakers, whether floor standing, compact or in-wall, then you don't need to concern yourself with any of the other types, and can make your choices accordingly.
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