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What Is a Home Theater?

Generally speaking, a home theater system is a combination of electronic components designed to recreate the experience of watching a movie in a theater. When you watch a movie on a home theater system, you are more immersed in the experience than when you watch one on an ordinary television.

 What Do You Need?

To build a home theater, you will need the following items to start:

· A television or projector and screen with a clear picture

· Speakers for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

· Stereo equipment to process and distribute the sound

· Something that can play movies or broadcast digital TV signals (DVD player and/or HD cable box)

· A room that is big enough to set-up the home theater for your viewing enjoyment

 

Setting it up?

Once you have everything, it’s time to start setting things up.

First, you’ll need to consider the room.  A home theater should be something like a movie theater in an enclosed, rectangular room with minimal outside light. Also, an enclosed space is needed to get the best sound for your system.

Once you've decided what room to use, you need to find a location to place the television and all the equipment.  The television should be located in a corner or a flat wall that will give the best viewing angle for all to see clearly.  The audio equipment can be located nearby or in a separate room depending on the ability to install the cabling for the television and speakers.

Arranging the speakers is the next big challenge as the front 3 should be located near the television evenly spaced to create the correct imaging but not to draw your attention away from the movie.  The sound should appear to be coming from the entire area surrounding the television and not from each of the individual speakers.  In-wall and ceiling speakers are becoming more popular as they allow for a cleaner and more appealing look but also create a greater challenge in balancing the sound.

The rear speakers for Dolby Digital should be mounted to either side of the listener at the same height and spaced an equal distance from the listener. Find the middle of the listening area and adjust the level of the rear speakers accordingly to balance the sound.  Keep in mind that the delay level will also need adjustment depending upon the distance from the television to the rear speaker location.

The subwoofer can really go anywhere in the room because the low frequencies it plays are not directional. For the best possible sound, it should be placed on a flat wall or in a corner to intensify the effect.

Once everything is in place and all the cables have been connected, you will need to test the system with a test DVD or movie (like ‘Terminator 2’) that has great Dolby Digital sound effects.  Make adjustments for center and rear levels as well as any delays as mentioned above.  The LFE (Low Frequency Effect) for the subwoofer will also need to be adjusted to suit the listening environment.

For the best possible viewing pleasure, room darkening shades should be added to any windows to prevent outside ambient light from entering the room.  You may also want to consider installing dimmers on any lights in the room to adjust the light level to prevent glare on the television and eye strain.

Now all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy!