Elements of Home Theater Design
What is the best configuration for your newly purchased home theater system? Several factors should be considered before you even buy the components. Are you an avid movie watcher or do you enjoy the sports packages so prevalent in today's cable set-ups? What is the shape of your viewing room? What materials are present in that room? Do you predominantly listen to music and what type of music? Each of these answers will help determine what your home theater design will look like.
What you are trying to do is approximate the environment you find at a real movie theater to maximize your viewing and listening pleasure. You have a surround sound system that can have various speaker configurations. This is what distinguishes your home theater from an ordinary television-viewing situation. In order to avail yourself of these features, you should first decide where you want to locate the wide screen TV and where you want to sit. As you do this, keep in mind that the speakers will have to be separated in various locations around the room. This will give you the sense of actually being in the midst of the sound.
Your home theater design should also encompass the acoustic properties of the materials in the room. Bare walls do not work well with sound, as the reverberations tend to muddy the sound. Some type of sound absorbing materials should be installed to help the acoustic balance. Ceiling panels, draperies, and rugs are all helpful in achieving this balance. The actual atmosphere should be designed so that the lighting is controllable and beneficial to prime viewing. A dimmer switch on a few of the lights is probably the easiest method of controlling the lights or you could put in recessed lights to approximate the lighting in a movie theater.
The physical comfort of the viewers is of equal importance in home theater design. Temperature regulation keeps the room at a reasonable level and proper ventilation will provide air movement for a pleasurable atmosphere.
The next step is to arrange the speakers in the optimum configuration so as to heighten the listening experience. Surround sound speaker systems come in different packages with the basic one being the 5.1 channel set-up, made up of three front speakers, two side speakers, and a sub-woofer. The 6.1 channel set-up adds a channel (a rear speaker) to the 5.1 configuration, while the 7.1 adds yet another sub-woofer for increased bass. Your best home theater design will take into account the need for best placement of these components in terms of the physical space required and optimum separation of sound. Placing the speakers on the floor is not the best way to place them as the floor picks up the vibrations and distorts the sound. Accommodations must be made to elevate the speakers so that nothing comes between your ears and the speakers. This will heighten your experience in the best home theater design possible.
So sit back, dim the lights, pass the popcorn, and enjoy the show.
Surround Sounds Home Theater Package
As technological improvements in sound continue to happen, our expectations continue to rise. The sound we experience in a movie theater entices us to demand a similar experience at home and audio component companies have responded with improved surround sound systems. Hence, the home theater package attempts to incorporate elements of surround sound that we get at the movies. Movie studios are now issuing DVDs that are compatible with these home theater packages. They design the sound for their DVD releases with the home theater configuration in mind. The confluence of sophisticated sound design and home theater package improvements only serves to enhance your home theater enjoyment.
The two major surround sound platforms are Dolby Laboratories (including Dolby Digital as well as Dolby Pro Logic) and Digital Theater Systems (DTS). DTS features several sound enhancements in home theater packages such as concert hall, rock, classical, and vocal settings to name a few. With the advent of these two formats, we are experiencing a similar type of dichotomy we saw with the opposition of Beta and VHS formats with videotapes. Some DVDs are made with Dolby technology while others feature DTS technology and this can lead to some confusion and mismatches.
The distinguishing features of DTS allow for a clearer sound than Dolby because it uses a lower compression ratio than Dolby encoding but the downside is that DTS is not often found in television broadcasts. When buying a home theater package, you should be aware of these positives and negatives and match them to the features of your system. In addition, DVDs are mostly encoded with Dolby audio, which creates some problems for those who buy systems with the DTS format. Thus consumers have to be knowledgeable about what they want and what their choices entail.
The variety of speaker configurations extends from the 5.1 channel set-up to the 6.1 and then to the 7.1. In this terminology, (.1) refers to the channel supporting a sub-woofer while the first number (5, 6,7) corresponds to the number of speakers arrayed around the room. All of these configurations have left, right, and center speakers with additional rear speakers. The higher numbers merely add a left, right, and center speaker to the rear set-up. A sub-woofer is a channel that carries a lower frequency bass boost and is incorporated in each package. The variety of channel splits and mixes should be designed to be compatible with either the Dolby format or the DTS. This decision is entirely up to the consumer, given that the consumer has done some research or sought the proper advice.
At this point, you should have all the tools needed to make the appropriate choices. Let the sound envelop you and enjoy your home theater package.
Hooking Up Your Home Theater System
Nowadays the entertainment auto traffic is towards the electronic store rather than towards the multiplex movie theater. The expense of compiling a home theater system has been coming down for some time and now is within the reach of many more people. As with any new technologies, as economies of scale kick in and demand grows, the price becomes affordable to the masses. More consumers are taking advantage of this and are revamping their old TV room to accommodate a new home theater system. The possible environment can rival that of a real movie theater.
In order to replicate the movie theater experience more closely, in both the visual and the auditory, planning the layout is of paramount importance. A rough drawing with approximate scale will be of great help. The set-up of a home theater system is sufficiently complicated enough to warrant the time spent measuring and drawing.
First, all features of your home theater system should be understood before you attempt to deploy the components. The size of the screen is the first consideration as it is both the focal point and the largest piece. How does the room accommodate the screen? You should measure out the possible locations before you move or hang the screen. Take a look at the space around the screen and determine if the speakers can be arrayed comfortably around the available space. Now you should plan out where you and your guests can sit with optimum viewing and listening comfort. You may even have to buy furniture that makes sense with your final arrangement.
Secondly, optimum placement of the speakers is contingent on the number of speakers and the shape of the room. If your room is rectangular or square, you should have no issues with speaker placement. If your room has an irregular shape, you should experiment, if possible, with different placements. In the 5.1 channel set-up, you will have five speakers and a sub-woofer and then you will add a speaker for the 6.1 channel set-up and also for the 7.1. The exact placement of speakers must correspond to the function of each speaker. Left, right, center, left rear, right rear, left side, and right side speakers all have exact functions and must be placed as close as possible to those places. You will have some leeway in your set-up but you have to maintain the integrity of each speaker function.
Always remember that this is a surround sound system, so you have to make sure your seating accommodations will put you in the middle of the swirl of sound or else your money and time will be wasted. If you have done your work thoroughly with thoughtful planning and a modicum of knowledge, you will enjoy many years of watching movies and listening to music. And don't forget to work on the acoustic surfaces of the entertainment room, as improper materials will distort the sound and destroy the entire effect.
Home Theater Wiring
What do you think when you look at the snarl of wires connecting your computer to the power supply, the printer, the scanner, the speakers, and the other USB wires that gather dust behind your electronic devices? Is there a solution to this confusion? This is the situation that most home theater wiring configurations face as well. If you want to pay someone to set-up all the wiring, this will run you into some extra expense. The alternative, of course, is to do it all yourself. All you need is some information about the variety of wiring equipment and about concealing the normally be exposed wires.
Home entertainment systems normally come with a wiring schematic and the equipment to put this plan into play. Frequently, the individual differences in room size, power requirements, and distances are not taken into consideration and you must improvise a solution. The set-up that comes with the system is compatible with what you have and if everything fits, you have no need to add anything. When the supplied wiring is inadequate, you have to find a solution to the problem. The usual failing of supplied wiring is in the length. When you come up short and need more footage, the available options must be compared to the existing system for compatibility. If possible, you should return to the dealer first for advice and then for appropriate wiring support.
The next question concerns the ratings of the various types of wiring. Vampire Wire, Monster Cable, Kimber Kable, XLO, StraightWire, TARA Labs, and Nordost are all rated highly and warrant your consideration. Seek some professional advice before investing in any of these reputable brands. You should determine the specifications of your particular system requirements to insure compatibility.
Perhaps the most difficult facet of home theater wiring is the actual placement of the wires. You will want to avoid the unsightly cluster of multiple wires running to all parts of your entertainment room. Speakers are situated throughout the room in strategic areas and you can devise various schemes to keep the wires hidden. One of the easiest and cheapest methods is to use under carpet tape that gathers all the wires together and conceals them effectively. However, the drawback to this method is that you then have strips of tape running all over your floor. This arrangement is not as ugly as loose wires but still obtrusive.
The most esthetically pleasing method for home theater wiring involves drilling into the floor and running the wires under the floor into the room below, usually the basement. The holes are small and barely visible and have the advantage of being patchable if you decide to change your speaker layout in the future. This method involves some planning and a little carpentry work but is really the best way to totally hide the your home theater wiring. Flat ribbon wire is also available (AR's MicroFlat HT392 tape is an example) and affords you better visual arrangements.
Whatever your choice, you have avoided the unnecessary expense of hiring someone to come into your home to do what you can do nearly as well given some thought and knowledge.
Home Theater Entertainment Centers
When you first decide to upgrade your entertainment habits, you think about the components of the system: wide screen television, amplifier and tuner, speakers, and the resulting design problems. Before all of this, however, you should consider how you intend to house and display all these components. The variety of home theater entertainment centers is staggering. Both functional and decorative, they can be used in a modular manner, either expanding or contracting for various purposes. Media centers are flexible in design because of the proliferation of home media formats. The screens have increased in size to the point where the thin ones can be mounted directly on the wall or they have to be supported by some rugged furniture. There are DVD players, redundant CD players, TIVOs, iPod docks, 6-8 speakers per system, pre-amplifiers, and so on. They all have to be put somewhere and furniture makers have risen admirably to the occasion.
A primary force in the home entertainment center production since 1994, Dynamic Sound Systems sells most of its products online. They have a ready supply of products including home entertainment centers suited for LCD monitors, plasma screens, and most important, speaker support systems for ceiling mounts, recessed and bas relief, wall mounts, in wall installations, free-standing speaker stands, and brackets for speaker installation. The variety of configurations is impressive. Home entertainment center owners have demanded a selection of looks from furniture makers because they must fit into any of the home styles people have put together.
Dynamic Sound Systems' catalogue features the fast-selling Sanus Systems Natural System Three Piece Home Entertainment Stand. Cramer Studios has designed a beautiful piece of furniture that has simple, elegant lines but is functional as well. A great marriage of form and function, the Natural System Three Piece Home Entertainment Stand offers two audio stands and the space for a wide screen monitor, all in the primary module. With two shelves below for media components, this part of the stand draws your eye because of its beauty and its role as the focus of your viewing enjoyment. The remaining modules have multiple shelving, designed to house various arrays of electronic components. Consumers have voted and this home theater entertainment center is the winner.
Dynamic Sound Systems also lists the OmniMount Cosmic Entertainment Center as its next most popular seller. This is also a three-piece unit but in contrast to the above system, boasts a contemporary look with glass shelving and decorative mesh screening. This piece comes disassembled but is relatively easy to put together.
Dynamic Sound Systems has the answers to any of your home theater entertainment questions. They supply the best media centers, suitable for nearly any circumstance. Refer to their web site for the full catalogue.
Basic Custom Home Theater Setups
When setting up a custom home theater system, you have a number of factors to consider. Because you would like to approximate the environment in a real movie theater, you pay attention to aspects such as the size of the viewing screen, ambient temperature, seating comfort, ventilation, controllable lighting, and seating arrangements. In order to insure the optimum viewing pleasure, you must paradoxically pay attention to the sound. This is the overriding consideration in designing a custom home theater system. What distinguishes your custom set-up from the garden-variety television situation is the surround sound system.
At the least, you will need two front and two rear speakers so as to have sound coming at you from different angles. Some amplifiers have plug-ins for four speakers and you can experience a weak approximation of surround sound with a minimum of expense. However, more separation and hence more speakers will enable you to have more distinct differentiation among the variety of sounds that the movie's sound designer has incorporated into the movie. Movie audio has been evolving through the years to match the improvements in technology.
Packages featuring 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 channel set-ups are readily available from all major electronics stores with corresponding jumps in expense. Each of these packages includes a sub-woofer (low frequency channel for increased bass response) represented by the .1, and the number of other speakers represented by the preceding number. To show the configuration, the 6.1 has the sub-woofer and six other speakers (left, right, center, left rear, right rear, and center rear). As the viewers face the screen, the primary sounds will issue from the front speakers with the rear speakers acting to fill in secondary noises that have been incorporated into the soundscape of the movie. In much the same way as a stereo separates music into two channels with sounds from one speaker louder than the same sound from the other speaker, a custom home theater will spread the sounds out through all three front speakers at differing volumes so as to approximate your position at the actual event.
As the rear speakers combine to fill in background sounds such as a dog barking (directors are notorious for filling quiet spots in their movies with a single dog barking) or the outside noises you hear in daily life, you get the sensation of the sound swirling around you. Another favorite device is to have the sound move from speaker to speaker to create the sense of action. Moving cars and creaking floors are particularly overused for this effect. You actually feel as if you are in the middle of the action.
Purchasing anything more than a 7.1 channel set-up would seem to be a waste of space and money for the human ear can only sense so much sound coming from various directions. There is a limit to surround sound systems mostly because movies are not recorded with more than six channels and the same sounds would issue forth from separate speakers.
Whatever system you choose, you will certainly enjoy your experience more if you take care with the home theater sound design.
The Best Home Theater Systems
Although attendance at movie theaters is ever increasing, people are turning more and more to the experience of renting DVDs and watching them at home. The difference between five years ago and now is that home theater systems are becoming more prevalent. The improvements in technology have given the home viewer an almost theater-like environment to watch videos. Screens have grown in size and clarity while sound reproduction has risen with the advent of surround affordable surround sound systems. It has become easier to set up a home theater system with the help of a specialist who will come right into your home and put together a custom system.
So the checklist of questions becomes important. There are really two major concerns to address:
1) What is your budget and what level of technology are you willing to pay for?
This is a trade off situation that must be considered before you ever start to purchase components. How avid is your movie watching? Do you like special effects movies or do you tend to watch movies that are dramatic and character driven? Are you a sports fan who needs clearly defined action on the screen? Answer these types of questions honestly and you can begin to determine how much you are willing to spend to achieve your specific goals.
2) How much versatility do you need?
The variety of media available is staggering. Audio and video options are multiple and various formats have to be considered to tailor your system to your specific requirements. Will Dolby technology or Digital Theater Systems be sufficient to satisfy you? They support different speaker configurations and surround sounds ratios. What exactly do you want? Sometimes it is necessary to visit a showroom to experience the system, as it will be presented in your home theater. The best home theater system will support the rainbow of media available such as DVD, DVD-R, CD, CD-RW, iPod, mp3, mp4, and so on. Radio options should include AM/FM as well as Sirius or XM radio for the best in home theaters.
Consulting a home theater professional (for they do exist) is the most efficient way to approach the compilation of the best home theater system. They will look at your space, assess your stated needs, and develop a set-up within your budget. You can experience videos, sports, and music with the best home theater system possible in your economic range. Run, don't walk to the nearest electronic specialist. He will be more than happy to advise you on the best home theater system and then sell it to you.