How to choose a home theater?

Choosing a home theater in the modern variety of options can be a real headache. Advertising convinces that the home theater will transfer the viewer from the room to the epicenter of the screened events. In fact, it turns out that not every system is able to cope with this difficult task.

How to choose a home theater?

The variety of cinemas allows to choose a system from relatively inexpensive to very expensive. Is it worth it to spend money on an expensive system, what does it give and do expensive movie theaters have significant advantages?

Relatively inexpensive models with LCD monitor

They are the most popular among buyers. The system of such a home theater is built on the basis of LCD TV, AV receiver, and, of course, the speaker system.

The main disadvantage of inexpensive home theaters is a small screen, medium or low level of sound transmission and visual signal. For this reason, they are referred to "cinemas" rather arbitrarily, because to ensure the very immersion in the visual and sound series promised by advertising, such a system is not able.

The advantages include cost, ease of installation and small dimensions of all equipment that allow you to arrange a home theater in a small room typical "Khrushchev."

How to choose a home theater from this category:

1. Do not overpay for the brand. The markup for the most untwisted brand may be too large, and the quality of sound and visuals will still remain within the capabilities of the budget model of the cinema.
2. The cost of the receiver. A very inexpensive model of a $ 200 receiver is simply not capable of reproducing quality sounds even with good speakers. Even if it is a receiver from the most famous and expensive company with an excellent reputation. The receiver is the "heart" of the cinema, so you can save on it only within reasonable limits, for example, do not overpay for output power, if the size of the room is not large.
3. Output power of the receiver. For a room of 20 square meters, the RMS's average power of 80 or 100 watts is enough. A lot of power can give a louder sound, but it will be difficult to perceive in a small room.

Models of the middle price category

Most often these are cinemas based on plasma panels. Such panels can be hung on the wall, they have a small depth with a much larger diagonal of the screen (from 42 inches) than the usual TV. The complete set of the audio system can be both medium in quality and high quality, which, naturally, affects the cost of the entire cinema.

How to choose the right home theater of an average price category:

1. The rule of choosing the receiver remains in force: do not overpay for the power that will not be used.
2. The cooling system is actually responsible for the life of the cinema, so it is worth paying special attention to it.
3. The more functional tasks are performed by a DVD player (FM / AM tuner, computer video formats (Xvid and DivX), recording function (DVD recorders), the larger dimensions it has.
4. Standard decoders for playing sounds - DTS and Dolby Digital. For DTS ES and Dolby Digital EX will have to pay, but the sound quality will be better.

Which home theater to choose depends on the needs of the buyer. So, dvd players with an enhanced bundle usually cost more, because of the overloaded menu system can be loaded longer and work noisily. You can buy a cinema with a more expensive receiver and speakers, which will provide a better sound, but save on the functionality of the player.

Expensive cinemas

These are cinemas based on projectors or projection screens. Specialists say that a really high-quality image can be obtained only on the basis of CRT projectors. This technology is the oldest, but the video projectors created on its basis are still recognized as the best. The essence of three-beam projectors is the use of separate tubes for each color of the spectrum.

The audio system in such cinemas meets the highest requirements, transmits all recorded sounds distinctly.

Advantages of such a cinema in high quality of components and, as a result, in the sense of full immersion in what is happening on the screen.

Disadvantages: to install the projectors will need to release a large enough space in the apartment. With a competent approach, it is not necessary to arrange a separate cinema hall in the apartment, but the room for watching a movie in such a home theater should have a capacity.

Choosing Acoustics for Home Cinema

When choosing acoustics, it is necessary to rely on the following rules:

1. Plastic and aluminum enclosures - this is not a novelty or a special design solution, but a marketing move that allows you to wind up the cost of the speakers. The best are the wooden cases.
2. The power of the speakers is selected based on the room parameters. The room is up to 20 sq.m. perfectly suited speakers with a power of up to 150 watts. In a room of large dimensions it is necessary to install speakers from 260 W.
3. According to some experts, the novelty, 7.1 speaker system (ie with side speakers) is nothing more than a marketing move, and the best is the 5.1 system.