If you enjoy watching movies at home, then home theater electronics are the support system for that enjoyment. You could watch movies with just a television and a DVD or blu-ray player, but the experience can’t compare to what you could have.
Watching movies has been referred to as ‘escapism’- like it’s a bad thing – but in reality, escapism is defined as a mental diversion. Diverting our minds through relaxing entertainment allows us to rejuvenate ourselves.
Take into consideration where you’ll want to set up your home theater system. Make sure you don’t set it up where sunlight streams in the brightest. If you place the screen directly across from a window, even with a flat screen, you’ll get glare in the daylight hours unless you use light filtering curtains or shades.
Begin setting up the components for your home theater with a large flat screen TV because you get a better image using a flat screen. They’re relatively inexpensive compared to what they were a few years ago. Even better, install a projector and a large screen for that all enveloping theater experience.
A typical home theater setup with projector and 100-inch screen
Once you’ve settled the issue of the screen, you’ll need to decide the number of home theater speakers you want. Keep in mind the size of the room that you set up your home theater in. A minimum of 5 speakers are required for a proper setup. But for a better surround experience, seven speakers and a subwoofer will make you think you’re inside a theater. Remember that speakers have a power rating that lets you know what kind of power you’ll get. After that select a matching AV receiver. The AV receiver amplifies the source signals to drive the speakers and also allows you to switch your input sources.
An important part of your home theater electronics system is the disc player – most people are going with Blu-ray for high definition playback. Blu-ray players have come down drastically in price and even budget players, some costing less than $200, offer excellent picture quality and sound.
You can spend any amount on your home theater components, but the part you’ll find the most valuable isn’t expensive at all – a surge protector. Without it, you could lose every piece of your theater. You need to make sure you protect your investment by using a surge protector for those “just in case” moments.