People enjoy going to the cinema to watch movies even though most of them are available on streaming applications or on rent. It is because generally, television cannot compete with the big screens offered by theatres and their surround sound system.
TVs have smaller screens and lower sound quality compared to theatres. But with the advancement in technology, more and more people are turning their homes into theatres. Now many people prefer watching movies at their homes because they get the same feeling of watching a movie in a theatre and it is more convenient for them.
All this is possible because of the home theatre systems available nowadays.
Defining a home theatre is difficult, but in general, a home theatre uses a combination of electronic devices to recreate the experience of watching a movie in the theatre.
So, when you watch a film on a home theatre system, you have a better experience than when you watch on regular television. But choosing the correct option can be a challenging task. For that, you need to understand how different electrical components work and figure out the things you need to consider before buying a home theater.
How Does Home Theatre Work?
The basic idea of a home theatre system is to recreate the elements of watching a film in the theatre like a clear picture and fantastic surround sound. It consists of a combination of many electronic components that work together to give you the feel of an actual theatre.
The four most important pieces that you need to build a home theatre system are a display device, receiver, media devices, and speakers. All these devices work differently from one another, but they work together to provide the high-quality surround sound and a clear picture.
It is essential to know how the four different electronic components work.
Display Devices: A display device is used to view videos and images. But choosing the correct equipment for recreating a theatre-like experience can be tricky. There are mainly two types of display devices, televisions, and projectors.
Television: It is a system that converts visual images into electrical signals, transmits them and displays them on a screen. It is convenient and easy to install. The main factors in choosing the best television for your home theatre system are picture resolution and size. The TV comes in a lot of sizes and different resolutions like 4K Ultra HD, 720p or 1080p.
Projectors: This device projects visual images in the form of a ray of lights on to a screen. Projectors can be a little inconvenient and difficult to install; however, a good projector will perform hindered times better than television. If you want to get the best results, then there should be a distance of 12 to 15 feet between the projector and the wall.
Media Devices: The device outputs a unique video and audio signal. For example, it can be a cable box, gaming console, DVD player, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, computers, etc. They are essential because without them you will be watching a blank screen. They are connected to a display device or a receiver by an HDMI wire depending on the setup. Audio streamers will connect by using a 3.5 mm aux cable, digital coaxial, or digital optic.
Receiver: It is like the brain of a home theatre. All the media devices and speakers are connected to the receiver. It Inputs everything and then outputs the signals to the display device and speakers. The receiver is what kind of ties all the components of the home theatre system together. It has various input ports for component videos, HDMI, RCA audio, and digital optical. The display device and speaker are connected to the receiver along with one or more media devices such as Fire TV, Roku, Cable box, gaming console, etc. Receivers also have a built-in amplifier that takes the input audio signal and amplifies them to output both audio and power to the speakers.
Speakers: There are different types of speaker setups like integrated setup and soundbars, but to create a theatre-like experience, you need a surround sound setup. A surround sound system uses different speakers that are installed all around the room, giving you excellent quality of surround sounds. There can be various types of speakers that can be used like in wall, in the ceiling, floor standing and bookshelf speakers. Generally, all the speakers should face the main seating area. The most common type of surround sound system is a 5.1 surround sound. The first number is the number of channels available for speakers and the second number is the number of subwoofers outputs available. It means a 5.1 surround sound system has five speakers and one subwoofer. A typical surround sound system consists of a centre speaker, front-left speaker, front right speaker, surround left speaker, surround right speaker and a subwoofer. According to the shape of the room and location of the seating, the speakers can be placed in different ways.
There can be some other electronic components that you can add to increase the performance of your home theatre, but in the end, it all comes down to how much money you are willing to spend and how different vital aspects of performance are to you.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Home Theatre System
Buying a home theatre can be a tricky task. There are many things you have to consider before buying, such as:
The first thing you need to consider is which electric components you require. Generally, a home theatre system consists of a television or a projector, speakers, a receiver, and media devices like a DVD player, cable box, Fire TV, computers, or Apple TV. Before you think of buying a home theatre, you should see what all components you already have that you could use. For example, if you have a good television and a set of speakers, then you mainly need to buy a receiver and a few extra speakers to create a home theatre. But you should ensure that all the devices in your home theatre are around the same age. A modern television should be used with advanced speakers for getting the best results. If you don’t have any of the components, then you can choose different devices separately, or you can buy an all in one home theatre package. The all in one package rarely comes with a display device, but it includes speakers and a receiver.
The second thing you need to figure out is where you want to set up your home theatre. You cannot use a common area to create a home theatre. You should always use a separate room where you can control the lighting, and it has enough space to accommodate the whole home theatre system. Preferably there should not be any windows in the room so you can get a feel of an actual theatre. Also, you should figure out the dimension of the room and decide which electrical component will go where. It will help you in determining what sizes of the display screen you can choose and what types of speakers you need.
The third thing you need to answer is what do you want your home theatre to do and what do you expect from it. You need to decide what size and picture resolution you want on your television. You also need to determine the quality of the audio you want. If you want a high-quality surround sound, then you need to install multiple speakers.
The fourth thing you need to figure out is what are the limitations of your home theatre. Many factors can limit your home theatre’s size and quality like distance from your neighbors, the acoustics of the room, and space available.
The fifth and the most important thing you need to decide is how much money you are willing to spend on buying a home theatre system. Buying all the components of a home theatre can be expensive. Depending on the quality you require and the number of devices you have to purchase, you should make a budget. You should also include the cost of subscriptions and electricity you will use.
How to Choose the Best Home Theatre?
Every person has different expectations from their home theatre. Also, many companies make various electronic components because of which it is very challenging to decide what kind of home theatre is best for you. You should visit websites on the internet that can help you choose the correct home theatre for you according to your requirements and your budget.
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