Enjoy the excitement of the theater in the comfort of your own home!
Standard home theater surround sound systems usually consist of a DVD player, an A/V receiver, two stereo speakers, one front center speaker, two rear surround speakers and a subwoofer. This is referred to as a 5.1 system (five speakers and one subwoofer). The receiver should be able to handle Dolby Digital-encoded movies in order to deliver surround sound to all the speakers.
The main stereo speakers handle most of the action at the front of the room, while the center is used for the dialog. The rear speakers are used mostly for special effects, such as the sound of airplanes flying past the audience, while the subwoofer handles all the extreme low frequency effects (LFE) such as explosions. Subwoofers can bring a lot of life into action and adventure movies.
What is HDTV? What kind of TV you buy depends on your needs. Here's a run down of the current display technologies. Each one has benefits and limitations, so make your choice based on the features most important to you. CRT Direct-view TVs consist of one large CRT tube coated on the front with phosphors. Rear-projection CRT TVs use three tubes, one each for red, blue and green. Pros The CRT offers the best black level and contrast of all video technologies. Rear-projection CRT TVs are a real bargain right now. Cons Rear-projection CRT TVs are not very bright, so you need a dark room. They look bad when viewed off-angle and the three tubes need to be converged occasionally. Plasma Despite their large screen sizes (32 to 71 inches), they're ultra-slim. The least expensive plasmas are usually EDTV (480p) resolution, not HDTV. Pros Bright picture with excellent off-axis viewing angles. Better contrast than LCD TVs, though not usually as good as CRT. Cons Can suffer from burn-in when a static image is left on for extended periods, though most new plasmas include features to minimize this risk. Not all plasmas can be used at high altitudes. LCD Like plasma, LCD TVs are also thin and can be wall-mounted. LCD TVs today are most common in sizes ranging from 13 to 40 inches, though some 65-inch models are available. Pros LCD TVs don't suffer from burn in. They are brighter than a CRT, but usually not as bright as plasma. Some LCD TVs are available with 1080p resolution. Cons Some LCDs have poor off-axis viewing. At the moment LCD TV costs much more than an equivalent-sized plasma. LCD TVs usually don't have as good contrast as plasma and CRT, though there are exceptions. DLP DLP rear-projection TVs are quickly replacing CRT as the best thing for big screens. They use a single micromirror device and a color wheel from Texas Instruments to create high resolution images. Pros DLPs allow for very slim and light designs. New chip designs offer good contrast and brightness. DLP TVs and projectors aren't susceptible to screen burn. Cons The lamp in a DLP TV will need to be replaced after a few years. Some people are able to see rainbow color artifacts caused by the TV's color wheel. LCoS Like DLP, LCoS TVs are available in rear-projection format. LCoS TVs use three tiny reflective LCD panels to create a picture. The technology also goes by SXRD (Sony) and D-ILA (JCV). Pros Like DLP, LCoS rear-projection TVs are much thinner than traditional CRTs. They can be bright with high contrast. The high fill-rate of the pixels mean you can sit a bit closer. Cons Like DLP, they have a lamp that will need to be replaced after a few years. They can't be hung on a wall like plasma's but they cost less. Let one of Covan's professionals help you make your Home Theatre dreams come true. No job is too small. 800.400.9886 |
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