A home theater system is a luxury item that nowadays many middle-income households are discovering they can afford. Being able to enjoy a great movie in the comfort of your own home is something many families view as improving the quality of their life and certainly pays for itself in entertainment value over the life of the system.
Consequently, it is important that thoughtful consideration be paid to each home theater component you purchase to ensure you get to enjoy the ultimate experience when it comes to watching your favorite movies and shows.
What Home Theater Products You Can't Live Without
Given your desire to enjoy a good home theater system, you can use the tips provided below to help you find the essential components for your ultimate enjoyment.
Television
The visual component of a home theater system is the most important piece of your home theater experience. However, this will probably be the most expensive purchase on your home theater-shopping list. Remember you are trying to imitate as close as possible a theater experience so choose the largest television screen that fits both your budget and the room where it will be viewed. Plasma and LCD screens continue to come down in price and have the added advantage of being able to be hung from your wall giving you more flexibility when it comes to arranging your system. Projection screen televisions are still available and provide the largest viewing area for your money.
DVD Player
A quality DVD player is an essential home theater component to watch movies on your big screen TV. When purchasing a DVD player choose one that plays multiple DVD formats such as DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. Today you can also purchase a DVD player that will spin your digital photos and MP3 files burned to CD-R/CD-RW discs. You will want to find a DVD player with the highest resolution possible so that it will last you well into the future. The latest DVD players can detect image changes at the pixel level resulting in a picture that is more faithful to the source, whether it is from film or video.
As the high definition marketplace continues to advance and improve so do the DVD players. Look for a DVD player that supports the enhanced features of the HD DVD format. These enhanced features include; picture-in-picture video, audio commentary, and Web-enabled network capabilities. Many new DVD players have an Ethernet port and can connect to the Internet for firmware updates to keep the DVD player up to date with the latest features, and to support the growing number of HD DVD titles with interactive online features. At the time of this writing $150.00 will enable you to purchase a DVD player with an HDMI (High Definition Multi-Media Interface) cable that will carry both a video and an audio signal in one cable for the home theater complete systems highest quality and convenience. With an HDMI cable your DVD player will output video at 720p and 1080i for a detailed and sharp image. There are many choices for DVD players on the market today and you will be able to find one at a very affordable price.
Speakers
Properly positioned quality speakers surround your senses and turn a normal movie experience into a lifelike 3-D adventure. Today's speakers take only a fraction of the space older speaker systems took and deliver a broad soundstage with smooth, yet powerful reproduction of movies and music. You will pay more for a quality surround sound speaker system but if you want the full force of the home theater experience this is one component where spending extra money is well worth it.
Conclusion
When you contrast your investment in a new home theater system against the thousands of hours of premium viewing pleasure over the course of the next ten years your initial investment looks very smart. If your current budget can support it, consider spending slightly more than you would like, as you want to make sure the home theater system you purchase today is as state-of-the-art as possible and lasts you well in to the future.
By: Mark McClean
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