Home theatre that rocks

Size does matter When it comes to creating your own movie theatre sensation, then bigger is so much better when selecting your ultimate screen size.

We suggest that you buy a television screen that is big enough not to be dwarfed by a strong audio system. This means that you should give anything too small the flick and invest more wisely by super-sizing your screen as much as possible.

At the same time, the temptation to get the biggest screen possible is often hard to pass up. But you must ensure you have adequate viewing space between you and your new TV to get the best cinematic experience.

Front versus rear Once you’ve picked your ultimate screen size, your next important decision is a matter of front-versus-back image projection. Front projection utilises similar technology to your local theatre where the image is projected from a secondary source -“ built in front of the set or even mounted from the ceiling.

Experts say that front projection makes it much easier to utilise larger screens and the image quality is superior. However, rear projection sets are now beginning to take centre stage because front projection usually requires your room to be in almost total darkness for superb picture quality.

Crystal clear Maintaining crystal clear picture quality is a must for a great home theatre. When plasma screens first hit the market several years ago, experts praised them for their crisp, clear images.

Thank goodness prices for plasmas are beginning to drop dramatically and become more affordable. You can even expect some further price reductions over the next 12 months as LCD (liquid crystal display) flat panel televisions begin to make their mark. LCD manufacturers claim their products have superior resolution and a much better balance of colour compared to a plasma. Ultimately, the choice is yours in the plasma vs LCD department.

Surround sound connoisseurs The secret for any audio buff setting up a home theatre is getting superb sound quality -¦ and this means good quality speakers.

Luckily there are plenty of speakers out there powerful enough to blow your brains or delicate enough to sound like rain on a tin roof. But to get the ultimate sound from your home theatre the magic number in speakers is still 5:1. This means two front speakers, two rear and one centre, and don’t forget the sub-woofer for those low frequency sounds.

Everyone probably has a favourite brand of speakers, and normally you get what you pay for. One thing most people don’t like is having a living room cluttered with huge, dusty speakers.
With SpeakerCraft speakers you now can enjoy your beautiful interiors without sacrificing sound or quality. These pivoting architectural speakers can be mounted into your ceilings and walls and you would never know they were there.

The nerve centre Lastly, make sure you have a good receiver. The receiver is the nerve centre for your home theatre that ties together your audio set-up, your TV monitor and any home entertainment components you’re using (such as VCRs, DVD players, satellite and cable networks).

At the very least, you’ll want a receiver that includes a Dolby ProLogic surround sound decoder to simulate the same king of multi-channel sound you hear in a modern movie theatre.