Home Theatre Point | Your starting point on Home Theatre and Surround Sound Systems

Ben Greenway from another home theatre weblog has the following general guide lines for buying new equipment for your home theatre.

Displays: One thing any potential FPD/Projector buyer should keep an eye out for. Digital inputs, be it HDMI and or DVI. Ben highly recommend´s buying a display with a digital input vs. one without. It’s rare to run across a display without a digital input these days, but they are out there and more often than not these sets are the ones you want to avoid.

DVD Players: Just as the CD hasn’t been replaced by SACD, standard definition DVD’s will be with us for years to come, and with them standard definition DVD players. Buy something that has a digital video connection. Sure it’s only a standard definition device, but that digital output will ensure the best picture quality and input compatibility with newer displays down the line.

• Read more: What to buy for your home theatre

More on FAQ, default, installing by Erno, (Visited 4424 times)

From the coutry where I life, the Netherlands, comes another fine product ;-).

A media players that can download Peer to Peer (P2P) content, the Lamabox — the world’s first P2P supporting media player. The player comes with out-of-the-box support for the major P2P networks like eDonkey, Kazaa, BitTorrent, and others. On top of P2P support, the box is also capable of streaming video and audio from the internet.

• Read more: Top product from the Netherlands: Lamabox

More on Decoder by Erno, (Visited 3232 times)

We are back at the end of 2005 ready for some great lists. Here is the list of Robert Silva at About.com. This is list of basic products.

1) Crowson Technology TES-100 Tactile Transducer - Product Of The Year 2005

If a subwoofer doesn’t provide enough "kick" for you, then add more fun to your home theater with the Crowson Technology TES-100 Tactile Transducer. Although subwoofers bring realistic bass sound to the home theater environment, there is still something missing - tactile sensation. The combination of the TES100 Transducer and A200 Amplifier enables one to turn his/her own chair into a home theater component that adds the sensory experience of touch to your viewing and listening enjoyment.
Manufacturer’s Site

2) Olevia LT32HV 16×9 32-Inch HD-Compatible LCD Television

For less than $2,000, this set sports a 32-inch 16×9 screen, as well as HD-compatible progressive scan and DVI-HDCP inputs, perfect for watching DVD and HD material (with an outboard set-top box). The LT32HV includes great sounding side-mounted speakers, and an output to connect an external subwoofer. The LT32HV also has extensive picture adjustment controls, a very wide viewing angle due to its Super Inplane Switching, and good response time, which minimizes motion lag on poor source material.
Manufacturer’s Site

[[image:olevia_lt32hv.jpg::center:0]]

• Read more: Top 10 home theatre products for 2005

More on Amp/receiver, DVD-players/recorders, Decoder, FAQ, Speakers, default, projector, television by Erno, (Visited 11289 times)

[[image:airport_1.jpg::right:0]]FUNCTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:

COMPUTER USE

LCD monitors display static images from computer or VGA sources extremely well, with full color detail, no flicker, and no screen burin-in. Moreover, the number of pixels per square inch on an LCD display is typically higher than other display technologies, so LCD monitors are especially good at displaying large amounts of data-like you would find on an Excel spreadsheet, for example-with exceptional clarity and precision.

Plasma, on the other hand, does not handle static images especially well insofar as "burn-in" is still a major issue with these monitors, as is distortion resulting from lower-resolution panels displaying static images at expanded sizes. Finally, while video images look good on plasmas, there can be some flicker, depending on the quality of the unit and the resolution it’s displaying.

Advantage: LCD, except at "harsh" viewing angles.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (7)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 3442 times)

[[image:plasma_colour.jpg::right:0]]PICTURE CONSIDERATIONS:

CONTRAST

Plasma technology has certainly achieved quite high contrast ratios. Panasonic has even boasted that its plasma displays have a 3000:1 contrast ratio, which is the measure of the blackest black compared to the whitest white. Plasma displays achieve such impressive black levels by using internal algorithms to block the power to particular pixels in order to render a pixel "dark" or black. While this can limit a plasma’s gray scaling, it does produce exceptionally black blacks.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (6)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 3759 times)

[[image:tv_plasma_lcd.jpg::right:0]] This is a complicated topic: when you’re choosing between plasma and LCD TVs, you’re actually choosing between two competing technologies, both of which achieve similar things (i.e., crystal-clear, color-filled pictures) and come in similar packages (i.e., super-model-thin cases). To complicate the decision-making process further, price is rapidly becoming a non-issue here.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (5)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 2447 times)

compare the two most popular flat screen TV technologies. See table.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (4)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 2947 times)

[[image:samsung_flat_display.jpg::right:0]]Ironically, LCD may be the better technology for many of the current applications in the ProAV market. Here’s why.

Although consumers use video most of the time, many ProAV installs don’t require this.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (3)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 3164 times)

Now, here comes LCD - Liquid Crystal Displays. Once relegated to digital watch displays, the new trend appears to be flat-screen LCD technology in everything from PDA (personal digital assistants) to back-seat entertainment center displays in cars to the ultimate in flat-screen, light-weight TVs. This time, however, Sharp and Samsung seem to be leading the pack with a host of large-format LCD screens. 37", 40" and soon 46" & 50/54" LCD screens will boast the same ergonomic and aesthetic characteristics of plasma, but without that nagging burn-in. Although vast improvements in plasma technology have made burn-in less of an issue, it is still inherent to the technology when displaying still images, text or graphics for long periods of time.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (2)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 2975 times)

[[image:plasma_vs_lcd.jpg::right:0]] MOST television sets found in the home use bulky cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology. The slimmer, flat screens that save space feature either plasma technology or liquid crystal displays (LCD). Plasma screens (above) emit light, providing a bright picture even outdoors, and can be viewed from as wide an angle as 160 degrees.

LCD screens are used more commonly with home computers. They are less expensive to make, not as bright as plasma or CRT screens, and offer a narrower viewing angle.

• Read more: Plasma versus LCD (1)

More on television by Erno, (Visited 3097 times)