What is home theater?
Gone are the days when the family gathered around a 19-inch television to watch a small grainy picture accompanied by sound coming from a single metallic speaker. Today, many homes have advanced television, stereo, and speaker combinations sophisticated enough to be commonly referred to as "home theater systems."
A home theater system recreates the cinema experience in the comfort of your home. A good home theater system will simulate the sights and sounds of the cinematic action so accurately that the viewer will feel like they are in the middle of the action.
The basic components of a home theater system are the video, receiver, speakers, and source.
The video
The center of a home theater system is the video picture"commonly called the screen. Today, the preferred format is called "high-definition widescreen" (HDTV 16:9). Compared to a traditional television set, the high-definition picture is much clearer and more lifelike while the widescreen format mimics the wide screen shape found in most movie theaters. In general, the larger the room, the larger the video screen should be. For most consumers, the minimum screen size should be about 35 inches.
The receiver
Home theater sound is processed by a piece of audio equipment called a receiver. The receiver converts the sound signal by splitting it up into channels for each individual speaker. Monaural sound comes from one speaker, while stereo sound comes from two. For surround sound to make the listener feel as if they are in the center of the sound, five speakers are needed. This type of surround sound is commonly called 5-channel (or a 5.1 recording). More advanced surround sound adds additional speakers (these are called 6.1 and 7.1 recordings). At minimum, you will need to purchase a 5-channel receiver for a home theater system.
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