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Home Theater for the Little Ones
Your home theater can be one room in which everyone loves to watch television. In fact, in many homes it is the one room that is most often used by the family. However, it is obvious that everyone within a family doesn’t always agree on what is an appropriate movie or television choice at any given time.
I know in my family dad and baby girl often disagree on whether Sunday football or yet another viewing of Cars, or whichever Disney flick has her unending attention at the moment, has a higher viewing priority.
In most instances dad wins out as baby girl has almost unlimited access to the television while daddy is working during the week. However a simple solution to this particular dilemma would be to create a pint sized home theater.
Of course then there will be fights among the little ones about who’s turn it is, but that’s better than having them fight over seating position while you’re trying to watch a movie or favorite television show (I think).
While some may think that the investment in a second home theater, especially one for the kids, is a rather sizeable investment, it can actually be quite a good investment to say the least. First of all, the system you purchase for the kids will not need top of the line components.
This is one instance where a box kit might be just what the situation calls for (and you can find those very reasonably priced). Your little ones need neither a plasma television nor a large screen (they tend to sit much closer to the sets than adults so a smaller screen is better) and you just might find replacement parts to tide you over should something ever go out on your home theater system.
Another thing to remember when selecting a home theater for your children is that they are not nearly as demanding as adults when it comes to quality. In fact, they will still be the envy of all their friends merely by having speakers and surround sound.
They do not need HD for either picture or sound in their sets and Bose speakers while great are a little bit of overkill for little ears that think the lyrics to Itsy-Bitsy Spider are inspirational.
Building a home theater system for the kids is also a great way to make them feel as though they are important to you. Most adults really enjoy (or hate depending on how your team is doing on any given Sunday) the time they share with their home theater. The fact that you are providing something that brings you so much pleasure with your little ones by giving them one to share is a great thing in their eyes and minds. Believe it or not, it will also teach them responsibility and to take care of things.
Think about it, we often give our children toys that are broken and forgotten about in a mere matter of days. They see the care we take of our home theaters and are quite likely (and in many cases surprisingly) to follow our example.
You can further illustrate this by telling them what needs to be done in order to properly care for their home theater and remind them of the consequences of failure to do so (endless weeks of football and no Disney) and they are often more than eager to take good care of their special home theater. Remind them that this is a special treat and they should treat it as that and you will be amazed at how effective your words will be.
The peace and quiet that a second home theater can bring to your household is well worth the minimal investment this system should require. I can think of few greater gifts you can give yourself as an adult than a few hours a week of uninterrupted harmony within the household.
Home Theater Design May Require Professional Help
Having to be able to bring home entertainment may be a luxury. This is because only very few households can afford home theater system. Of late, only the rich and the famous can afford such luxury. This notion is now a thing of the past.
Home theater systems may now be available to greater number of households because of the knowledge of basic home theater design. The basic home theater design may only require three basic components and these three components may already be affordable for the working class.
However, before you may need to think of the basic home theater design for your home theater system, you may need to know the size of the room for the home theater set up. The size of the room to where the home theater will be set up will depend on how basic the home theater design needs to be.
Home theater experts recommends that if the room is quite small, all you need for your home theater design is a television set, three speakers and a DVD player. The home theater design may be dependent of the shpre of the room; however, the position of the speakers remains to be the left, the right and the center of the room.
Basic home theater design may require a television set bigger than 27 inches. Too small screen for your home theater design may not be sufficient for a movie theater-like experience. This is because even for the home theater design, you may need to consider the sight and sound of a movie theater.
It is the main consideration why people go to a movie theater, the big screen and the surround sound. With respect to the surround sound of a movie theater, the basic three speakers is only applicable for smaller rooms, if the room is bigger, the home theater design needs to be more than three, you may go up to six speakers and a complimenting subwoofer may be necessary for the surround effect.
Going back to a small room, if you will only put three speakers, you may want to consider buying a high quality brand speaker; this will give you enough surround sound for a smaller room.
If you have a small budget, ensure that the store where you will buy your speakers will allow you to test the product in your room and if it will not give you a good surround sound, they should allow you to return or replace the unit.
This is because some speakers sound good in the store but when you finally set them up in a small room, the effect is not very good. Find a neat deal where they can allow you to return or replace the speakers. However, if your budget is sufficient, you may consider hiring the services of a home theater designer. Your home theater designer will be able to design the home theater better and with complete accessories.
He may require checking the power rating, and the need for amplifiers. He may also recommend using home theater projectors and he may recommend how the speakers need to be. You will get a good home theater design if you will be able to hire home theater designers. The need for home theater seating and television cabinet may also be necessary for the complete package of your home theater.
You may enjoy the entertainment without having to tide traffic jam and enjoy in your own home theater system.
Movies In your Own Home Movie Theater
We all love to go to the movie theater to relax after a long day of work. Even if you need to tide traffics jams to go to the movie theater, you are willing to endure this to be able to watch a movie. The sight and sound of a movie theater is what makes us go back there every so often. We easily get lost in the movie scene because of the bigger than life pictures and surround sound that takes you there beside the characters in the movie.
This may prove to be costly in the end but we continue to do this because we love to go to movie theaters and see movies. If you can bring home a movie theater, it will be good and I am sure you will love the idea. However, before you say no, think again. Going to the movie theaters every single day is definitely costly in the long run. Additionally, if you know the basic components of a home movie theater, you may not think twice and will definitely leave right now to acquire your own home movie theater.
A complete setup of a movie theater in a big room is definitely only accessible to the rich and the famous. However, if you have meager budget, you can have the home movie theater for yourself knowing the basic components and setting up the home movie theater in a smaller room. You may convert you den to a home theater room. You only need the three basic components and you may already enjoy watching movies with no limit.
If you have a television set, which I know you do, that is about 27 inches, you run away spending for the first major component of your home movie theater. The second major component, which I think you have, is the DVD player. If your DVD Player has progressive scan that is wonderful, however, even without progressive scan, your DVD player may work as the second component for your home movie theater.
The final piece of the puzzle, which I want you to spend on, is the home theater speakers. You need three high-quality home theater speakers for your home movie theater. You need to place one on the right side, one on the left side and one on the rear center of the room. These are the three basic components of your home movie theater. You may now start enjoying unlimited movie and enjoy watching movies with your whole family. I am sure you will agree with me that this is the best part of owning your own home movie theater.
The set up for your home movie theater with the three basic components is the best perfect setup for small rooms. However, if you have a bigger room for your home movie theater, I am sure you have a bigger budget for your home theater.
Then you may want to consider the recommendation of home theater experts, you may add more speakers up to six home theater speakers and may need to compliment it with subwoofer to maintain the surround sound effect for your home movie theater. If you want a bigger picture, you may want to consider buying a home theater projector. You may also acquire home theater seating and television cabinet if you want to compliment the home theater design to make up a complete package for your home entertainment.
All these additions to the basic components may be necessary if you have a bigger room. If the room is smaller, then you may only need the three basic components for your home movie theater.
Having to be able to bring home the sight and sound you run after in movie theaters may be very efficient and less costly. Aside form the fact that you enjoy life with your family beside you watching movies after movies in your very own home movie theater.
Create your Personal Home Theater
We often spend a great deal of time contemplating the various components of our home theater systems but rarely give much thought to how the décor of the room affects our ability to enjoy our home theaters and movies without the added distraction of the walls in the room or other decorating features.
In order to get some great ideas, go to the experts when it comes to designing the best possible viewing experiences. Take a night out at the movies and check out the way the room is decorated before the movie begins and pay attention during the movie to the things that distract you most.
Theaters make a lot of money by creating an experience more than for the simple showing of movies. The first thing you will probably notice is that most theaters do not allow outside light into the room. As a matter of fact, most theaters have very little in the way of artificial light either.
You may spot some wall sconces and some running lights (that can be brightened or dimmed) along the sides but rarely will you notice any overhead lighting turned on even before the movies play. For this reason, basements or interior rooms with no windows are the best choices when it comes to selecting the location for your home theater.
If that isn’t available be sure to try to find blackout curtains or drapes for your windows in order to keep the most possible sunlight out.
The colors they chose for the walls and the types of lighting they are using are carefully selected in order to enhance that experience. I’m sure you will find that most theaters use darker colors for their walls. Many use fabric to line the walls so that shiny paint doesn’t reflect the light from the screen. In your home you can opt for textured paints or mattes in order to avoid potential reflections.
You should also make sure that you aren’t using shiny floor surfaces that might also reflect the light back onto the screen. For this reason carpet makes a good flooring choice for your home theater.
Another thing you will want to make sure that your home theater includes is nice comfy seating. By having appropriate seating where you and your family can spread out and enjoy watching television or movies you will find that you are spending much more time together enjoying your investment than you would if you found the seating stiff and uncomfortable.
I also suggest special seating options for smaller children that allows them a special place to sit and no room for doubt over which seat belongs to whom. Not only do you want a nice comfy spot for your little ones but also a nice area for the grownups to enjoy and feel comfortable as well.
I highly recommend that you also keep a nice supply of snack trays available for those times when the situation merits and many people include mini fridges and microwaves (for popcorn of course) in their home theater so that they do not have to travel very far in order to enjoy some great refreshments during commercials or breaks in action on the big screen.
While there is no one size fits all home theater, there are many touches you can add that will enhance the theater experience in your home and make it that much more enjoyable for all involved. Take the time to decide what features you can add that will make the space work better for your needs and that of your families movie and television watching preferences and go with those touches rather than trying to conform to a ‘norm’ that doesn’t really exist when it comes to home theaters.
The most important thing you can do is create a space in which you feel comfortable watching movies and television as a family. If you achieve this particular goal you will have a home theater that is likely to be the envy of others around you.
Common Television Types for Home Theaters
When selecting components for your home theater you will come to a point in time when you must decide on which type and size of television you will need for the best possible viewing experience. There are many types of televisions on the market today and technology is constantly evolving and emerging in order to bring newer, bigger, and better televisions to a market that one would think is already saturated.
The good news is that the very nature of this market makes yesterdays cutting edge technology today’s bargain of the day. The very brevity of new technology in the electronics industry works in favor of consumers by driving prices down rather quickly.
Nothing is entirely out of reach for the average consumer for too terribly long. For this reason you can afford to be fairly selective when choosing components for your home theater. This selectiveness just so happens to extend to televisions sets as well.
There are basically three types of television sets burning up the home theater market today. Those types of televisions include the following: plasma, rear project, or front projection television. Each of these have distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to home theater.
Plasma Televisions
These televisions often provide the best quality when it comes to picture. Their designs make them ideal for watching movies that are formatted for wide screen viewing and they have a much larger viewing area than traditional televisions and they also come in a wide variety of sizes in order to adapt to many types of home theater needs.
The single largest problem with these types of televisions is the price, which can be quite prohibitive, particularly as you consider the larger sized televisions.
Rear Projection Televisions
Rear projection televisions offer a great deal of quality at a much lower price than plasma televisions. With these types of televisions the image is projected and reflected from the back of the television. One of the major disadvantages for rear projections televisions is the fact that they are quite sizable in order to house the components necessary for a good quality picture onscreen.
Another distinct disadvantage is the fact that there is a great deal of competition that varies in quality and you really need to study the various televisions before settling on any one in particular.
Other notable drawbacks to rear projection televisions are the facts that the lighting in the room affects the quality of the picture onscreen and you have a narrow viewing range. Otherwise, the low cost involved is a huge bonus to many and makes the purchase of this type of television (particularly for a home theater) the best possible choice. It always comes down to a matter of preference.
Front Projectors
These are not exactly televisions in the traditional sense of the word but they work well for this particular purpose and are perfect solutions for many home theaters. The technology for this type of viewing medium has also evolved over the last few years. Gone are the days of big bulky boxes that sat on the floor of your living room and that no one could walk in front of without seriously distorting the television view.
Today’s front projectors are mounted on the ceiling and provide a nice quality of picture rather you are using a screen that is designed to maximize the quality of the picture or merely projecting onto a blank wall.
As I mentioned before there is no universal right or wrong when it comes to selecting the best television for your home theater. The thing you should pay careful attention to is which screen or which view you like best. Which type of television will offer you the most bang for your home theater buck?
You should also ask yourself which level of quality can you and can you not live without? These are important questions that should help you narrow down your search for a television for your home theater.
Buying Home Theater Systems Online
In today’s world many of us find the convenience of online shopping to be second to none. This is especially true at certain times of year and with certain items. There are still some items that need to be tried before they are purchased.
This however doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the wide variety of pricing options that are available online if you do not like the price of your favorites in the store. One of these items that must be seen (and heard) in order to have a proper idea of its actual value to you is a home theater system.
You need to visit local stores and compare the products on hand with one another. You need to hear these systems and view these systems in order to determine whether or not you think they will provide the quality you are seeking for your home theater system.
Viewing the systems that are sold as part of sets also allows you to have a good idea of what should be included in your average home theater if you decide to purchase the components individually, which I highly recommend, rather than as one complete kit.
The good news is that once you have narrowed down your selections and have a good idea of what local retailers are charging for the same items you can begin looking for bargains online. The problem many people come across is finding new brands or systems online at even better prices.
While this may not seem like much of a problem on one hand, you are never really sure of who you are dealing with online and not all dealers are reputable just as all products are not created equally. There are times in life when you are truly getting what you are paying for when it comes to bargain hunting.
If something online seems too good to be true, this is generally a sign to pass. However, if you can find comparable bargains online to the same product you’ve seen in stores it may be worth purchasing provided you are going through a secure and reputable dealer. When shopping online for home theater equipment, systems, or components you should always make safety your first priority.
If you feel you are being asked for too much personal information it may be a good idea to pass. If you are not certain the website is secure it’s a wise plan to pass, and most importantly if you have any questions, doubts, or concerns it is a good plan to pass rather than pay a steeper price later than you had intended.
The Internet has done much to bridge the gaps around the world and while it has made many things that much more convenient and enjoyable it has also made it possible for the unscrupulous to have an extra playing field among us.
Be careful when giving out information online, especially personal and financial information, as you never really know who is on the other end of that information.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t conduct business online only to encourage you to go through well-known companies and study reviews of companies and products before going with those you aren’t too familiar with. This can save a great deal of time, money, and hassle later on. It is not worth risking identity theft in order to save a few dollars.
Home Theaters For The Music Fan
There has always been some opportunity for music fans to have sounds to listen to wherever they go.
A portable radio or an iPod are far from strange sights, and a small stereo is not an uncommon sight in any room in the average house, from the kitchen to the bathroom.
But as time has gone on there have been bits and bobs added to the point where you can run a home theater to play you music that you can hear wherever you are in the house.
Think about this: with speakers hooked up in the different rooms in your home, you can do the chores with a soundtrack played in the clearest stereo sound possible, and this soundtrack can be controlled from any room which has a computer that is connected to the system.
If you put together your own playlist it is possible to enjoy the sounds as though it all came from a radio station where you were the head controller, sole DJ and the audience put together.
A pumping soundtrack for the gym, a singalong playlist for the kitchen and something relaxing for the dining room when you have time out.
Music fans are increasingly well provided for, and the dawning of the home theater age has pushed this forward another couple of notches.
This is a development that any aficionado will be thrilled with, and as time goes on it is getting better, with some systems now controllable from a cell phone so that you can set everything up on your way home from work.
The Multi Room Home Theater
The more you spend on a home theater, the more you can do with it. Of course, this does mean that some people can put together more impressive packages than others, but this is a simple fact of life.
But it is true that the more you have to put into a home theater package, the more enjoyment you can get from it. In some cases, it is possible to have the system run different entertainment in different rooms, making for the perfect entertainment package.
The more components you have, the more arrangement they will need and the more connections you will have to look after. As long as you are on top of this, there may be no limit to the entertainment you can provide at a party.
You can run different movies in different rooms, a movie in one room and music in another, and all sorts of combinations.
It may get to the point where your home begins to resemble an actual multiplex cinema, which is pretty good news if you like that kind of thing.
Of course this will all cost more money than many people are willing to spend, and a lot more than perhaps most people have available, but in many ways this is the point of gadgets and entertainment systems – we covet them almost more than we enjoy them when we have got them.
On the other hand, as these systems come down in price they will become more commonplace, and that will be a time when all parties become better.
The Perfect Party
Organizing a party can be a relatively thankless task, when you get down to the point of planning the night’s entertainment.
However, a home theater can really bring the best out of your planning, as it allows you to link together so many different modes of entertainment.
Planning the perfect party is something that becomes easier when you have access to a good home theater, and this is a major selling point for much of the equipment on offer.
Because it can be hooked up to a stereo system, a home computer or both, the home theater makes it a lot easier to set up the right music for the evening.
Using an MP3 player, you can set up a playlist that is perfect for dancing, mingling or anything else – including watching sport. You don’t need to mess around with changing CDs and lose the ambiance of the evening.
And when the time comes, you can change to running a movie on the big screen, or start a video game contest.
Whatever you are looking to get from the party, there is a way to involve the home theater. If you have enough technical knowledge then you can switch seamlessly between phases of the party and actually enjoy it yourself rather than having to play the joint role of party planner and host as well as being a reveler.
At the end of the night, all you need do is switch off the computer from which the phases were run and, although it will not clear up after your guests, it will make the post-party process more bearable.
