Posts Tagged ‘home theater’

Getting Cinema Quality Sound At Home

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Do you love going to the movie theater and get lost in the realism that their superior sound systems create? If you do, then I bet you are also one of those people who dislikes going there, only to have a potentially wonderful evening ruined by irresponsible people talking through the movie or letting their cell phones ring.

I used to love the movie theater, but that was in the time when people respected the rights of others to listen to a movie in silence. There were no crying babies, ringing mobile phones or noisy youths in cinemas and if they got in they were soon kicked out if there was any row.

These days, cinema managers seem to take the easy route of letting these people spoil it for others. As a result, more and more quiet people are staying at home and the cinemas are getting even noisier. If you are one of the stay-at-homes, but miss the cinema, why not reproduce one in your home?

Build yourself a home movie theater with surround sound. You will never regret installing surround sound in your home, because you will be able to play your favourite films, the TV and your music through it. The distinction between surround sound and stereo or even quadraphonics is breath-taking.

Different people have different requirements, aspirations, funds and even hearing ability, so it is tricky to suggest a system to a mass audience, but there are ways and means for going about the purchase of your own home theater system. A lot of people buy a kit home theater. This is OK, if funds are limited, but you will want to upgrade the screen and the speakers before very long. If you just want to put a home theater in a small spare bedroom and do it quickly and easily, then this method is for you.

If, however, you want a bit more, then you might prefer to get a bigger screen but make do with the speakers that came with the kit. These can easily be upgraded later. If you want to get everything part by part, you will need a screen, speakers and DVD player. If you would like to play games too, replace the DVD player with an Xbox.

But back to the speakers, whether you are renewing or putting your own system together, the strategy I suggest hold true. Write down the dimensions of your room or better still make a little plan of it to scale. Take this around the shops and malls and try to listen to a few installations in a room similar to your own. This could be difficult, but you might be fortunate.

Work out whether you need a 3.1; 4.1; 5.1; 6.1 or even 7.1 set of compatible surround sound speakers. Basically, it all depends on the size of your room, but the shop assistant will be able to show and advise you. As a guideline, a 5.1 surround sound set will be sufficient for most rooms. The figures stand for normal speakers and sub-woofers: ie 5.1 means five normal speakers and one sub-woofer.

The arrangement of the speakers depends on the size and shape of the room and on your personal preference, but the standard layout would be: one speaker the far left and far right of the screen and one beneath it with two more speakers a little apart from each other at the rear of the audience. The sub-woofer can go at the front or the rear.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Electric Massage Home Cinema Chairs

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

After you have finished planning the layout of your home theater, the next step is to decide on the accessories. Things like floor covering, lighting, decoration, drapes, and fixtures, like a small fridge, some small tables and seating. If you are planning your home cinema just for yourself, then maybe you can afford to really splash out on a really top end home cinema chair.

After a hard day’s work or exercise, your muscles can become taut, especially in your neck and shoulders. The best way of relieving this is some destressing exercise like yoga or a massage, but most people do not want to take up yoga postures after work, so they would opt for a massage.

This is all well and good, but then you would have to shower, get changed and drive down there and sometimes you just can not be bothered. You could phone a massage parlour and have them send someone to your house! That sounds great, but no, you are not going to do that either.

So, why not go for the next best thing. Get yourself an electric massage chair for your home theater? You could kill two birds with one stone. You could spend an hour and a half watching a film, while getting all those aches and pains soothingly worked away.

A massage chair can never totally replace a masseur or masseuse, but many regular massage parlour goers say that it is a good second best. The point is though, that you can have a soothing massage every day of the week, which some people say is preferable to one intense massage once a week. You masseur or masseuse right there in your own home cinema ready to work for pennies a massage any time of the day or night and while you are at the movies too! Think of it!

Using an electric massage chair as your home cinema chair (or one of them) is a fantastic idea. While your mind is being taken off your daily troubles and strife, so your body is being relieved of the tensions that have built up there too. You can recline in your home cinema chair and let the head rest massage your neck, while the back rest massages your lumber region, soothing away those aches and pains in a gentle, but efficient way.

The vast majority of these electric massage chairs come with a remote control, so it is very easy to switch cycles on and off or repeat them at will. Some are programmable too, so that you could build up your own massage cycle, once you get used to what your new home cinema massage chair can do.

Imagine having it start at your neck and calves at the same time with the two massage points slowly converging on the small of your back. Or beginning at the small of your back and then radiating up and down your body at the same time. You would need two masseurs to do that and all while you are sitting in your home cinema chair watching a movie.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the Home Theater Chair. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Wireless Speakers In Home Theaters

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Wireless speakers are not the height of technology that they were not so long ago, but they are still fairly new. The good news is though that the cost of good quality wireless speakers has come down to an affordable level for most people. However, the constant march of technology continues and it is almost unfeasible to be on the forefront of it for more than six months before something new comes out.

So, I have come to a conscious decision not to be on the forefront of technology any more. Twelve months behind is good enough for me these days. It can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars to take that decision. I am sure that you are already aware how much items like computers, especially laptops, and plasma TV screens have come down in recent years.

So, now is the time to get into wireless speakers. They are a good idea in any situation, because you can move speakers around without needing extension leads, but they are particularly practical in a home theater because people will not be able to trip over the wires in the dark.

Wireless speakers have come down in price because there are more manufacturers making them, which is the normal reason why this occurs. Many of the newer manufacturers are in the Far East, which is also nothing new, but the quality is just as good. They are just cheaper.

Wireless speakers are one of the first up-grades you should think about if your system is a couple of years old. Wireless speakers allow so much more freedom to move your speakers around to get the best sound out of your home theater set-up.

One tip if you want to try to save a bit on your acquisition of wireless speakers is to buy online. But, do not rush into it. First of all do the round of the shopping malls and find out which wireless speaker systems you like. Take a note of three brands or models. Then go online and check the prices for these models.

You should note down the models, the online prices and the URL of the store where you saw them online. Then, go back to the shops where you first saw those models and ask if they are willing to match, or better, the price. If they are willing to price match, all well and good. You have won because, if there is a problem you can return them locally. If they will not, you must judge the value of a local purchase to you.

You can easily end up with a top quality home theater system with wireless speakers by going about buying your up-grades in this manner. You really ought to go the way of wireless speakers and if you do not believe me, just walk around the shopping mall one Saturday afternoon, you will soon be persuaded.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Our Home Theater System

Friday, March 26th, 2010

It all started about nine months ago, when my wife and I decided it would be a good idea to modernize our home. It took a lot of talking about because neither of us genuinely wanted to take the project on as we both have active business lives. However, one Sunday afternoon, I took the bull by the horns and started to strip the paper off the walls and the ceiling in the kitchen. My wife soon joined in.

It took us a month to finish it, because we only had Saturday afternoons and Sunday, but we found that we enjoyed the physical work, we both have desk jobs, and we really enjoyed working and planning together. It was a new but pleasing experience for us.

So, on the day we finished, we prepared a special meal and laid the table by the book. After the meal, we sat down to watch a film on TV. But neither of us had been able to do that for a month and we both felt restless. My wife said something like: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have another project to do?’ and I reckon we both had the same thought at the same time.

The spare bedroom! Well, our kids had families of their own now, so we actually had three spare bedrooms. We decided to turn one of them into a home theater. Neither of us particularly liked watching TV, but we both liked films which are normally ruined by too much advertising.

We went up to the smallest room, but it was too small so, like Goldilocks we went to the next, but ended up in the largest room, so that we could entertain friends or family too. Neither of knew what to do next about the home movie centre, but we knew that we could clear the room out and measure it, which is what we did. All the furniture went into the garage until the charity shop could take it away and we went to the Internet to get assistance.

There was tons of advice on websites and in articles and we soon felt confident enough to take the venture on. We transferred the dimensions of the room in scale onto a sheet of paper and drew in where the screen would go and where we would be sitting. The space left between us and the screen would be about 15 feet.

We had read that the optimum viewing distance is between three times and five times the diameter of the screen, so we could choose a screen between sixty inches and 36 inches. Being in our fifties, we though we would make it easier on our eyes and opted for a forty-eight inch plasma screen.

We ordered that from the Internet. We had also read that the Xbox was a good double as a DVD player and we knew that our grandson was always on about one, so that was next. We were a bit stuck with the speakers, but my brother could help me on that one. We had about a week before our equipment would arrive, so we determined to redecorate in the evenings.

Once complete, we installed all our equipment with my brother’s help and we were off. At first we used a couple of sun loungers as seating, but we fairly soon got two delightfully comfortable reclining chairs and two couches for visitors. We may upgrade those later and put in dimmable lighting too, but for now we are very pleased with our home movie system and so is our grandson.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.

Features Of A Good Ergonomic Chair

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

It is more important to use an ergonomic chair whenever you can these days than ever before. This is because our bodies were not designed to sit for hours at a time in front of a desk or TV, and yet more and more people are finding themselves doing it.

Sitting continuously for hours puts strain on the muscles in the back and can ultimately cause the body to sustain occupational injuries. The use of an ergonomic chair minimizes the strain that the body experiences while sitting for prolonged periods.

However, not all chairs are what they say they are and this is particularly true of ergonomic chairs. Some manufacturers call their goods ergonomic chairs just to capture a share in a premium market, where people are suffering from pain caused by strain on the lower back, the neck, the arms, the legs and on the shoulders. A real ergonomic chair is intended to minimize this pain.

So, how can you tell if an ergonomic chair is really an ergonomic chair? A true ergonomic chair has the following elements:

Seat height: An ergonomic chair should be fitted with a mechanism that allows you to adjust its height while you are sitting on it. If your knees are level and your feet are flat on the floor, while you are sitting on the ergonomic chair, it means that its height is correct for you. Also, you should be able to reach the adjusting mechanism of the seat and operate it even if you are sitting down.

Foot rest: Ergonomic chairs do not require a foot rest. If the height of the chair can be altered easily and allow you to place your feet flat on the ground while you are seated, then a foot rest is not necessary. However, if your table is too high in relation to your chair and if having your feet flat on the floor means you have to strain your arms, then a foot rest is required so you can rest your feet comfortably without causing strain to your legs.

Seat pan: The seat pan of your ergonomic chair should be wide enough to fit your hips and thighs without pinching you in any way. It should also be moulded so your weight can be spread evenly on it. In addition, the seat pan should be long enough to fit your legs. If it is too long, it will hit the back of your knees and prevent you from leaning back comfortably.

Seat cushioning: The cushioning of an ergonomic chair should be adequate for it not to become deformed after you have been using it for a while. If the cushioning is not deep enough, the seat of the chair can get deformed permanently and it will become uncomfortable for you to sit on after a while. Later on, it will just lead you to experience pain on your back and thighs.

In addition, you should pick seat covers that breathe freely and are easy to clean. Such seat covers will not feel hot and uncomfortable against your thighs after sitting on the chair for a long time. Airy seat covers also mean that they will not be a breeding ground for dust mites.

Back support: The back rest of a good ergonomic chair should be adjustable to fit the curve of your lower back so that it can provide you with lumbar support. This is very important, especially if you will not be the sole user of the chair. Moreover, the back rest should be wide and tall enough to support your mid-back and your upper back as well.

Armrests: The armrests of a good ergonomic chair should be contoured to fit the arms, broad enough to provide ample support, and can be adjusted upward and downward as well as inward or outward. The armrests of the ergonomic chair should let the arms and elbows rest naturally, without making you lean forward or lift your shoulders.

Pedestal base: If mobility in your chair is vital to your work, then you should get an ergonomic chair that has a five pedestal base with casters that can let you glide easily over the floor. A five pedestal base will also give enough balance so that the chair will not tip over when you lean back.

Always look for these features when buying an ergonomic chair for your home or your office. They will prevent your body from receiving injuries brought about by incessant strain to the muscles.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the Home Theater Chair. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

categories: home theater,movies,dvds,entertainment,home improvement,hobbies,multimedia,humor,celebrities,happiness,family,music,recreation,other

Speakers Are Not The Last Word

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

When most people are looking for a sound system, they usually go directly to the speakers. This is not necessarily wrong, but you must not stop there. The speakers are an important part of a sound system, but they are not the be all and end all.

It also essential to consider the player and the amplifier, because any sound system is only as good as its weakest component. Another important topic is the placement of those speakers. It is just as important to position your speakers correctly as it is not to buy cheap speakers. There are also misconceptions about size. Bigger is not always better.

In the past, it was often the case that bigger meant better, but now often the reverse is often the case. Technological advancement has been concentrated on producing smaller speakers, that will take up less room in our smaller houses and smaller cars. Therefore, the smaller speakers are often the most technologically advanced.

If you are opting for surround sound, which is the best available today, then you will also have to think carefully about placement. That is the positioning of the speakers. In a typical 5.1 surround sound home theater, you will have six speakers: five ordinary speakers and one sub-woofer.

These speakers would be set out one to the far right of the screen and one to the far left of it and one underneath it. The other two speakers would be at the rear of the audience, but not so far apart as the front speakers. The sub-woofer can go in the centre at the front or the back.

For smaller rooms, a 3.1 surround sound system might be adequate, that is you leave out the rear speakers. For a larger room, you may want either a 6.1 or 7.1 system. The 6.1 has the rear row of speakers corresponding to the front row, while the 7.1 has an additional middle rear speaker.

It is better if you can buy all your speakers at the same time from the same manufacturer. Obviously, they all have to match each other and the amplifier. The output from the amplifier has to match the capabilities of the speakers or you risk blowing them. That is, sending them more power than they can cope with, which causes too much vibration and permanent damage to the speaker’s internal components. Everyone has heard blown speakers, they sound awful.

If you can not afford to get all your speakers at the same time, buy a famous brand and a late-ish model, so that you can get more of them when you can afford to. Do not go for end of line speakers, because they are discounted, unless you can buy all the speakers that you will ever need for your system.

Buy your speakers online, if that gets you the best deal, but you really ought to hear speakers like the ones you are buying in action, before you make up your mind. You could also take your Internet price to the local dealers and ask them to match it. They might, you never know and it will save you carriage too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home theater speaker placement. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Xbox And The Home Theater

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

There are a number of video game systems on the market, but if you are looking for a game console that also can be used for home theater entertainment, then the best choice has to be the Xbox game console. Very often, it is the case that children will want to play games in the daytime on holidays and before bed during the week, whereas parents will want to watch films at night before retiring to bed. Therefore, the two age groups need not clash often with their use of the home theater system.

Therefore, if you can get a device that fulfills both the roles of playing games and playing films, you can save some money. The Xbox game console fits this role, because the Xbox is one of the new generation of video game consoles that can also play films on DVD or whatever disk format.

The Xbox is actually a very hi-tech piece of equipment, something that non-game players might not have realized. It meshes easily with a home theater system because it has wide screen video capability, HDTV screen resolutions and Dolby Digital and DTS sound support, making it a perfect home theater set-up component.

The Xbox is also a good looking piece of equipment, which will match any existing black home theater equipment you may already have. It does not look like just a plastic toy. It was invented by Microsoft and has a powerful, stylish look. The Xbox’s case is black with an X on it and a green Xbox logo resembling a jewel.

The Xbox is basically a cut-down computer as it has many components of a personal computer like an Intel processor, NVidia graphic chips and an internal hard drive among others. PC’s are general purpose tools, whereas the Xbox is designed for playing DVD’s in more ways than one. In other words, it is a dedicated computer. It is dedicated to the task of playing DVD’s and it does it very well.

However, it also has four controller sockets in the front of the box for connections and it has an Ethernet socket for multi player games that allows other gamers on the Internet to take part in the game. The Xbox system includes as standard: the controllers with a 9 ft cable, a standard AV cable, and an AC power cord. It also comes with a DVD loading tray and a multi signal audio-video connector for easy connection to televisions and other home theater systems.

The Xbox will change the way you think about games and how you play them, because it is so committed to making interactive games a reality and as exciting as possible. Games are written especially for it such as the Dead or Alive series and the Halo series too.

However, their are sports games to be had too such as football and Formula 1 motor car racing. The graphics, sound and overall reality are fabulous. Finally, for parents who are worried about what their kids are watching, playing or doing, there are parental controls built into the Xbox.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.

categories: home theater,movies,dvds,entertainment,home improvement,hobbies,multimedia,humor,celebrities,happiness,family,music,recreation,other

Deciding On A Screen For Your Home Theater

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

If you are considering setting up a home theater system, then there are three essential components to consider. They are the screen, the speakers and the player. Two of these components are directly linked to the dimensions of the room in which you will be sitting and where you will be seated.

All DVD players over a certain price are fairly good and you ought to listen to a couple to make up your mind. The same with speakers, although how many you will need is dependent on the dimensions of the room. The screen is more important and that is what I want to talk about here.

It will not actually be of very much help to you to just go into a department store which stocks fifty or sixty television sets all in rows. You may find that you have a preference for one screen’s colour display over another, but the colours are controllable anyway by brightness, contrast and colour mix. You need to view the screen as it will be seen in your home theater.

In order to do this, I always advise getting a pen, paper, preferably graph paper, and a rule. Draw in the proportions of the room to the largest scale that the sheet of paper permits, maybe one inch for two feet or there abouts. Then draw a line to symbolize the screen against whichever wall you choose and finally add a few squares for the seats. Now measure the distance between them and write that figure down, because it is very important.

Using our scale above, if the gap on paper between the screen and the seats is five inches, the distance in the room will be ten feet and ten feet is 120 inches. A good rule of thumb, when trying to work out screen size is the same one used for paintings, which is that the ideal viewing distance of a picture is between three and five times its diagonal measurement. Therefore, in our example, the ideal screen size should be between 40 and 24 inches. However, many experts put a minimum screen size for a home theater at 28 inches.

That may come as a bit of a surprise to many of you, because a lot of people think that the answer is the bigger the better. However, primed with this information, now go to the TV store and look at the TV’s again. You will find that if you get up too close to some sorts of screen the picture becomes rather poor, particularly with conventional television screens. Plasma and HDTV allow you to get a little closer without losing quality.

Another factor is your age, or at least, the quality of your eyesight. Would you rather watch the film with your glasses on or off? Off for me, so I would tend towards the higher end of our scale or maybe even go above it. My eyes are not going to get any better, but I can always put my glasses on when the time comes that I cannot see my screen properly anymore. However, I want to put that time off for a while yet, so I would go for a 48 inch screen in this example for my home theater. Plasma, if I could afford it.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.

Logitech Computer Speakers x240 - What Do You Know?

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Are you looking for speakers to play your itunes? We’ll take a look at the logitech computer speakers x240. Does this system give you the sound that you require for you needs and is it worth it’s price? Take a closer look and then when you are informed you can make a decision on whether these speakers are right for you.

Since these speakers are on the lower end of cost it may draw many people to take a second look when you are going down the list of speakers. You do not want to get cheap speakers if they are not all that they should be though do you? Thankfully however these speakers do put out some good sound and can enhance you listening experience. The 5 star reviews have me ready to go with these speakers and your kids will like that the speakers are the ability to keep the neighbors up down the street.

There are some other great features that come with these speakers. One of my favorites is the integrated stowaway cradle. All you have to do is slide out the cradle on the control pod if you want to charge,sync or play your digital music player. The only con people found with this feature was the fact that it does not come with an Ipod. :( lol This control panel also has the headphone jack.

The subwoofer has a separate volume control unlike some other speakers and this can come in handy if you like to tweak your sound. I personally don’t touch any of the settings on my speakers because I will most likely make things worse - not better.

Not only do the speakers have a great sound but they look nice as well. They are not bulky and they will not be getting in the way since they have good dimensions :

Satellites: 6.9″ x 2.6″ x 3.8″

Subwoofer: 8.7″ x 5.9″ x 8.7″

The subwoofer is a 4 inch down firing subwoofer. I am not fully sure what this means but I found this piece of info and I thought it might be of interest to you. Maybe there is someone more technical than myself,however.

Anyway… these speakers are a nice buy. They offer some good sound for a reasonable price and if you are like me,you’re on a budget! I don’t want to sacrifice my sound and entertainment experience but I also do not wish to kill my poor wallet either.

Want to find out more about logitech computer speakers x240, then visit Jessica Lauren’s site on how to choose the best cheap speakers for your needs.

Home Theater Lighting

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Light fixtures are things that not that many people think about all that often. However, the way we light a room can make us feel a certain mood or enhance the atmosphere we want to create in that room. There are many types of light fixtures, fittings, bulbs, shades and stands to suit all areas of the home. That means both indoors and even outdoors where you might want to emphasize some special landscape feature.

Are you planning to redo a room? In this case, I know it concerns a home movie theater room, but it could be any room. I think that you should definitely consider light fixtures as one element to change. For example, you could start by changing the central, overhead incandescent bulb or tube light for sure.

I would suggest installing four or even six small wall-lights. These are not expensive and come in hundreds of colours and sizes to suit any pocket. The only disadvantage of wall lighting for your home theater, is that the wires should really be chased into the wall so as not to be unsightly.

However, you could avoid this by using standard lamps. These are also available in a myriad of designs, but they come with two drawbacks: namely trailing wires and a higher cost. They are moveable though. Small, table lamps is a sub-class alternative, but you may need more electrical points.

Once you have decided exactly on what style you want, have a dimmer attached to each either in unison or separately, up to you. You should probably keep one reasonably powerful light at the DVD end of the room just in case the equipment needs attention, but it too could be on a dimmer.

The effect can be quite incredible. And all from just changing the pre-existing light fixtures and fittings. You could even increase the level of reality and have an exit sign over the door or a few romantic mood lamps higher up out of line of sight so that they are not distracting, say, a replica 1970s style lunar lamp and a fibre-optic lamp, for amusement or as a talking point while waiting for the film or snacks to be got ready.

So, whatever type of home theater lighting you are looking for, contemporary or old style traditional, you will find many options to choose from. From different colors to different sizes and styles, there are many. You can find them online or in home improvement stores. I have made a link to one of my online favourites below.

Furthermore, when you do implement the changes, you will see that your home theater has taken on an ambiance all of its own and it will “definitely” enhance your home movie theater experience. In fact, it may be these subtle changes, room by room, that make you see your home in a very different light.

Do you want to install a Custom Home Movie Theater? Then pop along to our website at: Home Theater