2. Creating a cinematic experience in your home requires:
Speaker system
It's not just the image that's important in a home theatre. In fact, famous movie directors have been quoted as saying that sound accounts for up to 60% of your total movie experience! To create an immersive surround sound experience you'll need five or more speakers. Surround sound speakers work in sync with one another to create sound effects that make you feel like you're 'in' the movie rather than watching it.
Surround sound speaker packages usually include a subwoofer that handles all the deep, rumbling sounds that you seem to feel at the movies rather than hear – explosions and the like that add real emotional impact to your movie experience.
Now you're enjoying sound that is light-years from tinny TV speakers, transporting you to that magic place – the movies.
Audio-Visual Receiver (AV Receiver)
At the heart of your Home Theatre system is an AV Receiver that performs a number of tasks: it powers your speakers; lets you customise the sound to suit your room and preferences; decodes the movie soundtrack so you can enjoy it in enveloping surround sound; tunes into AM and FM radio stations; acts as a 2-channel amplifier when you want to play music; and much more. The receiver is both the brains and the muscle of your system. That's why it's important to select a model that meets all of your needs.
Screen
A 32" wide-screen is the minimum we would recommend for a home theatre. Even in a small room, anything less won't give you that 'cinema like' experience. It could be TV or a projector if you really want some serious action. The sound you hear and the picture you see need to be matched – a big screen needs a reasonably powerful sound system. Likewise a small screen will work best with a more modest sound.
DVD player
Reads the image and sound data off your DVD disc and sends it to your AV Receiver or screen. Not all DVD players are created equal and picture quality will vary from player to player. If you want to use your DVD player as a music player too this is an extra factor to consider when buying.
Cables
Cables are the most frequently overlooked (yet most affordable) way to improve the performance of a home theatre system. Before you rush out and replace any expensive components, it's a good idea to check your choice of cables. A $50 to $100 cable upgrade might be all that you need to realise the full potential of your entire system. Remember, the freebie cables included with so many of today's electronic components are there to get you started, not keep you going. Upgrading from the freebies will result in better performance. A good rule is to spend about 10% of your total investment on cables.