Projection Home Theatres are the wave of the future and up until recently only the rich could afford to do. Projectors have come a long way form the classroom and the middleclass are riding into town for Projectors, Surround Sounds, chairs and popcorn, to watch TV, Movies, Sports and even Video gaming.
Most important is the type of room you are using for a Home Theatre setup and what type of lighting will you be dealing with. Is it going to be a small room with low ceilings? Or a vaulted ceiling? Is the room lighted, dark or a mixture?
There are many different situations but these are your main concerns. Why, because the audio and video will rely on these variables to get the best size and quality for the money. If you can afford to, it’s always smart to consult with a professional in this field before making your purchase to avoid…wishing you had! Also I suggest having an installer come in unless you are just switching out components. Why? Because you will save time, money and alot of aggravation. Not saying you can’t do it but…better than saying I told ya so!
So Lighting…yes well depending on the amount of lighting, Your projectors amount of Lumens will determine how well you can see the picture in the light. The higher the Lumens the better the picture is in the light. So, if you have a dark room you don’t need alot of Lumens and if you have alot of lighting then you will need alot of Lumens. What is alot and a little? Well ideally 2500 lumens will do great inside with kitchen lighting in the background. Anything under that will need the room darkened a bit. Outdoors in the light, I suggest 5000 Lumens or better. Obviously the more Lumens the more your going to spend.
Contrast on your projector will provide higher resolution and the higher the contrast ratio the better the screen will look especially at sizes above 100 inches. Once again the higher the contrast ratio the more it will cost. 5000:1 is pretty good and anything below that will lose its appeal. 20,000:1 is real good and 200,000:1 excellent. Mind you these quality movie projectors run from $2,500 to $60,000. Auto focus is nice but not necessary as well as HDMI for really high resolution. Buld Life and cost is a necessary consideration.
Surround Sound also known as a home theatre will really liven up the room. Many see it as combersome and loud but quite the contrary. The Sound is moving around the room like a dance. Very Much like the Movie Theatre you will have sounds coming from all direction especially the higher your surround rating. 2.1 is one subwoofer and two speakers. 3.1 is three speakers and a subwoofer and so on up through 7.1 but I will tell you most media products whether movies, TV, gaming and so on, use mostly 5.1. So that is ideally what you should look for. I really don’t understand the ”I have a small room” because the surround sounds of today take literally no room if that is what you need. Anything 1000 watts or more is fine and if you have a very large room you may want to up it to 2000 but trust me watts aren’t really what they used to be. Once again the more you pay the better it will sound unless of course your buying it out the back of a van. No but really the RMS is the biggest factor and what that measures is the qulity of the sound as it runs over a certain period of time. Again the higher the ratio the better the product is and the more it will cost. RMS should measure 50-75% of watts total value but this varies also. Standards in the electronics field are somewhat undisciplined and that is really why it is imperative to deal with professionals in this industry.
Screens are simple and you can even use a white wall. The beauty about projection is you are not limited to size except the limitations of the room. You can have a picture from 50-200 inches with most projectors.
This has been a limited review of what you need to look for when going about purchasing your Home Theatre Entertainment Center and should you have any questions feel free to send me your inquiry at admin@primetimeclients.com or go to: www.discountaudiovideo.com
till next time,
Fred Herrmann/Audio Video Expert
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