How to Choose the Right Home Cinema System

Home cinemas can be the perfect accompaniment to the gadget home. It can be difficult to decide where to begin as there is a multitude of options available and with technology advancing all the time an installation can be out of date almost and soon as it is installed. Ideally you want to future proof you system as far in advance as possible to ensure you get the maximum use out of your system. This is especially the case if you plan on spending thousand's of pounds on a system.

Here are some helpful tips on deciding what products to choose:

- TV's (3D, LCD, PLASMA)- What format do you wish to watch
What size TV do you want
- DVD- Standard, HD or blueray
- 3D player, necessary if you take the 3d route
- TV receiver- cable digital or freeview (you will probably have something already)but is this to be linked in
- Sound: dedicated home cinema system with surround sound
Simple hi fi system
- Remote control: all in one or separates

Ultimately the system that you choose will be dependent on the type of system you want and what your budget is. To begin with there are several options available for creating a home cinema system:

- DIY on a budget
- DIY for those with lots of money
- Professional Installation

DIY Home Cinema on a budget

It is perfectly possible to set up a good home cinema for little cost. For instance, if you are willing to consider a projector rather than a TV you can get a very big TV screen for as little as £300 which is also 3d ready. You can also pick up standard audio systems relatively cheaply and as long as you have a aux output on the hi fi can link the TV/projector to produce cinema level sound.

DIY for those with lots of money

This is essentially the same way as the above but can be of a higher specification dependent on the level of the budget you have.

How To Install A Home Cinema

The first way to set up the home cinema is to decide on what type of projector is going to be used, rather it be the overhead projector or just a standard DVD/VCR setup. If using the projector method the next thing that has to be thought about is what kind and what is the budget for this purchase, because if not careful this method could get really expensive quickly. However if the DVD/VCR method is chosen then comes the idea of what brand and again the budget to be planned for.

Next, after the first part comes the plan of what surround system is going to be used in the home cinema room. The best way for this to work is decided on quality over amount. This again comes with the price tag need to decide on spending a lot of money to get the best system or to make the home cinema better would it be good to have more speakers.

Third thing to take into consideration when setting up the home cinema is how large of a room is going to be used because this can really be a deciding factor in both of the topics above from what system to use and what speaker system would work best.

Fourth step in this design phase of setting up the home system would be to determine the T.V. size and how large it needs to be along with determining if HD is wanted in the setup of this new home cinema center.

Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration when going about setting up this system is really how much time am I going to be using it as this could act as a deciding factor on what type of system to buy, because if the system is going to be used everyday than its very important to get a better quality system which will support the longer hours of use, than a cheaper version would.

Consider Real Cinema Chairs for Your Home Cinema Seating

Home cinema seating has been around for a relatively long time now, and there are several different options for the customer who is looking to create their perfect home theatre.

One option, that many people go for (mainly because they see it as the only option) is the large recliner style cinema chair, similar to those famously sat on by Joey and Chandler in Friends! The main problem with this type of seating is its size. It is simply so large that in the typical home theatre garage conversion, you can only fit in a couple of chairs. It is also very expensive - a large reclining leather home cinema chair can cost upwards of £1,000.

Groups of these types of chairs are also available, but again they are expensive and take up an awful lot of space.

You can also use normal sofas and chairs, like you would have in a lounge. But this doesn't then distinguish your home theatre as a cinema - it just looks like a lounge without windows! And again, size is an issue, as you are unlikely to fit a lot of seats into the limited amount of space that you have. And if you want to get family and friends around for movie nights and big sporting events, the last thing you want to do is to ask people to sit on the floor.

There is now another option - just buy the same chairs that you sit on in your local multiplex cinema! There are several benefits to this. You can fit lots of these home cinema chairs into a relatively small space. Companies that sell these chairs also provide design and installation services, so they will tell you how many that you can fit into your home theatre room, and will fit them for you. This helps you to maximize every single inch of space.

If you are budget conscious when looking for home cinema seating, these home cinema chairs can also be a very good way of making a large saving, without compromising on style and comfort. You are even able to buy factory refurbished cinema seats that have previously been in multiplexes at massive discounts, from under £100 per chair. Imagine being able to fit out a 10-seater home theatre and spend less than £1000 on home cinema seating.

You then have a lot more spare cash to spend on your audio visual equipment. You might be considering a projector or a huge panel television for your cinema. And then you have to think about speakers. We've recently seen speakers by Amina that you can install into your wall and plaster over the top - the sound quality is amazing!

What Makes the Best Home Cinema Systems?

You want the best home cinema system. But what you get now is most certainly to become obsolete in five years. With the goal post constantly changing, how on Earth do you determine which is the best home cinema, amidst the heaps of brands and hundreds of different models?

There are 4 main considerations that are fundamental which can be used to narrow down your search and discover your best home cinema. Despite new features springing up, having the best of these 4 elements will guarantee that you have a very decent home cinema system in years to come. You will have to establish how much you are in a position to spend, but you need to still make use of these 4 criteria to identify the best home cinema in that price bracket.

1. Sound Format

The 2 most common audio formats employed to create cinematic surround audio are DTS and Dolby Digital.

DTS followers on the flip side believe that the higher the bit rate and the lower the compression setting, the better the sound effect. In this sense, DTS delivers higher data rate than any another audio formats. It also exhibits improved signal to noise ratio, a much wider range and far better manifestation of discreet detail in audio content.

To determine which is ideal for you, it's wise that you listen to both and judge it for yourself as audio quality is subjective.

2. Exterior Looks

Most home theatre system look decent, some as though an elegant piece of furniture to add to a room.

In this department, you have 2 options. Do you have a preference for a majestic looking system that makes its presence felt when you enter the room (like Samsung HT-C555 Tall Boy system) or do you prefer a less noticeable system with equally strong sound impact (such as Sony HT-IS100 with micro mini speakers as big as a golf ball)? Between these 2, there are numerous other models with varying sizes of speakers and subwoofer.

Technology had been so sophisticated that honestly, the size of the speakers are irrelevant to the audio output. Take Sony HT-IS100 for instance. Its speakers are tiny. Each barely the size of a golf ball. However, it pitches itself very well against big speakers and has earned itself a great deal of good reviews.

So which do you prefer?

3. Number on Inlets

Home theatre system now has numerous uses. Video gaming, watching cable TV, streaming internet entertainment etc etc.

In essence, the more inlets there is, the more devices you can connect to at the same time. This spares you having to swap between gadgets.

The best home cinema is the one that supply's sufficient HDMi inlets to meet your needs instead of you needing to purchase extra connector. Sony HT-IS100 and Onkyo HTX22HDX are very generous in this aspect providing you with 3 HDMi inlet and 1 outlet, whereas Samsung HT-C555 merely has 1 HDMi inlet.

4. Wireless Capability

Wi-Fi ready and Wi-Fi capability is a must. With no wires running in all places, your system will look even cooler and the room a lot neater.

Wi-Fi capability also means that you can conveniently and neatly connect your PC and other gadgets without having to move these other gadgets and clutter the home cinema system area.

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350

As majority of individuals will not present a comparison between several projectors, I will also make you aware of the importance of one thing and the other. The importance of any particular thing varies from person to person, when it comes to the home theater projector. One of the most significant aspects of this is the placement flexibility of the projector that can be accommodated in a particular budget range.

In case you need to pay for the installation of ceiling to someone, you can avail the option of paying half of this amount to the projector installation, only! When it comes to Epson 8350, which is accompanied with the power lens of 2.1 zoom capacity, and horizontal and vertical lens shift ability, you can skip this hassle. This means that you are able to place the projector at a bookshelf on a side of the room, which is ten to fifteen feet away from the projection screen or wall. Thereby, you are able to skip off the usual hassles and extra work of any other projector installation.

Now, another remarkable feature of Epson projector is the brightness aspect, which makes you able to enjoy a clear and distinguishable view in lights turned on! This can also serve as a substitute for a sixty inch television of flat panel that has modest controls for light. When you turn off the lights, you can then stretch the image distance to a good 200 inches far. As an addition, I would like to share that I have never laid hands on a screen, neither have I used a white colored wall ever. I use a tan colored wall and the image quality is great, always.

One of the most desirable features that earn this projector a distinguishable place is 1080 pixel resolution. Now, this particular feature definitely enhances the image quality to some extent, however, I was a bit baffled because this difference meant less to me. However, in short, the projector served my work purpose well, and I did not have to bring any changes to the settings that were default. There are several input options, apart from the HDMI. It also has a lighted remote control that is just an awesome addition. However, there is one single feature that is not this desirable; this feature is the large size of this projector. So, if you are in search of a projector that you may be able to carry around, then this may be not a desirable choice. However, for the home users, this Epson 8350 is a hard candidate to be beaten by others!