Technology and Life

When shopping for a home theater system, you’ve got to check out the details of your potential product in the following categories. Will your “soon-to-be-adopted” TV make the cut?

Visual

When considering the important decision making factors of the visual aspect, focus on the following three features: display type, resolution, and screen size. The type of display you choose will most likely be decided by your budget, the size of the room, the location of the TV in the room, and lighting conditions. Three types of displays that can achieve a desirable image larger than life are flat panels (LCD or plasma), rear-projectors, and front-projectors. LCDs, plasmas, and rear-projectors can display HD images up to 70 inches, while the front-projectors can show an image up to around 10 feet. For a room with much light, LCD is a stronger option. For a dimly lit room, go for plasma or a projection display. The resolution is a semi-important factor when choosing between a non-HD television and an HD television. For a screen size of 30 inches or more, HD is going to make a visible difference to the viewer. However, when comparing HD models, the differences between resolutions are slightly less noticeable unless you are sitting within 10 feet of the screen. A good rule to follow when deciding on the screen size is that the diagonal measurement should not be larger than half of your seating distance. For example, a 60 inch screen should be viewed from at least 10 feet away (120 inches).

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Going to the movie theater has been a popular social pastime for decades. Is it the enormous screen, the engulfing sound, or the popcorn that keeps people coming back for more $10 movies they could easily rent on DVD or Blu-Ray? That theater experience is something to which we have become addicted and have now begun to implement into our homes. So how do you know what items and features to choose to make your home theater all you could wish for?

First of all, there are three main components of a home theater system: display, DVD player, and speakers. The name of the game seems to be “bigger is better,” but this is not always the case.

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