Buyers Guides > Home Cinema

Home Cinema Builder > Step 1

CHOOSE ELECTRONICS THAT BEST SUIT YOUR NEEDS

Home cinema comes in three types, your budget will play a major role in deciding what you want to purchase, but it is vital that you think what you need your system to do not only now but in the future too. Buying a cheaper product now may seem like good value initially, but could turn out to be a false economy in the future.

HOME CINEMA IN A BOX

For: Affordable and convenient, compact capable of good results usually well equipped with extras.

Against: Small speakers and low power, therefore not ideal for big rooms, these systems will often reproduce music poorly

Verdict: These are popular and cheap systems that offer a lot for your money

VIRTUAL HOME CINEMA

For: No rear speakers, so the system is easy to install and neater, convenience of a single purchase.

Against: The amount of surround sound performance you get is fairly limited and no long term upgrade path.

Verdict: A good way of keeping your living room looking smart and tidy but we would advise the buyer to consider the surround sound aspect too.

SEPARATES HOME CINEMA

For: Flexible, high quality sound and vision, easy to upgrade over time as your budget and requirements allow.

Against: Higher initial cost of purchase, bigger and more complex to install.

Verdict: requires more effort and outlay at the front end, however it delivers greater rewards in return, you will get a system that will last for years and is easier to upgrade as your needs and budget changes.

Home Cinema Builder > Step 2

DECIDE ON THE SIZE AND TYPE OF SCREEN YOU WANT

If you already have a decent television you might not have to replace it, this could be a useful way for trimming your budget. On the other hand with prices falling by the month why not go for a bigger better picture, we would recommend a 28 inch as a minimum screen size for home cinema this will give you four big screen choices.

CONVENTIONAL TELEVISION

For: Great value and very high quality you get a lot of screen size for your money when compared to the following three.

Against: Depth: conventional televisions intrude into your room and the bigger the television the more the intrusion, limited to where you can place the screen in your room

Verdict: Still the best combination of quality and performance for your money and gives very good results however the depth is something to consider.

LCD TELEVISION

For: Light, slim, easy to hang on the wall and the best of these slimline televisions are capable of great picture performance.

Against: Not every set is as good as it should be for image quality, not cheap at least not for the larger screens (it must be noted that as you are reading this the quality is improving dramatically and the price is falling at an incredible rate)

Verdict: A great way to get a slimline television that you can put anywhere, smaller screens cost much less.

PLASMA TELEVISION

For: Big screen size, increasingly better picture quality, very good with DVD movies.

Against: Not cheap, more affordable models may have poorer picture quality.

Verdict: Modern plasma screens can deliver sensational image quality and offer performance, size and styling to die for.

PROJECTOR

For: There is no bigger screen available for your money, even the cheapest projector will throw a 2 meter picture on your wall.

Against: You must use a projector in a darkened room to get the best results.

Verdict: More of an enthusiasts choice but good value and very good for DVD viewing.

*We must note that the technologies and pricing on all these products is changing rapidly so many comments made in the against sections could become less apparent over time we would recommend publications such as WHAT HI FI SOUND & VISION for up to date reviews on the latest technology and product reviews*

Home Cinema Builder > Step 3

POSITION YOUR EQUIPMENT PROPERLY

(please always refer to the equipment manuals while setting up your equipment)

It does not matter how much you spend, if you don’t put your kit in the right places you may be very disappointed with the sound and vision results, it is equally important that you are seated in the right place to make the most of your screen below is a rough guide to show the screen size to the distance you will be sitting.

Calculations of optimum seating distance: 4:3 TV – 480i video
27" diagonal screen (screen height of 16.2 inches) × 7.1 = 9.6 feet
32" diagonal screen (screen height of 19.2 inches) × 7.1 = 12.8 feet
50" diagonal screen (screen height of 30 inches) × 7.1 = 17.8 feet
60" diagonal screen (screen height of 36 inches) × 7.1 = 21.3 feet
Calculations of optimum seating distance: 16:9 TV – 720p, 1080i video
30" diagonal screen (screen height of 14.4 inches) × 3.1 = 3.7 feet
40" diagonal screen (screen height of 19 inches) × 3.1 = 5 feet
50" diagonal screen (screen height of 24 inches) × 3.1 = 6.2 feet
60" diagonal screen (screen height of 28.8 inches) × 3.1 = 7.4 feet
Screen sizes don’t necessarily get bigger with HDTV – viewing distances are reduced!

SCREENS

There are other considerations when buying a new TV. One of the most important is ambient lighting. Some people prefer to have full control over room lighting, while others like rooms with lots of windows. That in turn can cause glare and difficulties in viewing certain types of TVs.
If you are considering a room location with plenty of light and expect to do daytime viewing, a direct-view or plasma/LCD TV might be the best choice. Rear-projection TVs work better when there is little or no ambient light spilling onto their screens. And front projectors require full control over room lighting, with no light whatsoever spilling onto the screen.
Viewing angles also come into play. Direct-view CRT TVs and plasma TVs have very wide viewing angles (typically 160 degrees total) and can be placed just about anywhere in a room. LCD TV viewing angles aren’t quite as wide (about 120 degrees) while angles for rear-projection TVs are narrower
DVD Players

Put your DVD player on the most level surface you can find. This will help you get the best possible picture and sound. Avoid stacking it on top of other machines as the heat from these can harm performance.

SOUND

Amplifiers and Receivers
Make sure you do not obstruct the cooling vents on top of an amplifier as a lot of heat is emitted from these grilles and it is essential that this is allowed to escape efficiently.

SPEAKERS

Front Speakers
These work best if they are level with the television, avoid getting the speakers too close to the television, although this is less important with slimline sets.

Centre Speakers
These should be placed below a television if you can (if you like you can place it above). Use a kit rack if at all possible, it’s also a good thing to try and support your speakers with blu tack if you can as this is very helpful in controlling cabinet resonations.

Rear Speakers
These should be mounted high on your wall, tilt them downwards and inwards if at all possible, if you do not wish to fix them to your wall use tall stands.

Subwoofer
This can be positioned almost anywhere in your room, if you want more bass put it in a corner and move it out into the room if you want less.

The diagram below suggests a possible room layout.

Home Cinema Builder > Step 4

MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ALL THE ITEMS OF KIT

You can use freebie wires to get your system working, but better quality wires will produce a better performance. These do not need to be too expensive the general rule of thumb would be to spend around 10% of your entire systems budget on cabling, we recommend that you are not tempted to skimp here as wires really really do make a difference . (Please consult equipment manuals at every stage of assembling you’re home cinema system)

DVD player to Screen
Most Television’s use RGB scart, so it is a simple plug and play connection, however LCD, plasma and projector displays also offer component video, a three cable connector that can also send progressive scan pictures. If this option is available we recommend you use it.

DVD player to surround amplifier or receiver
This needs a digital cable, either an optical or coaxial variety. For DVD audio and SACD, you will need to use an additional set of six phono type analogue connectors.

Amplifier / receiver to surround speaker package
You could need plenty of speaker cable for this, make sure you use the same quality cable throughout your system as this helps create a more convincing surround effect.

Amplifier / receiver to active subwoofer
This needs a phono interconnect cable. Quite often a long cable comes in the box. You must take into account that your subwoofer will need to be plugged into the mains when arranging your system. Keep mains cabling away from the interconnect as it can pick up electrical hum (screened cables guard against this).

UNDERSTANDING CABLES AND CONNECTIONS

RCA, or composite, cables
These are the most common cables, used to hook up your standard VCR and stereo equipment. Typically, they are color-coded: red, white, and yellow. Red is for right channel audio. White is for left channel audio. Yellow is for video. The entire video signal is transmitted by one cable. This is the lowest quality cable for a video source, but again, it is also the most common. Most new televisions, all video camcorders, all VCRs, and all videodisc players will have RCA jacks for these cables.

BNC cables



A BNC cable is actually just another form of an RCA/composite cable. The end of the cable looks different from an RCA cable, but can be changed to an RCA end with a simple adapter. Most professional video equipment will have a BNC jack instead of a RCA jack. The physical connection is more secure because BNC cables twist and lock in place.

S-video, or Y/C, cables



This cable might also be referred to as a SVHS cable and can be found on most high-end televisions, all videodisc players, camcorders, digital cable and satellite set top boxes, and SVHS VCRs. S-video cables differ from composite cables in that they split video signal into two different components: luminance and chrominance. The S-video cable will offer marked improvement over a composite cable.

Component cables



Component cables look just like composite cables. The difference is that, where a composite cable carries the entire video signal on a single cable, component cables split the signal in three. This connection gives a superior image over composite or S-video connections. The signal itself is referred to as either Y,Cr,Cb, or Y,Pb,Pr. Most manufacturers make connecting these cables easy by color coordinating them. The tips of the cables and jacks will be red, green and blue. Unfortunately, this can be a bit confusing because computer RGB connections are colored the same way. A good rule of thumb is that, if the connections are RCA type, it is usually a component cable. Computer RGB cables will usually be BNC type. Most high-end DVD players and HDTV tuners will have component connections.

Compact input areas and component cables
In order to achieve a sleek, thin design, some LCD TVs and Plasma TVs have very little space for connections. Due to the space restriction, many have the 15-pin VGA connection double as the component connection as well. The LCD TV or plasma TV will use the same three pins out of the fifteen-pin connector for component video that it uses for its RGB computer connections. The LCD TV or plasma TV is designed to detect the type of signal it receives and process it accordingly. If you need a component cable for one of these televisions, you should order a cable that has a 15-pin connector on one side, and three RCA/BNC connectors on the other. Some plasma TVs and LCD TVs have separate component connections. Consult the spec sheets.

RGBHV cables



Again, these cables look identical to simple composite cables. But this time, the RGBHV cable splits the video signal into five. There are three different types of RGB cables. RGBHV is a five-cable system that splits the video signal for color into red, green, and blue, and then has two more cables to carry the sync for the signal (horizontal and vertical sync). RGB H/V is a four-cable system that splits the color the same way, but has the horizontal and vertical sync on a single fourth cable. Straight RGB video cables again split the color signal in three, but carry the additional sync signal on one of the color cables, usually the green (called RGB sync on green).

An RGBHV signal is the way a computer connects to a display device. Five pins on a 15-pin VGA cable are RGBHV. The display device recognizes the type of signal and projects accordingly.

RGBHV connectors are found on most high-end professional monitors and on the most popular HDTV decoder (by RCA). Note that RCA has chosen to send the HDTV signal via a 15-pin VGA cable instead of a component connection. This may become the standard connection for HDTV tuners in the future. We will have to wait and see.

VGA cables



This is your standard monitor cable. It is typically male-to-male with three rows, 15 pins. A VGA cable is used for computer to monitor connections. Its only home theater application may be as a connection to an HDTV decoder, such as the current RCA model.

DVI cables



Digital Video Interface (DVI) cables look a little like a standard VGA cable, but they are slightly larger. Under ideal circumstances, the DVI cable creates a ‘digital to digital’ connection between video or data source and display device. There are, however, only limited situations when this ideal circumstance occurs.

DVI is still developing, so there is no universal standard for the DVI cable as of yet. Currently manufacturers may use different standards. Look for DVI to grow in popularity and become standardized over the next couple of years.

Home Cinema Builder > Step 5

TWEAK YOUR SYSTEM TO GET THE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE

If you really want to maximise what your system can do, try some or all of the following fine tuning tweaks suggested below. Most are far easier to do than you would have thought. If you have little time to spare just try the picture tweaks first.

Picture
If you have a widescreen TV, ensure you set the video aspect ratio of your DVD player 16 : 9. This will provide properly formatted pictures that crack the electronic ‘anamorphic’ code buried in most DVD discs. This both enhances the resolution and the size of the picture.

RGB video output
Make sure you select the RGB video output option for your scart connector. If your TV has only one RGB enabled scart input ensure you plug the DVD player into this socket. Avoid routing your DVD player’s picture signal through other components if you can. If you want to use component video instead of the RGB scart, ensure you have turned the RGB option to off in your players set up menus.

Speakers
Try to get the front three speakers on a similar plane, both horizontally and vertically. Try and avoid the situation where the centre speaker is much higher or lower than its siblings. The centre rear speaker can be set further back behind the other rear speakers as this will add to the depth effect of your surround system. Each speaker will work better if it is angled towards your seating positions at ear height. (If you want to be truly accurate use a laser pointer from DIY shops)

Subwoofer
Subwoofer positioning can be a case of it goes where it can, however if you want to find the optimum site place the subwoofer at your listening position , wire it up to something e.g. the AV receiver and disconnect the rest of your speakers (at the receiver end not the speaker end). Next play some music with a consistent bass rhythm, walk around your room and you will notice the base level increase and decrease at certain points, this is caused by interaction of low sound with your rooms acoustics. The points where the bass sounds loudest are called nodes and are the best positions for the subwoofer (sadly not always the most convenient).

Electronics
With a tape measure to hand, measure the distance to your seat, and enter those into your “delay” adjustment options. This will help the surround brain in your amplifier, receiver or processor accurately compensate for the size of your room. If the delay options are presented in milliseconds (ms) of delay rather than distance, then you can use the following calculation : measure the distance from your front left speaker to your seat, then measure the rear left hand speaker distance to your seat, you will have two numbers for every 30cm of difference between the two add 1 ms of delay, for example 300cm to the front speakers, 150cm to the rear speaker = 150cm of difference, so 5m’s of delay is necessary.

Configure the surround receiver
First configure the speaker sizes. Select large or small as reflects the speakers you have and adjust the crossover point to that level that corresponds to your speakers in your set up, ensure you enter in a value for your sixth speaker.

Test tone metres
If you want to do the job really well use a test tone metre (available separately) to accurately weight each speaker. This will take into account the variations in speaker sensitivity and also acoustic influences caused by furniture and the relative positioning of each speaker. Measuring is best done by using the remote control. Sit in your listening position and point the metre straight upwards and not at the speakers.

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