At Home With A DVD Home Theater System

Have you noticed your partner acting a little anxious lately? Have you considered he might be about to embark on a quest to spruce up your home entertainment with a DVD home theater system? Madam, I'm here to tell you don't fight it.

The DVD home theater system era has arrived and it's here to stay. Consumers are discovering in droves how a DVD audio home theater system can liven up even the dullest domains and people love the idea of being able to watch their favorite movie or sporting event from the comfort of their own lounge chair with all the "bells and whistles" that go with it.

What Is A DVD Home Theater System?

A DVD home theater system is any audiovisual set up that tries to recreate the experience of a movie theater. You can probably cobble something together with components you find at garage sales, or you can buy a DVD home theater system in a box, or you can buy separate components.

Tell Me What The Components Are

Basically, you need a DVD player, an AV receiver, something to watch the movie on and some speakers. Let’s start with the heart of the DVD home theater system: the AV receiver. The AV receiver is often combined with a radio tuner, and it’s the control box for your whole system. You plug all your components into the AV receiver, including peripherals like your CD player and VCR.

You need a DVD player. You need something to play the movie on. An old-fashioned CRT TV works and some people think it gives you the best picture. You can also get HDTV’s, plasma and LCD flat panel TV’s, rear projection TV’s and video projection systems.

Finally, you need speakers. Typically, DVD home theater system produce “surround sound” which requires four to five speakers and a sub-woofer, and now a days with 7.1 even 7 speakers. The speakers are placed around the room to simulate theater sound. The sub-woofer is used to produce the very low frequency base sounds.

How Do I Set Up My DVD Home Theater System?

DVD home theater system is usually easy to set up, and follow simple logic. The pre-packaged systems are the easiest to set up. If your husband is considering a complicated or custom system, you might suggest having a CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) certified installer put it in. It might even be worth having a CEDIA installer look at the room before hand to suggest specific options for your DVD home theater system.

Will My Place Look A Mess With Wires Everywhere?

It doesn’t have to be. There are many ways to make your new DVD home theater system attractive. You can put the components in a media stand, or hide them in a media armoire. There are television concealment systems you can buy that hide the TV behind a panel. Speakers are available that are small and easily hidden, attractive and wireless.

There are some other things to consider before you install your DVD home theater system. For example are your walls soundproof? Do you know how far sound will travel from your home. The good news is you can have this done effectively with drywall. You may even contemplate darkening the room a la theater style by purchasing screens that will blackout any outside light. And of course, if you really want to get into the theater mood why not purchase special theater lounge chairs. Yes, there are so many "bells and whistles" to consider when you're thinking a DVD home theater system.