Why do you need to pay attention to the "room dimensions" of your new theater? It comes from the fact that sound travels through air as waves, and those waves will tend to behave differently based on how much air is present in a room. The amount of air in a room is calculated directly from the length, width, and height of your room.
Simply stated, a speaker creates "sound" by pushing a wave of air towards the listener (think of an ocean wave). Now, if this wave comes from the front of the room, it will eventually hit the rear wall and reflect back to the front, eventually hitting the next wave of sound traveling towards it. Depending where that reflected wave hits the new oncoming wave, and the frequencies involved, you can experience a phenomenon of either a multiplication of the merged wave (the sound gets louder), or the two waves will cancel each other out (the sound gets quieter). This will cause some seats in your theater to hear too much bass from that explosion, and others to hear too little.
Take the above example and add in the waves that are reflecting off the side walls and ceiling... all these waves hitting each other... frequencies merging... now you can see why we should look at what we can do to limit these clashing of these waves.
Here are things to consider when deciding on your dimensions:
1. Avoid square rooms. Square rooms will screw around with your bass... bigtime. You will get some areas of extreme bass, and other areas of inaudible bass.
2. Make sure the dimensions (length, width, height) are not divisible by a common denominator... for example, do not use 36x24x8 because each dimension is divisible by 4. Instead use 35x21x8. This will help to minimize clashing frequencies.
3. Do not build a huge room... keep the room dimensions on the practical side. The bigger the room, the bigger the speakers will get, and you guessed it, the bigger the amplifiers will get.
4. Figure out how many seats you want to have in your theater, and make sure your dimensions can accommodate them. Now be realistic... if you hardly have company over, building a theater that accommodates 16 people is just a lot of extra work.
5. You will need to look at your equipment and see how big that HDTV is. Check a viewing distance chart to see what the minimum viewing distance is to get a good picture. The room will have to be at least this long. With these new HDTVs, it is getting easier to seat people closer to the front of your theater because the quality of the picture is better.
If you follow these simple steps, you will be able to modify your room dimensions accordingly before you start construction.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
How to Choose the Best Home Theater System
If you would love to have moments of relaxation, where you can sit and enjoy your favorite movies with the option of surround sound and high definition videos, then you might just be considering a home theater system, and naturally want to buy the best. However the best home theater system for you is really dependent on you. Obviously a system that cost hundreds of thousands of dollar is better than one costing a few thousands, but if you cannot afford it, it may not be the best system for you. Here are a few tips to help you choose your best home theater system.It is very critical that before you begin checking around or doing any investigations that you set a budget and stick to it. This value should be the most amount of money you can afford to spend on a system. Even if your value is as low as $4000, don't worry about it, with the right decisions and tips to follow, you will be able to buy a very neat system that is reliable. So even if you happen to find a system that you love for more than your budget, you have to remember to stick to the budget.
With a budget in mind it's now time for you to begin checking out your various local stores and begin to compare prices. Do not buy your system at the first store until you have done a couple of checks, especially if you are working with a low budget. Search both your local and online stores. In most cases your online store will give you better deals with more options. In the local stores however you may get the opportunity to test the system and actual see and become familiar with what you are buying.
In deciding what the best home theater system to acquire is, consider the price of the system, first as a whole and then as buying individual parts to see which would cost less. There may be specials on different components around the store that could make buying the system in parts cheaper. A basic system will have a television, whether plasma or LCD, a DVD layer, speakers, cables and a projection system.
You may even consider mixing brands, as most brands will work well with other brands. Different components are priced differently by brands; hence you may be able to put together a great system at an affordable price using components from various brands.
Patience is also critical in obtaining the best home theater system. May stores will have seasonal sale and specials from time to time, and this will provide you with a great opportunity to buy a great system for a good price. However you must exercise patience. Store tends to have sales after a holiday, so do your research to know exactly what you want so as to take advantage of the sale periods. More importantly, what makes a best home theater systems best is dependent on you.
With a budget in mind it's now time for you to begin checking out your various local stores and begin to compare prices. Do not buy your system at the first store until you have done a couple of checks, especially if you are working with a low budget. Search both your local and online stores. In most cases your online store will give you better deals with more options. In the local stores however you may get the opportunity to test the system and actual see and become familiar with what you are buying.
In deciding what the best home theater system to acquire is, consider the price of the system, first as a whole and then as buying individual parts to see which would cost less. There may be specials on different components around the store that could make buying the system in parts cheaper. A basic system will have a television, whether plasma or LCD, a DVD layer, speakers, cables and a projection system.
You may even consider mixing brands, as most brands will work well with other brands. Different components are priced differently by brands; hence you may be able to put together a great system at an affordable price using components from various brands.
Patience is also critical in obtaining the best home theater system. May stores will have seasonal sale and specials from time to time, and this will provide you with a great opportunity to buy a great system for a good price. However you must exercise patience. Store tends to have sales after a holiday, so do your research to know exactly what you want so as to take advantage of the sale periods. More importantly, what makes a best home theater systems best is dependent on you.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Your Television can be Renewed With a DLP Lamp
Most people have at least one television in their home these days. They are fairly simple pieces of equipment which generally require little maintenance to keep them in good condition and working well. However some types of television do require a little work to maintain the quality of picture. If your TV uses Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology it may require a new lamp every so often.
Free Home Theater making tips
Many rear projection televisions use Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology. This uses a replaceable mercury vapor arc lamp as the main light source for the television screen. These lamps tend to have a useful life of around one to two years. As the lamp ages the light output will tend to decline and at some point will fail. As this happens it will result in a fading picture or the TV may stop working altogether.
Free Home Theater making tips
There is no way of knowing the exact length of time DLP lamps in a television or projector will last. It tends to be recommended that you replace the lamps every one to two years although the usable life of a lamp may be longer or shorter than this. However it becomes fairly obvious when a lamp has degraded to the point where it has to be replaced. Typically the screen will lose its brightness such that it becomes difficult to watch. At this point the lamp has to be replaced to improve the picture quality.
Televisions and projectors which use DLP technology are fairly common and they produce good quality pictures as long as the lamp which is used to light the screen is kept in good working order. Many of the top electrical manufacturers produce DLP televisions and some of these include Samsung, Philips, Panasonic and JVC.
Free Home Theater making tips
If you need to replace the DLP lamp on a television there are a number of outlets that supply these. Some of the better ones can be found on the internet and a quick search should provide plenty of options for web retailers that stock this product. If you are looking for a replacement lamp, some of the places to look include DLP Lamps, DLP Lamp Xpress and DLP Lamp Source.
The cost of replacing the lamp on a DLP television is something that should be factored in when buying the TV. Typically costs for a new lamp will cost in the region of $100 to $200 and most of the web retailers have a search feature making it simple to find the correct lamp for your TV. Once found you can see how much this will cost to purchase.
The cost of replacing the lamp on a DLP television is something that should be factored in when buying the TV. Typically costs for a new lamp will cost in the region of $100 to $200 and most of the web retailers have a search feature making it simple to find the correct lamp for your TV. Once found you can see how much this will cost to purchase.
Free Home Theater making tips
The increase in people using home theatres these days mean that projectors are becoming a more common piece of electrical equipment these days. A DLP projector can be a good investment and these provide excellent long term quality and value for those that use them. Replacement lamps for this type of equipment are available from a number of outlets including My Projector Lamps.
With the range of DLP electrical equipment available these days it may be that you have a few pieces of equipment in your home. In this case an ideal way to store your equipment is with an AV cart. These pieces of furniture are designed specifically for housing multi-media equipment and can be a good way to do so.
With the range of DLP electrical equipment available these days it may be that you have a few pieces of equipment in your home. In this case an ideal way to store your equipment is with an AV cart. These pieces of furniture are designed specifically for housing multi-media equipment and can be a good way to do so.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Plasma TV Ceiling Mount
The size and weight of the new plasma TVs have created all kinds of innovative methods for mounting the sets. There are cabinets that have custom motorized mounting brackets that slowly raise the TV from the hidden recesses of the cabinet to a prescribed viewing height through remote control. But one of the neatest mounts used the hardware from this type of installation to create a unique plasma TV ceiling mount.
One flat panel owner wanted to use the same design criteria except for one factor. Instead of rising up out of a cabinet, he wanted his TV to descend from his cathedral ceiling. Once it was fully descended to a viewing height, he could manipulate the TV to swivel and tilt to place the screen in a good viewing angle to where he was sitting at any particular time.
After consulting with the manufacturer of the hardware and the engineers that made the plasma TV it soon became evident that the man could have what he wanted. The hardware was purchased and the homeowner met with a couple of professional remodeling contractors to discuss what he wanted to do. Soon the plan was formalized and the project was underway.
The viewing room for the installation was selected as the family room. The cathedral ceiling began at the top of the nine-foot wall and angled upward to the peak at sixteen feet above the floor. The ceiling had been a typical drywall ceiling with textured finish. Part of the remodel was to replace the textured drywall ceiling with a stained redwood strip ceiling. Hundreds of pieces of stained redwood would be laid out in parallel with a quarter inch gap between each strip. Near the bottom of the ceiling approximately one foot from where it meets the wall, the homeowner wanted to have the TV installed in a hidden manner above the ceiling panels.
After a great deal of work, the contractors finally had success. Careful craftsmanship had completely hidden the ceiling mount behind the new wooden surfaced ceiling. At the push of a button, the lights slowly faded to darkness. Then one of the redwood strips slowly hinged open and the new plasma TV descended to a vertical position. Another button was pushed on the remote and the big screen TV swiveled and tilted to where the homeowner could easily see his favorite program. What an innovative installation they had concocted together!
Your plasma TV ceiling mount need not be so elaborate, but this article shows that imagination is the only thing to limit how you may install your next television.
Free Home theater making tips
The hardware was designed as a full-motion motorized stand mount. It was made to fit inside a custom built cabinet. At the push of a button on the remote control, the plasma TV was rise up pushing open a concealed door in the top of the cabinet. As the TV display came into view, the power to the TV would switch on and the set would come to a stop just as the selected program came on.One flat panel owner wanted to use the same design criteria except for one factor. Instead of rising up out of a cabinet, he wanted his TV to descend from his cathedral ceiling. Once it was fully descended to a viewing height, he could manipulate the TV to swivel and tilt to place the screen in a good viewing angle to where he was sitting at any particular time.
After consulting with the manufacturer of the hardware and the engineers that made the plasma TV it soon became evident that the man could have what he wanted. The hardware was purchased and the homeowner met with a couple of professional remodeling contractors to discuss what he wanted to do. Soon the plan was formalized and the project was underway.
The viewing room for the installation was selected as the family room. The cathedral ceiling began at the top of the nine-foot wall and angled upward to the peak at sixteen feet above the floor. The ceiling had been a typical drywall ceiling with textured finish. Part of the remodel was to replace the textured drywall ceiling with a stained redwood strip ceiling. Hundreds of pieces of stained redwood would be laid out in parallel with a quarter inch gap between each strip. Near the bottom of the ceiling approximately one foot from where it meets the wall, the homeowner wanted to have the TV installed in a hidden manner above the ceiling panels.
After a great deal of work, the contractors finally had success. Careful craftsmanship had completely hidden the ceiling mount behind the new wooden surfaced ceiling. At the push of a button, the lights slowly faded to darkness. Then one of the redwood strips slowly hinged open and the new plasma TV descended to a vertical position. Another button was pushed on the remote and the big screen TV swiveled and tilted to where the homeowner could easily see his favorite program. What an innovative installation they had concocted together!
Your plasma TV ceiling mount need not be so elaborate, but this article shows that imagination is the only thing to limit how you may install your next television.
Free Home theater making tips
Monday, June 28, 2010
Plasma TV Stand or Wall Bracket
Anyone who has seen the new plasma TVs have found them to be far superior over the television sets of prior generations. One of the best improvements is the ability to have a much larger screen yet be so thin. But with this great innovative design comes some new design dilemmas. Where do I install my new big screen? Do I mount it on one of those nice custom TV stands, or do I hang it on a wall bracket? This article details some views, both positive and negative, for both considerations.
The TV stand is a great way to display your new television especially if you have a large room capable of assimilating another large piece of furniture. Most stands have been engineered to fit into a piece of traditional furniture similar to a sideboard or low chest of drawers. In reality, it is possible to use any large type of chest or bureau to become your new plasma TV stand.
There are several TV stand mounting brackets that have been designed for this type of application. Some hard mount to the back of the piece of furniture and become a fixed stand with the ability to swivel and tilt to accommodate the seating arrangement of the viewers in the room. Other TV stands are more of a freestanding device that permits the user to place the plasma TV upon the cabinet. The third most popular design features hardware that mounts within the cabinet and conceals the plasma TV when not in use, then with a push of a button a hidden door opens on the top of the cabinet to reveal the slowly rising plasma TV coming to a stop at the desired viewing height. The stand that utilizes all three of these approaches are generally more expensive than the wall bracket.
The plasma TV wall bracket introduces a new viewing angle for many TV viewers. It raises the TV to a position high on a wall and allows people to view the TV from many locations in the room. Many of us remember our parents telling us to move out of the way for them to see what was on the television. Those days are veritably gone now, due to the utilization of the plasma TV wall bracket.
The wall bracket comes in five major categories, which are:
- · Dual Arm Wall Mounting Bracket - a cantilever style of wall mount that allows the plasma TV to be mounted close to the wall or extended out with the ability to tilt and swivel and can hold up to one hundred fifty pounds.
- · Flat Wall Mounting Bracket - a fixed wall mount that attaches the plasma TV to the wall in a position not unlike a framed painting or large photograph.
- · Single Arm Wall Mounting Bracket - another cantilever style of wall mount that has tilt and swivel capabilities, but is unable to carry more than eighty pounds of weight.
- · Low Profile Tilt Mounting Bracket - a tilting mount that allows the plasma TV to hug the wall. It is limited in the amount of tilt, usually not more than fifteen degrees, but it will hold up to one hundred fifty pounds of weight.
- · Ceiling Mounting Bracket - a bracket that permits the plasma TV to be hung from a cathedral or flat ceiling with the ability to swivel and tilt the TV to the best viewing angle by the user.
- The TV stand is more expensive, takes up a lot of space in the room, and sometimes takes a lot of time to order and have delivered due to custom construction concerns. The wall bracket is less expensive, can be attached to the wall in several different configurations as well as the ceiling, is easy to obtain, and for some people it is a do-it-yourself project.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Look !! Screen Paint of DIY Projector
DIY projector screen paint could be the perfect way for you to create the ultimate projection screen. While it may be impossible to duplicate the picture of expensive Da-Lite, Firehawk, or Elite screens with a painted projector screen you can certainly make your own painted projection screen and save a lot of money. That being said before you jump in and buy some screen paint there are some things you must know.
1. Be prepared to repaint your projector screen at a later time. This is the reality that many with painted projector screens face, they do not last forever. If the idea of painting again in the future causes you disdain, then you may want to go with a commercial screen, or a vinyl projector screen.
2. Be sure to use the proper base coat. If you use a pre-packaged theater screen paint kit, it should include the proper base coat. If not you will need to use a base coat that is right for the surface you are painting on. One thing to definitely avoid is using water based paint on a wood surface.
3. Use the right paint. You may get lucky and white paint gives you a satisfactory picture. Without a basis for comparison you may never know how bad the picture really is. Using proper home theater screen paint can give you a terrific picture. Also choosing the right color is important, and you may want a less reflective color if you know there will be ambient light present. Some of the more popular paints for projection screens are Screen Goo paint, Mississippi Mudd, and Behr Silver Screen.
4. The surface must be totally smooth. The surface should not just look smooth, but it should also feel completely smooth. The smallest bump can completely ruin the picture once the projector shines on it. Even with proper movie screen paint this can cause problems.
5. Factor in your time. You may think that painting your projection screen saves you a lot of money, but consider that a great screen can last through many projectors. A painted screen could get ruined quickly through touching or fade quickly.
6. Avoid gloss. If you decide to go with some paint available from your local hardware store such as Behr SilverScreen for your projection paint then make sure you do not go with a glossy paint mix otherwise you will likely experience hotspotting.
Do not forget the black frame. The black frame around the screen is especially important if you go with a painted projector screen. You may not be getting the best picture, but it will look better with a non-reflective black border. There are special paints for this, and you can also get glue backed non-reflective black fabric tape just for this purpose. If you go around looking for the best projector screen, the high quality screens will always have a black frame made from fabric, velvet also works well
1. Be prepared to repaint your projector screen at a later time. This is the reality that many with painted projector screens face, they do not last forever. If the idea of painting again in the future causes you disdain, then you may want to go with a commercial screen, or a vinyl projector screen.
2. Be sure to use the proper base coat. If you use a pre-packaged theater screen paint kit, it should include the proper base coat. If not you will need to use a base coat that is right for the surface you are painting on. One thing to definitely avoid is using water based paint on a wood surface.
3. Use the right paint. You may get lucky and white paint gives you a satisfactory picture. Without a basis for comparison you may never know how bad the picture really is. Using proper home theater screen paint can give you a terrific picture. Also choosing the right color is important, and you may want a less reflective color if you know there will be ambient light present. Some of the more popular paints for projection screens are Screen Goo paint, Mississippi Mudd, and Behr Silver Screen.
4. The surface must be totally smooth. The surface should not just look smooth, but it should also feel completely smooth. The smallest bump can completely ruin the picture once the projector shines on it. Even with proper movie screen paint this can cause problems.
5. Factor in your time. You may think that painting your projection screen saves you a lot of money, but consider that a great screen can last through many projectors. A painted screen could get ruined quickly through touching or fade quickly.
6. Avoid gloss. If you decide to go with some paint available from your local hardware store such as Behr SilverScreen for your projection paint then make sure you do not go with a glossy paint mix otherwise you will likely experience hotspotting.
Do not forget the black frame. The black frame around the screen is especially important if you go with a painted projector screen. You may not be getting the best picture, but it will look better with a non-reflective black border. There are special paints for this, and you can also get glue backed non-reflective black fabric tape just for this purpose. If you go around looking for the best projector screen, the high quality screens will always have a black frame made from fabric, velvet also works well
Friday, June 25, 2010
Home Theater Room
The shape of your home theater is a very important decision. A properly shaped room will dramatically improve the acoustics and help you get the most out of your sound system. Often, audio problems such as difficulty understanding the dialogue are a result of improper room design. With these simple tips you'll be able to design the properly sized room, achieve the most out of your audio system, and build an affordable home theater.
If you've ever done research on acoustical science and optimal room setup you'll quickly become inundated with technical jargon and discover that many companies want to charge you a fortune to configure your room. You don't need to hire a pro to get the best results... In order to keep your home theater in budget all you need to do is follow this simple rule and you will be off to a great start. The key is this: avoid building your theater in a square-shaped room. Sounds simple...well it is. When your room is a square, the sounds emitted from your speakers "build up" and bounce off the walls, creating an effect similar to "singing in a shower". However, if you don't have this option and you decide to keep your room square you can minimize this affect by placing acoustical panels, furniture, or other padded surfaces in the correct locations which will absorb this reflection and dramatically improve your sound quality. And...you should always carpet your floors! Hard, flat surfaces should be avoided, as they will also contribute to standing waves. If you can go the rectangular route, the ideal ratio for your room shape is as follows
Room width should be 1.6 times the height and the length should be 2.6 times the room height...
This acoustic room ratio is deemed the perfect ratio by many and it will give your room the very best acoustical properties. The dimensions of my home theater are 22 feet long, 12-14 feet wide, and 8 feet high. Using the perfect ratio, it recommends my room width be 12.8 feet (1.6 times my 8 ft ceiling) and my room length be 20.8 (2.6 times my 8 ft ceiling). My room is pretty close to these measurements; I'm about a foot longer in recommended length and my room width is right in the middle. I've minimized the hard flat surfaces with several techniques. I've broken up the large side walls by making the front of my theater narrower than the rear and incorporating trim on the walls which breaks up the flat surfaces. The ceiling height also varies, ranging from 6 1/2 to 8 feet. I was able to accomplish this by the use of a rear riser and creating two boxed ceilings surrounded with perimeter soffits. These simple and effective design considerations tremendously contributed to my room's acoustical properties; and I was able to save money in the process by doing it myself.
Achieving good room acoustics does not need to be a budget breaker. By following these simple rules on room shape I was able to design my theater properly and achieve amazing results. The room size allows me to comfortably seat 7 and also accommodates a large 100" screen with two rows of seating, the second row seating 4 on a 12-inch riser platform. The screen size is proportional to the room size and the acoustics sound amazing! In fact, I had a friend bring over his high-end speakers and I did not even notice a difference (he calls my speaker's entry level)... I hope you find this article informative. Other important considerations we'll discuss include speaker placement, screen size, and how to determine the proper seating distance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)