What to Look For in a Home Theater

Want to know what to look for in a home theater?  A home theater system amplifies your home entertainment in a big way. But picking the right components is usually a challenge for many people. How do you pick the right screen size? What resolution is the best? What kind of audio goes well with your living room? Here is a basic guide on how to pick your home theater components.

TV screen size

When it comes to screen size, bigger rooms need larger screen sizes.

• 32 inches and less- Good for smaller rooms like the bedroom or kitchen
• 33-49 inches – Good for the average sized living room
• 50-64 inches – Works well for big living rooms
• 65-90 inches – Good for home movie rooms and provides the best immersive experience

TV resolution

• 720 pixels – Best for smaller TV
• 1080 pixels (Full HD) – The most common resolution. You can watch Blu Ray movies
• 2160 pixels (Ultra HD) – Also known as 4K resolution. Offers the best resolution for stunningly clear pictures

TV type

LED TVs are more common these days than LCD or plasma TVs. The lighting of a theater room is the main determinant in the type of TV needed;

• Normal lighting – Organic LED (OLED) and normal LED TVs work best
• Bright lit room – LCD or LED TV works best
• Dark room – A plasma TV is the best in a dark room where the images are more vivid thanks to the deeper blacks and rich colors of a plasma TV.

Projectors

If you want a cinema experience, a projector offers bigger and sharper images than large screen TVs. The god thing is that projectors have become cheaper. If you are viewing in a darkened room, 1000 lumens will be adequate. But if you are viewing in a well-lit room, you would need 2000 lumens and above.

Audio

A surround sound system is needed for the best immersive experience. There are different audio system configurations;

• Sound bars – A sound bar combines the subwoofer, treble and mid-range speakers in a single compact bar. This is appropriate for small theater rooms.
• 5.1 surround system- This configuration has 5 speakers and a subwoofer. This is the most common configuration and will work well for the average sized living room.
• 7.1 surround – This configuration has seven speakers and a subwoofer. It is the best for large rooms, and offers the best immersive experience.

The good thing is that you can buy these components separately and save. You can go bargain hunting online and build a home theater system that provides value for money.