Designing a Home Theatre

Design

Today, "home cinema" implies a real "cinema experience" and therefore a higher quality set of components than the average television provides. A typical home theater would include the following:

• A large, high-quality, display - generally a big-screen television such as a LCD television, plasma monitor, traditional CRT TV, or a rear projection TV, or possibly a video projector, often HDTV-capable.
• One or more audio/video sources. High quality formats such as DVD or laserdisc are preferred, though old home cinema setups use a stereo VHS VCR. Cable, KU or C band are also common, as are hard disk based systems.
• An audio system that is capable of surround sound. This usually consists of at least 4 (though more are common) full range speakers and a subwoofer for low-frequency effects. Sometimes a specialized decoder is used to allow the playback of newer surround-sound formats.
• Comfortable seating and organization to improve the cinema feel. This might include several comfortable recliners and curtains or subdued room lighting (required for video projectors) to enhance the experience.
• Higher end home theaters commonly also have sound insulation to prevent noise to escape the room, and a specialized coating to ensure correct absorption of the sound in the room.

Dedicated home theaters

Some home cinema enthusiasts go so far as to build a dedicated room in the home for the theater. Such a room is often decorated to resemble an actual cinema, with projection enclosed in a projection booth, specialized furniture, a piano or theatre organ, curtains in front of the projection screen, movie posters, or a popcorn or snack machine. These more advanced installations often include sophisticated acoustic design elements, including "room-in-a-room" construction that isolates sound and provides the potential for a nearly ideal listening environment. These installations are often designated as "screening rooms" to differentiate from simpler installations.

A few home cinema setups even have features that are not commonly found in commercial cinemas, such as tactile sound.

Component Systems -vs- Theater in a Box

High-quality home cinemas are assembled from component pieces purchased separately to provide the best combination of equipment for the cost. It is possible to purchase home theater in a box kits that include a set of speakers for surround sound, an amplifier/tuner for adjusting volume and selecting video sources, and sometimes a DVD player. Though these kits pale in comparison to a custom-built home cinema, they are inexpensive and easy to set up; one needs only to add a television and some movies in order to create a simple home theater.

Because the difficulty of running long cables through walls for surround sound inhibits some consumers, some home cinemas includes wireless rear loudspeakers, with in-built amplifiers.

Connections

There is a broad variety of connections generally included in home cinema to enable the different components to work together or to be integrated with computers or other electronic equipment.

Audio

Input: AUX, digital RCA connector (CINCH/AV or cinch), SCART audio, TOSLINK.
Output: Analog RCA connector/cinch line-out, digital RCA connector/cinch, TOSLINK.

Video

HDMI, DVI, component video, composite video, multiple SCART, S-video.

General

USB, WiFi, Bluetooth, Irda.

Antenna

FM, coaxial, MW, loop.