An audio/video entertainment center that has a large-screen TV and hi-fi system with three speakers in the front (left, right and center) and left and right speakers in the rear. Starting in the early 1990s, video inputs were added to stereo receivers, turning them into audio/video (A/V) receivers. Today, almost all home entertainment hardware vendors make A/V equipment for both listening and viewing (see A/V receiver).
Audio - Just As Important
A good sound system is as critical as the video display in a home theater setup. Realistic, high-fidelity sound greatly enhances movie watching, and in many homes, the audio is the more elaborate and costly part of the system. Although it might seem contrary, people have always been more sensitive to audio glitches than to video. Tests have proven that occasional interruptions in the sound stream of a movie are far more annoying to most people than blips in the video frames. See home theater in a box, soundbar, 5.1 channel, Dolby Digital, digital media server and audiophile.
Home Theater Components
These are the typical components in a 5.1 audio (5 speakers/1 subwoofer) system. More speakers may be used (see 5.1 channel), and rather than an A/V receiver, a separate preamp and amplifier are found in high-end systems. If the TV is rear projection, it cannot be wall mounted. Except for the subwoofer, which always takes up some floor space, speakers range from tiny, wall-mounted units to floor models containing several speakers.
Wide Screen Home Theater!
Just as exciting as today's LCD and plasma TVs were the first "wide screen" CRTs in the early 1950s. Screen sizes jumped from 10" and 12" to the huge 16" screen you see in this 1951 Zenith floor model. Monochrome TV, of course. (Equipment courtesy of World Wide Stereo, www.wwstereo.com)
Audio - Just As Important
A good sound system is as critical as the video display in a home theater setup. Realistic, high-fidelity sound greatly enhances movie watching, and in many homes, the audio is the more elaborate and costly part of the system. Although it might seem contrary, people have always been more sensitive to audio glitches than to video. Tests have proven that occasional interruptions in the sound stream of a movie are far more annoying to most people than blips in the video frames. See home theater in a box, soundbar, 5.1 channel, Dolby Digital, digital media server and audiophile.
Home Theater Components
These are the typical components in a 5.1 audio (5 speakers/1 subwoofer) system. More speakers may be used (see 5.1 channel), and rather than an A/V receiver, a separate preamp and amplifier are found in high-end systems. If the TV is rear projection, it cannot be wall mounted. Except for the subwoofer, which always takes up some floor space, speakers range from tiny, wall-mounted units to floor models containing several speakers.
Wide Screen Home Theater!
Just as exciting as today's LCD and plasma TVs were the first "wide screen" CRTs in the early 1950s. Screen sizes jumped from 10" and 12" to the huge 16" screen you see in this 1951 Zenith floor model. Monochrome TV, of course. (Equipment courtesy of World Wide Stereo, www.wwstereo.com)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Poll: Where will you shop for an HDTV on Black Friday?
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- Blog posts 2009-11-22
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- Software downloads 2009-11-19
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- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- Best Buy Black Friday ad leaks online. Here are the HDTV and Blu-ray deals.
- For electronics fans, the Holy Grail of Black Friday ads is the one from Best Buy, which can list more deals on laptops and home theater stuff than general retailers like Wal-mart and Target can squeeze into their circulars. Unfortunately, those deals are never as good as you hope—is this...
- Blog posts 2009-11-14
- Intel to pay AMD $1.25 billion as companies end litigation war; Is it a new chip era?
- Inhell got off cheaplyProbably AMD needed the cash now because it would have gotten a lot more in a trial.This is good news for computer usersGood news all around. The cross licensing will allow advancements with a minimum of lawyer intervention.Won't matter, AMD is toastThey haven't produced a CPU worth...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-12
- Zvox Z-Base 525
- Photo gallery:Zvox Z-Base 525Surround sound and its accouterments tend to dominate a living room, requiring an AV receiver, several speakers, stands, and wires to make the whole thing work. That's why many people choose to skip surround sound, opting instead for the tinny acoustics of their TV speakers. Single-speaker solutions...
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- Sony to charge $24.95 for Bravia owners to rent "Chance of Meatballs" before DVD release
- Leveraging some synergy between its electronics arm and its movie studio, Sony announced today that it's going to offer its hit kiddies flick "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" to owners of select Bravia home theater gear a full month before it's released on DVD. The price for this privilege—and...
- Blog posts 2009-11-09
- Hardware 2.0 'Very Best Kit List' for Nov/Dec 09
- These are consistently your most useful columnsI really look forward to these, especially since I'm thinking about building a new video editing machine. One that can handle full frame 1080 24p h.264 video. I can transcode it with cineform but unless you're doing a lot of color work, it's...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-03
- Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Blu-ray Players/Home Theater Systems
- With prices for both players and discs plunging, this may be the holiday season for Blu-ray. Already online movie streaming is making inroads—even on Blu-ray players themselves. Some of these picks are integrating on-demand video services into their feature sets, hoping to keep themselves relevant in...
- Blog posts 2009-11-01
- Onkyo SKS-HT870
- Onkyo is known for having speaker expertise, even though it's not primarily a speaker company. That's because of Onkyo's success selling home-theater-in-a-box systems HTIBs, which combine a speaker system and an AV receiver in a single box, taking some of the confusion out of putting together your own system. The...
- Product reviews 2009-10-30
- Adesso WKB-3100UB wireless keyboard with trackball
- The $80 Adesso WKB-3100UB wireless keyboard is a good mini keyboard for surfing the Web from your sofa, but it's a nightmare to use as an everyday keyboard and trackball. The keyboard is usable most of the time, but its inaccurate trackball, poor button press recognition, sticking keys, lack of...
- Product reviews 2009-10-29
- (Onkyo HT-S7200 photos)
- ...home theater system for the price.......and that price would be what exactly..??Amazon have it at.......around $800. It's anywhere up to $900 elsewhere. I agree. It would have been nice to have this info in the original article though.
- Discussion threads 2009-10-28
- Onkyo HT-S7200
- Photo gallery:Onkyo HT-S7200"True" home theater fans may look down on home-theater-in-a-box systems, but sometimes that elitist attitude is unwarranted. The Onkyo HT-S7200 may technically be an HTIB, but that's just because it comes in a giant box; the system is composed of two separate components, the SKS-HT870 7.1 speaker package...
- Product reviews 2009-10-27
- Onkyo HT-S7200 photos
- While its bulky design isn't for everyone, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more full-featured and better sounding all-in-one 7.1 home theater system for the price than the Onkyo HT-S7200. by CNET News.com
- Image galleries 2009-10-27
- MacProgramGuide 0.72 (Mac)
- Looking for a program guide for your Mac Based Home Theater, well look no further. MacProgramGuide harnesses the power of Web Services and the internet to provide program schedules, episode, cast and crew information. MacProgramGuide provides search capabilities to allow you to find out when your favorite shows or movies...
- Software downloads 2009-10-27
- News to know: iPhone; Win 7 upgrade answers; Psystar; SOA; Google
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Ed Bott: Finally, some answers to Windows 7 upgrade questions Dion Hinchcliffe: Are the iPhone and social networks making...
- Blog posts 2009-10-26
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