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Building a home theater may be done in small, albeit sometimes expensive, steps. Content Collection The first thing you could consider is to buy only "widescreen" versions of your favorite movies. That format may take some getting-used-to on the small screen, but you probably be happy with that buying decision later on when you have a few widescreen TVs in your house. As you build your collection, be sure to buy some music-video and concert DVDs. Music videos are good for those few minutes before a movie as everyone is getting situated and concert DVDs may work well after a movie as you and your guests play poker for the remaining time. Be careful about building too big of a collection as high-definition recording formats are being designed and should be cost effective in 5 to 10 years. In practice, there is also the feeling of having "hundreds of movies and nothing to watch" in the same way people have 60 channels of cable and often say that. Many times, the movies you really like and own will not be interesting to your guests so a movies-on-demand service from your cable company would help with this issue. Cataloging your collection may make choosing a movie easier for you and your guests. For this I recommend DVD Profiler. It will let you type in a UPC and then it will download much information about the movie such as overview, actors, etc. and will make all of that information searchable. Audio The next step is to get something other than TV speakers for filling your room with sound. The simplest option here is to get a boxed set that includes everything you need to play 5.1 surround sound. There are many cost effective options and these can give you the movie theater sound that people enjoy. Building a custom system will give you options such as more powerful bass and a better choice of components. Projector An LCD projector may set your home theater apart from those of others. It will your help make your in-home movie nights will feel like you are out. If you don't have a large, open, light-colored wall in the right spot, get a pull-down or stand-alone screen to project onto. A 800x600 resolution projector will provide a comfortable and affordable 7 foot or larger picture. The supporting costs involved are: getting a long video cable and if needed, a projection screen. Since today's projectors are so small, it is something that can be pulled out on movie night and then stored in a dust-free case for weeks until the next movie night. HDTV Whether you get an LCD, plasma, etc., HDTV set, consider getting one with a HD tuner and also connections for a PC. Broadcast HD is becoming more available, especially in larger TV markets. HD tuners pick up the signal surprisingly well. If you live near a major city, any plain antenna or rabbit-ear set should work fine. You will not be able to use the powered amplification feature of your antenna as that will over-saturate the digital signal even though it used to help with analog TV. If you live a good distance from the TV stations, it may be worthwhile to try using an amplified antenna. In either case, your on-roof directional antenna should become be useful again. Exploring the sub-channels that one TV station may broadcast (11.1, 11.2, 11.3, etc) is fun. For PC connections, HDTVs are sometimes sold with DVI connections, sometimes with VGA connections, somes both, sometimes neither. Be sure to plan ahead with this option in mind. Media PC Media PCs sold today come with the ability to record analog broadcasts. You may also find a media PC useful for allowing your guests to view your database of owned movies so they can choose one without digging into the actual collection. With more and more people doing non-linear editting of home videos, it can also provide a quick and easy way for you to display that collection. Consider getting an RF wireless keyboard and mouse. Some models have a 30 foot range. If you let guests web-browse on the thing, be sure to have them VNC to a junk machine or use a Linux LiveCD to help insulate your nice computer system from the spyware they may get into. Props Framed movie posters can also be put up just for your movie night. If the movie is based off of a book, consider having a copy of the book out in the open. Use available free software and a LED sign for showing pre-movie ticker-tape-like newsfeeds. Popcorn! |
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