If you have a spare room in the house or a spacious basement, home entertainment AV solutions might be a good investment. Think of how fun it would be to have the full cinematic experience in the comfort and privacy of your own home? And it’s completely free outside of the initial investment. But a home theater setup is a lot more complicated than most people expect. So before you jump in, it helps to read this guide:
First, Decide on the Home Entertainment AV Solutions You Want
Before you go out shopping for a home theater system, you need to decide what you want first. Take your house or room into consideration first. Is it large enough to host a full home theater system? Maybe it’s small and you should make do with an all-in-one or 2.1 setup consisting of a pair of speakers and a subwoofer. Once you have the answer to this question, you can go ahead and shop around for components to home entertainment AV solutions.
When Choosing a Receiver
Most people neglect to get a receiver, thinking that it’s an extraneous piece of the system. The truth is that it is more than just a hub for your home theater system. A good receiver can help you achieve the best possible sound, and could have additional features such as bluetooth or internet connectivity.
Choosing Speakers for Home Entertainment AV Solutions
While choosing speakers, you could get overwhelmed by a confusing mass of jargons and specs. Leave all of these technical things to professionals like Digital Integration. Instead, you need to focus on a few important things:
- Frequency – this will tell you the range of frequencies that the speakers can produce. The wider the range, the better. This is measured with a plus/minus symbol, with lower being better.
- Sensitivity – this indicates how efficient the speakers are. The higher the number, the better. Anything over 90dB is considered as top of the line.
- Impedance – this applies if you are matching the speakers to a receiver. Speakers with low impedance (around 4 ohms) will require a more powerful receiver, while common 8 ohm speakers can work with most receivers.
Finally, you need to avoid mistaking watts for loudness. While it is true in the past that loud speakers are usually high wattage, these days technology has advanced to the point where speakers can get loud without consuming too much electricity. Find power efficient speakers that can get as loud as you want while still remaining low wattage. In this case, don’t bother with the spec sheet – test the speakers and use your ears to see how loud they can go.
Choosing a Screen
When it comes to home entertainment AV solutions, the screen is very important. Choose the largest you can get that is still feasible within your budget, and within your available room space. Go with a projector if possible. After all, your home theater is going to be a complete waste of money and time if the screen is so small that you are not getting the full cinematic experience.
As always, the specs sheet should be second to what you can see with your eyes. Test it as much as you can, and under different lighting conditions. This might not be possible in most appliance centers, but check anyway – they might be willing to accommodate you. Especially if it’s a specialty store with a showroom.
If All Else Fails, Leave it to the Professionals
It is true that home entertainment av solutions can get so complicated, and it is a huge investment so there is the very real risk of overspending. If you want to avoid this scenario and get things right the first time around, you should contact Digital Integration. We will give you a FREE estimate for a home theater setup that fits your needs and budget.