Since 1970 RSL Home Theater Guide How To Get A Great Home Theater Without Spending a Fortune!
Introduction Thank you for downloading this guide. Putting together a home theater can be a confusing and intimidating process. There are so many choices, price ranges and opinions to deal with. Many people visit home theater boutique stores and leave under the impression that to get a great home theater, they’ll have to take out a second mortgage on their home or raid their kids college savings.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction..................................................................... ...............................................1 Where to purchase home theater components...…………………………………......…...3 Tips on buying home theater equipment……………………...…………….…......................5 Televisions.......................................................................................................................5 LCD televisions....…………………………………………………………………….…….....
WHERE TO PURCHASE HOME THEATER COMPONENTS Retail Stores Have you ever visited a store that specializes in Home Theater? Sometimes referred to as boutiques, most of these stores focus primarily on high end equipment. If you've experienced a home theater demonstration, chances are you were presented with some very expensive choices. The implication was that if you don't spend this large sum on a home theater, you won't achieve great results. It simply isn't true.
Online Stores The main advantages to online stores are price and selection. Depending on where you live, it may be difficult to find a local dealer that stocks the products you are interested in. You can find just about anything on the web. In comparing prices with a retail location, be sure to take into consideration the shipping costs. The amount of help you receive before and after the sale can vary, just like with a retail location.
TIPS ON BUYING HOME THEATER EQUIPMENT Televisions The TV I was raised watching had snow, ghosts and was often fuzzy. There was no such thing as high definition, or any definition for that matter. When I see a high definition picture on most sets, I’m still awestruck, not to mention 4K sets. Sure, there are differences among sets, but I find it hard to find an HD picture I don’t like on most major brands that are adjusted reasonably well.
LCD Televisions Currently, this is the most popular category of television . Because of this, prices on LCD flat panels have dropped tremendously. When LCD sets originally came out, there were two major gripes with them. First, was the limited contrast (the difference between the lightest and darkest images the set produced) and second was the way it handled motion due to its limited refresh rate. Both of these objections have been overcome. The contrast has improved dramatically.
OLED sets do not require any backlighting. As a result the contrast is reportedly amazing. In addition the colors are very vivid. The first OLED televisions are hitting the market now, but are very expensive. But like any new technology, there will be improvements in production that will bring the price down eventually. Plasma Televisions Plasma sets are popular, although not as popular as LCD sets. They have some advantages and disadvantages when compared with LCD sets.
Front Projection Televisions For the ultimate home theater, nothing matches the giant picture of a video projector. The progress that’s been made in projectors is mind-boggling. In 1998, I was considering building my own home theater. After checking out the projectors that were available then, the one to buy was the Vidikron Vision One at $50,000! It used 3-9” CRT tubes that cost thousands to replace every few years. Also, a technician needed to come out every few months to adjust the set.
3D Televisions When 3D was first introduced, there were those who felt that this new format may not catch on and go the way of Betamax and or the HD Video disc. Since 3D was introduced, the number of movies available has been steadily increasing. Most current blu-ray players will play 3D discs. The prices of 3D sets have dropped drastically and are now only a little higher than 2D sets. 3D sets also do a terrific job with 2D material.
Smart TVs Smart TVs refers to sets that have built in applications and Internet access. They usually cost a little more. Smart applications can include Netflix and Amazon players as well as the ability to surf the Internet. Smart TVs require that you have an Internet service. If you don’t have a wired Internet connection to the TV, make sure the TV has a wireless adapter built-in if your home has wi-fi. 4K or Ultra HD TVs The new 4K sets have approximately twice the resolution of High Definition TVs.
SHOULD YOU GET A 5.1 OR 7.1 SYSTEM? Our industry is continually coming up with creative ways for you to spend more money on your home theater speaker system. First, there was 5.1. This consisted of a left, center, right, 2 speakers for the surrounds, and a subwoofer. Then came 7.1, which added 2 additional speakers for the rear. After that, 7.2 added an additional subwoofer. And they’re still at it. Recently, they’ve introduced Dolby Atmos, which incorporates even more speakers.
AUDIO/VIDEO RECEIVERS (AVRs) In this guide we refer to Audio/Video receivers as AVRs and A/V receivers. It is easy to be overwhelmed when trying to choose one. This is due to the dizzying array of features that many brands offer. It seems that manufacturers are battling it out to see who can incorporate the most features. There’s so many logos on the front panels of AVRs such as Dolbytm, DTStm, THXtm, Audysseytm, etc. you wonder how they have any room for controls.
Video Features Your AVR is the heart of your home theater system. All of your audio and video components connect to it. Modern video components will connect through the HDMI inputs. HD video must either connect through HDMI or component inputs. If given the choice, always use HDMI. In addition, the AVR may offer a composite input for connecting an older VCR or camcorder. The HDMI connection will carry both the video and the audio, making separate cables for each unnecessary.
After DolbyTM Pro Logic, DolbyTM Digital and DTSTM surround were introduced. These offered 5 discrete channels along with an LFE (low frequency effects) bass channel for the subwoofer. DolbyTM Digital and DTSTM surround systems employed compression to fit all the audio on a DVD. Although some have criticized the audio quality because it was compressed, we’ve experienced some excellent sounding movies and concerts that use both formats. These systems are currently used on most non-Blu-Ray DVDs.
Equalization And Automatic Room Setup All rooms have unique sonic characteristics. Few have perfect acoustics. The acoustical properties of your room are very important in determining how good your home theater system sounds. Rooms with carpeting, lots of stuffed furniture and window treatments, such as drapes, usually sound better than rooms with bare walls and hard floors, where sound bounces around, Unless absorbed, sound waves continue to bounce from one hard surface to another .
THXTM THXTM is a licensing organization. THXTM is a series of specifications for equipment and the way it is set up for both movie theaters and home theaters. If the theater owner or the equipment manufacturer meets these specifications and pays THXTM a licensing fee, they will receive THXTM certification. We don’t feel that THX certification is necessary to achieve exceptional audio or video performance.
Second Zone Many AVRs can independently control another set of speakers in a second zone either in another room or outside. If you have a 7.1 AVR and you are running a 5.1 system, you will have 2 extra amplifiers that you can use for speakers in a second zone. If you have a 7.1 system, you will be using up all of your AVR’s amplifiers and you will need an additional stereo amplifier to power the speakers in the second zone.
Other Things To Consider In An AVR Power Rating In the days of stereo, a receiver gave their power ratings with both stereo channels operating, which was an honest rating. Today some manufacturers inflate their ratings by measuring their AVRs with only two channels operating. If all channels were operating at maximum output, the rating would be lower. However, it can be argued that all channels rarely operate at maximum output at the same time.
Read The Manual Before You Buy This is very important. Quite often, manufacturers put a lot of effort into the features of their AVRs and little effort in making their owners manuals understandable. This can cause stress and leave you feeling inadequate. It’s not your fault! Owners manuals are available from manufacturers websites for virtually all current AVRs. If you are contemplating the purchase of a particular AVR, download the manual first. See if you can understand it.
BLU-RAY PLAYERS Choosing a blu-ray player is a lot easier than choosing an AVR or TV. Stick with a major brand and you pretty much can’t go wrong. The difference in video quality among them is minimal. As far as audio quality goes they are all good. However, some of the costlier brands incorporate higher end audio DAC (digital audio converters), which can make a difference if the rest of your system is up to that level.
Netflix And Other Sources In addition to playing discs, Blu-ray players include other features like Netflix instant downloads, Amazon player and the ability to go to other websites for audio and video content. Netflix capability is a great feature. It allows you to instantly watch many movies. Depending on your Internet speed, the video quality can be surprisingly good. Many AVR scan play music, photos and movies from other computers on your home network as well as from a USB port on the receiver.
Confused About Speakers? Our Difference Could Be The Answer. There are many good speakers on the market today and it’s easy to be confused. If you wish to consider RSL Speakers, here’s a little info about us: Since 1970, our goal has been to provide the sound normally associated with expensive high-end speakers at low factory-direct prices. In addition, our patented Compression Guide Technology allows our speakers to deliver better clarity and resolution than comparably priced, conventional speakers.
In many of today’s systems, the deep bass tones are handled by the subwoofer, while the rest of the sound is handled by smaller (satellite) speakers. For good sound, the satellite speakers are required to blend seamlessly with the subwoofer. The satellite speakers must have enough bass response so that there is no gap with the subwoofer. They must also be able to handle enough power to play at loud volumes without distortion.
What About Bi-pole and Di-pole surround Speakers? Bi-Pole and di-pole surround speakers have additional speakers to disperse the sound in different directions. The thinking behind this is to create a more diffuse soundfield. We do not agree with this approach. We want all of the elements of a movie or concert to sound exactly in their correct place in your room. Speakers that image well can precisely locate all of the elements around you. If you have a high quality 5.
With a ‘cheap’ subwoofer, regardless of the frequency, the same one-note bass always emerges. This is very fatiguing to listen to. In addition, an inferior subwoofer will not blend well with the rest of the speakers and will mask their clarity. You’re always reminded that there’s a separate subwoofer present. Subwoofers reproduce a very limited part of the audio range, typically 20 – 100 Hz. This range of sound requires the most power.
SoundcastTM Wireless Speaker Transmitter and Receiver Wireless Solutions You may find yourself in a situation where it is inconvenient or impossible to run wires to your surround and rear speakers. Fortunately, with the latest advances in wireless technology, solutions are at hand. As an example, SoundcastTM (offers a product that contains both a small transmitter and receiver. Currently, it sells for around $200. The transmitter connects to the rear and/or surround outputs of your AVR.
CONNECTION CABLES Before the days of HDMI cables, hooking up an audio/video system was a nightmare. There were numerous connections for both the audio and the video. And each of these connections presented a golden opportunity for an audio/video salesperson to sell you a set of high-priced cables. With analog audio and video signals, a good set of cables will prevent signal loss. Therefore, we recommend buying a quality set without going overboard.
Thank you for reading this guide. We hope it has been helpful. As we mentioned at the beginning of this guide, If you are considering setting up your home theater, please feel free to call us and ask for advice. And remember, we will consult with you about your home theater room for free. Send us digital photos of your room from different angles. We’ll review them and then call you at a convenient time.
