Going "In" to the Movies

Home cinema is a term used synonymously with home theater. It helps to make you feel just as if you were in a movie theater as it seeks to reproduce cinema quality picture and sound.

Technically speaking, a home cinema could be as easy to arrange as a television, DVD and some speakers.

It is fairly hard to specify what the difference is between a "home cinema" from a regular television and stereo.

Most consumer electronics experts agree that a "home theater" integrates a high-quality picture with surround sound.

If you happen to have a home cinema, you are trying to capture a real "cinema experience". Therefore, you would need a higher sophistication and quality set of components over that which an average television can provide. Setting up a home theater would include getting the following parts:

1. Input devices - You should have one or more video/audio sources. HD DVD or Blu-ray are preferable.
2. Processing devices - A stand alone AV receiver can be chosen or perhaps you would prefer a Preamplifier and Sound Processor. The choice is yours.
3. Audio output - You must have anywhere from 2 to 11 speakers with an additional subwoofer.
4. Video output - You must have a large HDTV display. There are several options to choose from: Liquid crystal display television, plasma TV, video projector, CRT TV or a rear-projection TV.
5. Atmosphere - In order to improve the cinema feel, you should have comfortable seating and organization.

There you have it! These are the basic things to have when you consider having a home cinema. Pretty soon you'll be saying, "Let's go in to the movies!"