Have an HDTV to Match Your High Definition Lifestyle

If everything in your life right now is synonymous to comfort, excellence, luxury, and beauty, don't you think you need a television set that matches your lifestyle, such as an HDTV for instance? Learn more about the latest trend in television sets as you read on.

HDTV: Inspiration from Hollywood

The makers of HDTV, which stands for high definition TV, was originally inspired by the comforts that wide screen of movie theaters uniquely offered. Compared to obviously smaller TV sets, the effects of a movie or program are significantly diminished. They have also noted that people sitting on the first few rows in the movie theaters enjoy more vivid experiences than those sitting behind them, never mind that their necks have a tendency to ache afterwards.

The Beginning of the HDTV Era

It was Sony and NHK that are more or less credited as pioneers for the HDTV generation. The product however, called NHK Hi-vision, was intended for movie use and not yet adapted for the smaller television set. Thanks to this innovation, movies became quicker to produce and more special effects became possible for movie makers to use even with a limited budget.

The main objective of HDTV would-be manufacturers is to create a TV set that will allow viewers to enjoy a wider screen rather than increase the definition or vividness per unit area.

The chief problem of TV manufacturers when they considered producing HDTV sets was whether or not they should make HDTV standards compatible with those of the color TVS, which makes up majority of the TV sets in use at that time. Other problems related to HDTV production are bandwidth limitation, distribution, interlacing, and compression.

Regarding distribution issues, the FCC ruled in 1987 for HDTV standards to be compatible with existing NTSC standards and be limited to VHF and UHF channels as well. Three years after that, however, the FCC ruled for HDTV to use simultaneous broadcasting and also expressed a preference for full HDTV standards over reduced image quality of EDTV.

In 1993, as the FCC was still unable to make a choice among the four companies that submitted proposals for HDTV, it finally decided to create what's now known as a Grand Alliance among these companies: AT&T, GI, MIT, Philips, and Sanroff, Thomson, and Zenith. The remainder of the year was spent in establishing features and formulating standards for the proposed system. In 1994, HDTV had been successfully built and scheduled for testing for the next year.

Benefits of Using HDTV

All or Nothing Image Quality - Although this may not be viewed a benefit by some people, others would unhesitatingly welcome the promise that HDTV makes for their viewers: expect the best picture quality from them or nothing at all because of the digital format it's using.

Wider Screen Viewing - Most programs and films that are equipped with HD format can be viewed by a 16:9 screen while old movies can be zoomed to have a similar wide screen resolution.

Increased Vividness - Watching movies and programs through an HDTV set is better than watching through a standard TV set because the colors are more vivid and the bandwidth's greater.

Better Visual Information - Expect to enjoy the smaller and finer things of TV programs once you start watching it through an HDTV set. That's because HDTV standards can promise overall details of image quality to be 2 to 5 times better!

Use of HD DVD and Blu-Ray - People with HDTV sets can make use of either formats although it should be remembered that both formats are not compatible with each other.

Quality Isn't Sacrificed for Size - Imagine magnifying a photo; the quality becomes blurrier the larger the photo becomes, doesn't it? Thankfully, however, your HDTV set isn't similarly affected even with its increased screen size.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound - Your HDTV set can produce high quality sounds that you could only expect from movie theaters in the past.

Conservation of Electricity - Even though HDTV sets are certainly more expensive to purchase than standard TV sets, they do however have lesser electricity costs.

HDTV is no longer the TV set of tomorrow. If you want to watch broadcasted sports games and concerts like you're watching them live, we only have four letters for you: HDTV!

Lee Dobbins writes for http://hdtv.unique-articles.com where you can learn more about HDTV.

The Top Two Choices From Online Stereo Receiver Reviews

When considering any electronics purchase there is usually more than enough brands and models to choose from and it can even start to get confusing for the average person who is not an electronics equipment whiz. Fortunately, the internet is a vast storehouse of independent consumer ratings and if you do some homework you can usually spot the top products very quickly.

When looking for stereo receivers these days there are a few features that come to mind that should be included on the latest models to really give you the most for your money as the digital entertainment age comes into it's own. One is that unlike receivers of the past, today's stereo receivers need to incorporate video into the mix as well as audio capability. For years a home receiver was used mainly for the home audio system, but now a typical home entertainment setup requires a receiver to process video signals as well.

A modern receiver would also be able to decode and process both Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround sound and support the 5 speakers and subwoofer that is required for creating a true surround sound experience. The receiver should have plenty of inputs for the audio/video devices that will be used with it and a variety of connections for those devices to insure the best audio and video quality.

With all of that in mind, we have found that two digital receivers have the features and positive reviews that we like to see to be able to meet the needs of most people. And here they are:

1. The Yamaha RX-V650 is a great receiver that produces clean, crisp sound and can actually function well with either 4 ohm or 8 ohm speakers, which can be important if you aren't sure what your speaker setups's ohm rating is. It also develops plenty of power, being rated at close to 100 watts per channel. That amount of power will fill even the largest rooms with sound. The rear video inputs are: Composite: 4, Component: 2, S-Video: 4, and the video outputs are Component: 1, Composite: 2, S-Video: 2. There are 4 rear audio inputs and two outputs. This receiver will also support on up to Dolby 7.1 surround sound. It costs just under $400 online and is a great piece of equipment for most home theater needs.

2. The Panasonic SA-XR50 - This is a less expensive digital receiver that still delivers great value and performance by all accounts. It supports up to 6.1 surround sound and puts out 100 watts per channel of power making it an easy choice to power speakers effectively even in large rooms. The audio inputs are: 4 A/V, 1 coaxial, 1 optical; and the video inputs are 3 composite, 3 S-video, 2 component. This receiver often sells for under $300 online making it a great bargain.

Either receiver mentioned above would no doubt make a fine purchase for either your home stereo or home theater needs as both are highly rated in most online stereo receiver reviews. There are also other fine receivers available though, and it's always good to make a thorough search to find the one that fits you best.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including audio and video. You can find free stereo receiver reviews and the best stereo receivers by visiting our Home Theater website.

TV Viewing Distance and Screen Placement in the Home Theater

The optimum TV screen size is directly related to the available viewing distance ? but there are other factors as well that need to be taken into consideration.

Viewing Distance: Is it just a matter of personal preference?

Sit too close to your big screen TV and you will be able to see the image build-up structure - scanning lines or pixels forming the image ? thus distracting your attention and spoiling your home theater experience. Yet, sit too far away, and the impact will be lost.

There are differing opinions on the best way to determine the optimum TV viewing distance for a specific screen size. Just go to the movie theater and you will soon realize that it is all a question of personal preference - some would sit at the very back. Others would go straight to the front row, as they prefer the bigger picture and a wider angle of view, while some would simply choose their seat randomly somewhere in between these two extremes.

The truth is that there are no scientific rules her. This does not mean that there aren't any guidelines that you should follow when planning a big screen purchase or a would-be home theater room.

SMPTE Recommendations and the THX Certification standards:

The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommends that the screen size for home theater use should occupy a 30 degrees field of view - in the horizontal plan - for the audience. Alternatively, the ideal TV viewing distance should be such that the screen width occupies an angle of 30 degrees from the viewing position.

This 30-degrees viewing angle seems to have been accepted by many as the standard in home theater and motion picture viewing.

This SMPTE guideline is also in line with the THX certification standards in that these recommend that the back row of seats should have at least a 26 degrees viewing angle and while recommending an optimum viewing angle of 36 degrees.

It is believed that within these viewing angle limits, the viewer will get better immersed into the action movie itself.

Vision System limitations:

There is also the issue of TV viewing distance based on visual acuity. This does not represent the optimum viewing distance - rather, this relates to the maximum viewing distance beyond which some picture detail will be lost.

Technically speaking, visual acuity is a measure of the eye spatial resolving power and indicates the angular size of the smallest detail that a person visual system can resolve. A person with 20/20 (or 6/6 when expressed in meters) normal vision can resolve a spatial pattern separated by a visual angle of one minute of arc angle i.e. 1/60th of a degree, at the eye when viewed at 20 feet away. Expressed differently, a person with normal 20/20 vision is capable of identifying an object with a height of 1.76mm at 20 feet way.

In terms of TV viewing distances, these represent the point beyond which some of the picture detail will no longer be resolved by the viewer vision system.

So How Does All This Translate In Practical Terms?

A few rules-of-thumb can help put in practice the guidelines detailed above. These rules for viewing distance refer to the screen width rather than the screen diagonal and therefore apply to both 4:3 and 16:9 display formats.

A general rule for the TV viewing distance based on the SMPTE and visual acuity guidelines, is that the nearest TV viewing distance between you and your big screen TV should be limited to approximately twice the screen width (more precise 1.87 x screen width for a subtended angle of 30 degrees), while the furthest distance being no more than five times the width of your screen.

This rule of thumb should give you a fairly good approximation for your TV viewing distance. It does not necessarily represent the ideal home theater viewing distance but rather the limits within which your TV viewing distance should theoretically be out of the trouble zone.

In other words, move closer than twice the screen width size, and the picture scanning lines, pixels and any other video artifacts will become too visibly intrusive - leading to distractions that will spoil your movie watching experience. Move further away than 5 times the screen width and your vision system will no longer be able to resolve all the picture detail.

But?

It is also important to realize that these maximum and minimum viewing distances should be seen in the light of the video signal definition.

A fully resolved high definition TV (1080i, 1920x1080) supports a closer viewing distance than standard analog TV. Thus while twice the screen width would be the ideal TV viewing distance for a HDTV display, it would be a bit too close for standard TV; in the later case, a three times the screen width would be a better option.

Similarly, the five times the screen width as the maximum view distance, while more than adequate for a standard analog TV picture, is a bit too far away for a person to see the fine detail supported by a HDTV picture ? a three to four times the screen width represents a more practical limit for the maximum viewing distance in the case of HDTV.

These rules-of-thumb work best with big screen TV sizes in the range 42-inches and over.

When it comes to the use of regular-size standard definition analog TVs in the home theater, i.e. up to 36? / 40? diagonal, the optimum viewing distance range is between 8 feet and 12 feet. TV sets smaller than 36-inches aren't big enough to qualify for Home Theater use; their smaller screen size will not provide the desired impact on the viewer.

Vertical Angle of View & Screen Height:

For optimum viewing, the eyes of the viewer should be level with the center of the screen.

Maximum vertical angle of view: In those home theater set-ups where this is not possible, the SMPTE guidelines suggest that the maximum vertical angle measured at the seated eye height from the front row center seat to the top most part of the projected image should not exceed 35 degrees.

This does not represent the optimum viewing angle but rather the limit beyond which the viewer will be subject to an increased neck strain.

This maximum vertical angle limit is always measured from the front row as this represent the extreme angle of view.

Minimum angle of vision: While there do not appear to be any specific SMPTE or THX guidelines in this respect, yet studies have shown that if the screen size occupies less than 15 degrees of the viewer's vertical field of view, than that image appears small.

Practical Considerations:

In a typical home theater set-up, you do not need to really worry about neither the maximum vertical angle of view, nor about the minimum vertical angle of vision for an effective movie theater experience.

If one were to adhere to the recommended TV viewing distance of twice the screen width (as further detailed above based on the SMPTE guideline of 30 degrees horizontal field of vision), you would automatically be complying with the minimum angle of vision. The reason being that there is a fixed relation between screen height and width in accordance to your home theater screen aspect ratio of either 16:9 or 4:3.

Further more, in a typical home theater setup, it would be very difficult to exceed the maximum vertical angle of view beyond which you will be subject to an increased neck strain.

Taking into account that most home theater rooms are approximately 10 feet (3m) high, the resultant vertical viewing angle is normal well within the maximum of 35 degrees detailed in the SMPTE guidelines ? all you have to do is just remain within the twice the screen width guideline for your viewing distance.

Andrew Ghigo ? A Telecoms/Electronics engineer by profession, with specialization in digital switching and telecoms fraud management systems.

Editor and publisher of http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com - a site dedicated to all home theater enthusiasts with the scope of serving as a comprehensive home theater guide to home theater systems, product reviews and home theater design.

This article is an excerpt from a series of articles appearing under the home theater design section of the site.

Home Theater Receivers

You home theater receiver plays an important role in the performance of your equipment. With changes in technology in audio and video, you won?t want to waste a lot of money upgrading your equipment frequently, so here are different kinds of home theater receivers? features and then a brief look at popular models out there so that you?ll get the most for you buck.

Power Output ? Look for at least channels of amplification, no less. Check specs ratings.

Preamp Outputs ? Check settings; a high volume setting means more preamp level output, while a low setting means no output.

Video / Tape out/VCR Input and Output ? If you need these, make sure they are marked (otherwise, you may not have them!) Check compatibility of equipment with your systems for video: Composite Video / S-Video / Component Video / RGB Video.

Surround Decoders ? This is built into some home theater systems. Check with your system.

Popular Kinds of Home Theater Receivers (HTR)

Yamaha RX-V1600 ? This 7.1 channel HTR offers great sound via 20wpc, high-current, low distortion. If boasts video conversion, automatic setup, THX Cinema Processing and can hook up with XM Satellite Radio.

Pioneer Elite VSX-52TX HTR ? This THX Select 7.1 channel (110 WPCx7 at .09% THD) boasts Dolby Digital, DTS and Prologic IIx processors, AV switching and remote with LCD display.

Denon AVR-2807 HTR ? This 7.1 channel has DTS-ES, Dolby Digital-EX, Dolby Pro- DTS-Neo:6, DTS and Logic IIx processors. Also it has multi-zone expandability, Lip-synch adjustment, HDMI and HD-Component switching, plus works with XM-Radio.

Marantz SR7500 HTR ? This expandable two-channel to full 7.1 channel THX-Select boasts Dolby Prologic IIx, too. It also houses DTS-ES, Dolby Digital EX, Circle Surround 6.1.

Yamaha RX-N600 ? This 6.1 Channel Network HTR even networks with an iPOD or a PC. It boasts 95wpc x6, high-current, low distortion, front panel USB port, Video Conversion of S-video and much more.

Onkyo TX-SR504 ? This Entry-Level 7.1 Channel HTR boasts a built-in XM Satellite Radio Tuner and has iPOD dock compatibility, plus more.

So since you home theater receiver plays such an important role in the performance of your equipment, especially since you?ll want to ?try? to keep up with technology ?. Do you homework before you buy. Research the different kinds of home theater receivers and see which features will get you the most value and quality for you buck.

Hyun Kim is a freelance writer who writes about loudspeakers, home audio and home theater related topics. He loves to visit Stereo411 to discuss home theater receivers and read home theater reviews.

DVD Home Theater Systems

A home theater system is ideal for those who hate to go to a theater but want to enjoy watching movies at home. A mix of audio and visual parts, the set-up may include a DVD player fed through a stereo system, a big television set or, if you have the inclination and money, an entire room wired with multiple speakers and a projection screen. Some systems may even have theater-style chairs and an elevated floor for optimal viewing.

In order to create a realistic audio environment, professional movie theaters use two or three large amplifier units located to the left, right and center of a movie screen. In addition, several satellite speakers are also embedded throughout the auditorium, including the back. Such an elaborate arrangement enables the audience to hear dialogue in the front left, center, right and rear channels. Professional theaters project high-definition film onto an oversized screen whose width is greater than its height, thereby creating a more natural visual experience.

High-quality home theater systems try to recreate these aspects of professional theaters. For instance, the DVD player in a home theater system can separate the audio track into two, three or even five channels. DVD films often have 2.0 Dolby stereo and 5.1 surround-sound options for home theaters. Two speakers can be set up for traditional stereo sound, while a smaller central speaker can provide surround sound. For even better results, one can add a subwoofer for bass sounds and a satellite speaker placed behind the audience for complete surround sound.

A home theater system should also have a big television screen, preferably with a 16:9 wide screen ratio as found in professional theaters. A flat-screen television may be the best option for a typical home theater system.

DVD Home Theater Systems provides detailed information on DVD Home Theater Systems, Wireless Home Theater Systems, Buy Home Theater Systems, Home Theater Speaker Systems and more. DVD Home Theater Systems is affiliated with DVD Movie Rentals.

Custom Home Theater Seating It's All About The Look

Custom home theater seating allows for incorporating the best features of different seating styles, to fit one's unique needs and requirements in home theater seating. Oftentimes, it is challenging to find the perfect fit of color, style, features, comfort, capacity and quality in one single product or brand. Although customizing home theater seating furniture may prove costlier than ready made ones, it may well be worth the effort and the money in terms of the relative pleasure gained, and ease of use.

Manufacturers are now rising to the occasion in providing custom home theater chairs which are, by the way, relatively easy to structure and design through the matrix of features already identified by the manufacturer. However, it nevertheless helps to have some idea of the possibilities in this regard in forming ideas of one's eventual requirements. Custom home theater chairs would require arriving at decisions on the type of the type of chair, its dimensions as to height, width depth etc., the style of chair, the material of seat cover, the functional aspects as to the degree of the angle of recline, massaging capabilities, besides matching color and style with the interior d?cor.

Options worth adverting to, include the type of massage as to air, vibration or the shiatsu- deep tissue kind; whether to provide slots or otherwise make provision for inbuilt speakers to augment the sound experience, and whether the material and design is consistent with and appropriate to the room acoustics with respect to required levels of absorption, reflection or diffraction of sound. Overall, custom home theater seating is usually appropriate when home theater systems are set up, engaging professional expertise in ascertaining room acoustics, which have repercussions on home theater seating layout and impact decisions on the type of home theater seating.

Home Theater Life

Advice on Home Theater Seating Manufacturers

Installing Home Theater Seating

How To Select The Right Home Theater System

On the market today are a wide range of home theater systems. They range in size, abilities as well as in price. While you may be a little afraid of that big price tag, you still would like a high quality system. Is there are middle ground? There is and you can take full advantage of it. Here are some tips to help you to find the home theater systems that are right for you as well as right for your budget.

?Name brand isn?t everything. One of the most common mistakes is to think that purchasing a name brand product gets you what you want. While it may have all the bells and whistles, it may not as well. You?ll need to take a good look at other aspects of the system before selecting based on name brand. If you come across a name brand you are not familiar with, take the time to check it out online. Find out what others think of it.
?Features and size. One of the most necessary aspects to think about are the features of the system. To determine which features you should purchase, you?ll want to find out a little more about what you plan to use it for. If you plan to use it for watching DVD?s, you?ll want surround sound. If you are thinking about a system that pipes music throughout the home, you?ll want to insure that the system you choose can do that. Size is important. When you think size, think about the size of the room it will be in, the size of the home in which you are in and the energy it needs. Can you accommodate these things in the system you want at your home?
?Installation. Okay, so we all think it is simple enough to wire the home theater system up, the real life story is that it may just be quite different. And, it will take you a good amount of time. If you plan to purchase a system that is too difficult to install, you?ll want to factor into your budget the cost of installation.

The home theater systems that you choose should fit your needs and then they should fit your budget.

Written by T.Potter. Visit Home Theater Central 101 for further information.