Entertainment at Home
From Mod Mania
Entertainment at home
Some people like their televisions big some people like them small and some like their whole lounge room to be an entertainment room like a cinema. With developments in technology there are numerous excuses why not to watch a movie in a cinema and watch one in the comfort of your own home. Home entertainment units are becoming cheaper and more advanced making them more readily available and affordable for consumers.
The basis of a home entertainment system is the television. This can be the hardest choice of your life. How big do you want it? What brand do you want? How much are you willing to spend? And do you want an LCD (Liquid crystal display) or a plasma (flat panel display)? When looking at a television many opt for the largest screen size they can afford and many look for one that will fit in their existing TV cabinet. LCD televisions range in many sizes from 34 cm up to 150 inches (Panasonics 150” TV- as seen on (http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/01/ces-2008-keynot.html.)). If you want quality I would stick to buying an LCD TV as they are more advanced and are slowly getting rid of plasmas. Plasmas are considerably cheaper but if its picture quality your after I would go for an LCD. With the size out of the way and what type you want the next question to answer is what brand and what size? The brand is not based on your favourite brand you may purchase regularly, it is based on the one that has a good quality picture and affordable price. As for the size it is what ever you want and can afford. I believe a reasonable size is 46 inch. It is not small and not too big. After the TV is chosen it is time to move on to video players and entertainment devices.
Now that the main item in the entertainment system is chosen its time for the fun part. Many people enjoy the next part of choosing what media player to buy. Many will opt for a basic DVD player or now a Bluray disk player. These are both excellent devices, Bluray being the better of the two for picture clarity, sharpness and quality. I believe the best things to buy these days are gaming devices, and a Sony Playstation 3. The PS3 has a Bluray player as well as playing console games to keep you entertained when you have watched too many movies or when you have friends round and want a bit of friendly competition or rivalry. Other consoles are also good to play on large TV’s as they have been built for high definition TV’s with the right aspect ratios for high quality gaming. But if you don’t want to waste all the money on the gaming devices Media centres are also available on normal home computers which you can plug into the TV. Media centres are also expensive so a basic Bluray player may be what you are after. These are now becoming more affordable as they have been out for a few years now and are becoming more popular. These devices plug into the TV and the picture can also sharpen up when they are connected using HDMI cables (High Definition Multimedia Interface). These cable are different to normal cables as they send a digital signal compared to an analog (Wikipedia, HDMI, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI).
Your media devices are now all connected and you are watching a movie but the sound quality is pretty average. Then why not buy a Surround sound system. Surround systems available are 5.1, 6.1, 7.1. 7.1 being the best sound quality due to the number of speakers. The 7.1 is the number of speakers to a subwoofer. The speakers are arranged in order around the room to give the feeling that the sound is around you. Some arrangements are available to se on (Wikipedia- Surround sound, 2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound). In 7.1 there are 3 speakers in front of you, 2 beside you and 2 behind you to project the sound from behind as to show when there is a noise behind the character in a shot. These speakers are also expensive but well worth the money for the enjoyment and experience had when watching an action movie where there is a lot going on in one shot. Now that all the important components have been purchased why not move onto the smaller less important gadgets that aids in the use of these devices.
Most people hate having numerous remotes around, I know I do! However the problem has been solved. Numerous companies like Logitech and Phillips have come out with a universal remote which can be connected to numerous devices to control them. It saves having remotes lying around and just having the one to control everything.
Now that you have all that is needed you can sit down relax and enjoy the show. Numerous movies are available on Bluray even though it is quite new. The picture quality is so sharp and clear it is unbelievable and the sound quality is so clear and sharp on high definition TV. Wit all these gadgets and the setup your friends and family will want to come over all the time and never want to leave. Not to mention you will never leave the couch spending all day and all night watching the latest and greatest movie in your own home while eating breakfast lunch and dinner.
The expense involved in purchasing a decent entertainment system are quite a lot but if you have the money and enjoy quality time in front of the TV then why not spend it on something which will last you quite a while and will not go out of date very fast as most of the items bought are brand new creations.
This home entertainment setup can be altered in any way and add-ons can be bought in the future to make the system more enjoyable and up to date. Now before you go and buy these items it is best to look around at the different items and ask the opinions of the sales staff and other people who have bought them. Because you can never do enough research into these devices as you want to make sure you are buying something you are happy with and something that will last and has no faults.
By Steven Mastrolorito s3199699
