Home Theater - Out of the box
What has made the home theater experience more accessible and affordable for more people in recent years is the emergence of what the industry now calls "cinema in a box". This is a great option for the home-theater novice, those in apartments or renters as it is most cost effective.
For as little as a few hundred dollars, you can enjoy basic cinema sight and sound. You need to look around for all the latest specials in this area. Just go into your local shop and ask about "cinema in a box".
For those on a budget this provides an ideal way to create a home theatre from scratch. Instead of having to choose and buy expensive separate components, you get all the equipment you need for one fixed price.
Will the home theater fit in my room?
Where you decide to put the home theatre is just as important as the equipment itself. The position, size of the room, along with how many windows it has, will influence your cinema experience to some extent. Large, uncovered windows and wooden floors will detract from the big screen as it will introduce the unwanted 'glare' factor. It would be a great idea to hang heavy curtains to reduce this glare and to lay carpet in the proposed cinema to eliminate noise reflection.
Square rooms are the worst for home cinema because sound waves bounce off the rear wall. So a rectangular or odd-shaped room will be much more suitable when it comes to sound if that is possible.
Several manufacturers now offer a solution to this in their home-theatre systems that will automatically balance the sound between all speakers, making it easier for the home-theatre novice.
So where is home theater headed in the future? Wireless! Actually it is already here so keep your eyes peeled for more news on that!