Home Theater Made Cheap And Easy

If I were to mention the phrase "Home Theater", you might conjure images of basement rooms of seemingly perplexing dimensions, replete with movie theater seats, wall-sized projection screens and, of course, a popcorn machine. Perhaps you even have such a home theater system. But if you don't, that is not a problem because impressive sound and picture quality need not cost a small fortune. Here are some tips that could be applied whether you have a home theater worthy of Stephen Spielberg, or you're still listening to the speakers from your college dorm and watching a TV old enough to remember when grunge was cool. Indeed, truly enjoyable movies and music are easily within anyone's reach.

First of all, speaking of grunge, look behind your system. Systematically unplug every audio and video connection from your components, (with the power off, of course,) and clean the connectors at the end of each cable. There are a number of fancy "home theater" cleaning kits and sprays manufactured for this purpose. However, I suggest a paper towel lightly soaked in common household rubbing alcohol. If you really want to splurge, go to a pharmacy and buy a bottle of alcohol that's at least 90% isopropyl. ("Isopropyl" is simply a measure of alcohol's purity. Rubbing alcohol that you can buy from most grocery stores for 75 cents a bottle is about 70% isopropyl, meaning it's about 30% water. The less water, or higher its isopropyl, the better it will clean your components and the quicker it will evaporate, thus less chance for oxidation and poor connections to occur.)

After you've done that, look at your home audio system and how it's placed in the room. Are your speakers all placed equally around one focal point? If you have a subwoofer, where is it? There isn't anything blocking any of your speakers, is there? Most websites with something to say on the subject will tell you to place your left and right channel speakers somewhere between 25 to 30 degrees off-axis from your television. This works well if, and only if, you have a 5.1 or 7.1 home theater setup. If, however you're content with stereo speakers, (which simply means one speaker for each ear,) you'll want to spread your left and right speakers about as far apart as possible while still maintaining equal distance from the television. In other words, if your TV is one foot to the left of center of a wall that is 12 feet wide, try to place each speaker five feet from the center of the TV. (With stereo sound, balance and symmetry are most important. Plus, the further apart the speakers are, the "wider" the sound will seem.) Since sound will reflect off hard surfaces, such as walls, try to center the TV in the room, if possible. Your listening experience will be noticeably improved.

Bass frequencies of sound travel equally well in all directions, so if you have a subwoofer it can go just about anywhere in the room. Of course, the closer a person sits to the sub, the louder the bass will sound. One way to use this advantage would be to place the subwoofer as close as possible to the couch, or wherever the listening position might happen to be. With just a little bit of volume, you will literally feel the low end rumble! (Can you say "shake your booty?") Corner placement of the sub will provide the greatest enhancement of this effect. Additional subwoofer speakers placed elsewhere in the room will help it sound more theater-like. (In technical geek terms, this is called "low-end frequency response.")

If you happen to be among the fortunate with 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound in your home, congratulations! Now let's talk about where your optimum speaker locations will be. In a surround sound system, you will have extra speakers, or channels, for center and surround. (The ".1" in, for example, "5.1" refers to the subwoofer, since it only reproduces low-frequency bass and not the full spectrum of sound we humans are used to.) The center speaker goes, you guessed it, in the center! It is commonly placed right above the TV. Left and right speakers don't change positions much, with the exception that there isn't a need to place them as far apart as with a 2-channel or stereo system. The surround channels will take care of the "width" and "depth" of your theater sound. Speaking of which, here's what you want to do with your surround speakers: Left and right surround should be right next to the couch, (or wherever your main listening position might be,) and a little further apart than your left and right front speakers. If there are also left and right rear surround, as in a 7.1 system, they should be placed slightly behind the main listening position, and as far apart as the front left and right speakers.

In a follow-up article, we'll continue our discussion of home theater speaker placement. I'll also tell you how to get the best picture possible, no matter what type of TV you're watching. Thanks for reading!

Brought ton you by Michael M. Koch, audio engineer at large.

Copyright © 2009 Michael M. Koch

Flat Screen Television Installation For The People! (Part 1)

Whilst having lunch with my colleagues this afternoon, I was amused by this quick story. There was a home theater installation job to be done in the home of a local newscaster. They were going for the all-out no holds barred basement movie theater experience. Which, for the most part, would have been impressive if it had not been for the crooked, off-center flat screen TV mounted above the fireplace in the living room. The client displayed said TV proudly, announcing "Look at this, I hung it myself!" Really. Okay... you, ah, sure you don't want us to fix that while we're here?

So as a public service I present the following guide for the do-it-yourself kind of person who wishes to install that trophy of home theater trophies, the Wall Mounted Flat Screen TV. It is not difficult. Dare I say, at the risk of job security, that it can be done with a minimum investment of time and money by the typical handyperson, (let's be Politically Correct here, thank you very much,) on a leisurely Saturday morning.

First, of course, you will need a TV of your choice, be it Plasma, LCD or, LED. You will also need the appropriate and compatible wall mount. A proverbial plethora of wall mounting brackets can be found here. Many are universal and will fit any LCD or Plasma within a certain size range according to the manufacturer's specifications. A drill will come in handy, so will a level, a tape measure, possibly even a stud finder, along with a basic assortment of small drill bits, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, and some hardware which can be found at the store of your choice. (Home Depot, Lowe's, Billy Bob's Nuts, Bolts and Feed Store, and maybe even Wal-Mart. Trademarks and free advertising notwithstanding.)

Now let's get down to business. You've got your TV picked out, and you know where you want to put it. (You did measure everything to make sure it will fit, right? Don't forget the depth of the TV. It may not be much, but in some installations it does matter. Also keep in mind that in order to physically get the TV onto its mount you'll need at least an inch or two of clearance at the top, depending on the wall mount you decide to use.) You've also got your bracket selected. Splendid! First, take the bracket and all its accessories out of the box. Read the instructions and make sure all the required pieces are present. More importantly, look at the bracket itself and compare it to the TV on which you intend to use it. It should look sensible. If you're trying to hang a 42 inch LCD and the wall mount is 48 inches wide, something is wrong. (Needless to say, if you are trying to hang a 65 inch plasma and the bracket is about a foot wide and attaches with double-sided adhesive... well, you get the idea.) If everything looks good, it's time to have some fun!

First, most wall mounting TV brackets come in two sections. One part of the bracket gets attached to the wall, the other goes on the back of the TV. This makes the part where you actually pick the TV up and set it in place much easier. Identify the bracket that actually gets attached to the wall. There will probably be several slots in it. These allow you to attach the bracket to the strongest part of your wall, usually on a stud, and still have some amount of adjustment so the TV can be centered in its space. Keep it close by for a moment.

Next, attach the other part of the bracket to the back of your TV. Typically, you'll have to remove a few screws and replace them with longer ones supplied by the bracket manufacturer to accomidate the additional depth of the bracket. If your TV is already on a stand, you'll have to remove the screws securing it and lift it off the base of the stand. (Don't worry, your TV won't fall apart. These screws are meant for the wall bracket.) Your wall bracket will have all the necessary documentation.

Next is what will determine the difference between those who are enthusiastic about Doing It Right, and those who are merely Trying To Get It Done. (You want to Do It Right, of course. That's why you're here.) You're going to temporarily attach the two sections of the bracket together while the TV is sitting on the floor with its bracket properly attached. Start measuring! See how far the TV extends beyond the edges of the mount. (Hint: it's not always in the center.) You will use this information to determine the exact placement of the wall mount in its chosen location. Now go to the wall where you want to hang your TV. Lightly mark the wall where the TV should go, typically in the center, or centered above a fireplace. If you have a stud finder, use it to find the studs closest to where you want to hang the TV and lightly mark them with a pencil. (Local building codes here in Atlanta state that wall studs should be 16 inches apart. This will vary, of course, depending on where you live.) Now take your wall mount bracket and use it as a template. (Depending on the size of the TV and bracket, you might want to convince a buddy to help you with this project. If you encounter difficulty, try bribery with a beverage of choice. I've found that this usually works with dudes.) Place your level on top of the bracket and hold it against the wall. Get that bracket exactly where you want it and make sure it's level. Lightly trace the mounting holes onto the wall, or have a friend help you do this. Now you know where the bracket will attach to the wall.

If you look at the Samsung Ht-X710T 5.1 home theater system with virtual surround processing, you’ll be impressed by the slick design, incredible sound and excellent features. The stylishly sleek HT-X710 blends in beautifully with any room, whether you have it on a shelf or use the optional wall-mounted feature. Imagine an sense of 3-D sound from a 2.1 channel system. Samsung’s home theater 5.1 virtual surround processing and total output of 400 watts will make the rich, high-quality sound appear all around you. A USB port and iPod dock mean there’s No need to burn CDs or DVDs to enjoy your favorite music, video clips or photos on the HT X710, just plug into the USB port for instant entertainment. Or this Samsung wireless theater will connect to any Bluetooth-enabled device. Now you can listen to your favorite tunes using your MP3 player, PC or cell phone without any clumsy wires.

DVD up-conversion takes full advantage of your HDTV by boosting your regular DVDs to full high definition. And the HDMI output of the Samsung HT-X710 means you have only one cable to hook up for full HD quality and surround sound audio. No more cable clutter with this Samsung home theater HT system!

The HT-X710 supports CD, CD-R, CD-RW DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD media and MP3, WMA, JPEG, WMV and DivX formats.


Samsung HT X710 Features



* 2.1 channel home theater system with an HDMI socket, an auxiliary input and a USB port
* 5.1 virtual surround processing
* Includes 2 front speakers, 1 subwoofer and 1 A/V receiver
* Dolby Digital and Dolby Prologic-II compatibility
* Supports DivX, MP3 and JPEG formats
* Matches Samsung HDTV’s with "Touch Of Color" design
* Total power: 400 watts


Samsung HT X710 Technical Details



* Type: Home theater system
* DVD player: Yes
* A/V features: Up-Scale
* Sound decoders: Dolby Digital, Dolby Prologic-II, DTS
* Compatible CD-R/RW: Yes
* MP3 player: Yes
* Other read media: DivX, JPEG, DVD-Audio, WMA, WMV
* System power: 400 watts
* Aux 1 audio inputs, Optical inputs
* Outputs: HDMI, headphones
* Unit dimensions: 18 x 10 x 3.9 inches
* Speaker dimensions: 8.68 x 14.5 x 16.5 inches
* Subwoofer dimensions: 3.8 x 21.5 x 4 inches
* Total product weight: 35.6 lbs

Brought to you by HT Home Theater.