How To Choose A Home Theater System

How To Choose A Home Theater System When you are looking for a home theater, you might or might not have a clear idea of what you are searching for. The term "home theater" can be a bit vague to many people, who assume that it means spending a lot of money and getting lost in a sea of cables and bills.

Of course, you can choose to create an elaborate home theater, or you can keep it simple with just the basic items that you need. Whether you intend to invest a lot of money and time to put your home theater unit together, or just a little, don't be afraid of the term "home theater". After all, whether it is large or small, you should take pride in the fact hat you are re-creating the effect of going to the movies or attending a concert in your own home.

If you are looking for the most expensive home theater (and most of us are not), you can expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a cutting edge projector, DVD, amplifiers, a controller for each individual channel, in-wall speakers and subwoofers that can shake your walls. At the other end of the spectrum, the most basic home theater will cost you a few hundred dollars and may include nothing more than a TV, a DVD with or without a VCR, a stereo and speakers.

What really makes something a "home theater" is the goal of replicating, as much as possible, the experience of the cinema in one's own home. A true home theater should include good speakers which aim to create a "surround sound" experience, much like that of a movie theater, where everywhere you walk within the cinema is filled with sound. Therefore, speakers are an essential part of every home theater unit.

For those who want to set up a home theater on a budget, a "home theater in a box" is a popular option. These sets cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000, and include the basic items needed to set up a home theater, such as a DVD/CD player (or sometimes a VCR) and five or six compact speakers which can be placed unobtrusively throughout the room. The home theater in a box and is intended to be hooked up to existing equipment, such as a television, and is usually easy to assemble. It is usually much less expensive to purchase a home theater in a box than it would be to buy all of the items separately.

The main disadvantage to these sets is that the speakers are usually not of the highest quality, and the equipment often does not have sufficient power to fill a large room with sound. However, you can always upgrade you home theater in a box with additional speakers, a satellite speaker or subwoofers. The home theater in a box may still be the best option for people who are looking for an inexpensive, low cost way to set up a home theater. We'll be taking a closer look at the pros and cons of systems in the next chapter.

Where you want to purchase you equipment depends on the kind of home theater unit you want to set up. If you are looking for the most basic equipment or a home theater in a box, you can shop at basic stores such as Circuit City or Best Buy. You won't find state of the art equipment at these places, but you might get value for your money. Ensure that your equipment has a good warranty and find out where and how it can be serviced if something goes wrong.

There are those who make shopping for home theater equipment an art or a pastime, and will browse and research items thoroughly before making substantial purchases. The Internet is a great tool for checking out a wide array of different items as well as making purchases. You might prefer to surf for hours until you find exactly the right speakers, or you might like to do things the old fashioned way and talk to your salesperson at your favorite home entertainment store.

Establishing a relationship with a particular salesperson might payoff in the end in the form of having a contact person to let you know about sales and special discounts, as well as candid recommendations for the best items. The best stores will service your items on the premises if something goes wrong, often with little or no fee. It might be worth it in the long run to buy good-quality equipment at a home entertainment shop rather than going the budget route, since a fine home theater unit can last many years if it is well-made and maintained properly.

Eric Love is The Home Theater Guy and he writes daily about all aspects of home theater | home theater systems. Click here to find out more about Home Theater Packages.