Choosing a Sound Bar Speaker

A sound bar is a great way to improve what you hear when you watch TV without the complexity of (or space required by) a conventional surround sound system. This type of speaker is easy to install, requires minimal set-up and yields impressive results.

Although a sound bar is only a single speaker and won’t perform the way a true surround sound system would, it can be the perfect solution for a smaller viewing area or for any situation where a more complex system just won’t work. There are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself before making your selection:

What kind of room will you be using the sound bar in?

Do you want stereo or surround sound?

Do you want a unit that comes with a built-in subwoofer?

What kind of audio inputs will you need?

The type and size of the room where you’re planning to install your sound bar will influence what type and size you need. If the room is small to medium-sized and square or rectangular, you can create a dynamic surround sound experience by choosing either a virtual surround or a “beaming” sound bar.

A virtual surround bar includes the left, center and right audio channels (also called LCR) all in one sleek cabinet. The LCR option won’t give you the range you’ll get with a true surround sound system, but will greatly improve the sound you get when watching movies, TV, or playing video games.

A “beaming” sound bar works by literally bouncing or beaming sound off the four walls around your listening area, essentially fooling your ears into thinking the sound is coming from different directions as it would with a true surround sound system. However, this won’t be as effective in an open floor plan or a large room.

If you just want stereo sound, or you are working with a larger room, you may consider a more conventional sound bar with built-in amplification. A good stereo sound bar will be a tremendous improvement over the speakers used in flat-screen TVs, your set-up will be easy, and you’ll achieve a streamlined look. Be sure to note what audio inputs you need (cable, DVD player, game console, etc.) before making your decision.

Most sound bars include built-in amplification, but some do not. Those that do not are called passive and will require a connection to a home theater receiver. This is a good option for anyone who already has a receiver, or who may want to create a complete surround sound/home theater system later on. Using a separate receiver can yield cleaner sound processing and a higher quality sound overall, and usually a receiver will offer all the audio inputs you need.

Lastly, you might want to consider adding a separate powered subwoofer. A sound bar can only go so far in reproducing lower bass tones, so if you enjoy deep bass a subwoofer may be worth the investment. They are easy to set up and can be tucked away just about anywhere, as long as it’s near an outlet.…

Two Hot Electronic Products at the Moment – The Onkyo S3300 HT System and Uniden Radio Scanner

A�When shopping for electronics, the options are seemingly endless. Uniden and Onkyo offer consumers two exciting gift ideas for this holiday season. The Uniden 100 channel hand-heldA� scanner makes a great gift for people who like to stay informed, but who are always on the go. For those who prefer to stay at home, the Onkyo HT-S3300 Home Theater System offers a superior media experience without leaving the comforts of home. Both items are sure wow even the most discerning buyers.

Portable and simple to operate, the Uniden 100 channel scanner offers a variety of useful channels and functions. It’s streamlined design is perfect for traveling. Fire, weather, and police frequencies are only a few of the many channels accessible via this travel-friendly scanner.A� Six programmed channels ensure that the exciting, high traffic frequencies are easy to find. Consumers can program specific channels, so finding favorites is always easy. Available with rechargeable AA batteries, the Uniden 100 channel scanner offers a convenient means of staying informed without being tied down to a single location.

For the home theater buff, the Onkyo HT-S3300 Home Theater System offers an elite media experience on many levels. A 5.1 channel receiver boasts 660 watts of power- enough to manage numerous high-powered accessories. A 1080p DLP television has three inputs and a single output for a variety of entertainment options. Video game consoles, DVD and Blue-ray players, and television recording devices are just a few fun examples of what this systems is equipped to handle. The television can change viewing modes to suit various styles of programming too. A five speaker surround sound speaker system and 130 watt sub-woofer provide superior audio too.

Amazing audio compliments the system’s equally incredible video quality. Enjoy the radio, CD’s, and the latest MP3 downloads in high quality, digital sound. A built-in music optimizer makes playing compressed music files quick and easy. Comparable quality cannot be found at a lower cost.A� Ideal for the cost conscious consumer, the Onyko home theater system offers superior quality at a fair price.…

How To Enhance Your Living Room And Home Theater With Leather Furniture

Reclining leather sofa is fast becoming the popular choice of furniture for people who want to showcase their living room and home theater. And one of the reasons for this is the availability of this fine piece of furniture in broad range of colors and texture.

Even though any leather sofa will look great and stand out in all decor, you can get your money’s worth by giving a thought to the theme you will like to create.

If it’s your living room you want to showcase, then the colors to go for are black, white or natural leather tones. There is no way you can go wrong with these colors as they will help bring out the beauty of your architecture and home accessories. And for effects, you can add indoor plants to it, green plants in particular not only enhance the aesthetics of any room, they also combine effectively with leather sofas.

When you opt for leather recliners of your choice, you will immediately realize that they are very easy to maintain. Any spill can be wiped off with a damp cloth. And if you really want your living room and home theater to shine, you can use water based furniture polish to bring out the hallmark of fine leather-the luster.

Leather recliners also offer stylistic beauty and elegance to any room it is intended to be used, and as in this case of living rooms, leather recliners let people use color to enhance the home theater decor in a very special way. Going for white will give the room a luxurious and futuristic look, while red will create an exciting and stimulating theme-just like what obtains in a real cinema.

But if you are considering decorating a section of your home, for instance a game room or den, with leather sofas, then brown, chestnut, or mahogany tones are best suited for places like these. And for other rooms in the house, you can express your creativity by going for more exciting color like orange or red, or even green, which is considered to be very stately and dignified.

In general, black color seems to be the most preferred of leather furniture, but the truth is just about any color will look great in your house. And for those who want the comfort and elegance of commercial theater to be replicated in their home theater then leather recliners is what can help them achieve their objective.…

How to Build a Wireless Home Theater System

Do you enjoy watching movies and listening to music? Do you prefer doing both in the comfort and privacy of your own home? Do you enjoy throwing parties and having friends over to watch favorite television shows, sports and movies? Owning a wireless home theater system will give you an opportunity to enjoy all of this and so much more.

Purchasing and enjoying a wireless home theater system is becoming easier and much more affordable. You will be able to recreate the feeling of going to the movies right in your own home. You may even want to invest in some movie posters and a popcorn maker. Planning for a home theater system is fun and you will look forward to making the decisions as to what system to go with and what room you will set it up. If you decide to purchase each component separately, you will need to think about a large television, a projector and at least three to five speakers with digital surround sound. You will also want to consider comfortable seating for you and for other family members and friends.

If you are on a tight budget then you may just want to start out with a television and some speakers. If you want a few other accessories you can purchase a power conditioner where you can plug in all your equipment and with a special remote control, you will be able to eliminate all your other remotes. When you are looking for speakers, it would be wise to purchase the ones that are sleek and attractive, not only for aesthetic purposes but because, if necessary, they can be mounted right next to your television. A DVD and a projector will round out your wireless home theater system and you will need to decide the size and price that is right for you and for the room you will be placing it in.

You can also purchase a wireless home theater system in a box. They are easy to install and very affordable. Most include everything you will need. Both the Sony DAV-HDX576WF and the Panasonic SC-PT960 will support at least 1000W of total audio power, they both come with HDMI output and an iPod port. Both are priced at approximately four hundred dollars and they come complete with everything you will need for a wireless rear speaker set up and a multi-room audio link covering a single room. Optional modules can be purchased for both allowing you to cover up to three additional rooms. Samsung also offers some good wireless home theater systems in a box that have comparable features and pricing. In addition to what is included with these “in a box” systems, you will need a TV or projector.

A wireless home theater system will give you countless hours of enjoyment and you can easily do an online comparison of features to find that the one that will perfectly fit your needs and your pocketbook!…

Home Cinema Chair

After you have finished designing the layout of your home theater, the next step is to decide on the accessories. Things like floor covering, lighting, decoration, drapes, and furnishings, like a small fridge, some small tables and chairs. If you are planning your home cinema just for yourself, then maybe you can afford to really splash out on a really top end home cinema chair.

After a hard day’s work or exercise, your muscles can become tense, especially in your neck and shoulders. The best way of relieving this is some distressing exercise like yoga or a massage, but most people do not want to take up yoga postures after work, so they would go for a massage.

This is all well and good, but then you would have to shower, get changed and drive down there and sometimes you just can not be bothered. You could phone a massage parlour and have them send someone round! That sounds great, but no, you are not going to do that either.

So, why not go for the next best option. Get yourself an electric massage chair for your home theater? You could kill two birds with one stone. You could spend an hour and a half watching a film, while getting all those aches and pains soothingly worked away.

A massage chair can never totally replace a masseur or masseuse, but many regular massage parlour goers say that it is a good second best. The point is though, that you can have a gentle massage every day of the week, which some people say is preferable to one heavy massage once a week. You masseur or masseuse right there in your own home cinema willing to work for pennies a massage any time of the day or night and while you are at the movies too! Imagine of it!

Using an electric massage chair as your home cinema chair (or one of them) is a fantastic idea. While your mind is being taken off your daily troubles and worries, so your body is being relieved of the tensions that have built up there too. You can recline in your home cinema chair and have the head rest massage your neck, while the back rest massages your lumber region, soothing away those aches and pains in a gentle, but efficient manner.

The vast majority of these electric massage chairs come with a remote control, so it is very easy to toggle cycles on and off or repeat them at will. Some are programmable too, so that you could build up your own massage cycle, once you get used to what your new home cinema massage chair can do.

Imagine having it start at your neck and calves at the same time with the two massage points slowly converging on the small of your back. Or starting at the small of your back and then radiating up and down your body at the same time. You would need two masseurs to do that and all while you are sitting in your home cinema chair watching a movie.…

4 Ways to Buy Cheap Home Theater Systems

You enjoyed watching your favorite movie like Star Wars at the theaters and you are really disappointed with the sound effects that you experience in your own apartment in your own TV. This is because televisions are not capable of generating sound effects like in movie halls. However, the DVDs you have know how to deliver exquisite sound when appropriate components are available. With a minimal investment, you can create a cinema hall in your own bedroom or living room with cheap home theater systems.

1. Either you can buy individual components for the movie hall in your house or you can go for all-in-one systems called home theater in a box (HTIB). If budget is your main criteria while choosing surround sound audio, then you should prefer buying all in one package that consists of surround speakers along with DVD players.

2. Sometimes, you need surround speakers at your room and you may not be able to afford a new HTIB on your own. In that case, you can find second hand movie experience packages that are less used. In the electronics world, second hand system is usually very cheap. When you buy used cheap systems, you need to make sure that you get good quality speakers and DVD players. Looking at garage sales organized in your area is also a good idea.

3. If you are not in a hurry to buy any new HITB, you can wait for the next electronics expo where you will get huge discounts and extraordinary closing sales. However, this means that you have to wait for a couple of months to get that cinema hall experience in your house.

4. Always compare prices whenever you look for cheap home theater systems even though you buy second hand packages. This will let you know some insider discount coupons that will help you save money.

In buying affordable home theater systems, a great advice to take is to look at individual pieces, for instance checking on a home theater receiver you truly like and get the other pieces that are used and at cheaper prices to complete your dream home viewing experience…

BenQ W6000 Review

The BenQ W6000 is an award-winning projector that will certainly blow your mind with the intense and magical home theater experience it provides. Therefore, I was not surprised while writing up my review that I had seen it was awarded the Best In Class Runner-Up Award in April 2010 from Projector Review. While at first glance the BenQ W6000 seems slightly bulky and over done (the lens sticks out dramatically from the case), performance-wise this projector is unlike any other. I am definitely pleased with my purchase and think you’ll feel the same after a few hours of home theater viewing.

What really caught my attention with the BenQ projector is the fact that they offer (and deliver) on the promise that they are the brightest projector for movie watching. In fact, in its price range, the BenQ W6000 is the only one that delivers such a bright mode for cinema view. With a flexible lens, that can move vertically or horizontally and a 1.5:1 manual zoom lens, you can’t ask for more when it comes to a projector lens. The fact that the lens has a larger than normal range in regards to zoom, it means that your projector can be set up virtually anywhere. This

projector is perfect for the shelf and also works well mounted from the ceiling.

Don’t be scared to permanently fix the projector down, however, due to the lens shift and high lumens, no matter what size you make the screen, it will look equally as good. The projector has the capability to produce an abnormally large image compared to other projectors in its price range! Its always recommended to buy a screen with a grain, whether it be white or silver, this projector will deliver a beautiful image.

The BenQ projector has very rich colours with amazing depth. It even offers you the possibility to enable or disable TI’S brilliant colour. Due to the amazing colours and depth, the images come out very sharp and soon you’ll forget that you’re even watching the image on a projector. As it uses a dynamic iris, the black level performance is extremely noticeable. As the price can range anywhere between $2, 300 to $3, 500, I suggest doing a detailed search online to find the best deal available. Once you’ve found the lowest price you’re looking for: Highly consider it. It’s worth every single cent.…

Learn Before You Buy – 1080p Projectors

Although a trip to the movie theater makes for an enjoyable evening, it is also expensive to go every night of the week. There is a way to bring the movie theatre experience to the living room and that is through the use of a 1080p video projector. A 1080p projector acts much like the projectors at movie theaters only they project a video signal, rather than using a film reel. Setting the projector in the right room, giving it enough space on a wall to project, you can bring the movie theater experience to your home.

A1080p projector uses a bright light to project an image onto a wall or screen. It also allows for the user to adjust any blurriness or other issues that can affect the quality of the picture. Other than being used for personal use at home, a 1080p projector can also be connected to a computer for presentations either at school or work. There are many different types of projectors available, each designed with different features and fitting into any budget. There are four common displays for projectors that each have a different resolution: SVGA(800×600), XGA(800×600), 720p(1280×720), and 1080p(1920×1080).

There are also several different technologies that power video projectors. CRT projectors are the oldest type of projector, although still in use they are slowly fading from the market. LCD projectors are the most common as they are the most cost effective form of projector. Texas Instruments offers its DLP technology to video projector manufacturers, this option can cost more than others as the technology has to be licensed before it can be put to use.

Finally there are LED projectors that do not require their lamp to be replaced due to the LED’s powering projector that offers 1080p resolution offers the best resolution of video projectors that are available. The other thing to keep in mind when comparing projectors are the brightness that they offer. The price of a projector depends more on the brightness of the projector rather than resolution offered. Brightness is rated by ANSI lumens, with the higher the number the brighter the projector. The ideal combination is to have a high ANSI rating with a resolution of 1080p. By finding the highest combination of the two (mixed with the lowest price) you can find a projector that displays a beautiful picture in any situation that it is used.…

Living Room Furniture Setup Ideas

The living room is the place where family members gather to enjoy some activities during the day or at night. It is also the place where you usually showcase your furniture collection. Having a good setup idea for this important area of the house ensures its functionality. Although it might not be an easy task, it can absolutely be done, and that with the help of some basic living room furniture set up tips.

A very important factor to consider before arranging furniture is having a focal point. The focal point of the room is where you are going to base the arrangement of the rest of the furniture. It can be anything as long as it easily catches the attention of people when they enter the room. A home theater system is an example of a focal point. Whatever focus you choose for your living room, make sure it is fixed to the wall so that furniture arrangement would be easier.

When placing chairs, each should be 7 to 8 feet away from each other, giving enough space and encouraging conversation. Likewise, the table should be positioned in such a way that people sitting from a chair would have an easy access to it. Make sure natural light can come freely inside the room through the window. At night, keep a good light source that can easily be adjusted depending on the mood you want to create.

Set up two chairs facing each other and separated by a coffee table. The coffee table should be placed one and a half feet away from the center table. This is to make sure that there is enough space for the legs to stretch. For easy serving of food and drinks during tea time, see to it that the height of the side tables are of the same level as the arms of the sofa or the chairs.

As a final point, arrange furniture in such a way that you don’t create too much variance between size and height. If a table or a shelf seems significantly lower than the object near it, make up for the space by placing a flower vase on top of it or hanging a picture frame on the wall above it. Find a way to use furniture with the same material or a similar design. You can do this by coming up with a theme in mind before setting up the living room.

Your main goal is to provide sufficient room for movement, so as much as possible, avoid putting too much furniture in the living room. When a certain setup starts to get boring already, shift the furniture to give the room a new look. From time to time, you can also replace some items with new ones.…