A Guide to Wireless Home Theater Systems
Home theater systems have long been the ultimate media-fan’s dream, with large widescreen televisions, high fidelity speaker systems and a series of boxes that will play whatever you want. While expensive, this is something no true film fanatic should be without, but for as long as they’ve been around, one of the biggest issues has been the abundance of wires between each device.
Running wires under the carpet to your surround sound, dozens of wires all interconnecting the speakers to the machines, it’s the bane of any minimalist and just looks plain ugly. However, as technology has advanced, wires are becoming redundant for information transfer, we live in an age where wireless systems can transmit all the necessary data over distances that make wires impractical. This is where wireless home theater systems come in.
Advantages Of A Wireless System
The first and most obvious bonus is the lack of wires. The information is transmitted via infrared or radio waves from a transmitter on a media player and are sent to the receiver inbuilt into the speakers. The sound quality is of average standard, but considering most wireless systems come as inexpensive bundles, it’s balanced out somewhat. Furthermore, with the wires no longer going between the speaker and media player, there is less chance of damage being done to them, which may be somewhat of an issue if there are children or animals present.
Disadvantages Of A Wireless System
Audio experts and those with sharp hearing will likely hear the difference between wireless and wired, as there are several factors that determine sound quality. Metal wire is the most conductive of the two options and is still to date, the most accurate form of data transmission for speakers. Wireless comes in two forms; radio waves and infrared. Radio waves can prone to interference and have the worst quality. Infrared does not suffer from interference, but it does need a clear line of sight between the transmitter and receiver. It is advisable to test out the wireless setup before you buy, as for some, the difference is minimal and won’t affect enjoyment, but for others, it might become an annoyance.
Additional Technologies
Some wireless systems come with more than the standard radio waves and infrared. Bluetooth is a growing platform for wireless home theater systems come in. Modern receivers sometimes have ports that allow bluetooth connection and even allow media from other devices to be played through it. Another device is called the HomePlug and is easily used by inserting it into any power socket around the house and it will collect all the audio and video signals coming from your other theater components.
Conclusion
If you detest wires and aren’t fussed about average sound fidelity, then wireless is definitely the way to go, as it will provide a cleaner system, perfect for those who dislike clutter. For those who prefer the perfect experience, regardless of extraneous mess, then a hard-wired system will be preferable, due to superior sound. Eventually, when wireless systems no longer lose quality, there won’t be any need to choose the wires as they will have become obsolete.
