Room lighting control is an important aspect for home theaters – especially if you have a front-projector and screen set-up. Video projectors often demand a controlled lighting situation due to the lower brightness of their displays. Room ambiance is another important function of lighting during a viewing as you most likely not want your guests to sit in darkness (unless it is a really creepy horror flick). Reflected room lighting is a consideration as well as you do not want a glare on the screen – whether it be ambient light from a window or merely reflections of a lamp within your room. Ambient window lighting is major when determining your living room layout or designing a dedicated viewing room. A dedicated room would of course be best without windows altogether – if you have the luxury of designing a room from scratch.

Glare Control and Picture Enhancement

Room lighting control is relatively easy with a little planning. If you want to incorporate your home theater within your living or family room you will want to postion your video display so that any ambient light upon the screen is diminished or eliminated altogether. Each time we have moved to a new home one of my first considerations (much to the chagrin of my wife) is where we will place the TV in our living room. Since video is my profession I plan our living room layout around the TV and entertainment center (again to the chagrin of my wife). The TV is always placed at an angle away from the main window in the room in order to eliminate window reflections on the screen. Our living room lamps have shades that direct lighting downward and are not very translucent in order to minimize their reflections. Since I have a front projector and screen display in the living room – in addition to the 32″ Mitsubishi we use for normal viewing — we have vertical blinds which do a nice job of darkening the room. We also have velour drapes which can pull to either side of the screen and do a great job of providing a controlled lighting environment for our projector. You will want to do much the same — have your video display directed away from any windows and use blinds with drapes to control daytime lighting from windows.

Setting the Mood

Wall sconce lamps located along the sides of your room for ambiance during viewing in a dedicated theater room is a nice touch and lends to the theater-esque atmosphere. Depending upon the overall decor and theme of your dedicated room sconces can be either plain or elaborately gaudy much like the movie houses of yore. Basic sconces can be found at a local Home Depot or lighting store. More elaborate theater-looking sconces are available at specialty stores. A dedicated room will benefit from remote controlled lighting – or at least it will add a touch of class to your theater. There are many varieties of remote controlled lighting which can be controlled either by their standard controller or be included within a macro-programmed command on one of the many all-in-one macro-type remote controls such as the Harmony H659 which I am quite pleased to own.

Regardless of whether you are incorporating a system into your living room or planning a dedicated room, the principles of home theater room lighting are the same. No glare or reflection on your video display and sufficient ambient room lighting for your guests during viewing. If you have any further questions about home theater room lighting feel free to use the contact form at http://www.Home-Theater-Systems-Advice.com/contact.html and I will be pleased to answer any of your inquiries to the best of my ability. You may also find more resources for home theater lighting and components at www.Home-Theater-Systems-Advice.com — from beginner’s component selection tips to room design and acoustical considerations.

Home Theater Projector Screens and Surfaces

The recent increased popularity of home video projectors and the large, clear images they can produce has led many new arrivals to the Home Theater realm to choose a video projector as their display device of choice. Video projector images look best when projected onto a properly matched screen surface. Although some anxious new owners may prematurely start by aiming their new projector on a white wall – they soon will want to get a projection screen for best results. Video projection screens come in many varieties – from the simple Do-It-Yourself (DIY) homemade screen to the most elaborate, manufactured remote control electric models and those various models in between. Video projector screens also come in a variety of surface finishes and reflectivity ratios. All of these factors should be considered when selecting a screen for your Home Theater.

Screen Surface Types

Home Theater projector screens come in a multitude of surface finishes. The variety of surface finish you will need depends upon your projector model. Screen surfaces vary from matte white, slightly silver or grey-ish, to reflective glass beaded models. Glass beaded models increase the effective brightness of your projector’s image similar to the way a highway sign reflects car headlights. Lower lumen-level (lumens=light output) projectors such as CRT models benefit most from higher reflectivity (or gain) of a screen’s surface. Higher gain surfaces increase the perceived brightness of the projected image. Conversely – a brighter projector looks best with a matte white or even a silver/gray surface. That is because the glass beads on higher gain screens have a tendency to “splatter” the brighter light waves produced by a high lumen output projector. A silver/gray surface will also enhance the perceived contrast level of LCD projectors which do not have the best contrast/black levels. So first you must decide the type and lumen output of the projector you are purchasing and that will help determine the surface type of the video projector screen you will need.

Model Types

Projection screens come in three basic styles – manual pull-down, electric and fixed varieties. Manual pull-down models are operated much like a window shade. Electric models have a motorized mechanism that does the work for you and fixed screens are motionless and stay right where you place them. Fixed screens also provide the flattest of all screen surfaces. Pull-down and electric screens can be susceptible to a slight waves on their surface. Although not obtrusive if properly cared for, some may prefer the absolute flat surface of a fixed screen model. The drawback to fixed screens is that you must live with them in place whereas retractable models can be deployed for viewing and afterwards be hidden from sight until next use.

Aspect Ratio

There is another very important factor to consider when shopping for a screen – that of the screen’s aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of a projection screen refers to the shape of the available screen surface. Screens come in two basic aspect ratios –– 4×3 which is your normal television aspect ratio and 16×9 which is the normal widescreen or HDTV aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of your screen is an important decision to make prior to its purchase. That’s because of the fact that once you buy it there’s no way to change the aspect ratio – other than by masking portions of the screen. You can mask the surface with material or curtains if you want to get creative and that can temporarily change the aspect ratio of your fixed screen.

You will save a lot of time and trouble by thoroughly researching your screen choice prior to its purchase. Whatever your application and needs — rest assured there is a projection screen surface and model available to fit your particular situation. For further and more detailed information on video projector screen applications for home theaters please refer to the section on projector screens which can also be accessed from the navigation bar at www.Home-Theater-Systems-Advice.com.

The technology behind DLP TVs has actually been around for a few yaers now, but only recently has it started to really come into it’s own. DLP stands for Digital Light Processing, and suffice it to say that the way it produces a screen image is a perfect match for the HDTV standard that will soon become the accepted method of television broadcasting.

If you haven’t heard much yet about DLP TVs, you will soon. But here are some of the advantages to their design:

1. They are great in brightly lit rooms. Because they use a reflective technology to produce the screen image, a DLP screen is less affected by ambient light than many other monitors. It can also produce a picture that has more contrast because it can produce deeper blacks than for instance, LCD TVs.

2. DLP TVs boast a very high refresh rate. The refresh rate is how often the screen is redrawn each second. The faster the refresh rate, the easier you eye can put the images displayed into a seamless picture in your mind. What this means for you is that if you like to watch sports or play fast action video games, the screen will appear smoother and more realistic with a DLP TV because of it’s fast refresh rate.

3. DLP monitors are usually compatible with almost any video source that you want to connect them to. They can even be used as a computer monitor too. Just be sure that a DLP monitor has all of the necessary connections present to be mated with the video sources that you intend to use.

There are however a few disadvantages to DLP TVs that you should be aware of too:

1. DLP screens can be viewed from a fairly wide angle from the center of the television with no problem, but they absolutely must be viewed at eye level for the best picture as the brightness of the picture falls off rapidly when viewed either above or below eye level. This can restrict where you place them for best viewing position in your room and should be a point taken into consideration before purchase.

2. Although the DLP monitor itself can last almost forever, the light source that produces the image only has an average lifespan of about 10,000 hours. That is of course, still a lot of TV viewing time, but if you have your TV on for several hours a day be aware that the clock is ticking on the light bulb and when you do replace it, you may be spending over $200 for a replacement.

All in all, DLP monitors represent a great advancement in the field of television viewing though, and the technology is being rapidly accepted and improved on. But as with any TV purchase it is best to actually demo a particular model in person before ordering it online if you choose to do so.

Have a satellite system and now want a flat panel TV?

So you have gone out and purchased a Dish Network or Direct TV satellite system. When you got home, you realized that although you have a high definition receiver, your TV isn’t compatible. You have eyed those flat panel TVs in the store but don’t know which one to buy?

Two of the greatest changes to the world of televisions are the plasma TV and the LCD TV. Both offer slim and sleek designs and enable unique placement, such as above a fireplace or mounting on a wall. Gone are the days of the bulky CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions or rear projection; long live the flat panel!

So how does a plasma television work?

First introduced in 1964, improvements in processing and manufacturing have made the plasma television one of the best. Differing from other television technology, such as LCD and CRT, the image is created by combining all three colors within each pixel. The signal is sent by a charge through the electrodes sandwiched between two glass panels. This changes the state of the plasma gas inside and makes the red, green and blue phosphors glow, creating light on the picture screen.

You can buy plasma televisions in either Extended Definition (ED) or High Definition (HD) resolutions. ED panels can input full HD content 1080i (interlaced) but output 500p (progressive) resolution. If you are planning to use the plasma with primarily high definition and/or with a computer, consider the HD model. If you are using it mostly with DVD, regular satellite, or cable, you will find the ED model looks great. A good ED model will outperform a poor HD plasma television, so choose a good manufacturer.

So how does a LCD television work?

The LCD television creates a picture by using a system called Twisted Nematic (TM). It is a naturally twisted crystalline structure that reacts to electric currents in predictable manners. These electric currents cause the crystal to untwist to different degrees based on the voltage given. These TM crystals are stuck between panes of polarized glass and the untwisting allows varied amounts of light to pass through.

If you are looking for a flat panel television, here are the guidelines. Below 32 inches, buy a LCD, above buy a plasma. LCD panels are available in larger sizes but the cost and quality of image will make a plasma more attractive.

Plasma televisions are better able to display fast movement without any trailing. As well, plasma televisions have a much greater contrast ratio than LCD televisions. Panasonic lists their plasma televisions at 3000:1, while the best LCD tends to be only 1000:1 contrast ratio. The plasma television has a greater angle of view and better color saturation too.

One area where the LCD television has an advantage over plasma is in screen integrity. You need to be careful with potential burn-in on plasma, but not on the LCD TV.

Projection televisions have been around for quite some time now. When first introduced, the images created by these sets were fuzzy and only viewable at a distance. As great strides in TV technology have been made, projection TV images have become sharper and more comparable to those of their competitors.

For people in the market for a large screen TV, either for a home theatre system or a classroom/boardroom presentation setting, a Projection TV is the most efficient choice.
CRT or cathode ray tube set’s size maxes out around 40″, and at that size they are extremely heavy and bulky. Plasma displays are manageable with larger screen sizes but can be very expensive. Projection TV technology can create very large screen TVs which are not only manageable but affordable.

Projection televisions have four main components: a projector, screen, control panel, and a sound system. There are two main types of projectors used for these TVs: a transmissive projector, where light shines through the image forming element (CRT tube, LCD panel), and a reflective projector in which light is bounced off of the image forming element. In both projectors, a lens gets the image from the image forming element, magnifies the image and focuses it onto a screen. Top of the line projection TVs use primarily reflective projectors because the advances in reflective projector technology of late have been more progressive than those pertaining to transmissive projector technology.

The image forming elements used in transmissive projectors are CRTs and LCDs. TVs using a CRT for projection actually have a small (around 9″ diagonal) television built in. A lens in front of this small, extremely bright CRT TV magnifies the image and projects it onto the screen. Three basic configurations are used in these sets. Transmissive projectors using an LCD for projection are substantially lighter with a higher resolution capacity than their CRT counterparts. The LCD panel used in projection TVs is very similar to that of a full sized LCD only smaller and brighter. This panel is backlit by a halogen lamp, the image on the panel is transmitted through a magnifying lens and projected onto a screen.

Reflective projectors use a small reflective chip to form the image. When light shines on this chip, it is reflected off of it, through a projection lens and onto the screen. The most exciting developments in projection TV technology have been made with reflective projectors using micro-electromechanical systems and liquid crystal on silicon.

With advances in LCD and MEM technologies, projectors will become smaller and form closer competition between projection TVs and the new plasma displays, in areas such as resolution and crispness of image detail. A relatively new application of projection TV technology is, “virtual reality”, in which the viewer feels surrounded by, or as though he/she is a part of, the image being viewed. Projection TVs may not be the next big thing to hit the shelves, but we can be sure they will continue to be a viable, low priced option when shopping for your new TV.