Home Theaters: Learn Before You Buy

Once upon a time, purchasing components to meet your home entertainment needs was a relatively simple proposition. One went the local television dealership and took a look at the latest offerings from the small handful of manufacturers. After doing a brief comparison of the basic attributes and a check of the price tags, a choice was made. Within an hour, the family could gather around the new television, enjoying the latest broadcast from one of the three networks. It was easy.

Today, however, home entertainment choices are a bit more complicated. We are blessed to live in an age of technological advances. We have escaped the era of rabbit ears and outdoor aerials and are now depending on pizza-sized satellite dishes or high-speed cables to deliver untold of viewing options. Instead of relying on a small, enclosed speaker for our sound, we can choose from a wide era of amazing sound systems. The days of having to choose between RCA and GE are a distant memory. Today, the market is flooded with thousands of makes and models of screens.

There’s no doubt that all of the new developments make today’s home entertainment a great deal more exciting than that of yesteryear. One of the outgrowths of all of this progress has been the rise of the home theater system. Not too long ago, the idea of watching a movie at home meant tuning into a two-hour television production overstuffed with advertising or staying up late on a Friday night to catch a B-movie horror production. Movies were something special—something you could only see at the theater. The silver screen put that living room television console to shame. Now, however, people are able to replicate the cinema experience in their own homes. When you think about how far we have come in such a short period of time it is absolutely astonishing.

Just as astonishing, however, is the wide selection of components, cables and techniques for reproducing the multiplex at home. Home theater is a complicated proposition and the market is littered with products of all shapes and sizes, each with advertisers and manufacturers claiming they have the perfect home entertainment solution.

How, in the midst of all of these options, can one make a good home theater decision? A short walk through the home theater section of any major retailer is overwhelming. Should one buy a system in a box or shop for separate audio components? There are literally dozens of models of televisions in every store. Which one is right for a home theater?

If one does manage to make selections with respect to the pieces of their home theater system, they still must confront a host of other issues. Questions abound regarding installation. Purchasers are concerned about placement and display of the home theater. Others wonder whether or not they will even be able to connect the pieces together correctly once they rip them from the boxes. There are questions about components, installation, assembly, maintenance and everything else even tangentially connected with the issue of home theaters. There is so much going on—so many different options and technologies—that everyone other than the most devoted followers of the home theater scene are often at a complete loss when considering their options.

The upside of living during a technological revolution is the entertainment options it provides. The downside is the glut of choices that can render any decision wrong if not carefully pre-planned. Just walking in to a “big box” store with a wad of cash and a vague idea of what one needs is a recipe for frustration and disaster.

Fortunately, it is possible to select a home theater that will fit one’s needs. All it requires is a bit of advanced research and consideration. With so many options available, it takes a knowledgeable consumer to assemble and set up the perfect home theater system.

In this era where any goal can be accomplished in any number of ways, one thing does hold true for each and every single person putting together a home theater system. They must learn before they buy. Seeking out a reliable and objective source of information regarding home theaters is an absolute essential if one wants to avoid disappointment and longs to truly enjoy movies in the comfort of their own home.