Blu-Ray vs HD DVD

Blu-Ray vs HD DVD, that is the question everyone seems to be asking. Blu-Ray and HD DVD do not differ in the quality of sound or audio, they are both top of the line. Where they begin to differ is with the disc space of the two types of DVDs. Blu-Ray has almost double the capacity than HD DVD and also supports Java. Blu-Ray players also have 7.1 analog audio output while HD DVD players only have optical, HDMI, and on the highest model, 5.1 audio output. HD DVD players also have interactive menus and are also firmware upgradeable through the Internet.

The DVD selection between the two different types are about the same, Blu-Ray may have a few more than HD DVD. Finally HD DVD compared to Blu-Ray are 2 to 1 in households in the US right now and HD DVD are preferred over Blu-Ray, but that still does not sway the direction more towards either Format. So i would suggest either waiting, buying both, or if you are going to choose one, pick HD because its several hundred dollars cheaper, but there is no guarantee it will win.

Speakers and HTIB

Picking speakers for your home theater system is just like choosing a TV, it depends on the size and shape of your room. If you have a smaller room i suggest looking into virtual surround sound. Virtual surround sound is a great alternative when you are lacking space. They are small, easy to setup, and have few wires. Normally they are are 2.1 or 3.1 system, meaning 2 or 3 speakers and a subwoofer.
If you have a medium to large room a 5.1 to 7.1 surround system would sound better. When selecting a surround sound system i always look for the best and would get a 7.1 system because i love home theater, but for the average user a 5.1 system will work just fine. A surround sound system should have Dolby Digital and DTS. On the higher end of home theater you may find a THX certified system but they will be much more expensive. Some other things that are new are True HD and Dolby HD. These will also be in your higher end models right now.

What is HDTV?

What is HDTV? many people may know that it means high definition, but there are several variations of HDTV and several very important terms that you should know. First off, TV sets currently come in 5 major resolutions, 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. These resolutions are in order from lowest quality to highest quality. The i and p at the end of the resolution stand for Interlaced and Progressive. They both describe how often the picture is updated, where i updates half of the picture every 60th of a second and p updates the full picture ever 60th of a second. This means that p will create a smoother picture and less flicker. HD starts at 720p. An interesting fact about this is that there is no 720i because it is not permitted by broadcasting companies. Next, you may be wondering what the numbers represent. They represent the vertical amount of pixels. Finally HD is also widescreen, so more like original movie recordings.

Largest Plasma TV

Over the summer of 2006 Panasonic released the newest and largest plasma TV at 103". With the price of $69,999 this TV may not be for the average household TV watcher. This is the most impressive plasma i have ever seen though. It displays a 1080p resolution with a 4000:1 contrast ratio. And with a size of 89.3" wide by 50.2" high and this resolution the picture is unbelievable. Watching a football game or movie on this would be even more impressive than going to the movies because of its clarity. If you have an extra 70K's lying around i suggest buying this TV. If not, you will only ever be seeing this TV in your dreams or in pictures.

Picking the right TV for your setup

Picking the correct TV is one of the most important steps in creating a great movie watching environment. The first step is deciding the size of your TV which we covered in my last blog. I would suggest leaning towards a larger TV and then worry about finding something in your budget range. When buying a new TV,get an HD set because the market is changing and in several years SD will be completely phased out. Now you have 4 choices on what type of TV to buy, LCD, Plasma, Rear-Projection, and a Projector. To get a true theater experience i suggest a Projector and Projecting something around a 100" screen. The new projectors are now HD and very cost beneficial. You can get plasma TVs that large but they will be very expensive. If you are looking for a smaller TV (55" or below)i would suggest a plasma or LCD. When choosing any type of TV you will want to look at the contrast ration, the higher the it is the better. The other major thing is the brightness, you will also want a higher brightness level. Also connectivity is very important. Finally, go to the store and just look at the TV sets. Projectors may be harder to find and you may have to go to a specialty store, but they will amaze you and are worth finding one to look at.

Home theater and where to begin

If you are looking into upgrading your current TV and speakers or if you just want to dedicate a room to home theater you may be wondering where to begin. The first step is to decide what room in your house you will be using. The size and shape of your room will determine what type of speakers and what size TV you will be able to use. Once you choose a room, you can then start the fun part of finding new equipment. Now i will cover choosing a TV size. When picking out a TV size you must first take in account the size of the room and the viewing distance. For a standard 4:3 TV the viewing distance is 3 to 6 times the width, but with widescreen and HD you can sit 1 1/2 times the diagonal distance of the screen which is much closer. In my next blog i will cover types of TVs and products you may not think too much about that are key in a great home theater.

Me and why i chose this Topic

My name is Bobby and ever since i can remember i have always been into music and ways to make it loud and sound amazing. As i have grown older i have also come to love video and ways to make it bigger and better. Since this past winter i have been working on my home theater setup in my basement. I currently have an Onkyo HT-S790 which is a 7.1 home theater system. To compliment the home theater system, i have a Mitsubishi HD1000U 720P projector that projects a 100" screen. I have never enjoyed watching movies at home so much and it almost makes me not want to go to the theater. Within the next month i am hoping to get HD TV and an HD DVD player. I cannot wait to see the huge difference between 480p and 720p on my 100" screen. Another way music and sound has led me is to car audio. Since my car isn't that great i am currently not spending too much money on this, but i still have a fairly nice System. I started working on my car system about 3 1/2 years ago when i got my car and it was definitely a learning experience. But i did my research and Bought a top of the line pioneer head unit that plays MP3 files on cds and also had a id-bus port for my ipod. A have four 5 1/4 Infinity Speakers that are about 80 watts each. My favorite part of my system are my subs which i recently replaced because i blew one. I now have two 12" 1000 watt peak and 500 RMS subwoofers and a 2000 watt peak/500 watt RMS amplifier to power my subs. I have also done all of the installing myself and that also goes for my home theater system and projector i mentioned above.