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Welcome to the General FAQ Page of Hybrid Home Theater
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Following are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding Home Theater. If you have any specific questions feel free to Contact Us.
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What is a home theatre system?
Home theatre is defined as an environment created to re create the movie theatre experience in your home. Home theatre systems have long since hit the mainstream of our society, expanding the role of the television and stereo and becoming the social and entertainment centres of our homes.
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What is needed to comprise a home theatre system?
In order to create a home theatre in your home the following pieces are necessary. Firstly you will need a television or a projection system to view the movie. A home theatre receiver or processor is needed to power the speakers, decode the surround sound modes and accommodate all the different sources used in a home theatre system. Sources can include a DVD player, cable box or satellite receiver, a VCR, CD player and even popular game systems such as X box or play station. Next you will need five speakers. One pair of main or front speakers, placed to the left and right of the television. A centre speaker that is placed directly above or below the television, all of the dialogue in a movie will come from this speaker so it is very important that it be on centre with the image on the screen. One pair of effect speakers are needed in order to fill in all the sound effects heard in today's movies. These effect speakers can be placed either behind the audience or to the sides of the audience. The last piece is a subwoofer. The subwoofer is responsible for all the deep bass effects that are synonymous with today's movies. The subwoofer can be placed in the front or back of the room. It is also important to keep in mind all the necessary cables needed to hook every thing up.
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What are the main differences between all of the different surround sound formats?
Dolby Pro-Logic
Dolby pro logic is a matrix decoder that decodes the four channels of surround sound that are encoded onto the stereo soundtracks of analogue material such as VHS movies and T.V. shows.
All of today's surround sound receivers have pro-logic decoding.
Dolby Pro-Logic II
Dolby pro logic II is a new format available on many new home theatre receivers; Dolby Pro logic II is an advanced matrix decoder that derives five-channel surround sound from any stereo program material. Dolby Pro-logic II provides two full range surround channels, as opposed to Dolby pro logic's single, limited bandwidth surround channel. This format makes CD music, VHS movies and regular T.V shows sound more like digital surround sound.
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital 5.1 is a must for people who wish to view digital information such as dad's and digital satellite or cable through their surround sound system. The Dolby Digital format is a standard feature on all current home theatre receivers. Dolby Digital is a discrete system that keeps the multiple channels fully separated through out the encoding and decoding processes. In addition to having full range left, centre right, left surround and right surround channels, Dolby digital 5.1soundtracks carry a sixth (.1) channel recorded with low frequency effects (LFE). These LFE's are sent to a subwoofer in a home theatre system, filling in the deep bass effects synonymous with today's home theater systems.
Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Dolby Digital EX is a new format available on most new home theatre receivers.
Dolby Digital EX adds an additional rear surround channel. The additional rear surround channel allows sound designers to create true 'fly-over' and 'fly around' effects that are smoother and much more accurately placed either directly behind or beside the audience.
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DTS
DTS is a feature found on all current home theatre receivers DTS (Digital Theatre Sound) was developed by technicians with Steven Speilberg to improve the quality of movie soundtracks. DTS is less compressed than Dolby Digital, which allows for better sound on DVDs.
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DTS- ES
DTS -ES (Digital Theatre Sound Extra Surround) This is a feature found on some of the current higher quality home theatre receivers available today. DTS-ES adds a dedicated centre surround sound channel. Like Dolby Digital 5.1 EX the additional rear surround channel allows truer rear effects in a home theatre system.
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NEO:6
DTS NEO:6 is available on current higher quality home theatre receivers. NEO:6 delivers up to six channels of audio from any two channel source , analog or digital. This format allows any one with a DTS NEO:6 system to stimulate a surround sound experience, off of any software you have in your private collection.
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Do all of the speakers in a surround sound system need to be identical?
A surround sound system does not require 5 identical speakers. It is important that all the speakers be from the same manufacturer and share the same tonal characteristics. Timbre matching your speakers insures that the system sounds the same as the sound travels to the different channels (speakers ) in your system. Now that it is possible to listen to music through all 5 speakers it is crucial to have a tonally balanced system.
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What is the difference between Analogue and HDTV?
Analogue- The National Television Standards council (NTSC) standard TV format. This format is based on a video picture of 525 horizontal lines scanned from left to right across the television picture tube starting at the top of the screen, (interlaced video)
HDTV (High Definition Television) HDTV offers a resolution picture of up to 720 progressive lines or 1080 interlaced lines of resolution. HDTV is digitally transmitted via DTV (digital television) signals. In order to receive HDTV you will need an external receiver or set top box and a High Definition capable Television.
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Why Do I get black bars when I am watching a DVD on my television set?
All movies are filmed in a wide screen format. In order to preserve the integrity of the film the producers of the DVD keep the movie in it's original wide screen aspect ratio. Most High Definition signals are broadcast in a wide screen format as well. When the wide screen movie is played back through a 4:3 Television black bars appear in space not being used. Wide Screen Televisions have gained popularity and will soon become the standard as more High Definition broadcasts become available in Canada.
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Does the quality of cables really make a difference?
The quality of cable used to hook up your system can make a big impact on the overall performance. A system is only as good as it's weakest link. In order to ensure that your system will perform at it's best, good cables should be used. There are many different grades of cables available.
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Why should I pre-wire my new home?
The object of pre-wiring is to get as much wire into the walls as is possible before the drywall goes up.
Most homes are wired for only basic services like electricity, telephone and limited cable TV. It's not enough to take advantage of new technologies. We can install a home wiring network that connects all the rooms in your home to a central location. From there , services like telephone, fax, high speed internet can be routed to any room. Conveniences such as satellite, cable and closed circuit TV can be viewed wherever you choose. And because the home wiring network we install have the future in mind, new technologies can be made part of your home as they become available or when you are ready for them.
Experts and researchers alike predict that, by the year 2006, 40% or more of new homes will have structured wiring systems installed in them. Taking into account that digital and HDTV will become standard over the next couple of years, and the amazing growth of the internet, if you don't install structured wiring in your home you will probably have fewer people interested in buying it!
While it is entirely possible to retrofit an existing house, it is more cost efficient to pre-wire a house during construction.
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