Things to know about
Home CinemaUK spec

You need to know something about Home Cinema and TV problems - and what you can do about each one.

Let's get through the difficult bits, then we'll
be better prepared to go to the exciting and
enjoyable parts.

Out of date tomorrow?

Just read on and get the info so you don't make a mistake. If you buy wisely, you can get a real upgrade from what you're used to knowing as television. Fortunately, as it happens, the what's coming along the pipeline is reducing prices for the stuff you can get now.

Consumer surveys tell manufacturers companies that people want these new, slim, high resolution Home Cinema set-ups. Economies of scale mean even lower prices.

Make sure your TV has at least one HDMI input.

Try to get a receiver with the same.

If you buy a DVR - digital disc-based video recorder (aka PVR) then make sure it'll got HDCP (high definition copy protection) or you might end up with less resolution than Hi-Def. If you can afford it, do get a 1080p display. UK spec

Can't tell how the picture will look from what you see in the shop.

What you are doing now. Research. The hard part is cutting through so many opinions on minute technical aspects. Help is here, just read on.

1- The TVs aren't adjusted right. They are turned up. A better picture is seen when the settings are turned down for brightness, sharpness, contrast, and whatever else has been over emphasised.

Most of the hi-def sets can be adjusted correctly for you in your home. Maybe by you. More on that later.

So, you can't go by just what you see in most stores. But wait, there's more.

2- Many of the sets are fed a poor quality video signal. A distribution amp or large splitter shares the picture among the displays. That downgrades the picture. A store might have 40 sets on one distribution. Only some of them will be showing a better picture.

3- What you see may or may not actually be high definition or even good quality.

Something wrong with most things.

Relax. Don't obsess. It's more a matter of things being done different ways by different designers. For example, on one set, the colours are spot on, but the resolution is a little off. On the next set, the resolution is incredible, but the red... You're still going to love the set-up you buy - and remember - you just might have it for several years or more to come! You'll look at it more than many other things in your life.

What about Home Cinema? What does it mean for you? Good questions. I can say about Home Cinema that it is simply the natural; evolution of the TV experience. Now that we can, we do. It's how it goes. Basically, you get a shorter, wider picture (more like a screen in a... cinema) and the picture is much clearer and sharper. You can have somewhat better sound too. It can be all around you (surround sound), or just in front of you. You can decide. You can have a box that plays the deep notes - great things like car crashes, earthquakes, whale singing, cannons. You get to experience them like never before. It's not essential, but it's there if you want it.

A lot about Home Cinema is just like going to see a film. Except the screen isn't as big, but you can get a good seat. You don't have to endure advertisements if you don't want to and there are no queues.

Discount on a TV, many could be overpriced!

Shop around. Look beyond their big brand names. You may even be looking at a Hi-Def TV that goes on a wall, or more likely, on a stand. Big CRT rear screen projectors are all in one box.

You want something that brings the set to a seated eye level. Stand in front of a TV and move up and down and side to side. The picture will change a bit. Try to approximate the angle you'll sit at and see how it looks to you. Don't forget you can also shop at a furniture store. Stands can also be overpriced.

Get plasma or other "hang on the wall" set - you still have wires that dangle unless you run them in the wall.

Advertisements show the screen, but not the wire. At a minimum you'll have power and signal wires (cable or satellite). These can be heavy. It's not at all like just hanging a picture.

Plan carefully.

A TV that says "HD Ready" means it doesn't have a high definition tuner. You'll still need to buy an AV tuner.

Monitors don't have tuners. Since so many sets were being sold that way the regulations have changed - now it has to be disclosed. Just know a monitor should be a lot cheaper than a true complete HDTV.

Just be aware of this. It'll save you money.

Some plasmas and LCD TVs look like hi-def but they're not.

The pictures don't look like High Definition because they aren't. The screens, when OFF, look the same.

If you want HDTV, just walk past those.

These sets were put out into the market, often costing a lot less than the original run of HDTVs, their pictures were better than you had been used to, but can't stun you like true HDTV can.

Might not see TV at its true best.

Depends on how deeply you want to go into things.

This is technical, but can be simply stated.

Each piece of electronics - a display device (Hi-Def, digital television) has its own way of showing the picture, involving a fixed number of pixels (picture pieces). This isn't the same for all sets. It isn't the necessarily same for DVD players, converters, or whatever else you plug into see a picture.

So somewhere the data is converted. There may be some loss in resolution, or clarity. There can appear what are called artefacts.

The TV stations don't have to use all their digital bandwidth to broadcast in full high-definition.

For example, rather than being limited to providing one analogue programming channel, a broadcaster will be able to provide a super sharp "high definition" (HDTV) program or multiple "standard definition" DTV programs simultaneously. Providing several program streams on one broadcast channel is called "multicasting."

The number of programs a station can send on one digital channel depends on the level of picture detail, also known as "resolution," desired in each programming stream. DTV can provide interactive video and data services that are not possible with "analogue" technology. They may use some of it for something else that makes them more money. They - or the satellite channels - can in effect send a degraded picture alongside another new channel of degraded picture. There's nothing you can do about this.

Artefacts.

After you see it, it's you can see. But you might not notice straight away.

Think about what you can live with and what you can't. It will drive you mad if you let it. You could spend a fortune to get the latest equipment that might have fixed it. Or you could just ignore it. Life isn't perfect. Be very clear on what the warranty covers or doesn't.

Mosquito noise:

Not buzzing. It's a swirling that looks like tiny insects flying around. You'll see it - if you do - in saturated colours.

Chickenwire Effect:

It looks like looking through a screen into your picture. (Especially - to my eye - on Plasma sets.) It's because of how the set is built (you are actually seeing the holes or spaces between picture elements). Manufacturers are aware of this and doing all they can to fix or mitigate it.

Blocking:

The picture breaks up into little (or bigger!) blocks. This is horrible to see unless you love modern art. It'll be seen in moving pictures of detail. This is the worst.

Rainbows:

Certain people see a rainbow effect in certain DLP (Digital Light Projector) sets. You might notice it if you look slightly away from the screen. It's caused by the way the DLPs work. Some are better at this than others. There's no pot of gold at the end, either.

Pixel failure:

Since there are so many elements (pixels) to a picture, one or more can fail. THE WARRANTY MIGHT STATE that a certain number of failures is okay with them and may even be expected. IF you saw it you'd only notice it up close (see section on where to sit in relation to screen - you shouldn't BE that close. One or more might also stay lit permanently. That'll be more obvious, a tiny, tiny red in a black scene, for example. There may be millions of these dots on your screen, to give you a sense of scale. This isn't the end of the world.

Speakers don't sound like they do in the shop.

Just be aware of it. There's not much you can do (But in the audio section I'll tell you all about how to get the best out of your sound.)

It has to do with the acoustics of the room in which you listen. Each room makes the same speakers sound differently. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. You could buy a subwoofer and bring it home and hear no bass where you sit. But this will be covered in the audio section. You get tips on what to do about it.

TV screens can be reflective.

You might have to watch them in the dark to avoid reflections till dark. Thick blinds at the windows might help.

I would walk away from any screen that reflects light from windows. Notice, if you go to a store, that the good ones have the big screens FAR AWAY from windows or other sources of light!

Take a torch to the store. Shine it at the screen. You'll immediately see the difference between reflective and non-reflective. Avoid reflective screens.

This, of course, doesn't apply to screens you use for a PROJECTOR if they weren't reflective, you'd see nothing. Even so, now there are projector screens which you put on the wall or drop down, that reflect the colours of your TV projector but not others as easily. Less non-tv reflection = a better picture.

On some HDTV display screens, analogue TV looks bad.

Live with it. It'll change when TV channels go High-Def.

It's often difficult to see a standard picture in a store.

You can still get a CRT (TUBE type) in HDTV. These are disappearing, but won't be obsolete. Any HDTV set with CRT technology will show you what is now 'standard' TV better than other types. But, again, soon there won't be 'standard' tv.

UK spec

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