The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Theater Systems Book

Part 1	Before You Buy: Bone Up on the Basics	1
1	It's More Than Just a Big TV: Home Theater Basics	3
	What Makes a Home Theater?	4
	What Does a Home Theater Cost?	5
	How Home Theater Works	6
	For Your Eyes Only--Video Displays	8
	Hear This: Surround-Sound Systems	8
	Playing Movies (and Other Programs): Video Sources	9
2	What to Buy: Figuring Out What You Have, What You Need, and What You Want	11
	New TV, or Not New TV? That Is the Question	11
	Keep Your VCR, or Throw It Away?	12
	New Audio System--or the Same Old Song?	13
	Old Speakers for a New System	14
	Shiny, Shiny Discs	14
	The Other Stuff in Your System	15
	Check It Off: Your Home Theater Shopping List	16
3	How to Shop: Get the Best Stuff--at the Best Price	19
	Before You Buy: Get Smart!	19
	Where to Shop	21
	How to Shop	23
Part 2	Picture Perfect: Television Today	27
4	Pick a Picture: Choose the Right TV for Your System	29
	Not Your Father's Zenith: New Tech TV	29
	Size Matters: Choosing the Right Size Screen	34
	Round, Flat, Front, or Rear: Four Different Types of TV to Choose From	35
	Which Should You Choose?	37
	Why Is That Set so Expensive?	38
5	The Boob Tube: Direct View Television	41
	Direct View Basics	42
	The Price Is Right	42
	Get Branded	42
	Smart Shopping: What to Look for	43
6	Bigger Is Better: Projection Television	47
	Affordable Big Screens: Rear Projection Television	47
	Really Big Big Screens: Front Projection Television	49
	Front or Rear--Which Should You Buy?	52
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	53
7	Thin Is In: Flat-Screen Plasma Television	55
	It's a Gas: How a Plasma Display Works	55
	How Good Is the Picture?	57
	Why Would You Want a Plasma Display?	57
	Smart Shopping: What to Look For	58
8	The Next Generation: Digital and High-Definition TV	59
	Defining Digital	60
	Decoding the Different Digital Formats	62
	Why Would You Want HDTV?	64
	Almost HDTV: Digital-Ready Televisions	64
	Coming to Your Town Soon: The HDTV Broadcast Rollout	65
	Should You Buy ... or Wait?	66
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	68
Part 3	Looking Good: Video Sources for Your System	71
9	A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: Choose the Right Video Sources	73
	Going Digital: The Latest Video Technology	74
	The Picture Makers: Video Sources for Your Home Theater System	75
	Garbage In, Garbage Out: Searching for the Best Picture and Sound	81
	Which Should You Choose?	82
10	Digital Pictures on a Disc: DVD Players	85
	Great Picture--and Great Sound	86
	What DVD Is--and How It Works	87
	Think Different: Different Options Available on DVD	90
	Make Your DVD Player Do Double Duty	93
	Different Types of DVD Machines	94
	All Those Different Outputs: How Do I Hook This Up?	98
	Smart Shopping: What to Look For	99
11	Tale of the Tape: Video Recorders	103
	VHS: Poor Quality, Hard to Use--and Everybody Has One	104
	Better Sound, Same Picture: VHS HiFi	104
	It's Super, Man: A Better VHS	105
	DVHS: Video Recording for the Digital Age	105
	Wait! There's More: Camcorders and Other Formats	105
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	107
12	A Better VCR: Digital Video Recorders	109
	A Computer in Your Living Room: How Personal Digital Video Recorders Work	109
	Take Two: Looking at the Different Types of DVRs	110
	Fancy Recording, and Then Some: All You Can Do with a DVR	111
	Easy as Pie: Hooking Up a DVR	112
	Smart Shopping: What to Look For	113
13	The World on a Dish: Digital Satellite Systems	115
	Eye on the Sky: How Digital Satellite Systems Work	115
	DIRECTV and EchoStar: Twin Sons of Different Mothers	117
	The Longest Distance Between Two Points: Getting Local Stations from the Satellite	118
	Mounting and Pointing: How to Install a Digital Satellite System	119
	Today's Best Source for Digital Television: Upgrading Your Dish for HDTV Broadcasts	121
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	121
Part 4	Sound Off: Audio Receivers, Players, and Other Components	123
14	Sound Is All Around: Understanding Surround Sound	125
	Surround-Sound Basics: What You Need, and What Goes Where	126
	More Than One Way to Surround: Understanding the Different Surround-Sound Formats	127
	Choosing a Surround-Sound Format	134
15	More Power, More Inputs: Amplifiers and Receivers	137
	Making Music: Essential Audio Components	138
	Everything in One Box: Audio/Video Receivers	139
	Specs and Features: Why One Receiver Is Better Than Another	140
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	145
16	Woofers and Tweeters and Horns, Oh My: Speaker Systems	147
	Sound in a Box: A Speaker Primer	147
	What Goes Where: Planning Your Home Theater Speaker Layout	151
	Do You Really Need New Speakers for Home Theater?	156
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	157
17	Sound at the Speed of Light: CD Players and Recorders	159
	CD Players	159
	CD Changers	160
	CD Recorders	161
	Playing CDs in DVD Players	162
	Better CDs: DVD-Audio and SACD	162
	Shop Smart: What to Look For	164
18	Make Your Own Kind of Music: Audio Recorders	165
	The Old Standby: Cassette Recorders	165
	Sony's Digital Standard: MiniDisc Recorders	167
	The Best Way to Record from a CD--CD Recorders	167
	Record from the Internet: MP3 Recorders	167
Part 5	Everything But the Popcorn: Building Your Home Theater	171
19	Get Ready: Prepare Your Room for Home Theater	173
	Space, the Final Frontier: Creating the Ideal Home Theater Room	174
	Here, There, and Everywhere: Positioning Your System	176
	Plugged In and Ready to Go: Assembling All the Connections	177
20	Quick and Easy Systems: Home Theater in a Box	179
	One Box, Lotsa Stuff	179
	Smart Shopping: What to Look For	181
	Make a Match: Home Theater Speaker Systems	182
21	Plug It In: Which Cable Goes Where	183
	You Say Component, I Say Composite: A Connection Primer	184
22	Take Charge: Controlling Your System	197
	Point and Click: Understanding the Different Types of Remotes	197
	Get Control of Your Remotes: Choosing the Right Remote for Your System	207
23	What to Do When It Doesn't Work: Troubleshooting System Problems	209
	He's Dead, Jim: Pondering Power Problems	210
	I Can't Hear You: Solving Sound Problems	212
	Out of Sight: Verifying Video Problems	216
	Calling for Help	219
24	Home Beautiful: Installing a Custom System	221
	Flaunt It or Hide It: Where Do You Put Your Stuff?	221
	Getting Fancy: More Sophisticated Installations	226
	When the Job's Just Too Big to Do Yourself: Thinking About Custom Installers	229
	Find a Firm: How to Choose a Custom Installer	230
	Learn from a Pro: An Interview with an Award-Winning Custom Installer	232
25	How Much Can You Afford: Putting Together the Perfect System for Your Budget	239
	Under $1,000: Home Theater on a Shoestring	239
	Under $2,500: The Budget System	240
	Under $5,000: Improving Performance	242
	Under $10,000: Bigger and Better	243
	Under $25,000: High Definition	245
	Unlimited Budget: Unlimited Performance	248
	Appendixes
A	Glossary	251
B	Home Theater Resources	259
	Index	263