(Home) Cinema Paradiso
Last updated: 07/09/2006 - 10:46
Everything you need to know about bringing the magic of cinema to your home. Anyone for popcorn?.
The Silver Screen
To begin with, a home cinema set-up really needs to have a large screen television. The maximum size of a tube-type television is 45" and only a few companies make them that big. Generally, anything larger than 41" is a projection television.
Front Screen vs. Rear Screen Projection
Any television over 41" is a usually a projection television, consisting of a separate projector and screen. Projection televisions have either a front or rear screen and each has its advantages:
Front Screen
Front screen projection is usually the better option because it eliminates the need for tearing out any walls. As the projector hangs from the ceiling above the audience, it doesn't take up floor space like a rear screen.
The downside is that front screens require a totally dark space or the image will appear washed out. If controlling the light in the viewing room is difficult, a front screen probably isn't the best choice.
Rear Screen
A rear screen on the other hand, will tolerate some ambient light. But when set into a wall, it requires enough space behind it for the projector.
One big advantage to rear screen is that the equipment is hidden from the viewers. The noise of the cooling fans for the projector is also lessened when behind cabinetry or walls.
Screens
Screens are manufactured with different materials. Some are little more than a matte-finished screen - for front screen - while others are made of acetate sheets with complex technologies for improving brightness and clarity.
Projector
With a projection television, the projector plays the most important role in image quality. Whether dealing with front or rear screen, the biggest factor in choosing a projector is finding one capable of projecting a very bright, clear image.
There are three different grades available in projectors: video, computer, and graphics. Video has the lowest number of lines of resolution - around 400. Graphics grade can handle about 1280 lines, perfect for high definition television or movies that have been line doubled or quadrupled.
Video
There are three world standards for home videocassettes and players. These are: PAL, NTSC and SECAM. The three standards are mostly as incompatible as they all are to the now superceded Betamax format - however a small number of modern VCRs can play multiple formats.
The regions for the three tape and machine formats break down into:
- PAL VHS
Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Ascension Island, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, China, Christmas Island, Cook Island, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dubai, Easter Island, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Finland, Gambia, Gaza & West Bank, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Sardinia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tristian Da Cunah, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Vatican, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe.
- NTSC
Alaska, American Samoa, Antigua, Antilles (Dutch), Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Burma, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Diego Garcia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Johnston Islands, Korea South, Leeward Islands, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Okinawa, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Surinam, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the Virgin Islands.
- SECAM
Afghanistan, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Peoples Republic), Corsica, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, France, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guyana (French), Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kampuchea, Kazakhastan, Korea North, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, Polynesia, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia Republic, St Pierre, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Wallis Island and Zaire.
DVD Domination
In case you hadn't noticed, DVDs are taking over the world. All of the world's major film studios are now supporting the release of the DVD format and are releasing films on disc.
Digital Video Discs (DVDs) are one of the hottest new elements of a home cinema system. DVDs are a cross-media platform for music and computers whose technology most likely someday will replace the VCR. A DVD player makes a great addition to the home cinema system because it supports Dolby Digital/AC-3 and Dolby Pro Logic.
Fancy seeing what's coming out on DVD to buy? Why not check out our new releases section here?
Something a bit nasty for those thinking of buying outside thier regions on disc - Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) has recently been added by Warner and Columbia to certain Region 1 DVD’s. RCE will actually prevent the DVD from playing on some so-called 'Multi-Region' DVD players. Be warned!
There are also some insurmountable incompatibilities between region 2 discs and certain less modern versions of UK televisions. This can mean that even if yoiu have a new multi-region or US DVD player, you will need to invest further in a new TV before you can actually see the disc - sound is all you are likely to get from an old TV!
Having said that, many older TV's also lack the scart cable inputs needed to hook up any region of player anyway, so this is something you're likely to have to upgrade in any case.
Regional Differences
One stumbling block for us consumers is that companies insist on coding players and discs according to regions. This rather irritating action means that the types of discs we can use on our DVD player are restricted. This seems to be a bid by the companies selling DVDs to control the prices, trade and release dates of certain titles.
The US is currently classed as Region 1, with Europe labelled as Region 2. Most discs are coded so that they can only be played in the one region. But never fear, it is possible to get hold of mail order American region DVDs. There is also greater availability and trade in multi-region DVD players, designed to cope with domestic and foreign releases.
The six DVD regions look like this:
Home Computers
As well as having standalone players, many people already have the ability to play software on the DVD-ROM drives of their home PCs. DVD as a brand has been given one of the most successful ever product launches for a consumer electronics device. As a result, DVDs are selling much faster than CDs and VHS formats did when introduced.
Of course, the hope among consumers is that DVD will not be superceded in a few years by something newer, flashier and more expensive. The DVD player already has the potential to be an all-in-one replacement for your CD player, gaming console and VCR. Now, with affordable recordable DVD players beginning to appear in the marketplace, the future looks set to be DVD shaped.
Speakers
Sound makes up half of the home cinema experience, it's a good idea to get the best speakers you can afford. Like amplifiers, speakers should be able to reproduce a large frequency range clearly without distortion.
A home cinema should have an array of six speakers or more to properly create sound. These will include left, right, and centre speakers across the front; a couple of surrounds and a subwoofer or bass unit to create the low, loud, feel-it-in-your-stomach sounds.
Amplifiers
Amplifiers are the power behind the system. Amps should be able to handle the huge range of frequencies found in movie soundtracks and they should be able to do it without distortion or clipping.
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