Choosing your room is the first and most important decision
Choosing WHERE your Home Video beauty should be (or rather WILL be...) installed is not innocuous, and not simple... Say that you've decided to go for a brand new kitchen: the aim is to gain some advantages and enhance your comfort, ease of use etc... In your kitchen, and nowhere else; that’s the name of the game! : improving your life in a specific, but pivotal section of your home, almost everyone will agree that the kitchen IS an essential part of any home, whereas your better half might probably think of any Home Video system as a waste of money and a disturbing, a totally unaesthetic element in the living room, and your children will probably want to see 'the Simpsons' on a larger screen...
Changing your kitchen will not change your mode of life. On the contrary, the said mode of life could be radically modified, should you decide to go for a Home Video system. This, because your perception, hence the way you will be using what was previously and almost exclusively a TV, equipped with one of those low grade sound systems, this perception will very probably be totally transformed. You will never hear sound, and see images as before, PLUS the Home Video system will bring an unprecedented mix of them... So, before absorbing every test, comparison, or reading every possible review about the latest in XGA Video projectors or LCD screens (this, naturally while you just spend every week end to visit EVERY high street retailer), perhaps take the time for a little bit of reflexion about WHAT you want from a Home Video system, at what cost, WHERE in the home etc...
1- Basic questions
The following "check list" isn't, by far, totally comprehensive and you should think of anything that comes to your mind (like... the ideal space is in the attic... which is on the third floor, etc)
What do you want see...?
... Or better, "see and hear", since your orientation will be very different depending on your personal inclinations and preferences: live Football, Video games, movies, filmed operas… will undoubdtedly influence your choice. Besides, your husband or your wife, again, may want to have his (her) say, and decisions based on consensus, although harder to achieve, are probably a long term best bet.
I thought about several categories that might deeply impact your final choice, hence probably avoid future disappointments. They are:
Spectacular, Hollywood blockbuster like movies Old movies, author movies Live sports events Concerts, opera music Video gamesTrying to answer these questions might, first of all, orientate the choice of a format : 4/3, 16/9, even 2.35 if you want mainly for big and noisy movies, as well as influence the size of the screen and the best audio system. Furthermore, it'll give a precious indication on the size of the screen and the characteristics of audio system in use.
At what time of the day (or night) do you usually watch TV or listen to music at home?Say that you're watching TV almost exclusively as a background “noise” at dinnertime. Or maybe you're a fan of rental DVDs? Obviously, these are entirely different worlds, i.e. different ways to consume such programs. In other words, what is, mainly, the LEVEL OF ATTENTION that is required when consuming Audio/Video? What is, for instance, your usual, regular level of attention when using these systems? What level of light?
If, like many (if not most) of us, your answer is "well, it depends", I suggest you keep your old TV because then a Home Video system will be a complement, certainly not a replacement.
Who or who WITH?Listening to a music CD on a high end Hi-Fi system has been a long standing case for domestic dispute: A solitary delight can soon transform itself into a selfish, ego-centered demonstration in the mind of others. Fortunately, the Home Video and the Home Theater world do not cope with such simplistic judgements; this, because Home Cinema tends to favour family meetings, that is to say, looking at the same thing at the same time. Naturally, before reaching such evening consensual "Ooohs" and "Aaahs", you'll first have to physically get your teenager away from his Video Game (sort of addictive activity and place where he would probably spend most of his day, if you are not very careful), using some “reasonable” excuse like his homework is late or his marks are not top… For which you will be probably granted some raucous rumble, but its for the good cause…
Therefore, you have to decide what the primary use of the system is:
Alone With your better half As a family With friends on special occasions With all the co-loc students in your apartment…Your future Home Video might look, and sound entirely different depending on your answer(s)...
2- The choice of a room (or rooms)
Gasp! Well, if you live in a one bedroom flat in a 40 story tower, your choice might be quite simple, something like "where else". But most families live in bigger places, so that choosing the room for your Home Video IS critical, indeed THE main decision you'll have to make. Most people, when asked, think of a Home Video system as a replacement for their old TV... Bad mistake, for many reasons:
A Home Video system is NOT a replacement for TV It is much bigger It is simply more "demanding"This is neither a sophism, nor a recipe for further introspection. Will this damn thing be in the living room, or in the basement, or in the attic...? Depending on your answer, the way you use it will be totally different, and so will be the system's characteristics.
A dedicated room leads almost instantly to the notion of "private cinema at home". Practically it means that one leaves an activity for another (no more background noise during dinner), optimistically that the whole family goes down there (except for the teenager who played too much in the afternoon).
The living room option (by far the prominent choice) comes usually with night time projections or plays. Again, bear in mind that such behaviour, because it will be repeated again and again, will deeply impact your home lifestyle. Imagine it's in your unique room, than everything else is impossible in this room during the "show". Your teenager will exclude everyone else during his long PSP2 sessions, and if you're sharing your flat with several persons, forget about these old discussions about Heidegger's "Dasein", they're history... "Friends" or "24" will have replaced them sooner or later (or your friends might go away to continue their discussion somewhere else).
Last, should you go for the dedicated room, are you so sure that you're ready to actually take the time to go there?
OK let's assume that you have made your choice, consciously and responsibly; now let's have a look at what's possible.
3- Feasibility
That's more concrete.
Available spaceThe size of the room must cope with your usual audience: if you're a 9 persons family, well, at some point almost everyone will want to be able to comfortably sit in the room. If you need to sit people in the kitchen, forget it. Try then to visualise your future system. Think in length, width etc... First, you choose the size of the screen and see how it will look. Too many people think that big is beautiful... It's not! As for the screen, will everyone in the room see it correctly? Will it face the projector, if any? How about the room's acoustics?
If these points seem ok, go on. If any doubt, look for some custom installation specialist. Should he envisage (and will you and your partner) accept to change anything in the room, decoration, location of furniture? Good occasions to sometimes make clever changes that were never thought of before...
Those who have chosen to go for a dedicated room may face another problem: It is very often an empty space, where you'll position your loudspeakers, screen, and projector, armchairs... soon to discover that the room's acoustics are very poor, precisely because it is bare and empty. It is rarely the case in a "living room" configuration, because a living room is already full of objects, thus favouring acoustic diffraction. In dedicated rooms, the furniture has no other function than to provide more comfort, thus it is often not thoroughly thought of beforehand. One solution might consist in an acoustic treatment, or even a full acoustic conception of such dedicated space.
Available BudgetHome Video is "getting cheaper", it is "more and more affordable". That's what one hears everywhere. True if it only consists in adding a pack of plastic speakers to an existing TV. "Authentic", frontal projection Home Cinema systems, however, although constantly improving in terms of value for money, are not yet cheap, by (very) far.
A satisfying Home Video system, with all components in place, should cost around 10.000 Pounds, but ask around, especially to those who created nice systems in nicely arranged rooms, and you'll hear about prices that you'd thought were those of a... nice car!
Under the phoney pretext that they are not "essential", most people in charge of selling these systems tend to simply neglect elements which, if not thought of beforehand, might well lead you to painfully understand the title of this series of articles.
To get a system properly working, you WILL need:
A screen (NO white wall, do not even try) A projector 5 Loudspeakers, of which 2 surround, or more A subwoofer An Amplifier/processor (integrated, or in separate elements), with as many channels as there are loudspeakers A DVD reader Five (or more) Hi-Fi wires One S-VHS wire One 3 component video wire One shielded coaxial audio analog wire One digital coaxial wire Three power grid wires One universal remote control Raceways for cables and wiring One competent installer A lot of patience...Obviously the biggest budget eater will be the room. Living in big cities comes at the price of... square feet. Most of the time though,the obvious choice will the living room, because of the lack of space, so that the item "room" comes at no cost in such configuration. If you think that all supplemental costs, such as motorised screen or others are expensive, simply make an estimation and come back to the price... of your living room, since it comes every month as a part of you have to pay for the rent or the mortgage. Ideally, a barn in the countryside... Changing your lifestyle you said...?|
Face it: Home Cinema is still a game for wealthy or very passionate people, the same who would put a lot of money in a car. You can even keep yours two years more, that will spare your more money.
Back to the basics... budget. Typically, most consumers seem to plan around £10.000 for a complete Home Video system. Easy to remember, and certainly in phase with a satisfying system, to be installed in a dedicated room (but that's without the cost of the room, if any). If installed in your living room, however, such estimate is far more hazardous. For example, the size of the screen might be a determining factor.
Other constraintsMuch more realistically, a comprehensive cost assumption (one that would include the value of a room) would encompass all above-mentioned items (patience is priceless), then list all other constraints. These are of two orders, functional and technical.
Technical constraints derive from the system itself:
Good visibility of the screen The capacity to make your room dark at all times A good acoustical environment No reflecting surface near the screen Passageways (wires) No acoustically reflecting surface (or objects) near the loudspeakers Check the quality of the grid supply and feeding (a matter of concerns in almost every old building!)Functional constraints are a direct consequence of the room's characteristics:
One MUST NOT limit the circulation inside the room One MUST be able to open every door or window One MUST obtain a good sound insulation (think of your neighbours...) As much as possible, try to keep all this agreeable to seeSuch constraints are, almost all the time, a source of conflict, especially when more than one person has his (her) word ; try to avoid the topic when your mother-in-law comes home for a visit!
When, and if everything's clear, you will have made a giant step toward full satisfaction...
4 - The broom cupboard syndrome
A well known mistake: choosing the system first, than trying, through successive eliminations, to have it installed "somewhere at home..."
The system almost always ends up either in the broom cupboard, or under the staircase or in an angle of the living room, "because there was no other available space". In such cases it's probably wise to keep the old 4/3 TV...
Indeed, such sad epilogues are almost always the result of lack of imagination...: The motorization of one or more equipment components, setting the system perpendicularly to the axis of the room, choosing another room or simply accepting to change something, like the arrangement of the furniture, can bring satisfaction.
Another example? You found riight good location, room, arrangement etc., and suddenly realise that your nice chandelier is right in the projector's beam... Ok then, choose a projector with a shorter focal length or... get rid of the chandelier...!
Bottom line : custom installation specialists know how to install Home Theaters. They are, after all, experts at designing and solving these sorts of problems and don't forget that a Home Cinema is nothing but a cinema at home. Since no family home was originally conceived as a movie theater, no wonder that installing such equipment is demanding.
5 - Setting up the system in the room
At first glance, most problems come from the arrangement of what's already inside the room. Such layout is essential, and it must obey to a number of simple rules that are guided by... common sense. At their origin is the invariable layout of all movie theaters in the world.
The projector must be installed perpendicular to the screen in the median axis of the room The central speaker must also be installed in this axis. It is very advisable to buy a sound transparent screen, behind which the three front speakers will be installed The three front speakers should be of similar make and model, set at the same height, in the same position The left and right speaker should not be put too close to the lateral wall ; this is also true for the screen Surround speakers must be placed higher than the spectator(s). They must be behind the listening zone when there are only 2 of them. If there are 3 or 4 (in a 6+1 format), they can be arranged around the listening zone No mirror or any reflecting surface near the screen The projector should be anchored, not simply posed The screen's height must be accurate: the eye of the spectator must look at the center of the screen, plus or minus 5 degrees, not more The projection's axis must be parallel or perpendicular to the room's main axis, and never at an angle A specific acoustical treatment should be considered to balance any acoustical dissymmetry, if the projection's axis be too far from the median of the roomIn case you cannot cope with such basic rules, read again all preceding paragraphs...
6 - Is an acoustical treatment necessary, or compulsory?
The answer is contained within one single word: "treatment". I go to the doctor when I am sick, otherwise I don't... Similarly, if the room's acoustical characteristics are good, there's no point. This is very often the case for living rooms when and if all above mentioned basic rules are met.
In specialised (or dedicated) rooms (your basement or a part of it?), the starting point is an empty volume, hence a blank page. In such case, the acoustical environment will be specifically and comprehensively designed for the room. Contrarily to what one might think, such treatment does not mean to simply pile up absorbing materials (glass wool, felt, carpet etc.). It consists in an adequate distribution of absorbing and reflecing zones. Such distribution will have to take in count all sound diffusion characteristics of the said absorbing and reflecting zones.
Your living room or any agreeable living space is not an anechoic room. Installing your Home Cinema in such an environment would probably give bad results. For those who are familiar with such a jargon, a reverberation time comprised between 0.5 and 0.7 seconds is ideal for a 20 to 50 sq meters (215 to 540 ft2) room. Other characteristics must be taken care of that are specific to 5+1 or 6+1 systems, as well as the speakers' degree of directivity.
In fact, with the exception of highly reverberating or almost anechoic rooms, it is very difficult to qualify a room as acoustically good or bad: it is merely more or less suitable for such or such use. One has to consider the specific distribution of absorbing and reflecting areas on the basis of the positioning of the speakers, or conversely, to position the system adequately (see above).
Should some treatment or even a specific design be necessary, one should not hesitate to go for it. Most treatments are affordable, since these materials are very easy to find, being very common, and quite easy to install.
Conversely, any acoustical appraisal should be very rigorous: acoustical studies require the expertise of a qualified engineer and any amateur knowledge has to be proscribed. Many people wrongly assume that they have "some" knowledge in acoustical science, when acoustics are a part of physics and... an exact science. So that if you are yourself a sound and acoustics engineer, do not try to become one at home, it could prove simply disastrous.
Another problem may come up: sound nuisances, that’s to say not for you, but the noise that your system might transmit to your neighbours. This can be a source of permanent and painful conflicts. Such problems are frequent in buildings between flats (vertically and sometimes horizontally as well). This implies serious (and costly) works as well as all sorts of authorizations with long delays requiring, well, again a lot of patience. It is sometimes cheaper to... move.
Should you opt for the works, you should consult a acoustician specialist but be careful: some specialise in insulation, some in the design and treatment of auditoriums and other spaces, which is different. Some might be able to do both, but you should check beforehand.
7 - Impact on your lifestyle
A Home Cinema system will impact your environment, particularly when it’s in your living room. Systems installed in dedicated spaces might be less visible, although...
In any case, from now on, your approach to films will be different; you will be able to replay part of, or entire films, detect scripts errors, and perceive details that are invisible on a classic television. You will also dive into the atmosphere of live concerts while staying at home.
The obvious risk is precisely that you stay more and more at home.
You'll progressively spend more and more time in front of your magnificent installation, to which you'll naturally connect your PC, so as to be delivered and avoid high street shopping.
You will not practice any sport, ‘cos you'll watch them. Instead of cooking, you'll make sandwiches or call your preferred Pizza delivery. After your work you will systematically go to the Blockbuster or other DVD rental club. You won't see your friends, ‘cos you'll watch "Friends". Work, Home (Cinema), (less and less) Sleep... You'll become fatter by the week, peevish, you'll be loosing sleep and experience hypertension, cholesterol...Don't worry. Such predictions were made by eminent specialists 40 year ago about television and its impact on people's lifestyle (well, they may have been right to some extent...). Don't let them ruin your pleasure!
See this the other way around: Home Cinema has changed your lifestyle? It simply means... that it's a good one and a total success... Should you stick to your habits, not use it very often, forget too often to go down in your basement to watch and listen, well then, maybe it is not a very good one.
CONCLUSION
Tell you a secret: Home Cinema changes life... for the better...!
Try not to miss your first experience, since (look at your bills) it's far too expensive! Should all this become disappointing, you may well be disgusted for the rest of your life.
The best bet is, at any rate, to consider that such systems will be more and more of common use during the present decade, at least at a certain level of standing or social status. Talking about standing or social status, a recent survey has shown that Home Cinema systems are among the top ten symbols of standing and wealth in Norway. Why in Norway? Well, the person who informed me is living there...
To be continued…
If you missed Part 1 : Home Theater never works... Learn how to make it work well ! , click Here
If you missed Part 2 : Home Theater never works... Making the right choices ! , click Here