Part One:Getting Started
Part Two:What to buy
Part Three:Cables
If you're just getting interested into owning a home theater, it don't have to cost and arm and a leg. You also don't have to buy everything at once to get a home theater. What is classified as a home theater? A home theater consists of a Television with a screen that is 27" or larger in diamater, a surround sound receiver, and a video source (such as a VCR, DVD player, or Laserdisc player). Got all that? Great! Now you just have to learn how to use them correctly AND know what the surrounding enviroment should look like AND use cables that will give you the best quality for your home theater.
One of my favorite places to check out home theater components is the Crutchfield web site and their catalog. They have a wide selection of quality products all for a reasonable price. If you can't afford to buy everything at once, first you need decide which you want to buy first. If you don't have a TV, it don't make sense to buy a VCR or DVD player, so the two main choices you have right now would be the TV and surround sound receiver. Which ever you want to buy first totally depends on which you would want to have more first.
When looking at televisions, you'll want to look for S-video or component video connections, a good picture quality, and a well designed remote control. If you get one with only a coxial (what you connect your cable box or antenna to) or composite (also known as a/v inputs and are very common) connection, you're not going to have a good picture.
Buying a surround sound receiver, really involes two different purchases: the surround sound receiver and speakers. You can't use one without the other. When deciding what kind of surround sound receiver you would like, you have to look more carefully at what is included. There is the Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, and DTS surround sound processors. Also, you'll want to make sure you have enough power being delivered to your speakers, have enough connectors to everything you want to connect to it, look at what kinds of soundfields each is capable of reproducing, and make sure the remote control is well designed. What kind of surround sound processor I recommend is the Dolby Digital processor. They are great for movies on DVD and Dolby Digital Laserdiscs. Unfortunately, they are costly so if you can't afford something like that, then consider purchasing a Dolby Digital "ready" receiver, then when you can afford it, buy a Dolby Digital decoder. As, for power wattage to your speakers, look for a receiver that offers the same power levels to all your speakers. One thing i like having in a receiver is a wide selection of soundfields. Soundfields can make the sound in your room seem like you were in a different kind of room, like a large theater, a hallway, or a jazz club. Some receivers only have a few selections while others may have 40+ different selections. When looking for speakers, you're not looking for just two speakers as in a stereo system. You're looking for five speakers plus a subwoofer. The speakers should all be voiced-matched, capable of handling the power of your receiver, cover the range of human hearing, and, of course, sound good and clean. What I mean by voiced matched is that the speakers should be made by the same company that have the same tonal balance (they sound the same). Don't skimp out on the subwoofer, because you'll miss out on all the "boom" your movies produce.
When you see all those wires that are included with your receiver, DVD player, etc., THROW THEM AWAY!!! Go out and buy some high quality audio and video cables! The quality of your audio and video and only good as your weakest link. With generic audio and video cables you get flat sound, low bass handling, low picture resolution, and incorrect picture color. Now why would you want to do that to all the nice equipment you have or you're planning to get? For about $60 you can get all your speakers and for $25 you can get a DVD player hooked up with Monster Cable. Now for some people, that may seem like too much money. Sorry but,if you want to have great sound and picture quality, having good quality cables is a must.