by Jeffrey B. Allen

Created on: August 21, 2009

The word home-theater is a term that has come to describe the existence of a TV screen placed within an array of speakers that surrounds the viewer to create a movie experience as close to the original movie sound track as possible.

There was a day, not long ago, when the largest television set available was a 35 inch Mitsubishi standard tube. With a devise known as a surround-sound processor, it became easy to place a center speaker under or above the screen, a left and right speaker about six feet out from the center, and in line with the TV, a self-powered subwoofer placed anywhere in the room,(the subwoofer puts out a low base, non-directional sound), and two rear speakers, spread about six feet from the center line and positioned just above and behind the optimal viewing seat, which could be between six and ten feet directly in front of the television. The processors have a self-tuning function that guides you through the proper volume settings for each speaker.

The system was only as good as the source media, but if the VHS tape or DVD was digitally encoded with the original Dolby digital soundtrack, the effect was astounding and the viewing experience fantastic. Many a family turned down the lights, popped the popcorn, and watched a movie as if they were in seventh heaven.

Not much has changed. And then again, a lot has changed. But the concept remains the same. Sure, TV sets have become larger; the aspect ratio,(16 x 9), which is the shape of the screen, is now matched to the aspect ratio of the original movie, which means we no longer see the advisory about the movie being reformatted for television, (sometimes a very important part of the picture would be cut off completely), and the increased number of pixels, or the advent of high definition, has made the experience of home theater so good it is unnecessary for some people, with the full-blown high-tech setup, to get in their cars and make the trip to the theater.

One of the major improvements, besides the miracle of LCD and plasma monitors, has been in speaker technology. Speakers have become much smaller, yet have maintained their robust sound quality.

A good suggestion for a beginner, with a limited budget, is to go to Radio Shack or one of the other electronic stores and buy a very basic surround-sound processor, five medium quality speakers that will be no bigger than 8 inches high, and a self powered subwoofer. Also, purchase a heavy gauge speaker wire for the longer runs. You

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