Tickets for cinema and going there is becoming more and more expensive. Building a home cinema can be lot of fun. But setting in up is not just easy like connecting your PC with TV. You must consider many things.
For example, choosing the right hardware, display settings for your TV, lots of modern TV’s have pre configured home cinema modes for picture and of course software which is really important. If you want, you can buy finished HTPC system, if you really want best of the best, head to Steiger Dynamics website and check out products, they are pioneers in this field. Just look at this beauty!
But, I think it would be better to do it all by yourself. With that being said, everything starts with your PC. Make sure that your PC or laptop is not old more then 5 years and can play HD videos without lagging or freezing. Have the right cables for hooking your system with TV, the usual modern cables are HDMI and most of todays configurations have HDMI output which enables you to hook it to your TV, also check for HDMI inputs for your LED,LCD or Plasma TV’s.
When you are ready for the next step, it’s of course buying projector and screen. While there are lot of models and brands of projectors, if you really want to have cinema experience, you have to look out for resolution of projector you’re buying. It has to be at least 1920×1080 resolution as it will display media at full 1080p quality. 720p projectors can deliver nice image but it’s not best picture quality. So if you have extra money buy a decent 1080p projector. What I’d like to add is that Optoma projectors are very good and great in quality.
You can buy screens or even make by yourself. There are many companies which are selling paint for your screen. The best paint is black. It really brings the contrast quality when seen live then rather just projecting picture on wall. Price for screen also depends of what kind of material it’s made and how big or small it is. Producers of most highest quality screens are Screen Innovations. Even if you don’t plan to buy from them check out their technology, they even produce glass screens, imagine when you hook it up with quality projector. It looks like you have giant LED screen in your room. But it’s really expensive.
Of course the subject we can’t left out are speakers and software program. Speakers are just important as other parts of your home theater. Personally, I’m a fan of giant floor speakers and if they are wireless it’s a winner for me. Powerful speaker system will really break the experience and make you feel like you’re at theater.
When it comes to app that’s running your home cinema, there is only one for me and this is KODI ( formerly known as XBMC ). With program like this you dont need Netflix or other streaming sources, just roll out all your movie library, or songs. It also gives you access to various movies, tv shows, other media and plays your dvd or bluray disk. I’ve used the app myself and home theater experience could not be completed without it. It is without a doubt the best entertainment software.
Now that we know all we need for home theater experience, just sit, relax and enjoy. Adding home theater to your home is fantastic idea. If you want to know how to make a home cinema personal computer with Logitech, check out the infographic below:
