HOME THEATER

If you are a fan of quality and surround sound when watching movies at home, if you are not satisfied with the usual stereo sound from the built-in speakers in your TV, or its size, we will answer all your questions!
Home theater main components:

Acoustics
AV Receiver
TV or projector with screen
Media player
Additional devices: PlayStation, NAS, audio player, karaoke, etc

Acoustics system

An acoustic system is a set of several speakers (satellites) + subwoofer.

The number of speakers and subwoofers is reflected in the name of the system format, which is written as 5.1, where the first digit is the number of satellites, and the second is the number of subwoofers. If you see a 5.1 recording, then this means that the system has five speakers and one subwoofer.

The simplest system is just the aforementioned 5.1, more expensive ones are 7.1 or 9.1, to which additional side satellites are added for more accurate and high-quality reproduction of surround sound. The speaker system can be divided into five groups:

Two front (front) speakers;
One central channel;
Two rear (rear) speakers;
Two or more side speakers (relevant only for systems 7.1 and higher).
Subwoofer

Accordingly, the front is the main channel, the central one for the most part is the speech, and the side and rear speakers are the environments, which allows you to feel yourself in the center of what is happening while watching movies. The subwoofer is solely responsible for reproducing low-frequency sound (bass), and since the bass has no directionality, its position in the room is arbitrary.

Front and rear side satellites are of two types: floor speakers and bookshelf (wall). Floor-standing speakers differ from shelf speakers not only in the type of installation, but also in size, and case volume and the manufacturer has the opportunity to install more speakers, which positively affects the sound quality in general.

The choice of acoustic system is an important component of your home cinema, and we will help you choose a system that will accurately sound your media content, as well as fit exactly into the design of your room.

AV Receiver

It is the centerpiece of a home theater system that ties together all the components of the system, reinforces it, and allows you to build a flexible solution that meets your needs.

In fact, the receiver is the link between all home media devices. It will help to connect them to a network, easily switch between different sources, listen to music and watch movies from anywhere.

What basic characteristics does it have?

The number of channels

This is the first thing to pay attention to. If you already have a set of 5.1 speakers at home, you will need a receiver for the appropriate number of channels. If there are plans to add two speakers from above to this scheme to get 5.1.2 with the ability to work with the Dolby Atmos format, then you need 7 channels already, and you need to look towards receivers that support 7.2 scheme and so on.

Power

It is better to take power with some margin, otherwise at high volume the amplifier will not have enough gunpowder in the powder flasks, and the signal will clip – wheezing, hissing, rustling and distorting in various ways. For example, for two speakers of 80 watts, it is worth taking a receiver with amplifiers with a power of about 100 watts per channel. In addition to power, you need to look at the impedance of the amplifier.

Decoders

An important point is it will determine which multi-channel audio formats the receiver can play (all these DTS: X, Dolby Atmos, etc.).

Inputs and outputs

The number of different pieces of equipment that the receiver can combine depends on them. For example, several HDMI inputs will allow you to connect a game console, video player, satellite TV and media server to it, and display the picture from them on the TV without unnecessary gestures. Coaxial and optical outputs will help you connect an external PC audio card or some of the devices via S / PDIF, reducing the number of wires.

Network connections

Ethernet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi play an important role in today’s media technology by connecting the receiver to a home network, from where it can upload photos, videos and music from a home NAS storage. Wireless speakers can be placed anywhere without the hassle of wires, and from a smartphone or tablet, you can control your home media library and start movies with one finger while lying on the couch.

DAC

Here you need to look at the maximum sampling rate and bitrate. It is worth noting that the current standards for multi-channel audio: DTS (in the HD Master Audio version) and Dolby Atmos – up to 24 bit / 192 kHz.

File formats that the receiver can play: for example, audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio: ALAC, FLAC, WAV, as well as MP3, etc. Most of them can also play both old-school radio in the FM and AM bands, and modern Internet radio.

Support Internet music streaming services: Spotify, Amason, Tidal, etc

TV or projector with screen

Depending on the configuration and size of your theater, you may be able to use a large-screen TV or projector to display movies, photos, or home videos recorded from your phone or, for example, a GoPro camera. The screen can be motorized to match the design of your space.
Primary requirements :

Support video playback with 4K resolution and above (UHD)
HDR support
Support for playing modern video formats

Network Media Player

An external media player is a small computer (like Intel NUC) or device that takes content from your home NAS or Internet streaming services and connects to your AV Receiver and displays it on screen.

Network media players can stream video, music, and photos from the internet, and some may also allow you to download content and store it for later access. In either case, you no longer need to browse the web on your computer to enjoy videos from popular websites like YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Netflix or to hear music from Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, etc.