Home Cinema Buying Guide

Our Home Cinema Buying Guide offers complete buying advice for anyone in the market for a new home cinema system, whether they happen to be novice or expert. Enjoy!Home Cinema Buying TipsAs with any major purchase, there are a few things to work out and decide on before buying a home cinema system. Here are our key considerations...BudgetYou can pick up a home cinema system anywhere from £50 to a few grand - and whatever your budget, there will be something for you. Set your budget before you even contemplate looking for a new home theatre set-up and don't forget about the extras - you'll need cables to link different devices together and lots of people forget about the added costs of buying content, such as DVDs and Blu-ray discs.Room sizeWork out which room you are going to put your home cinema system in and work out the room's size - the answer will tell you the size and type of TV or projector you need that would be best to use alongside your home theatre set-up. Also plan where you will put all those extra speakers!Location Of SeatsWhere you sit while watching your movies is essential with a surround sound set-up, as you really need as much balance as is possible for the full effects. If you are spending a lot of money on new kit, it might be worth spending a bit more to get an audio specialist to come round and give you his opinion - if you can afford it, of course.What Do You Need?Ask yourself what it is you need from your home cinema system. Do you just want a very basic amp and surround sound for watching Blu-ray movies, or would you prefer a full-on entertainment hub. Obviously, the more you want, the more it is likely to cost you.Ask For a DemoIt should go without saying that whatever you read about a product on a website or in a magazine, there is no better judge than your own ears - always ask your local dealer for a demo, they will be happy to oblige.Home Cinema EquipmentA full home cinema system requires an awful lot of equipment, from a TV or a projector to a home theatre surround sound speaker set. For the purposes of this website, when we refer to a 'home cinema system', we mean the audio set-up required to give the sounds you hear from your TV or projector a boost, however, in this section we'll take you through everything you may need.

Before embarking on buying your actual home theater system components, especially for a medium-to-high end system, it might be a good idea to consult with a home theater installer to come onsite and assess your room and address the above questions. The installer can make useful suggestions on components or installation concepts that will work best in your room environment, keeping in mind your own specific home theater system budgetary considerations.DisplayWithout a display, there isn't much point in a home cinema system. You will need a TV which preferably should be HD for the full experience, or a projector with the correct sockets (see 'sockets tab). You may also consider a 3D TV.ReceiverThe receiver lies at the heart of a home cinema system and provides pretty much all of the inputs and outputs that you connect everything into, including your TV, your Blu-ray or other source, for example. You can look at the receiver as the central hub for your home' entertainment system.LoudspeakersLoudspeakers are extremely important as they provide you with that lovely surround sound, but you will need to remember to do your research. Always ask for demos and make sure that, if you are buying components separately, that they will work with what you have. If you are a beginner, go for same-brand components, as they are a guaranteed fit.SubwooferA subwoofer is a speaker that reproduces extremely low frequencies - or bass frequencies - that are present in movies or music. The size and type of room is a consideration when buying a subwoofer, and if your room is carpeted it will soak up some of that bass. Always ask for a demo.Home Cinema Socket GuideTo get the best out of your home cinema system, you need to know about all the different sockets you find at the back, and what they do. Here's a handy guide to fill you in with the more common sockets you will find on your home theatre set-up...Component video/RCAExtremely high quality video input that uses three sockets for different colour and brightness signals. Can be bought as progressive or interlaced cables, so match it with your TV.ScartScart cables used to be the standard TV connection, but is slowly being replaced with HDMI. Scart provides high quality signals, with the best Scart cables being gold-plated and supporting RGB signals (which splits the video signal into red, green and blue, resulting in far better pictures.S-videoVideo connection that is of good quality, but not to the same standard of Scart RGB. Connections are separated for better colour and detail.Composite videoA very basic, low-quality video connection which you should generally use as an option only if all Scart sockets are taken up.HDMIHDMI cables provide high definition digital video and audio - you will generally find them as one of two socket types required on "HD-ready" TV sets.DVIDVI stands for Digital video input and is for HD video, but not for audio.RCARCA connections are present on older TVs and are used if they don't have more modern connection options.Home Cinema Jargon BusterThere are plenty of terms you may hear when buying a new home cinema system and if you are inexperienced, you  may be overwhelmed by them. However, have no fear! We've put together a jargon busting guide to help you out...2.12.1 is the term used for Dolby Surround Pro Logic Cinema-style surround sound that comes from two speakers and one subwoofer. Expect front left and front right channels to provide normal dialogue and movie soundtracks, as well as the surround sound effects and the LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel - or subwoofer - to provide the explosive bass.5.1Extremely precise cinema-style surround sound that emanates from five speakers and one subwoofer. Expect front, left centre and front right channels to provide normal dialogue and movie soundtracks, and the twin left and right surround channels to give you surround sound effects. Dolby Digital and DTS are both forms of 5.1 surround sound.7.17.1 surround sound works exactly like 5.1, but has an additional two rear speakers, which will enrich your listening experience.All-in-oneA complete home cinema system which contains amplification, surround sound decoding and multiple speakers.Centre speakerThe centre speaker sits above or below your TV (or wherever you want it) and reproduces movie dialogue and soundtracks, for exampleDolby ProLogicDolby ProLogic decodes audio coded for two-channel Dolby Surround into four channel playback. Expect front left and front right, centre and rear speakers, which all tie toether to provide 3D sound.Dolby DigitalDolby Digital - which is also known as 5.1 - is a more advanced sound stage than Dolby ProLogic, as the surround speakers pump out full-range stereo sound and a subwoofer to provide rumbling bass.DTSAnother type of 5.1 surround sound, although this one is made by the Digital Theater Systems company. DTS is often thought to offer a clearer sound than Dolby Digital - although if there is a difference it isn't immediately recognisable.Virtual DolbyVirtual Dolby offers surround sound effects even though it only uses two front speakers - you will sometimes find them on TVs or All-in-one systems.

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