Home Theater Basics

These are the basic, barebone components that will enable you to watch your favorite episodes of Deadliest Catch in a cinema-like atmosphere.

Television/Video Display

The key piece of equipment in any home theater is, of course, the display. You have a wide variety of options in this regard, as you can go with an LCD TV, a Plasma TV or a Video Projector. What should you get? Well, LCD and Plasma TVs both come standard with high definition (HD) compatibility and all the hookups necessary to hook up video game systems, as well as an antenna hookup, whereas Video Projectors might not, so this is something to consider.

However, Video Projectors are ideal if you’re going for a cinema-like movie viewing experience. They are, however, often more costly than LCD and Plasma TVs. No matter which you get, make sure the screen size is at least 37 inches.

DVD Player

You’ll be playing movies in your home theater, so you will absolutely need a DVD player of some sort. Here again you have some options. You could go with a traditional DVD player, or a more expensive Blu-ray player. Blu-ray players play DVDs in HD, resulting in a crisper picture. A regular DVD player will suffice if you can’t afford Blu-ray right now, though.

Surround Sound Receiver

If you want to hear every sound in the movie just like you do at the theaters, surround sound is a must. And in order to have surround sound in your home theater, you will need a surround sound receiver. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just something that can take the sound from your display and feed it to the surround sound speakers in your home theater.

Loudspeakers

To go along with the surround sound receiver, you’ll also need some speakers. You will probably want to spend more money on the speakers than the receiver itself, as quality speakers can be a bit on the pricey side. At the minimum, you’ll need six speakers—one big, four smaller and a longer speaker.

Furniture

Comfortable furniture is a must in any home theater. How much furniture you buy will depend entirely on the size of the room and on how many people you plan on having over to watch movies or television in your home theater. You will need at least two recliners, a couch and a sofa—built-in drink holders are a good idea, or you might just buy some small tables and call it good. Leather furniture is a good choice, as it looks stylish and is quite comfortable.

Other Things

In addition to the above, you will also need all the cables necessary to hook everything together, as well as a surge protector to plug everything into. You may also need mounting equipment if you are looking to mount the surround sound on the walls.