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People often ask what a calibration DVD is, whether they need it and which kind they should buy. I thought I would take a crack at offering a basic piece of information on these discs both in concept and in specifics: AN INTRODUCTION TO TEST & CALIBRATION DVDS aka "Why the hell do I need one...

Why do CDs recorded recently sound louder than older recordings? Here's a basic explanation that usually works well with "non technical" people: CD is a digital medium, which means it has a very specific maximum level. The loudest amount of sound you can put on a cd is called "0". Since...

When I put in a CD, it's SO MUCH LOUDER than a DVD- Why does this happen? Am I doing something wrong? Explaining this actually means a basic trip into the technical world of digital audio. Are you ready? Here we go... Digital audio has a hard maximum ceiling for audio. This level is...

HTPC: Home Theater Personal Computer An introduction to HTPC Most modern video projectors, at least the majority made since the early 90's, are designed to take higher resolution images from computers (1024x768 for example). The modern projector was designed to do computer presentations, so...

I got a great offer to buy Speakers from some installer who had leftovers from a job (or some guys who had some extras the boss didn't know about). They came up to me in a white van, and offered really great brands like DOGG DIGITAL. Are these a good deal? NO! Run away! These are widely...

What is the difference between MATRIXED and DISCRETE audio channels? Discrete means that you have a mulitchannel soundtrack that is stored so that each of the tracks stays isolated from each of the other tracks, and you have true seperation between all the channels. Matrixed means that...

If I buy a 16x9 wide screen TV, will I get rid of the black bars forever? Nope. You're wrong for assuming that a 16x9 set will completely eliminate the bars. The shape of your TV is 16x9. If you attempt to play any material that isn't 16x9 (either wider or narrower), without stretching or...

A Quick Overview of Home Theater Calibration INTRODUCTION Fellow moderator Jay Mitchosky outlined above that true home theater enjoyment is often the result of system calibration and accuracy. To that end, there are several test DVDs on the market, designed with patterns to help you dial...

What the heck is a DVD? DVD is one of the most recent, and most exciting additions the the world of home video! Actually, DVD can be used for Data, Movies and now even music-- but we'll concentrate on the DVD-video version for now... A DVD is a CD sized digital disc which contains audio...

What the heck is a Laserdisc? Laserdisc was a disc-based audio/video format that preceded DVD. The discs, which you've probably seen on TV or in movies at some point, were larger than DVD (12 inches across, the same size as LP record albums). They were usually silver, and looked a lot like a...

6 channel ins and outs on HT equipment 6 channel outputs on DVD players: There are some DVD players that come with 6 channel RCA outputs in addition to the standard stereo connectors and the digital audio outputs. In the early days of dolby digital, many budget receivers did not...

Bi-wiring & Bi-Amping Speakers 1) True Active Biamping: This is when you have an active crossover unit between your preamp and amplifier which splits the full range signal coming out of the preamp into a Hi and Low freq signal. These split signals are then fed from the active crossover...

DVDs are widescreen (letterboxed), and widescreen is better! Many first time DVD buyers notice that DVDs are mostly in the "widescreen" or "letterboxed format", which have balck bars at the top and bottom, and they wonder why. Well, next time you go to your local movie theater, take a...

Welcome to the HOME THEATER FORUM, the premiere discussion forum for the hobby and obsession of Home Theater. As part of our "HT BASICS" area, some of the established members of the forum have all pitched in and created a basic primer of information all newcomers to the hobby should know. This...