Christmas Gift Gude 2021: Gifts for the Home Theater

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In recent times, fewer and fewer people have been going out to see movies at the theater. There’s a concern about health, and you don’t always get a good seat, and sometimes there are people there talking or using their phones or doing other things that might annoy you.

Since so many movie companies are putting movies out straight to streaming services, as well, there’s no reason not to move over to a home theater setup. They aren’t too hard to set up, but it’s a world of difference compared to watching a movie on your phone.

Movie Projector

If you’re going to watch a movie, the first thing you need is a movie screen. A good projector and projector screen are very crucial. If you’re going to be looking at the picture for two hours at a time at least, you’re going to want it to look good.

One thing that’s important to look for in projectors is that they’re natively 1080p resolution. Many cheap projectors claim to support 1080p, while they really only accept that resolution and output a far lower one, something that would decrease image quality significantly.

Projector Screen

You should also make sure you’re getting a high-quality screen to project onto. If your wall has even a slight gloss to it, it won’t look great being projected onto, so you’ll have to get a thick screen that’ll reflect the light back to you just enough to look right.

Sound System

An often overlooked aspect of a home theater is the sound system. Many people just go with some barebones speakers from their TV or some mediocre additional ones, but what really sets a home theater apart is surround sound audio.

Surround sound involves setting up multiple speakers around the room, such that you’re getting more realistic sounding audio during movies. This is what movie theaters use, so by getting a decent surround sound setup, you’re going to be one step closer to fully recreating that theater experience.

AV Receiver

Finally, there’s the matter of the AV receiver. Many people overlook this initially when they’re setting up a home theater system, but it’s pretty important. The AV receiver controls all other functions of the theater setup.

Essentially it controls the surround sound, projector, and media you’re playing all from the same place. Otherwise, you’d have to use multiple remotes to control the whole room setup, which could be a bit inconvenient.

The AV receiver also helps ensure you’re getting the best audio and video outputs possible. If it’s being played from a mediocre source, you won’t be able to get the most out of your surround sound and HD systems.