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Articles from May 2006

DVD enthusiasts may know all about so-called "Easter eggs," but it was a phenomenon I learned about from a friend.

How to repair Scratched CDs and DVDs - At Home.

CDs and DVDs are remarkably resistant to casual scratches and gouges but sooner or later everyone has a disc that causes a CD or DVD player to skip.

Sorting Out the World of DVD Recorders

This article looks at DVD recorders and PVRs purely as a VCR replacement for video recording, archiving of your personal camcorder tapes, and time-shifting of TV shows.

Buying a DVD player? What's out there and what do you need?

Apart from the dramatic improvement in video and sound quality that DVD players offer over the familiar VCR, probably the DVD player’s greatest appeal lies in its price and convenience.

What to look for when buying a Receiver.

Next to choosing your loudspeakers, selecting the right receiver is almost as important because you have to contemplate future needs and how much power and versatility you're willing to pay for.

Running Multiple Sets of Speakers in Other Rooms

Are you interested in using your A/V receiver to run a second pair of bookshelf speakers in the bedroom or den, or even a third pair on a patio, in addition to the main pair of speakers in your home theatre system? How to do it, and w...

How to Get Dolby Digital 5.1 Channel Surround

Here's a surprisingly common problem—You've set up your new Dolby Digital/dts A/V receiver, a 5.1-channel home theater surround system and DVD player, popped in a DVD, and pressed “Play.” The movie starts, the sound from your main stereo speaker...

Fine-Tuning Center-Channel Sound

Location, location, location. It's the mantra of real estate agents, and it could just as easily apply to your Center Channel.

Center Channel Intelligibility - Is your center speaker in the right spot?

Detail and intelligibility are among the prime requirements of any center-channel speaker. If you seem to have trouble understanding movie dialogue try these remedies:

How to Find the Best Place for Your Subwoofer

Crawl around on your hands and knees. It may strike you as a bit odd to do this in the pursuit of smooth, deep, and even bass, but it’s really the best technique to find the ideal spot for your subwoofer.

The Forgotten Component: Getting Room Acoustics Right

Experts often refer to the listening room as "the forgotten component." A room's dimensions will have a profound effect on the quality of sounds that you perceive from your multichannel home theatre.

Beginners' Guide: some Q & A for Home Theater

Common questions answered about about Home Theater, Stereo and Video.

An Essential Guide to Home Theater Layout

Article and illustrations to help you with optimal home theater positioning.

Ten Biggest Mistakes of Speaker and Home Theater Shopping

One experts list of the biggest mistakes made when buying a home theatre system.

More Home Theater Q&A and Buying Tips

Questions to think about before you buy a home theater.

Basement Home Theater: What You Need to Know

Layout and other considerations when you're building a home theater.

Sorting Out Surround

Hard to believe, but Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound has been with us now for 10 years and until Dolby Digital, there had been little change in movie sound for almost 20 years.