Home theater hacks : 100 industrial-strength tips & tools / Brett McLaughlin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McLaughlin, Brett.

Series:

Hacks series.

Hacks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Home entertainment systems.

Home video systems.

Stereophonic sound systems.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (416 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Sebastopol, California : O'Reilly, 2005.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

It might be the long lines at the theater, the 4.00 for a small bag of popcorn, or the cutting-edge technology that's now so readily available to the home market. Whatever the reason, the home theater market today is booming like the soundtrack to Star Wars! Want proof? A Google search for home theater reveals over three million results. Yikes! It's simply undeniable: More and more people prefer watching their favorite movies, television shows, and videos from the comfort of their own sofas and couches. What's also undeniable is the inexperience of most people who choose

Contents:

Home Theater Hacks; Credits; Contributors; Acknowledgments; Preface; How to Use This Book; How This Book Is Organized; Conventions; Using Code Examples; How to Contact Us; Got a Hack?; Disclaimer; 1. Buying Gear; 1. Master Theater-Speak; 1.2.2. DVD Players; 1.2.3. VCRs; 1.2.4. Satellite and Cable Receivers; 1.2.5. Receivers; 1.2.6. Separates; 2. Audition Before You Buy; 1.3.2. Bring a Favorite DVD and Audio CD for Auditioning; 1.3.3. Avoid Switch Boxes; 1.3.4. Evaluate the Whole, Not the Parts; 1.3.5. Always Look at the Manual; 3. Buy from Chain Stores with Skepticism

1.4.2. Dress for the Best Service1.4.3. A Limited Inventory; 4. Buy in Person from Electronics Boutiques; 1.5.2. Prepare First, Shop Second; 1.5.3. Shop for the Complete Package; 5. Shop Intelligently at eBay; 1.6.2. Avoid Scams; 1.6.2.2. Pay attention to feedback; 1.6.2.3. Email, email, email; 6. Find High-End Equipment Online; 1.7.2. Retail Prices Are Useless; 1.7.3. Always Call Dealers; 7. Buy Cabinets for Your Gear; 1.8.2. The Real Deal; 1.8.3. Cable Management?; 1.8.4. Avoid Glass Like the Plague; 8. Plan Your Room Décor; 1.9.2. Lighting; 1.9.3. Posters; 1.9.4. Seating

1.9.5. The Little Things2. Video Components; 9. Get the Right TV; 2.2.2. Consider the Source; 2.2.3. Connectivity; 2.2.4. Size Is Everything...; 2.2.5. Which Brand?; 10. Your TV&s First Steps; 2.3.2. Prevent Early Burn-In; 11. Move Your TV Safely; 12. Fix Panasonic&s Picture Glitch; 2.5.2. Fixing the Picture; 2.5.3. What Happened?; 13. Figure Out Aspect Ratios; 2.6.2. Prevalent Aspect Ratios; 2.6.2.2. 1.66:1; 2.6.2.3. 1.78:1 (16:9); 2.6.2.4. 1.85:1; 2.6.2.5. 2.35:1; 2.6.3. What Does This Mean to Me?; 14. Avoid Cheap Projectors; 2.7.1.2. Liquid crystal display (LCD)

2.7.1.3. Digital light processing (DLP)2.7.1.4. Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS); 2.7.2. Black Is Beautiful; 2.7.3. High-End Projectors; 15. DVHS on a Budget; 2.8.2. Enter the Hackers; 2.8.3. Modding the VCR; 2.8.4. A DVHS Application; 16. Cover Black Bars with Letterbox Mattes; 2.9.2. Creating the Matte; 2.9.3. Attaching the Matte; 17. Improve the Picture on Rear Projection TVs; 18. Paint Your Theater a Neutral Color; 2.11.2. The Munsell Book of Color; 2.11.3. Putting It Together; 19. Backlight Your TV; 2.12.2. My Light Is Too Bright!; 20. Add Metal Plating to Support a Center Speaker

21. Squeeze Your TV into Your Basement2.14.2. Wiggle the Grill Off; 2.14.3. Remove Vented Rear Cover; 2.14.4. Remove the Screen; 2.14.5. Detach Wiring from the Screen Assembly; 2.14.6. Remove the TV&s Top Housing; 2.14.7. Move It!; 2.14.8. Reassemble; 3. Audio Components; 22. Get the Right Receiver; 3.2.2. Spending Some Money; 23. Watts Are Meaningless Without Context; 3.3.2. Relating Wattage to SPL; 3.3.3. Factoring in Distance; 24. Amplify the Front Soundstage; 3.4.2. Where&s the On/Off Switch?; 3.4.3. But That&s a Lot of Equipment; 3.4.4. Experiencing the Difference

25. The Mythical Burn-In Period

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781306817530

1306817536

9780596523374

0596523378

9780596550622

0596550626

OCLC:

609841312