Home Cinema: An Alternative to the Big Cinema Screen
Navigating the components for home cinema
Today's material we will focus on home theaters - who should think about purchasing them, what you need to know about the development of "home" theater technologies and, most importantly, how and in what home theaters differ from their "big" brothers. To understand this, we talked to Kerim Tatevian, an expert in home theater systems design.
Home cinema and large cinema
It is important to begin with the fact that home theaters and their “big brothers” are related, but somewhat more distant than it seems. At first glance, advanced cinema sound technologies are created by companies exclusively for large cinema halls, and then, in a greatly reduced form, are being converted into the format of home appliances.
This opinion is shaped, among other things, by the influence of the fact that companies operating in this field (for example, Dolby) do not formally distinguish between professional and household equipment, putting their own label on it.
Take Dolby Atmos for example: since this technology is often spoken of exclusively in the context of a “big” movie, users may be skeptical about its “home” version (and generally the ability to play sound in a similar format at home). However, all major electronics manufacturers are already selling receivers with Dolby Atmos track decoding. And many manufacturers of speaker systems also produce special speakers that work on reflection from the ceiling and are designed to complement the surround sound systems that people already have in full compliance with Atmos requirements.
In terms of sound quality, home-based technologies do not catch up with theatrical: they are just different. And the difference between products under the same Dolby Atmos label for large cinema halls, and home equipment is very large - and this is not about the “inferiority” of home appliances, but that it would be simply incorrect to compare it with the “professional” one.
For example, a professional processor for Atmos - Dolby CP850 cinema halls costs a million rubles and can "show" a sound object through 64 channels, creating the same effect for every viewer, no matter what seat in the cinema hall he sits. Home processors are much weaker, but the rooms that they have to voice are smaller, and the seats in the home environment are more or less compact. So the effect of "immersion" is achieved in the home system is very convincing.
As for the video, many modern projectors from leading manufacturers show a picture just as good as in a movie theater. And yes, in the matter of recreating the "cinema" picture without a projector and the screen will not do:
It is also in the habit (we have been watching a big movie on the screen since childhood) and in the nature of visual perception. A person sees objects in reflected light. Very few things emit light themselves. TV is one of them.
Moreover, from the economic point of view, a projector / screen combination is more profitable than a large TV panel, even if an expensive panel is just the initial size for a projection screen. The only question is the correct setting, therefore, in order to achieve a quality of reproduction comparable to the picture in the cinema hall, you must either immerse yourself in the study of the subject, or rely on experts who will help you install and configure the system.
Sony's VPL-HW40ES 3D Cinema Projector with 3D function provides comfortable viewing even in well-lit rooms.
Result:theater technologies for the home do not “catch up” with the possibilities of large cinema halls, but rather move in parallel with them. At the same time, even at home, the user has the opportunity to recreate a picture and sound that are not inferior to a “large” cinema - if you have the experience and time to immerse in the topic or (better yet) under the guidance of a specialist.
Limitations and capabilities of home theaters
And yet, to say that you can create a home theater with ease in any room is not entirely true. After all, even in country houses the most common place for the cinema is the basement, a place that is naturally soundproofed, as it is surrounded by main walls. Nevertheless, even in this case, it is often necessary to take additional measures so that the sound does not go beyond the cinema hall. Residents of high-rise buildings are more difficult in this respect:
In a city apartment, your neighbors will stand on the path to realistic sound reproduction. And if you do not want a district police officer to be present at your film shows, plan a large part of the general construction budget aimed at reducing the sound permeability of the floor and ceiling walls. You'll have to donate part of the room's area, but if you're a real movie enthusiast, it won't stop you.
Another important aspect of the organization of space is the possibility of darkening the room where the cinema is equipped. Here, too, there are no obstacles for movie lovers - approximately equally dense curtains, and (for enthusiasts) special roll-curtains, controlled from the console.
The screen for the Digis Ellipse projector with electric drive is completely ready for operation and does not require additional settings and installations.
Kerim stresses: in the way of one who set himself the goal of “assembling” a home theater, there will be more interesting solutions than problems, despite the current price changes. On the one hand, after the jumps in the course, the prices for equipment really increased, on the other hand, the development of cinema technologies provided for this money the quality of sound and pictures, which bypassed earlier was much more expensive.
Therefore, when forming your system from scratch, it should be borne in mind that “immersive formats” (as we discussed above) are a reality:
If you are planning to purchase now, be sure to choose a receiver or processor with Dolby Atmos, DTS: X or Auro3D playback capability. If the budget is “running out”, then columns for high-altitude channels can be bought later.
Bottom line: if you are thinking about buying a home theater, pay attention to the “immersing” technologies - this is the “second wind” of the entire industry, in which nothing new has appeared for a long time. The type of living space for a movie lover should not be a deterrent - of course, there are more restrictions in an apartment than in a private house, but they can also be circumvented by properly planning the budget and taking care of not only the equipment, but also the room equipment. If now your budget does not allow you to collect the desired “set”, limit yourself to a sufficient minimum: it is important to provide for the availability of the necessary infrastructure for its expansion.
Complete set for creating a home theater Onkyo HT-S5805Allows you to play sound in Dolby Atmos, in configuration 5.1.2. The supplied receiver is equipped with a 4K Ultra HD output.
New old technology
Of course, the zealous movie-lovers still have doubts about whether it is worth investing in expensive equipment now - after all, it is possible that it will be replaced by a fundamentally new format, and all current improvements will be outdated. Kerim refers to these sentiments philosophically:
Technology does not become obsolete so quickly as to become an obstacle in the way of a person who wants to watch movies at home with high quality. The technical parameters of a modern projector satisfy practically all the requirements of the existing ones, I note separately, “mass” formats. I think our viewers do not care that the Japanese NHK began broadcasting sports events in 4K and is actively introducing 8K.
Of course, as Kerim points out, modern “immersive” technologies have made certain advances in the cinema environment, making the usual “surrounding” formats “less fashionable”. However, the modern market is not yet saturated with the usual video playback formats, and new technologies, although different from the previous generation technology, do not turn it into hopelessly outdated.
In addition, you can “grow” your own system to the same Dolby Atmos, and without changing the whole system: it is enough to replace the receiver (not the cheapest part of the set, but still not as expensive as a completely new system). It will be much easier with the speakers: if you have a free-standing kit in the room, then you can buy special modules that use the sound reflected from the ceiling to create the Atmos altitude component.
They produce an increasing number of manufacturers of acoustics. Such modules will need at least two. If you have a built-in system, then somehow you have to add 2 or 4 additional columns to the ceiling - taking into account the wiring and reconfiguration of the system, without the participation of specialists, this is not enough.
Special rear speakers Klipsch RP-140SA to work in the Dolby Atmos system is designed to upgrade existing home theaters
Kerim identifies several of the most common types of moviegoers: for someone home theater is a complete alternative to the public. Such film fans do not consider going to the “big” cinema as a potentially interesting pastime.
However, it is much more common for those who watch movies on the big screen and in good quality at home: such people go to the cinema for high-profile premieres, and only loved films are selected for the house. And there are those who are quite satisfied with watching a movie from a tablet or from a laptop and do not go to the cinema, and do not buy a home theater. But our industry does not work for them.
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