decent theater doesn’t have to be that expensive at all. Gregory and Tonya Kearson, a married couple with children, recently bought a new house in Rosedale and converted a portion of the basement into a theater complete with a wall mounted 50-inch plasma television, surround sound system and sectional sofa style seating for six. “I like the idea of being able to view television as if I was in a theater. It’s a big enough picture for me and anyone else,” Gregory said. The Kearsons have gotten good use out of the space as well, hosting family nights, entertaining guests with movie and sports parties. It’s a popular addition to their home and the total package costs less than $5,000. “Although I enjoy the picture, it’s more about the time we spend as a family,” said Tonya. Other individuals and couples are building theater systems to fit their middle class budget as well. Ivan and Keya Whitaker and their two daughters, enjoy the picture and sounds coming from their 52 inch floor model projection television. They too have dedicated a large portion of their basement to accommodate movie and sports parties. Keya, who is as much of a fan of the theater as her husband, appreciates being able to host parties and not have to go to the movies as much for entertainment. When discussing how much more they would add to their theater space, she mentions only a few more items. “I want to add another type of lounge chair but in addition to that, it would be nice to have a mini refrigerator to keep beverages in.” Keya said. Ivan, now a computer specialist for Comcast, who used to install cable, remembers connecting customers’ giant screens to cable service before deciding to invest in his own personal theater. With his expertise in consumer electronics, he shopped for the best possible package for the money and did his own installation and wiring. “Being a former cable installer, I was able to see how the resolution differed from brand to brand,” said Rayner, whose job gave him the advantage of on-the-job research/comparison. Before his purchase, he considered a host of factors. “Cost is always important, but the living space has to be considered. You don’t want to clutter the area or box yourself in with a big screen and a loud unit.” Brian suggests that anyone who is considering a home theater system do at least some preliminary research before purchasing. Reading product reviews—whether in print or online—and asking questions help with the process to a degree if you’re familiar with some of the terminology. There are
also things he says that need to be accounted for in your home that add to either a stellar or less than perfect experience. How will the television be used? How often? How big is your space? What kind of lighting do you have? What viewing angles are possible for your guests? Are you in a townhouse, apartment or single family home? Questions such as these help determine what technology is the best choice for your home theater system or how powerful your surround sound system should be. “Also keep in mind, what you experience in the store may not be what you experience at home,” Brian said. “Store setups have a few things working for them including, lighting and surround sound studios. When you take a package home, you may see and hear something totally different from what you saw on display.” When it comes to quality, there are lots of television manufacturers to choose from—Sony, Samsung, RCA, Phillips, Panasonic, Toshiba, etc. There are new product manufacturers that are also starting to surface as the technology for developing such products becomes cheaper to mass produce. AOC, Maxent and the growing in popularity Vizio brands target their products for those who want a large digital image, but don’t want to pay extravagant
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costs. According to Brian, they may compete in size and picture, but may lack in special features that give the popular name brands an edge and sometimes justification for their costs. In any case, no matter the manufacturer, Brian highly recommends purchasing the extended warranty. More good news for the budget conscious: digital televisions are actually more energy efficient than their predecessors. In fact, some of the higher end models even have efficiency settings that allow them to dim the brightness slightly and actually save energy. Naturally, however bigger the television, the more energy use. And keep in mind if a new television and theater system is being added, and not replacing a television (which is mostly the case), the energy bill may show a slight increase, but it may be worth the added costs when figuring how much it costs for a large bucket of popcorn and four sodas.
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