Home theater do’s & don’ts

To guide the Filipino home theater fanatic into the world of amazing audio and video, Audio Visual Driver Int’l., (AVDI) the country’s leading home theater specialists, shares the following do’s and don’ts in setting up a home theater. With showrooms located at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City, AVDI distributes topnotch audio and video equipment brands like Mark Levinson, Barco, Revel, Energy Loudspeakers, Proceed, Faroudja, Stewart, and has a stable of engineers and technicians highly trained in the THX system by Lucasfilm and Imaging Science Foundation.

• Do choose the right room or location for your home theater. It need not be a separate room as the living room or den may also be an ideal site. Make sure the room is far from the noise of passing cars on the street, or away from the bedroom where people sleep. Choose a room that can almost be completely darkened by a dimmer switch.

• Do plan the setup well. It is not enough that you have found an appropriate place for your couch, TV and speakers. Arrange the furniture so that a lot of people have a good view of the screen. Set up the couch a few feet away from the rear wall to get the maximum surround sound effects and bass response.

• Don’t darken the room completely. As darkness is important for better viewing, you will also need enough light to do certain tasks like finding your way out or navigating your remote control. Lower the lights instead by installing dimmers.

• Do know the different speakers required to make a home theater and what their individual functions are. This will give you pointers as to where they should be placed within the whole setup. The right and left speakers, for instance, should be placed a bit forward beside the screen to improve the sound and help them sync with the center speaker. The center speaker is placed either above or below the screen, aimed ideally mounted above ear level on both sides of the viewer.

Small speakers usually sound best when mounted on stands. If you mount them on shelves or cabinets, make sure that they are brought forward until they are aligned with the edge.

Subwoofers, on the other hand, are designed to give your setup enough bass. Having a separate subwoofer allows you to maximize the surround sound effects.

• Don’t tangle the wires and cables, even if they are hidden from view. For prewired rooms, make sure the wires are neatly and safely tucked so that they do not trip anyone. If you hide them underneath the carpet, make sure to avoid heavy traffic areas to minimize wear on the wires. It would be best to run them around the room’s perimeter attached to the wall with a staple gun rather than to crisscross them across the room.

• Do experiment with the room acoustics. As not all rooms are built uniformly, the same equipment will perform differently in every room.

• Do maximize the use of your present equipment before you upgrade to better ones.

• Don’t be lured by expensive equipment, your satisfaction is the most important thing and not the price tag that goes with the equipment.

• Do learn from the experts. AVDI has technicians and engineers properly trained to answer all your questions on equipment and setups. For inquiries, visit the AVDI showroom or call 638-84-80 or 638-84-81.