How to choose a home theater system

An LCD projector uses a projector lamp (rated at up to 2000 hours or more) that projects light through 3
small (often .76" to 2.5" TFT) LCD panels. The image is then focused through a single lens and onto a
front projection screen or white wall.
These projectors are primarily designed for high brightness, data display and portability so that they can
be taken on the road or moved around into conference rooms and classrooms. The brightness levels are
usually 1000 ANSI lumens or more, which is plenty of image intensity for a screen, even with the room
lights on. This compares to the 160 to 350 ANSI lumens of a CRT projector.
The main issue with these projectors for home theater use is the color quality, contrast ratio, and lack of
deep blacks that most presentation style projectors produce. Despite this, there are some very good quality
LCD projectors that will produce a very acceptable HDTV image projected onto a screen for home theater
use. The other great advantages of these small projectors is that they do not require convergence
maintenance like a CRT projector and they have a single lens that usually has zoom capability. This
means that the projector can be placed at a range of distances from the screen so it can often be tucked
away in the back of the room. They also come with electronic "keystone" correction so the image can be
squared even though the projector is mounted above or below the center of the screen.
Before you rush into buying one of these for home theater use, be sure that it is designed to accept an
HDTV video signal and that it has been designed for home theater movies not just computer graphics. A
good example of a Home Theater projector is the Sony VPL-VW50. This is a 1080p projector with a
native resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1. This projector uses SXRD
(Silicon Crystal Reflective Display) technology which reflects light off of the chips rather than passing
light through it as with most LCD projectors.
Also, before you buy, test the projector out with a DVD movie and a regular TV signal to see if the image
is acceptable to you. Most of these projectors do not come with a built in TV tuner, so they will have to be
connected to either a VCR (which almost always has a TV tuner), an HDTV tuner, an HDTV cable box,
or a Satellite receiver.

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