Here’s a check list for getting your home theater up and running.

Entertainment options have never been more varied or easy to access. Whether it’s streaming, watching DVD, satellite or cables feeds, setting up a home theater gives you a chance to enjoy all the action

Where will you be watching?

Ideally, your home theater needs a room large enough for a setting area and some distance between the screen and speakers. Ambient light should be minimum and you’ll also need ceilings high enough for mount your projector.

Projectors

Today’s digital projectors handle a wide variety of media from video, TV, photos or documents. The type of digital projector you buy will depend on how you’re going to use it. Home theater projectors are generally used in completely dark room, so don’t need to bright as home projectors. A general TV projector used in a bright room with more ambient light may need a brighter projector. It may be worth spending a big more money for a projector that can handle different types of lighting with more focus options. Look for a projector with a lens shift option if you will be changing locations of the screen. A  high definition TV projector will give you the clearest picture and sharpest colors for your home theater.

Consider your ceilings

Any home theater also needs a screen and that is dependent on your ceiling. Ceiling height controls screen height and width and ultimately how far back your projector will need to be.  Any screen must be at least three feet off the floor.  The formula for screen height is to subtract three feet from your ceiling height to get  your maximum screen height. Low ceiling present some challenges and may require either a smaller screen or a short-throw projector. Look for a projector with a lens shift option. One of the most important considerations when setting up your home theater is looking at the aspect ratio as well as the projector’s gain.

Pick out the screen

The type of screen you need depends on your projector, the amount of light in the room, the size of the room and the viewing angle distance from the screen. The first step to buying your screen is learning about the various kinds of projector screens that both your budget and projector. There are four basic types of projectors screens:

• Electric
• Permanent, fixed frame
• Manual pull down
• Portable

Read more about screens and their material.

Speakers

Good sound is an important as the screen. With your home theater, the speakers are not going to be next to the projector so you’ll need some connecting cables to hook up everything up. You can forego the cables and use a wireless connection for your speakers. If there isn’t room for cables or you don’t want unsightly clutter, you can also invest on wireless speaker. A Sound Bar system produces a surround sound listening environment using one speaker box.  An AV input switcher is also an important piece of equipment by allowing you to swap between your different video sources such as your computer, DVD player or BlueRay device.

Building your home theater takes some time. Start off gradually and build up. If you need more advice join the FixYourDLP forum or the AV Forum where a community of experts are waiting to help you with your home theater.

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People have been talking about 4K Ultra HD since it stole the show at the Las Vega 2014 CES show. That’s a tough crowd to please.

While this technology is far from being mainstream, it is the future of watching entertainment and we are going to start seeing 4K projectors start hitting the market this year.

Super resolution

Why is everyone so excited about 4k Ultra HD? It’s simply the most amazing resolution out there. Your current 1080 DLP projector offers a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. HD has four times the resolution at 3,840 x 2,160. Well Ultra HD gives you cinema quality resolution at 4,096 x 2,160) and eventually to 8K (7,680x 4,320). All those extra pixels mean a picture with ultra definitions, colors that astonish, lifelike textures and more nuance details. The image is going to pop on screen.

While there are some 4K TVs on the market, the major manufacturers are just starting to get on board. Sharp, Toshiba, Sony and some of the smaller Chinese manufacturers have already released their latest models. As consumers jump on the bandwagon, you can expect the prices for 4k TVs to drop even further.

Perfect marriage

4k Ultra HD and projectors are the perfect combination.  You need a larger screen of 60 inches or more with a cinema-style set-up in order to gain the full benefits. Smaller screens or TV located more than 10 feet away will not benefit from this technology. You just won’t see anything.

The good news for those who already own a HDTV is you can stream the current 4K choices right now. Your HDMI cables can pass 4K so there is no need to upgrade your cables or anything else.

4K Projectors

Sony is leading the pack with 4K projectors. It unveiled its 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector and the results were amazing. It has an even smoother display with more saturated color and lifelike images than any other HD projector

Simply place this projector near a wall and an enormous 147-inch image appears. No installation is needed with this ultimate short throw projector. With the image projected onto the wall, no one can walk in front of the image and there’s no need to ceiling mount this projector. This means it takes up less room. Its 4K technology means there is no pixelation that is sometimes associated with HD viewing. The 1.6x power zoom makes the projector able to change to a size that suits your wall space. You can sit closer and enjoy a larger image.

Sounds amazing doesn’t it? Before you run out to purchase one be prepared for sticker shock. The Sony 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector starts at $30K. It does come loaded with 10 4K movies.

Current home theaters ready to go

The good news for those who already own a HDTV and have set up home theatres is that you can start stream the current 4K choices right now. Your HDMI cables can pass 4K so there is no need to upgrade your cables or anything else.

Not enough content

The biggest challenge with 4K Ultra HD is with content. This technology is so new that there just hasn’t been enough shows or films produced in the new format. YouTube has some 4K videos but the largest supplier right now is Netflix. House of Cards, Season 2 premiered in 4K and you can get all five seasons of Breaking Bad in 4K. More shows are being added daily.

As the technology evolves, we will see more choices in 4K Ultra HD projectors and TVs. There is also going to be more to watch. Prices will start to drop and soon enough 4K will become the industry standard.

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