What do I need for a home theater? / What are the basic home theater components?

Newcomers to the home theater scene often wonder what exactly are the basic home theater components they need to bring the cinema experience home. The most basic system consists of three components. Somewhat in order of importance those three components are a good, preferably LARGE video display -- you'll want to complement that with a digital surround sound system -- and you will need a DVD player for a video source. Video DisplayYour video display can be as basic as a regular TV (again preferably BIG -- 32" TVs are relatively cheap nowadays). You may want to opt for an LCD or plasma TV of 42" or larger -- prices for such units have dropped considerably in price in recent years -- of course the larger the screen the larger the price tag. Another option is the DLP, SXRD, LCD or CRT rear-projection TV. Of those, I recommend the DLP models. DLP and SXRD RPTVs offer the best combination of image quality and longevity of that image quality. Both LCD and CRT sets are susceptible to image de ... more