Setting up multi-channel audio like a home theater system has always been rather complicated and manufacturers recently have created unique products and technologies including wireless speaker kit products or virtual surround sound to help simplify this procedure. I am going to look at some of the newest technologies that were developed to make setting up home theater systems a breeze. I will illustrate what to look out for when making your buying decision.
Consequently the setup of home theater products has turn out to be a relatively complicated process. Numerous houses are not pre-wired for surround sound. Furthermore, long speaker cables are often unattractive. Suppliers have recently introduced new devices and technologies. These devices were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater products.
Therefore setting up a home theater has turn out to be fairly complex and long speaker wire runs are normally undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Several technologies have emerged to simplify this process.
Virtual surround avoids the remote speakers and simplifies the setup and also eliminates long speaker cord runs. However, it also has a downside. The shape of each human's ear is a little dissimilar. Therefore everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the shape of the ear changes, sound will travel differently. Therefore virtual surround will not work equally well for every person.
A different method for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker cable runs is to employ wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will normally include a transmitter module that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote loudspeakers. Normally the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This offers flexibility to connect to every type of source. A transmitter volume control helps take full advantage of the dynamic range and eliminates clipping of the sound within the transmitter.
Some wireless products come with wireless amplifiers that connect to two speakers. This still requires cable runs between the two speakers. Other products offer separate wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. Entry-level wireless systems utilize FM broadcast or audio compression which will degrade the audio quality to some extent. More advanced wireless systems utilize uncompressed digital audio broadcast. Make certain that you pick a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most a few milliseconds. This will make sure that the audio from all speakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also vital for good sync with the video. If the latency is more than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will degrade the surround sound. Wireless kits often utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless devices than devices using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. This option is referred to as sound bars. In this case the sound for the remote speakers will be broadcast by separate speakers positioned at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to appear to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The effect largely is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in many real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
Consequently the setup of home theater products has turn out to be a relatively complicated process. Numerous houses are not pre-wired for surround sound. Furthermore, long speaker cables are often unattractive. Suppliers have recently introduced new devices and technologies. These devices were developed to help simplify the installation of home theater products.
Therefore setting up a home theater has turn out to be fairly complex and long speaker wire runs are normally undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Several technologies have emerged to simplify this process.
Virtual surround avoids the remote speakers and simplifies the setup and also eliminates long speaker cord runs. However, it also has a downside. The shape of each human's ear is a little dissimilar. Therefore everybody processes sound differently. The signal processing is based on measurements which are done using a standard human ear model. If the shape of the ear changes, sound will travel differently. Therefore virtual surround will not work equally well for every person.
A different method for simplifying home theater installations and eliminating long speaker cable runs is to employ wireless surround sound products or wireless loudspeakers. A wireless solution will normally include a transmitter module that connects to the TV or source and wireless amplifiers that will be connected to the remote loudspeakers. Normally the transmitter part will have amplified loudspeaker inputs and line-level inputs. This offers flexibility to connect to every type of source. A transmitter volume control helps take full advantage of the dynamic range and eliminates clipping of the sound within the transmitter.
Some wireless products come with wireless amplifiers that connect to two speakers. This still requires cable runs between the two speakers. Other products offer separate wireless amplifiers for each loudspeaker. Entry-level wireless systems utilize FM broadcast or audio compression which will degrade the audio quality to some extent. More advanced wireless systems utilize uncompressed digital audio broadcast. Make certain that you pick a wireless system with a low audio latency, at most a few milliseconds. This will make sure that the audio from all speakers, including the non-wireless speakers, is in sync. Low latency is also vital for good sync with the video. If the latency is more than 10 ms then there will be an echo effect which will degrade the surround sound. Wireless kits often utilize the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequency band. Some products also use the 5.8 GHz band. These devices have less competition from other wireless devices than devices using the crowded 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands.
A third technology uses side-reflecting loudspeakers. This option is referred to as sound bars. In this case the sound for the remote speakers will be broadcast by separate speakers positioned at the front at an angle and reflected by walls as to appear to be originating from besides or behind the viewer. The effect largely is determined by the shape of the room and interior design and not work well in many real-world scenarios as a result of different room shapes and obstacles in the room.
