The most technologically savvy homeowners bask in crystal-clear television screens when they’re home and can control the lights while they’re out of town. Without moving an inch, they can decide what music is playing in each room.
Home Theater Technology
What’s the latest craze in flat screen televisions this spring is flat screen panels which use a new edge lit LED technology. The definition of LED is: Light emitting diodes that let electricity pass in only one direction emitting visible light when electricity is applied, much like a light bulb. When many LEDs are side-by-side, they can create pictures, such as the scrolling red LED signs found everywhere.
The LED flat screen televisions deliver better picture quality with an ultra-slim design, and are eco-friendly. The series carried in the showroom is white LEDs resulting in a television that is considerably less expensive than a television that uses a RGB value (red, green and blue LEDs). These flat screen televisions also consume up to 40% less power.
With the new LED backlighting system, Samsung has bridged that gap to rival color saturation and black levels that in the past were unheard of from LCD television products. And probably the best news for the end user is that they consume 40% less energy than traditional LCD’s.
Plasma and LCD will keep maturing but will not be replaced yet: These maturing technologies will continue to be bargains for consumers—that’s the cool thing about maturing technologies—even as they get less and less profitable for manufacturers. Successors like OLED are on the horizon, but Sony won’t bring OLED to the U.S. next year. Rumors that Samsung has a 40-inch OLED.
The fledgling technology of making ultra-thin displays using organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) is starting to bear fruit. Its contrast ratio makes pictures pop; it’s thinner than a credit card. OLEDs do not require a backlight to function, and consume less power during operation.
OLED televisions may one day be flexible, cardboard thin and large enough to cover an 9’ X 9’ wall. This is the greatest promise that they offer. Let’s face it, plasma and LCD TVs are already delivering stunning picture quality. The greatest attribute of OLED may be this flexibility, allowing the technology to be used for many new applications.
But what’s the difference between a simple, well-equipped family room with a home-theater system and a true media room or dedicated home theater that would make any audiophile or film buff truly happy?
There’s a big misconception out there that by simply plugging a surround sound system into a fairly large TV and you have a home theater. It takes a lot more than that!
A high-end media room provides a variety of uses for the family, and a dedicated home theater has certain requirements that make them stand out.
Surround Sound
A home theater needs at least a 5.1 system (five full-range speakers and one subwoofer) for total immersion in theater-like sound, where dialog, sound effects, background music and low-frequency (bass) emanate from specific speakers placed carefully about the room.
Amplification
An A/V receiver with the proper decoder is required for multi-channel audio formats (such as Dolby Digital EX 6.1 or THX Surround EX). Some of these receivers have integrated amplifiers and equalizers; others house those components separately. Most manufacturers package their components together a convenience for the consumer. You need to make sure all the components complement each other, and that there’s enough amplification to drive the sound.
The Backbones
Home theaters need substantial wiring, and structured wiring is a must. Avoid skimping on wires that connect the components to each other. Heavy-gauge speaker wire and patch cords enable a system to reach its full potential.
Something to Watch
The whole point of a home theater is that people will be able to watch something. This is where the DVD player and satellite dishes set top box are becoming more popular because they carry a lot more high-definition broadcasts.
Professional home theater designers optimize acoustics by properly sizing the room and placing materials that properly absorb, reflect or diffuse sound. They also optimize sightlines by placing seating in an amphitheater style and at the proper distance from the screen.
Seamless integration of the electronics into the design of the room by placing components behind a wall or cabinet with hidden access and placing speakers in the ceiling or wall provides a clean, sleek look to the home theater.
Some pretty spectacular seating is available, such as recliners with massage and heat that are styled after true theater seats (only more plush). There are also specialized home theater seats with speakers and subwoofers hidden within.
What is video up conversion?
Better Music Builder is committed to developing state-of-the-art audio technologies and providing innovative audio products to the U.S. consumers at affordable prices. One of the latest technologies our engineering team in the process of research is video up conversion.
With the trends of high density digital video being standards in all new A/V system, the concept of analog video up conversion has become a frequent term; growing need for video scaling has led to substantial progress further down the food chain — a trend that will surely continue. Video up conversion is the notion of converting or sampling the lower analog signal into a more higher sampling digital video signal.
Analog component-video is created from the digital original by running through video digital-to-analog (D/A) converters which is perfect for digital component-video sources such as DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc players, HDTV tuners, and satellite and digital-cable boxes. A receiver or preamp with component-video up conversion will trans-code composite-video to S-video and S-video to component-video, so regardless of what type of analog video signal comes in, it will be available at the component-video output.
HDMI up conversion takes the process one step further, running the analog component-video signals through analog-to-digital (A/D) converters to yield digital component-video at the HDMI output.
Analog to digital video conversion is always possible as long as the required signal connection is compatible. For example, its is possible to convert the composite analog signal and video up convert it into components, S-video, or HDMI digital signals but not the other way around. It is not possible to convert the 3 component signals back into a single composite.
Live Performances and Concerts
Live entertainment is punctuated by a variety of technical elements. Significant advances in technology over the last several years are redefining clarify and quality of performances to enhance audience experience. Additionally, advances in control protocol and system communications provide flexibility and streamline a multitude of production operations. Lighting, sound acoustics, audio visual systems, motors and mechanical controls, and the ability to broadcast events locally and/or nationally overlie basic building functions.
Equally as relevant to what an audience sees is what they hear and how they hear it. Virtual acoustic technology allows the pre-tuning of rooms, enhancing the efficiency of acoustic design and implementation of sound systems. The ability to create these virtual environments in practice settings allows instrumentalist to adjust their performance to a variety of environments. Other sound technology includes the utilization of line array speakers, creating greater consistency in sound levels throughout a room, limiting noise reflection from ceilings, and providing a greater level of clarity to the audience. In addition to state-of-the-art technology and productions, it is equally able to provide user-friendly and functionality in small environments.
For example, professional venues can change the acoustics of a room with movable partitions and high-end wall finishes and ceiling tiles. A cost-effective alternative reverberation enhancement system, would allow staff members to change the reverberence, loudness, and perception of spaciousness in the auditorium electronically.
Good acoustics are essential. If you put talented performers on a stage in a room with poor acoustics, the audience will be distracted by the way the performance sounds. While a typical audience member may not be able to pinpoint exactly what bothered them, they won’t fully enjoy the performance.
Without an acoustic enhancement system, the audience is less able to appreciate the talent of the music being produced. The system allows an auditorium to sound like a variety of different venues by employing electro-acoustic technologies.
Karaoke – Bringing Live Concert into the Living Room
As the trend of Live Performance Show such as American Idol are inspiring more and more to bring the live entertainment into the living room. The concept of Karaoke is popping all over the living rooms around the neighborhood. Current home theater entertainment system was designed for a theater like experience. But the live auditorium concert like entertainment was not incorporated in the technologies.
Better Music Builder team has created the industry first 3-Channel Positional Audio Technology for small room entertaining. By isolating, channeling, refocusing the vocal and music with advanced CPU based Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Technology to create sounds beyond the stereo basis. These effects include localization of sound sources to restore clarity and definition, bringing a natural live presence to any audio source, truly deliver a fuller, more natural and immersive audio experience - users hear the difference. With rich features like speech enhancement, noise reduction, echo cancellation, noise-dependent volume control, and hearing exposure monitoring offers the most comprehensive, highest quality voice solution currently available on the market.
 Prior to 3-Channel Positional Audio Technology, vocal speech and music are delivered to all channels to the speaker and suppressing the natural tone of the vocal creating a squelchy sounds as if the vocalist’s nose is being pinched.
- With 3-Channel Positional Audio Technology, user can actually experience the following effects:
- Music and sound effects are lifelike and realistic
- Sound remains clear at low volume
- Reveals natural depth and detail
- Music is natural and brilliant with rich bass response
- Superior dialog clarity
- 5-D PRO Audio Technology
Establish on top of the proven 3-Channel Positional Audio Technology is the 5-D PRO Audio Technology for large room entertainment. By incorporating the “spot light” concept into audio technologies, the full range of frequencies response can be brought into a large room to create a “presence” experience that every audience can experience.
Further extending the surround sound experience for large auditorium experience is the “groups” categorization technology concept. By programming each individual group with the low/mid and/or high range frequency responses with timing delays incorporated, a truly live performance experience are realized.
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