Home Theater 101: Act IV

The conclusion to our Home Theater 101 Series

You mulled over exactly where and how your home theater would all be placed in your room. You picked out the best projector or tv you could afford. The sound system consisted of running a lot of wires but, it's all hooked up and dialed in. You popped an extra buttery bowl of popcorn and settled into your favorite spot on the couch. Now what?, pop in that old worn out VHS tape of a late night B-movie horror recording? We hope not, the horror indeed.

Let's work out on how to get the most out of your system. It's not really so much what you are going to watch, stream, or listen to, but how you go about doing that. What, is a matter of preference afterall, and we're not ones to judge....too much.

HD (High Definition) Content

In Act II of this series we touched a bit on how the resolution of a TV or Projector was not its end-all specification. In that same vein, all HD content is not the same either. Streaming a 4K movie from an internet source such as YouTube or Netflix will not be on the same level of quality as playing one from a 4K UHD Blu-ray, despite both listing the same resolution. Why?, in one word, compression. Streaming services must compress content in order to make it is feasible. Without compression the internet speeds you would need, combined with the sheer amount of data each movie would require, would make the whole thing quite cumbersome. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc is 50-100GB in size and can support up to 128 Megabits per second. Stream that every single time you want to watch a movie, times the number of people that will watch it at the same time, times the number that will end up watching it, and well, yikes that's a lot. Your internet provider would need to charge you more and your streaming service would also cost a lot more. So, Netflix and other services use compression. Compression is basically sacrificing something (in this case, overall quality) to reduce file size and streaming bandwidth. Even with good compression technology, streaming 4K content can use up to 5x the data needs of a regular HD movie. Most 4K streaming will at least require 7 Gigabytes per hour, and that's compressed. Doing basic rough math means a 2-hour 4K movie could go from say 50GB down to 14GB, where did all that data go? Compression. The compression results in visual artifacting (usually in the form of a fuzzy, blocky appearance) and less than whole audio (much like how compressing music to mp3s reduces quality as well). The reason for all this? Money and convenience. It's cheaper for you to pay a monthly subscription rather than to own each movie, and you can do it all from your couch with a remote or an app (while sacrificing what they hope is an acceptable level of lost quality).

Speaking of resolutions, let's take a look at what each format gives you. (A quick note about 'p's - you will see many formats with a number and the letter p, like 1080p. The p stands for progressive. It's little brother was i as in interlaced. The i is fading away as it was really a way to provide lines of resolution in an every-other line array, or interlacing multiple lines to create a whole picture. That was simply the best solution for technology at the time. Progressive allows all lines to be displayed at all times). A standard DVD operates at 480p or 720 columns x 480 rows of pixels. The next step up is 720p or 1280x720. Blu-ray HD is 1080p, 1920x1080. 4K is 2160p, 3840x2160. 8K is 4320p, 7680x4320. As each resolution increases you will need to sit closer in order to truly notice the little differences, since the pixels will be getting extremely small.

*Streaming

Streaming is the most convenient and often the best way to get such a large selection of content, at the sacrifice of some quality. Streaming wars are heating up and many are jumping into it. Hopefully that competition will result in better bang-for-buck services for us consumers. Pricing can vary from company to company and even plan to plan. For example, as of this writing, Netflix currently charges more to stream 4K content but Disney+ does not. Those kinds of differences are out there and require some consideration. Not all content is available in 4K on any service. Deciding where to spend your monthly cash and what sacrifices in quality you are okay with, is up to you.

*Digital Cable, Satellite TV, and Over-the-air

If streaming causes a reduction in quality, does satellite tv offer the solution? No. In fact, at times it can be worse. The FCC regulates and limits broadcasting services, including over-the-air television and cable and satellite companies. These restrictions include maximum bandwidth restrictions that are not only per channel but also per broadcaster. So if channel 2 comes in 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 there is a total limit per channel and all those channels combined. The solution? You guessed it, compression. Pretty much any mass media service that originates beyond your home will include compression. And often, if you want the latest and greatest resolutions, they will be at a premium. While these services also offer variety in content, it is not on-demand, and so you are limited to what they are showing now, or in the case of a DVR, what they have shown in the past if you recorded it.

*Discs and Physical Media

Usually more costly per movie and less convenient than streaming or broadcast offerings. The quality however, has not been sacrificed. It is the highest quality that the movie companies can offer you (assuming you're buying the highest quality media available). Most people reserve this for the movies they really want to own. Movies and shows they'll watch over and over again. They also include the best bonus feature content. Selling physical media gets a little harder each year and so they try to pack in as much value as they can. Bonus content, digital codes, multiple formats, etc.

Media Devices

Each type of media requires a compatible player or hardware and software to access it. Making sure your desired choice of content can be played and enjoyed at home is just as important as the media itself.

*Digital Cable and Satellite TV

If you have and use their services, they should be making sure that you have the equipment to access it. Generally, you don't get much of a choice here. Be sure to confirm with your provider when upgrading to a higher quality (say from HD to 4K Ultra HD) to ensure that you can enjoy what you are paying for.

*Over-the-air

If accessing over terrestrial based broadcasted TV, you'll need an ATSC tuner (most TVs will have these built-in but most projectors do not). You will also need an antenna capable of receiving these signals. The best antennas come with their own signal amplifiers that you plug into a power outlet to ensure you maintain a healthy signal. Most of these channels are also bundled with satellite and cable, but be sure and check with your provider on the details.

*DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray

You spin me right 'round...With each increase in technology the disc players can usually play the previous formats.. An Ultra HD 4K player can play Blu-rays, and a Blu-ray player can play DVDs. But, it does not work the other way around. So, your regular Blu-ray player will not be able to play a UHD disc in 4K. Moving up a format, will require an upgrade in hardware. UHD 4K Blu-ray players range from about $150 to $1000. Some of the most popular models float around the $250 range as of this writing. The majority can pretty much play 4k UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and CDs. The more expensive models feature advanced HDR controls for display fine-tuning and even some serious audio chipsets and connections to extract the best sound from digital media. Most Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray players offer applications (smart apps, if you will) for streaming internet content.

*Smart TVs

Many TVs offer smart applications or ways to stream content to them. This makes it easy for the user but can cause grief down the road. Technology marches on, and not all smart TVs will be able to keep up. Early on in a TV's life these are great but the hardware eventually falls behind and the brains that run the smart apps no longer support all the features you may be looking to use.

*Stand Alone Media Streaming Devices

An external media streaming device can offer more robust hardware capabilities, plus it can be upgraded independently of the rest of your equipment. Be sure the model you are looking at works with the service features you want to use. For example, not all devices can stream 4K content or even Dolby Atmos from all streaming providers.

Roku is the dominant player in this category. They offer some decent choices at various price points. They also support a wider array of applications and have user-friendly interfaces. Google Chromecast and Amazon's Fire TV series are some other popular choices. Each offer different levels of features and support and are great options as well.

Special mention is required of two other choices. Apple TV and Nvidia Shield. These devices have avid fans on both sides of the fence. They are popular for 4K streaming and are quite powerful and can load many apps and games from the Apple Store and Google Play Apps. In the case of the Shield, it also supports streaming gaming from Nvidia's Geforce Now gaming service. They run around $130-$200 depending on the models and offer the greatest flexibility and app selection.

*Media Servers

How about your own personal in-home Netflix, interested? We thought so. Media servers can offer that and even more. You can dedicate a computer or similar device with a lot of hard drive storage to keep all of your photos, music, tv shows, and movies. Then they can run some software that allows devices such as a Roku, Nvidia Shield TV, or even certain smart TVs to browse and access those files. One of the most appealing factors, is that you can determine the quality and whether or not you even want compression at all. And when it's within your own home network, no worrying about streaming limits. You can in some cases, even access your content away from home too. This all sounds great, but what are the drawbacks? Well you need equipment to play the host, a PC or similarly robust device that can host software and lots of hard drive storage. The cost of the hardware plus the cost of the software (some are free up or are freemium offerings) will play a factor. The media server ideally will need to be 'always on' as well. If accessing via some other device, like a Roku, that must also be considered. Most of those hurdles don't offer too high a bar to cross. The main issue is often time. You need time to set this up, organize and rip or transfer your physical media to your media server. If you're like some, that could mean a thousand or more movies and shows to transfer over. That also requires software and a compatible disc drive. For example, for ripping a Blu-ray you would need a computer Blu-ray disc drive that the computer can use, and software to pull the movie from the disc and on to the hard drive. Due to encryption on the disc, you cannot simply copy and paste. Also, the battle over all the finer points of the law on doing this seem to be revisited every so often and can deter some users and even manufacturers from fully participating. But when these are overcome, the media server can be quite the treat. To start scratching that curiosity itch, check out the most popular solution - Plex.

Summary

From the source material, through the wires, processors, to the display, out through the speakers, and into your eyes & ears (other senses), your home theater should be an experience machine. When the room and all the sundry parts come together, it's a beautiful thing. You may have to complete your own home theater is stages, and that is just fine. Do not let your love of this experience be dampened by the scope or complexity at hand. Allow the journey to run its course and appreciate all that it truly is along the way. This may be the conclusion if this Home Theater 101 series of articles, best rest assured, more is on the way, we've only made it to the opening credits by this stage. So stay tuned and come back for more.

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