Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Bob Wood, and my goal is to save you time, grief and money, while educating you in the area of Home Theater. I am writing this for someone with little technical knowledge, so don't worry about being lost or left behind in technobabble.

You've either come to or stumbled upon this website because you are doing web research before your old TV dies, or the FCC makes it obsolete, and you then drop some hard earned cash on a new, fancy, wide screen, high definition home theater setup.

We're in the same boat, except I have had the opportunity to do a lot of research on home theater specifics, and I'll share with you what I've found so far, and what I find out as the technology leaps ahead. And boy, will it LEAP!

Let's start right away!

Don't make common Home Theater mistakes!

Here's HOME THEATER Ugly Secret #1: MOST HOME THEATER EQUIPMENT YOU CAN BUY TODAY IS ALREADY OBSOLETE.

Does that mean it won't work? No, just that the new Gee Whiz 2000 mk2 is already designed, with the prototype working, surrounded by guys wearing white lab coats - the official nerd uniform. Does this mean you shouldn't do anything yet? No, the rush forward of technology does NOT mean you should postpone shopping now IF YOU SHOP SMART. I'll tell you what you need to know to do that.

I'll explain as easily as possible how to hook everything up. Don't feel bad, as they keep changing cables and standards and it IS confusing. Or, has been, until Great Home Theater.com

Explore this site, which is based on what I know, have researched and have learned. I will tell you what you NEED to know AND EVEN MAKE an educated decision FOR you if you wish. I won't steer you wrong. If your goal is to get a peak home theater experience for the best value, you've landed on the right web-place!

I will do this for you in easy-to-identify price and tech levels so you can skip to where you'll be most comfortable, and get what you need to know the way you want it.

I won't pull any punches, either. Some of the magazines are so darn polite! I guess they are so afraid to lose advertising, that most of the stuff they review either gets raves, or they cover their tracks in techno-babble you can't understand.

The ugly secrets of Home Theater will be revealed. You need to start here, or, believe me, you are at risk of making a BIG mistake. Are you ready to live with that mistake for ten or more years? Many will. They don't know about this web site. So help your friends as you grow familiar with the non-nonsense approach here - send them an E mail and tell them what YOU learned at Great HomeTheater.com in The Top Ten Ugly SECRETS of Home Theater. But back to me. I came into this initially through the audio side. I programmed radio stations. Wait! Don't hate me. Most of the stations were VERY VERY popular, so I think we were doing it right. Shameful admission time: I have a stereo that cost over $100,000. Worth it? No. C'mon. No! But I kept at it, for years, upgrading, modifying, experimenting, reaching for the best. Then the video bug bit me - I had home video as far back as when the 'portable' video recorder was a small suitcase! All along the way, I learned lessons which will prove valuable to you. I will bring that perspective to your search for answers. I'll tell you what I'd do in your situation and WHY.

My eyes were literally opened - my journey into great Video, into Hi-Def home theater, began at a broadcasting convention back in the 80s. There was a working HDTV setup where you could walk up right off the convention floor and train their various High Definition TV cameras on models or props. After giving the model a knockout close-up, I zoomed in on a fish tank on the set. Honestly, on the monitor it looked EXACTLY like a fish tank stuck in a TV case. It was that real! Not a typo - THIS WAS IN THE 80s!!! MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO!!!

Flash forward - sometime later - but still years ago - we made some friends on a cruise and later were invited to visit their home in Los Angeles. The man ran the pro video division of one of the largest companies in the business. On that visit, as we sat in their terrific living room - which looked like a magazine ad - just beautiful - we saw our first look at a PLASMA television in his Home Theater. After oohing and aahing, I asked if I should get one. He said no. Later, I will reveal what he DID say.

Home Theater Projectors: What to know before you immerse yourself in the big screen home theater surround sound experience.

Arguably, the fastest growing segment of leisure time activity is in the field of Home Entertainment. Which, by the way, rarely takes place in a field any more. Technology is knocking at your door. In surround sound and high definition aka Home Theater. But because technology is racing along at the speed of greed, it can confuse you. I understand. I will decode it for you. I'll give you the essentials and will include guiding insights for those who are just starting out, are already knee deep into it, or are insanely rich and want the most expensive toys to compensate for... you know.

Generally, we are talking about a big new Home Theater TV, which will in all likelihood (unless you miss the rest of this section) be High Definition (also known as HI-DEF, or HDTV). All Hi-Def sets are digital. This TV will display a picture which is wider - more like a movie screen. But the picture is not as high in comparison to what we've seen on regular TVs till now. ("Old" TV is 4 x 3. "New" TV has a ratio of 16 wide x 9 high.) The new TV can be much sharper with better color saturation than you are used to. You'll be able to make out faces in the stands at football games, see beads of sweat, blades of grass. Ear hair on deer. Why would you WANT to? Well, trust us, it's like a window: much more real.

Can you watch "new" TV on a "old" TV? Yes, for now, but the Federal Communication Commission in the US has mandated a change. Old -analog - channels will be auctioned off to be used for other things. New "digital" channels will replace them. At that time, all "old" TVs will need a converter box. When is this happening? Well, they - the government - keep changing it. I won't confuse you (or me) other than to say - very soon. In a newsletter, (sign up free) I will cover this changing story. But soon. For sure.

Here's the latest of what the FCC says:

"Television stations serving all markets in the United States are airing digital television programming, although they still must provide analog programming until the target date set by Congress for the completion of the transition to DTV - December 31, 2006. That date may be extended (possibly to January 1 2009), however, until most homes (85%) in an area are able to watch the DTV programming. At that point, broadcasting on the current (analog) channels will end and that spectrum will be put to other uses."

UPDATE: Jan 2009 it is.

What happens if you watch "regular" TV on a new High-Def wide screen?

You get a space on the screen with no picture. Think picture frame and you get the idea. Almost all HDTV sets have adjustments to stretch a 4x3 ratio picture to fit 16x9. In fact, they have several tricks to do this. You can zoom in some (and lose some picture) or you can expand the picture like a funhouse mirror, though not as noticeable. I think it makes people on screen look squashed and fat. You can get used to it, but, in my opinion, it's lousy. Remember, the new standard will be for a wide screen picture, so this will eventually not be an issue. Note: on some sets, these side bars will "burn in" - that means you'll always see their dull ghosts on WIDE material if you watch 4x3 on 16x9 too often. That's called BURN-IN, and some types of TVs (Displays) are more susceptible. Others, not at all. This will be covered in the sections on various home theater screen types.