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DVD Home Cinema Systems – Introduction

DVD home cinema systems are an increasingly popular choice for people who want to get the most out of their movie viewing experience. Surround sound technology goes hand in hand with the crisp, digital clarity of DVD to create one of the most exciting developments in home entertainment for years.

There are many models of DVD home cinema system on the market today, with different specifications and features. This means that whatever your needs, there is a model on the market to suit you.

What is a DVD Home Cinema System?

A DVD home cinema system comprises several components with a DVD player/recorder as the central hub. Some systems have a separate amplifier to handle signal amplification and digital encoding, whereas others have the amp built into the DVD player. Speakers are then connected to the amp or DVD player and your TV.

The general speaker set-up for a home cinema system consists of 6 speakers arranged in this order:

• Central speaker: Usually sits on top of the television and mainly handles the dialogue of the movie.
• Front speakers: Handle the general sound and music. These are placed in the front corners of the room.
• Rear speakers: Handle some of the music and most of the sound effects. These are placed at the rear corners of the room.
• Subwoofer: Used for the low end of the film’s music and effects. Usually placed by the television.

Advantages of a DVD Home Cinema System

A DVD home cinema system has several advantages when compared to a standard DVD and TV combination:

• Better sound: The dedicated speaker system will give you greater sound quality than you would get using TV speakers
• The full effect: Thanks to the speaker set up and whichever form of Digital Encoding you are using (Dolby 5.1, DTS etc.), you can fully immerse yourself in the film, as you hear the wind swirl around you and jet planes scream over your head!
• Low end thrills: Be quite literally ‘blown away’ as the subwoofer makes every explosion, jet engine and orchestra feel very real and completely ‘in your face’!

Further Information

You can find some hints and tips on what to look for when choosing a DVD Home Cinema system on our How to Choose section.

If you want to buy a DVD Home Cinema system, you can find out more about some of the top online suppliers, including details of their delivery times and postage and packaging costs, in our Where to Buy section.

You can learn more about other types of DVD player in our Types section.

You can find out more about specific manufacturers and brands of DVD Home Cinema System in our Brands and Top Models sections.