Acoustic Panel Placement for Home Theater: 5 Spots
Acoustic panel placement for a home theater, in priority order: side wall first reflection points, corner bass traps, the ceiling, the rear wall, and the front wall beside the...
30 videos so far, newest first. New videos are added here as they go live on the channel.
How to Soundproof a Home Theater: Seal First, Then Mass
How to soundproof a home theater: why foam panels do not soundproof (they are acoustic treatment), why sealing the gaps under doors, around outlets and vents comes first, and...
How Much Does a Home Theater Cost? Four Budget Tiers
How much does a home theater cost? Four planning tiers: under 1,000 dollars for a TV or projector with a soundbar, 1,000 to 2,500 for real 5.1 surround, 2,500 to 6,000 for an...
How to Build a Home Theater Room: Step by Step
How to build a home theater room, step by step: why the room matters more than the gear (10 by 12 feet minimum, 12 by 16 the sweet spot, length 1.4 to 1.8 times the width),...
Dolby Atmos Setup and Settings: Why Atmos Isn't Working
Dolby Atmos setup and settings: why you may only be hearing plain surround. This video walks through the six settings in order: receiver speaker layout with height speakers...
Wired vs Wireless Speakers: Which Is Better?
Wired vs wireless speakers for home theater: which is better? This video compares sound quality, delay (latency), reliability and cost, shows why wireless surround speakers...
Soundbar vs No Soundbar: Is a Soundbar Worth It?
Soundbar vs no soundbar: is a soundbar worth it, or are your TV speakers fine? This video gives the plain answer, shows why a bar still needs a subwoofer for deep bass, who can...
5.1.4 vs 7.1.2: Which Atmos Layout Is Better?
5.1.4 vs 7.1.2: which Dolby Atmos speaker layout is better? Both use ten speakers (nine plus a subwoofer), but they spend them differently: 7.1.2 adds two rear speakers behind...
How to Set Up a Home Theater Projector in 7 Steps
How to set up a home theater projector in seven steps, in order: choose the location, calculate throw distance, mount it, connect HDMI, adjust zoom, lens shift and focus,...
HDR10 vs Dolby Vision: Which HDR Format Wins?
HDR10 vs Dolby Vision: HDR10 is the royalty-free baseline every HDR device supports, with one set of static brightness instructions for the whole movie. Dolby Vision uses...
HDMI 2.0 vs 2.1: Which Does Your Home Theater Need?
HDMI 2.0 vs 2.1 for a home theater: HDMI 2.0 carries 18 Gbps, enough for 4K at 60 Hz with HDR10 and Dolby Vision (4K streaming and 4K Blu-ray), while HDMI 2.1 carries 48 Gbps,...
Projector Screen Size: What Size for Your Distance?
Projector screen size: what size do you need? At 12 feet, the THX cinema standard (screen width = seating distance x 0.66) wants about a 110 inch screen and the relaxed SMPTE...
Ultra Short Throw Projector: How It Works vs Standard
Ultra short throw projector, how it works: Wide angle optics shoot the image steeply up from a console below the screen, filling a 100 inch screen from 7 to 24 inches away,...
Laser Projector vs DLP: Laser vs Lamp Explained
Laser projector vs DLP is not quite a fair fight: laser and lamp are two light sources, and DLP is a picture chip that can use either. A laser lasts 20,000 to 30,000 hours...
Projector in Bright Room: How Many Lumens?
Projector in bright room: yes, it works. For a 100 to 120 inch screen you need 1,500 to 2,500 lumens fully dark, 2,500 to 3,000 with blinds closed, 3,000 to 4,000 with lamps...
How Many Lumens for an Outdoor Projector?
How many lumens for an outdoor projector? In full dark, 90 minutes after sunset, 2,500 to 3,500 lumens handles a screen up to 120 inches. At dusk you need 3,500 to 5,000, and...
Roku Ultra vs Apple TV 4K: Which Streamer Wins?
Roku Ultra vs Apple TV 4K for a home theater: what they share (Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos from streaming apps, Ethernet on the Roku and the 128GB Apple TV), where the Apple TV...
Subwoofer Placement: Where to Put a Sub in Any Room
Subwoofer placement for a home theater, small rooms included. This video explains room modes (why bass sounds boomy in one spot and thin in another), why corners are tempting...
Home Theater Small Room Ideas: What Fits in 10 x 12
Home theater small room ideas: what fits in an 8 x 10, 10 x 12 and 12 x 12 room, how big a screen the seat distance allows, and why bass gets boomy. A home theater in a small...
Soundbar vs Surround Sound: Which Should You Buy?
Soundbar vs surround sound system: which should you buy? Neither wins for everyone. This video covers when a soundbar wins (simplicity, apartments, smaller rooms), how room...
Projector Better Than TV? Projector vs TV Compared
Projector better than TV? Projector vs TV for a home theater comes down to screen size against picture quality: under 85 inches a TV wins, above it a projector wins, and room...
Projector Throw Distance: How Far From the Screen?
Projector throw distance and projector distance from screen, walked through with one real example: a 120 inch screen with the projector mounted 10 to 14 feet back. You will see...
Home Theater Speaker Placement 5.1: Where Each One Goes
Home theater speaker placement 5.1, explained in plain English: where the front left and right, center, surround and subwoofer go, with the angles and heights drawn from above....
TV Viewing Distance: What Size TV Should You Buy?
TV viewing distance: what size TV should you buy? It comes down to how far you sit. This video explains the viewing-angle rule behind TV viewing distance (SMPTE 30 degrees and...
Home Theater on a Budget: 3 Builds, Item by Item
Home theater on a budget (or home theatre on a budget): three complete builds at the 500, 750 and 1,000 dollar budget tiers, item by item, in the same room. See how to build a...
Dolby Atmos Speaker Placement (5.1.2 and 7.1.4)
Dolby Atmos speaker placement, explained in plain English: where the speakers go for 5.1.2, 5.1.4 and 7.1.4, and the simple 45 degree rule behind every Dolby Atmos speaker...
Projector Lumens: How Many Do You Need? (ANSI Explained)
Projector lumens: how many does a projector need? It comes down to two things: how big your screen is and how bright your room is. This video shows, in plain English, the...
5.1 vs 7.1 Surround Sound: Which One Do You Need?
5.1 vs 7.1 surround sound: which one do you need? This video shows both layouts from above (speaker angles included), how room size decides it (5.1 from 10 x 10 feet, 7.1 from...
Projector Screen vs Wall: Do You Need a Screen?
Projector screen vs wall: can you just point a projector at a white wall? Yes, but a wall throws away part of the picture. This video shows, in plain English, what a screen...
4K Blu-ray vs Streaming: Can You Really See the Difference?
4K Blu-ray vs streaming: can you see the difference? Yes, if you have a good screen and a good sound system. This video explains in plain English what bitrate means, how much...