You want to upgrade your home theater, then for the un initiated, there is a way you can go about it. The proliferation of so called ‘hoofers’ on the market has created an illusion of bliss in the home entertainment department.

At best these systems can give off some noise. I won’t deny that because they can play really loud. (Please stop calling them ‘hoofers’. The correct word is woofers.) However, if you are looking for true home theater, and are willing to spend some money, you will find this guide very helpful. A good home theater system, will typically comprise of; a set up of speakers (5 for a 5.1 setup or 7 for a 7.1 setup), a sub woofer which is responsible for the .1 position, a receiver (amplifier) where all the components connect , remote control, sources (DVD, blu-ray players, game consoles etc) and a TV fro visuals.   To get the best out of your set up, you should consider the following tips:   You are surrounded Your home theater is capable of immersing you in the movie action by surrounding you in an envelope of sound. To the get the full surround effect, you will need a 5.1 or 7.1 system. The system mimics a cinema.  Sound is distributed to the 5 or 7 speakers through the receiver. These speakers handle dialogue, sound track and scores. The surround speakers, often positioned behind the seating position, add subtle effects in the mix such as bullets flying over your head or choppers hovering above or in the distance.  The sub woofer handles the low frequency, floor shaking special effects.  If your budget allows, get a blu-ray player. At the moment blu-ray discs give the best picture quality plus the player improves on the quality of your standard DVD collection by scaling them to high definition.   Ditch the old-school  TV Get yourself a flat screen TV (Plasma, LCD, LED) if you don’t already have one. Flat screen TVs also know as high definition TVs (HDTV) have a superior picture quality compared to your relic of a TV. Besides most movies are recorded in wide format (16:9), which fits perfectly on HDTV. Trust me the difference between HDTV and the old Tv is like day and night. Content Equally important as the equipment is the content you will be watching. Picture quality will be best from original DVDs or downloaded high resolution files. If your DVD player supports data (DIVX, AVI, MP4) you will get the best picture quality by watching movies in data form without burning to DVD. Keep away from 5-in-ones or 100-in-ones. The poor picture will be amplified on the big screen TV. Take control If you can afford one, a universal remote would be an excellent addition to your setup. It will un-clutter the remotes accumulating on your coffee table as you acquire new components.Garbage in garbage out Your high definition TV is as good as the signal you feed it. A good DVD player, media player, game console or digital TV signal will make a big difference. So invest in high quality components. Your investment will be worthwhile in the long run.