Home Theater Audio Cables: More than an after thought!!!

The performance of your home theater's audio components is directly proportional to the quality of the audio cables used to connect those components. There is no replacement for quality cables in home theater. You have surely heard the phrase, "garbage in = garbage out". This is exactly why you bought the admirable components that you did. If that great signal that your new DVD player just rendered is sent through poor quality audio cables, it will come out "dirty" on the other side in spite of how first-rate your receiver is. This guide will aid you choose the audio cables that will give you the performance you ought to have.


Thicker Cable = Superior Signal

That's IT! Thicker gauge audio cables allow for better signal transmission between components. Go for copper cables that are 99% oxygen-free. When selecting which audio cables to purchase, you must know what components you are linking because that will dictate what cables you will buy. With a string, you can measure the distance between your components so that you know the minimum cable length that is needed.

Shielding

Several audio cables are "shielded" from electromagnetic (EM) and radio frequency (RF) interference. Whenever electrical current moves through a wire, it makes an electromagnetic field. This means that every component of your home theater system, all of the electrical wiring in your walls, every piece of equipment that uses electricity creates an EM field. When those EM fields disrupt a signal, it is considered electromagnetic interference (EMI). This is why it is of great magnitude for components that will be next to your television, such as your center channel, to have shielding. Or Else it will create visual artifacts on your screen. It is also important for your audio cables; EMI will create hissing and other audio artifacts if they are too susceptible to the fields.

Two types of Digital Audio Cables

Digital audio cables come in two types, digital optical and digital coaxial. Digital optical audio cable or Toslink uses light to transmit the information between components. Since the digital optical cable uses light, it is not perceptibly effected by electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.
Toslink


Digital coaxial should not be mixed-up with the RF coaxial used for cable television. This form of coaxial cable is intended exclusively for sending digital audio signals. Digital coaxial cables broadcast the digital audio signal without the need to make conversions. This simplification of the transmission method will reduce audio artifacts that may result from the conversions required for other types of cable.
Digital coaxial


In conclusion, there is no alternative for quality. You get what you pay for. Whether you are rewarded with excellent sound quality for using great audio cables or your home theater system never reaches its full potential because you purchased economical cables, it is all on you.

OUTDOOR HOME THEATER

There is a lot of great outdoor audio equipment available. It was almost impossible, just a few years ago, to quality home theater component that were designed for outside use. I will be posting some of these items for your info! Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of outdoor theater systems.

Advantages
Great Entertaining. Experience sights and sounds from DVDs, CDs, cable or satellite channels by the pool, on a patio, or by an outside bar or kitchen area. There’s no more missing the big game because it’s nice out. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and the size of your outside space.

Disadvantages
Weather or Not. You don’t want bad weather to cancel that movie you’ve been planning to see. So if you’re in a colder or rainy climate, think twice about doing a home theater outdoors. They’re most practical in sunny climates, though usually as a second entertainment system.

Shades Required. Watching a flick while basking in the sun sounds great, until you turn on the display and you can’t see the picture because of the glare. You’ll need to place any outdoor video display in a shaded area. That means cabanas, covered patios or bar areas with overhangs. You can stay in the sun as long as the picture is shaded. Flat-panel screens and traditional direct-view TVs are commonly used because of their brightness. Front video projectors with screens require darker areas but can be great to view at night.

Think About Protection. For your electronic equipment, that is. You don’t want your expensive audio/video gear splashed by pool water, splattered with grease from the barbecue or overheating in the sun. House the electronics in a cool, dark area. Beneath a bar or in a closet might work, but best would be inside your house or a well-ventilated outbuilding. If you live on the coast, salt air presents even more dangers. Flat-panel and direct-view TVs tend to work best in outdoor environments. And any video projector should be light, portable and easy to set up, because you won’t want to leave it outside. Also make sure all your speakers are weatherproof, no matter where you live.

What About the Neighbors? It isn’t polite to share your sounds without their consent. Be a good neighbor by placing most of the audio speakers away from your house and pointing toward it, as opposed to hanging speakers on the exterior walls and blasting the neighborhood.

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