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BestAdvice AudioVideo
 Buying a new piece of electronics can be exciting – it’s an opportunity to explore new features and update your home. But sometimes it's daunting, particularly when there is a wide range of options. And now for those who don’t already have TV sets that can show digital broadcasts, we have to convert or buy new ones. As of February 17, 2009, all analog signals will cease from television stations across the nation, so we all have to get on board with digital technology (either via a converter or a new TV) in order to keep watching our favorite network TV shows.
Buying a new TV should be easy, right?
Yes, buying a new TV is easy if you know what equipment you need. A typical electronics store will offer four types: flat panel, projection, tube and front projection/screen systems. Most people will want one of the first three. Projection TVs look like flat panel displays, but they are deeper in back, so for people who already have cases for their televisions or who are not mounting their sets to the wall, these are a better deal. If you need a set that's as thin as possible, flat panel is the only option.
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 The next time you walk into the room where your new flat-screen TV is on display, take a good look around. Is it starting to look dirty? Between all the dust and lint that flies around the average room and the dirty fingers used to turn the TV on its mount, it doesn't take long before the set needs a good cleaning.
But don't be tempted to use the same methods you would to clean your tube TV. Flat-screen television sets require more specialized care. Here are a few "Dos" and "Don'ts" to keep in mind:
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 You've got your new large-screen HDTV set up, and you have plenty of your favorite DVDs waiting to be viewed. Now all you need is the right sound. When you sit down to watch a movie -- or live music concert -- in your own home theater, you want to feel as though you're in a real movie theater. The audio is just as important as the picture quality, which means you should take great care in shopping for the right receiver and speaker pieces. As you shop for audio components for your home theater, first check out "HDTV – A beginner's guide." Then, consider the following points:
The AV receiver
Most average home theater users don’t need to buy separate tuners and amplifiers for the different channels. The easiest and perhaps most cost-effective way to get several pieces all in one package is to go with an audio/video receiver, which lets you plug in most, if not all, of the pieces in your system, including your television.
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 You might answer that question a number of ways: “As big as it can be”, “As small as it can be”, or “Big enough to accommodate twelve seats”, or maybe “the exact size of the existing room I plan to convert”. However, many considerations are to be made before you answer too quickly. There is a lot of science involved in the design of a high performance theater, even in just determining its size. There are also budgetary constraints and physical limitations that come into play. Each theater has its own equation that must be understood and calculated based on these factors and the customer’s personal direction. It is the intent of this series of articles, titled “Home Theater Planning, Design, Calibration & Enjoyment,” to help you make educated decisions during the process. There are always pros and cons that must be weighed, and as a consultant, it is my job to make sure that my clients can make an intelligent decision. Customers may end up dissatisfied with the results if they didn’t know there was a choice to be made, or didn’t fully understand what the consequences were going to be. There are some things we cannot control, but we can influence almost every factor that determines our eventual success. It becomes a question of prioritizing. I cannot make these decisions for you because they are personal, but I’ll guide you through to a happy ending.
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