HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOME THEATER PERFORMING AT ITS BEST!

Anyone can easily have a home theater if they are willing to make some effort: a new BIG SCREEN TV is all that’s needed to look at, while adding a surround sound system (be that an AV Receiver and a set of speakers or an all-in-one home theater system) takes care of the audio. Then a few other components are needed to complete the setup; for example a Blu-ray player or better yet a 4K Blu-ray player, a turntable for playing vinyl or a digital high-resolution audio player.

So that’s the end of it right? No it’s not. Lost in the effort to create a home theater is the fact that

there are steps to take in order to keep the home theater functioning efficiently. Some of these steps are so simple that they’ve often overlooked, but ignoring them is not to anyone’s benefit because they can seriously impact the quality and enjoyment of the home theater.

The Video Cables

HDMI cables are amazing because they take care of both the video signal and the audio signal, eliminating secondary cables and the mess they can cause. But while HDMI cables tend to look somewhat alike on the surface, the quality of their manufacturing is very different. So while free HDMI cables are often included with the purchase of a component, it’s best to buy a HDMI cable where you can see what you are getting rather than accepting whatever has been put in the box as an afterthought, especially since the cables will often get bent when placed in position for doing their job. Getting or replacing the HDMI cable with a high quality one is a simple way to get the best picture possible.

The Audio Cables

There are times when audio cables is the preferred (or required) choice in the home theater, for example when connecting a record turntable. There are also times when a Toslink optical audio cable is needed, because of convenience or use with an older audio amplifier. These optical cables digitally transmit the audio signal in a superior fashion to that of analog audio cables but are somewhat delicate and so replacing existing ones with newer and more sturdy version is best. In the case of analog cables, using high quality and well made cables will help to eliminate hiss and other “noise” problems that can plague the sound.

Keeping Everything Clean

Dust can damage components by getting “into the works” or just by piling up on speakers or components or, worse yet, on the television. Dusting the home theater is simple enough and will also contribute to a healthier environment (vacuuming around home theater components should always be done carefully as a matter of course). Keeping speakers clean means not rubbing them with a cloth that can cause scratches to the finish, and that’s even more of an issue when cleaning a TVs screen. The screen is glass, after all. For that, expect to use a special kit which provides a safe cloth to use, as well as the proper cleaning fluid to use with the cloth. Reading the instructions that come with the kit will insure doing it safely (one obvious tip: spray the cloth, not the TV screen for cleaning).

The purpose of a home theater is to entertain. But whether you have set it up yourself or used a professional installer to do it for you (for example, Just One Touch), taking these few simple steps will insure that you are getting your money’s worth every time you sit down to watch or listen.