So you want to create your own home theater. You’ve heard it before and you will be likely to hear it again; use a projector instead of a plasma television. Projectors are much different from plasma televisions; they use what are called ANSI Lumens, which is a measure of brightness that is typically between 2,000 and 4,000 Lumens for a super-bright lamp. According to this review, home projectors can use around 1000 Lumens, but enthusiasts should be careful of stray light which will degrade this feature. More important to the way the projector is viewed is by using what is called the contrast ratio, which is the difference between black and white; entry level projectors use a ratio of 4000:1 which means that black is 4000 times darker than the white. The premium projector models use 10,000:1 which means that since the ratio is higher; the blacks on the image will be more detailed. Projectors should also have full HD output which is 1920 x 1080p resolution, and two HDMI inputs rather than one if you want to switch between two devices. And finally, if you purchase a good projector you should invest in a screen for the display since the quality will be enhanced from the material but it shouldn’t be a wall or a typical white surface.

[via The Sydney Morning Herald]

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