Surround Sound 101

Many of us have flat screen TVs these days and we want to have the quality sound to go with the great picture. The good news is you can do this without putting speakers up in every corner of your home.

Thursday, February 11th 2010, 4:09 pm

By: News 9


By Joel Craig, NEWS 9 Contributor

Many of us have flat screen TVs these days and we want to have the quality sound to go with the great picture. The good news is you can do this without putting speakers up in every corner of your home.

Many of you have purchased a flat screen digital TV. But you're missing something - the sound to go along with that fabulous picture. Many programs and movies are in surround sound. Surround sound is like being in a movie theatre and the sound coming from all around you - like real life.

Surround sound uses at least five speakers plus a subwoofer - that's where the term 5.1 speaker system originated. Quality speakers for surround sound don't have to be overly expensive but if your home is like mine your significant other doesn't want wires running around the room or those unsightly speakers. But there is an answer that provides remarkably good sound. It's called a sound bar and they are designed to blend in with flat screen TVs. It's one piece that has multiple speakers in it. The sound bar has the internal speakers directed in such a way that their placement, and the electronics inside, uses acoustic manipulation to provide you with the effect of sound coming at you from all sides. Add the subwoofer for the bass sound, it also provides that rumbling feel during racing or the vibration during an explosion scene, and you're ready for an in-depth sound experience. Fortunately many sound bars systems come with the subwoofer. Sound bars aren't for the audiophile but for the rest of us they are a pretty darn good substitute.

It's time to upgrade your sound because TV is getting ready to go through another change. The specifications for 3D TV are already being written with the first sets expected by the end of this year.

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