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Buying an HDTV

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Home Theater
A home theater can mean different things to different people in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It can be as simple as adding a surround sound system to an existing TV in the living room, all the way to a dedicated room with a projection screen and theater seating. Prices can range from several thousand dollars to over a quarter million dollars.

I like to say, "There's no limit to the money you can spend."
One of my clients said, "Oh, yes there is!"

The Most Important Component
If your system is not easy to operate, it is worthless. It should be simple enough for every member of the family to use, not just the "tech guru" in the family. You should not have to know which one of the 8 different remote controls cluttering the table to pick up next. There is a better way.

A properly designed, engineered and programmed system uses only one professional remote control for the entire system. That's right. There is only one remote on the table. This professionally programmed remote turns on all the equipment and sets up everything with a single button push.

To watch a DVD you simply push a button labeled WATCH DVD. The Professional remote is custom programmed to send out multiple commands in the correct order to all the components in your system, to set them up for watching a DVD. All you need to know is that when you want to watch a DVD, you press WATCH DVD. When you are finished, press ALL OFF. That's how easy it is with a professionally designed and engineered home theater system. It's simple, intuitive and so easy even an ADULT can use it. :) You won't need your teenagers to turn your system on for you.

A "System" Requires Design And Engineering
For multiple components to work together as an easy to use system, we must carefully choose the components. It is vital to select professional components that have been designed and engineered to work well with the other components in the system.

This special design is more expensive to manufacture. Very little of the equipment sold at the Big Box stores and on the internet is designed to work in easy to use systems. The components we use are designed for Custom Installation companies, and work

together to result in easy to use Custom Theaters.

We spend many hours customizing this professional equipment, determining the best way to connect everything together, the best way to program the equipment and the best way to program the pro-remote for your theater so everything will be easy for you to operate. We also use professional setup equipment to calibrate the video display, surround sound levels, video scaler and any other components in your system.

Our systems sound better and work better because we carefully select professional products and know how to properly set up and calibrate your system for optimum performance.

Hear What You've Been Missing
Most people put too much emphasis on the video display and not enough on the sound system. Having a big picture and cheap sound system is what could be called "Drive-in Sound". If you're old enough to remember the drive-in theater, you know what I'm talking about. Big screen, miserable sound. A cheap sound system is its own punishment. You have to listen to it.

Think about what has changed in theaters over the last 50 years. The screens got wider, yes. But the changes in sound have been astronomical. We went from mono to stereo, Dolby Surround, Pro Logic, THX, Dolby Digital, DTS, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 with one to four subwoofers.

While you're watching a movie you hear thunder off to the side, children in a playground, a flock of geese flying overhead, traffic behind you or wind swirling around. A high quality, properly designed and calibrated surround sound system transports you out of the room and draws you INTO the movie.

Most people don't even realize how important MUSIC is in a movie because the music is blended so well into the scenes. When there is no dialog between actors, there is music, setting the emotion, mood and pace of the movie. Next time you're watching a movie, notice the music and mute the sound when there is no dialog. The whole movie experience crumbles without the music. Theater speakers must be able to reproduce musical instruments accurately or they are not worth having. Great sound is more important than a big screen.

Everyting You Need
In addition to professional quality flat panel TVs, projectors, electronics, cables and speakers we also have premium quality couches and recliners in leather or fabric with manual or electric recline, heat and massage. We carry custom cabinets, shelving and racks for your audio/video equipment.

Our Secret
When you deal with Black Forest Home Security Systems, you get something you can't get anywhere else, the knowledge, experience and expertise of Dave Easley.

High Definition TV, Consumer Beware
According to testing published in one of the home theater magazines, the vast majority of video displays sold at the electronic stores will NOT perform as advertised. 61 displays were tested from 16 brands. They included Plasma; LCD flat panel, front and rear projection; DLP front and rear projection; LCOS rear projection (SXRD and DILA). Including 720p, 1080i and 1080p displays.

The first test was the ability to properly de-interlace a 1080i signal. A 1080i (interlaced) picture is sent in two halves.

The first half is all the odd lines, 1 through 1079. The second half is all the even lines, 2 through 1080. The processor inside the display should combine both halves into a full picture. 54% of the displays tested FAILED. They up convert each half, resulting in a loss of up to half of the resolution. This is because they use cheap video processors to help lower the cost of the display.

The second test was for Telecine Conversion. Many TV programs and all film based movies are recorded at 24 frames per second. This is converted to 60 frames per second for broadcast. A high quality (more expensive) video processor will convert the 60fps back to 24fps and will present a full 1080 by 1920 high definition image on the screen. 80% of the displays tested FAILED to properly convert movies and film based programs. They discard up to half of the resolution.

Of the 61 displays tested, only 6 passed BOTH of these tests. Only one in 10 would actually display what they claim. If you go to an electronics store to buy a video display, what are the odds that the young kid showing them to you will tell you that 90% of what they sell does not do what it claims?

What are the odds that he even knows they don't? What are the odds that you will actually get what you pay for? You may think the picture looks good, but on 90% of the displays the picture is not as good as it SHOULD be or COULD be with higher quality components.

As one expert said, "It's not so much WHAT you do, it's HOW WELL you do it."

The third test was performed on 1080p (progressive) video displays to see if they had the ability to show true 1080p resolution. The displays were fed a signal containing alternating black and white lines, each only one pixel wide. Displays that do not have full high definition bandwidth will display either solid gray or alternating dark and light gray.

Out of the eight 1080p displays tested, only one passed true, high definition signals. It was a Plasma display, probably the most expensive one in the store. Even though these displays may say 1080p, no fine detail can be displayed. Many of these displays claim 60,000 hours to half brightness but are made with power supplies and other

components that have a 10,000 to 15,000 hour life to failure. It doesn't matter how long the screen lasts if other components fail after a couple of years.

With any product or service, you can only lower the price so far before quality and performance begin to suffer.

We Have Quality, Experience and Expertise
Before you waste your time and money going to an electronics store, call us. Let Dave do it right the first time. We will educate you about the different displays and help you pick the one that will work best in your unique situation, room lighting, seating distance, etc. There are some companies that still build displays based on quality and performance. We can install a home theater, calibrate the display and give you a professional remote control that is custom programmed to be easy to use. To watch a DVD, simply press, "Watch DVD" and everything turns on. We do the best work in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area.