Last Time, Our Blu Hero was…

Last time I made some predictions about the future of Blu-ray, I set some specific targets I saw as the direction that Blu-ray needed to move,  in order to enjoy some success. I said that if there was a $5 difference in the price of media and a $50 difference in the price of players, then it would be a no-brainer for the typical consumer to pay a little more for a jump in quality. I didn’t think people would pay double for better quality, though, which was where we were when I made that prediction. And yet the times, they are a-changin’.

Recently, I was at a store. I won’t say which one, but it rhymes with Bostco. This store often has high-end merchandise, but only high-end merchandise for which there is strong demand. This store doesn’t go in for fads on things like movies, it waits until there is an established market. Blu-rays have been on the market for years, but this store didn’t until very recently sell movies on Blu-ray, although they have sold the players for several years. This store typically sells DVDs of older movies for $10-$12. When I saw that they had Blu-ray versions of some movies for $15, I knew that the price barrier had finally been broken and things were looking up for Blu-ray.

While media is adopting appropriate mass-consumer pricing, its still hard to find a Blu-ray player at a reasonable price. Players can be found for as little as $199, but that’s still a hefty premium over a bottom-of-the-barrel DVD player, as those start at around $50. Blu-ray Players still need to drop another $50-100. If they hit $100 by Christmas, almost everyone will find one under the tree, and Sony’s gambles will have paid off. It’s been a rough road, Blu-ray, but I think you’re gonna make it after all.

Mono, Stereo, Surround

A sound signal that only has one channel is called mono. A sound signal that has two channels is called stereo. A stereo signal, because it can deliver two different sounds to two different speakers, can give a sense of left and right.

Surround sound uses more than two speakers to give a greater sense of physical space, which can be very effective in increasing the dramatic experience of a movie. A 5.1 surround system places three speakers in front of you, two speakers behind you and a sixth speaker that only delivers deep bass. The human ear cannot interpret direction based on very low sounds, so bass doesn’t count as a full channel. That’s where the ‘.1’ comes from. Most DVDs offer audio tracks mixed for both stereo and 5.1 speaker configurations.

What difference does it make?

Because 5.1 audio offers more options for where the sound can come from, a sound can be directed to the front or back, as well as side to side. This means that if a character in a movie hears someone sneaking up behind them, the crunch of a shoe on gravel can be heard from behind, giving you the same experience as the character and heightening the reality.

A 3.1 audio system doesn’t have the rear speakers of a 5.1 audio system, just 3 front speakers and a bass speaker. A 7.1 system has all speakers of a 5.1 system, with additional side speakers.

Most large HDTVs come only with stereo sound. Some smaller screens come with 3.1 or 5.1 audio built in. The assumption is that if you’re only buying a small screen, then saving a few dollars by bundling together the TV and improved audio makes sense. For a larger screen, the assumption is that you’re more likely to want to spend serious money on a serious sound system, so why waste money putting in audio extras when you’re just going to replace them?

If you primarily watch TV shows, then you probably won’t need anything more than the stereo sound that comes with the TV, as most of them only offer stereo sound. If your focus is watching movies, though, then buying a better audio system will make a huge difference in the quality of the experience. TV programs don’t often have the time and money to invest in optimizing the sound experience for multiple speakers, and even if they did, the vast majority of their audience has only had stereo broadcast options up until now. Movies, on the other hand, have the luxury of budget and time frame that allows them to optimize the experience for better sound systems.

Wireless Rear Speakers

A thome theatre with Wireless Rear Speakers transmits audio to the rear speakers by a radio signal. This means that you don’t need to run wires from the Home Theatre System to the back of the room. You can plug the rear speakers into a power outlet at the back and they will automatically connect themselves. Most rooms are easy to run speaker wire in, just by tucking the wire underneath the baseboard. If there isn’t an easy way to run wires because of the layout of the room or the way its finished, spending a little more for wireless speakers may be a good option for you.

‘Wireless Ready’ usually means that the Home Theatre System is able to transmit wirelessly to rear speakers, but the speakers that come with it are not wireless speakers. This gives you the option to buy wireless rear speakers, but you’ll have to pay extra.

How much will it cost?

You can get a basic Home Theatre System for several hundred dollars that will make your movie watching experience much better. For a truly immersive experience that heightens the feeling of being there, you can easily spend several thousand dollars on a high-end audio system. If you have the money, then spending as much or more on the sound for your TV than you spent on the TV itself just might make sense.

Digital

HDMI cables are the best option available for connecting your TV to Disc players, cable boxes, satellite receivers or gaming systems. HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. An HDMI cable will carry a 1080p signal and 5.1 surround sound audio together on a single cable, without losing any audio or video quality because the cable is digital.

Digital audio cables transfer audio (not video)  in a digital format. If you have a home theatre system (external speakers), it is best to run a digital audio cable from the television to the stereo system.

Component

Component cables are the second-best option if HDMI is unavailable. These cables are a bundle of five wires that have RCA plugs on the end. RCA plugs are the type that you might use to connect parts of a stereo system together that plug into the little red and white donut-shaped holes on the back of your CD player. The five wires in a component cable are divided into three for video (Red, Green and Blue) and two for audio (usually Red and White). The video wires transfer red, green and blue video signals separately and the audio wires transfer left and right audio. Because the video colours are kept separate, or in components, they produce better images than composite cables, which mix (compose) all three colours into a single signal passed over a single wire.

Composite

Composite is a word used to describe a variety of cables. Coaxial cable is the old style of television cable with the screw-in end that you attached to the back of your TV on the threaded silver post that stuck out the back. RCA cables that had three wires (Red, White and Yellow) passed audio on the red and white wires, while all the video passed through the yellow wire. S-Video had a round plug with four wires positioned inside. All of these cables are called composite, because they combine the three colours into a single wire. They should be avoided if at all possible, because they do not produce as good a picture as the newer styles of cable.