Deciding to turn a room into a home theater is a big decision, but one that can pay off for those who are seriously into entertainment. Nothing other than an actual movie theater can compare to a home theater that’s properly set up. Surround sound, good seating, a huge screen and other amenities can make this room a home’s centerpiece.

With this in mind, many people choose to go for projectors for their home theaters. The reasons behind the choice are many, but are most certainly not limited to the fact the screen can be huge. Up to 300 inches of huge, in fact.

When choosing a projector, a consumer will quickly find out the options are staggering. In general, there are two types of projector systems. The first is LCD, which means it operates using three crystal display devices and a series of mirrors and lenses. The second is DLP, which uses a silicon chip instead of three LDCs. These projectors have become very compact and lightweight, providing buyers the ability to conceal them in out of the way locations. The screens themselves can be very thin and placed directly on a wall. This saves the space a big-screen television will take up.

The basic advantages to projector over television include:

Portability. A projector can be taken anywhere.

Picture size. With many offering great visibility on screens up to 300 inches, this can’t be beat by a regular television.

Bright image. New technology has enabled the use of projectors in bright rooms. Even if the lights are on, the image should still be clear and crisp.

Movie theater experience. These screens really help bring the theater experience home.

When choosing a home theater projection system, the most important things to look for are quality, guarantees and formatting sizes. Since most people who shop for projectors want the real theater experience in their home, the widescreen or 16:9 format is the most sought after. This is the format that’s meant for HDTV and it comes in three basic resolutions – 854×480, 1025×576 and 1280×720. These are more commonly known as 480p, 576p and 720p.

When dealing with modern technology, any of the resolutions should provide some incredible viewing opportunities. Since DVDs generally only provide 480 lines of resolution, the lower setting should work fine. The other options do provide for great viewing as well, especially when you’ll be sitting closer to the screen. Detail on the higher resolutions doesn’t break up as much when viewed from a closer distance.

No matter the projector make or model you end up with, remember a home theater is an investment in some quality movie watching. A room set up correctly can become the primary spot for family living.

#1 Resource

Home theaters.

overheadprojectorinfodotcom

Although there are several web design languages to choose from, make sure you take some time to research your options to ensure you’re making the best choice for your project.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

The easiest and most popular web design language is Hypertext Markup Language, better known as HTML. This language is so simple you can type the syntax into a text editor, such as Notepad, save it with an .html extension and instantly have a web page.

You can learn more about HTML here:
w3schoolsdotcom/html/

Although HTML will enable you to create simple web sites, if you want something more dynamic, you’ll need to look into using other languages:

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, better known as PHP, is a highly popular, server-side scripting language that can be embedded directly into HTML coding.

PHP can do anything that CGI (Common Gateway Interface) can do, such as process form data and auto generate dynamic content. However, PHP can do much more. It can be used on all major operating systems and supports most web servers.

PHP’s main focus is development for the web, so it has a quick development time and can solve scenarios much quicker than some of the other web design languages.

You can learn more about PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor here:
phpdotnet/

ColdFusion

ColdFusion, developed by Macromedia, is used to build and serve web pages. It consists of ColdFusion Studio, which is used to create web pages, and ColdFusion Server, which is used to display the web pages.

One of the best features of ColdFusion is the ability to create web pages ‘on the fly’ from content stored within a database.

For example, a variety of content can be placed within a database as ‘pieces of content.’ When a user types in the web address to retrieve the web page, ColdFusion dynamically develops the pages, from the ‘pieces of content,’ as they are served.

Although it is very reliable, ColdFusion may be better suited for larger companies rather than individuals, as it is fairly expensive.

You can learn more about ColdFusion here:
macromediadotcom/support/coldfusion/tutorial_index.html

Java Server Pages (JSP)

Java Server Pages, also known as JSP, is a web design language developed by Sun Microsystems. It is used to control web page content via servlets, which are little programs that run on a web server. These servlets modify the web page on the server prior to it being displayed within a web browser.

The JSP technology enables you to combine regular, static HTML with dynamically generated HTML.

You can learn more about Java Server Pages here:
java.sundotcom/products/jsp/docs.html

Active Server Pages (ASP)

Active Server Pages, also known as ASP, is Microsoft’s solution to dynamic, interactive web pages.

Active Server Pages are web pages that contain scripts in addition to the standard HTML tags. These scripts are processed prior to a web page being displayed within a web browser.

Unlike standard HTML pages that have an .html or .htm extension, Active Server Pages have an .asp extension.

An advantage of ASP is that it is language-independent and therefore is easy to use across all platforms and applications. It is very flexible and powerful, yet some people don’t like it merely because it is a Microsoft product.

You can learn more about Active Server Pages here:
msdn.microsoftdotcom/library/en-us/dnasp/html/asptutorial.asp

Conclusion

With so many different web design languages to choose from, which is the best language for your project? That will depend on your web site needs and how much time and/or money you’re willing to invest.

If you want a simple web site with text and images, HTML is definitely the way to go. Not only is it easy to learn, but there are also many HTML editors available online that will write the code for you.

Although HTML is usually the right choice for most, if you’d like your web site to be dynamic, you will need to research some of the other languages until you find the best solution for your project.

Take your time and do your homework before you begin. If you don’t feel confident in your ability to create your own web site, hire a professional. It will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run.

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