Home Theater: Before You Buy...

Check this first before you buy high end tv set, blu-ray support player, high power sound system, and yada..yada..yada...

1. Fit your home theater with space that you have
Don't buy oversized big screen tv, high power sound system if you have small area for your home theater... is feels like have a big elephant for your pet in small house. It is important to plan ahead if you have limited space.

2. Budgeting
Some idea of budgeting (source: Home Theater for Dummies)

$0 to $500: Definitely the entry-level package for home theater, a system in the under-$500 range basically uses your existing TV (or includes an inexpensive TV in the 27-inch range) and an entry-level all-in-one home theater system package (which comes with all the speakers you need for surround sound and a receiver/DVD player combo). You can probably throw in a $50 VCR if you don’t already have one, but even the lowest level all-in-one home theater sets include DVD players. (Gotta have DVD!)

$500 to $2,000: By spending a little more, you can go up a range in a number of the components and get HDTV into your home theater (which we highly recommend — especially as all TVs convert to digital in 2009!). You can spend some of this money on an entry-level tube HDTV (you can get a 30-inch widescreen HDTV-ready TV for under $800). You could even move up to a rear-projection TV; they start around $1,200 for a 40- to 52-inch screen. There are a range of options for better surround sound systems in this price range, with packaged options available for your five surround sound speakers plus your subwoofer. And you can buy a fairly good A/V receiver to drive the system. Top this all off with a portable MP3 player and a DVD player for the car, and your kids will love you (more).

$2,000 to $5,000: At this level, you start to create serious options for a very decent home theater system. The lowest-cost plasma and LCD screens are under $1,000, or for a bigger picture, you can go with a digital (LCD or DLP) rear-projection unit with a great high-def picture (starting at around $1,500). You might budget $500 or more for a high-definitioncapable DVD player in this price range as well. On the audio side, you can spend $1,000 or so on a relatively fancy all-in-one system, but at this price level, you can also start to get serious with separate components, getting a very good A/V receiver, DVD/CD player/recorder, personal video recorder, gaming system, surround sound speakers, and potentially even more. At this price range, the average person can get a mighty fine system.

$5,000 to $10,000: When you top $5,000 as your budget, you can start expanding in some wonderful ways by adding more throughout the house through multizone capabilities, whole-home audio, and universal remote control capability, or you can continue to go up the ladder in
terms of higher-quality separates. We swear by audio servers that store all your music in one box. Get one for the car, too, and have them sync up when you drive in the driveway. Front-projection TVs become a viable option in this price range; good projectors start around $2,000. No matter what you choose — flat-panel, rear-projection, or front-projection — in this price range, you should expect a big (50-inch or more) high-definition display. Or, you can get fancy with furniture. Good home theater seats start around $350 each. A high-quality universal remote control costs about $500.

$10,000+: Above $10,000, the sky is truly the limit. For $10,000 to $20,000, you get to enjoy a lot of the next generation of home theater. Your TV should be big and capable of playing 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels — the highest resolution of HDTV) signals. Your DVD player should be top of the line, supporting Blu-ray or HD-DVD. You probably want some extra amplifier equipment in the system, and you may also want to boost your controls, perhaps with a nice Crestron wireless touch screen control. If you get above $20,000, you are into high-end audiophile-type stuff all the way. Whole-home audio and video, integration with home automation systems, consultants — the works. Believe it or not, it is not unusual for people to spend $1 million or more on a home theater. At that point, we think a lot of money is being paid for custom interior design, top-of-the-line projectors, and so on. Nothing is held back. To us, given more modest expectations, a $25,000 system is stunning in almost all senses of the word.

(the price may vary)

3. You Don't need to buy all the thing at once
Most of Home Theater component are modular. Thats mean, you don't need to buy anything at once. You may doing upgrade, believe me, building home theater is fun.

4. Try to find any good condition component at Auction Site
Yup.. eBay! You can find any good condition part with a competitive price. Make your money worth, and build your home theater.