How To: Field Guide To Large-Screen Display Installations

It can be daunting to configure a display for optimal image quality. The technological differences between plasma, LCD, CRT and projection devices can make the setup process incredibly complex. What's more, the intricacies of properly positioning a display can have a major impact on the viewer experience.

Luckily, there are several steps and tools that savvy home integrators can tap to guarantee the best possible experience for the user. The first area an integrator should focus on is location. The best visual quality is usually obtained by positioning the display directly in front of the viewer in a comfortable line of sight when the viewer is seated. Of course, it is not always possible to put a display in the ideal location because of room layout, construction type, furniture limitations or other factors. This type of situation calls for one of the many mounting and/or housing solutions on the market. Typically, large plasma- or LCD-style displays can be wall-mounted, and the key to success here is making sure that the unit offers a VESA-compatible mount. VESA brackets are easily obtained and are able to slightly adjust the angle and height of a display. Large flat-panel displays can be quite heavy, so it is of the utmost importance to make sure a bracket is properly secured to the wall using heavy-duty bolts that directly attach to a wall stud or support beam.

Home integrators should set up the display in an area that does not experience glare from internal lighting or windows and is still conducive to the proper positioning of surround-sound components. Once the location is selected and the display is properly mounted, the next step is to verify that high-quality input cables are used. Another important tip is to route these cables as far as possible from other wiring that may cause interference, such as electrical or cable television wires.

With placement, mounting and wiring complete, we can move on to a more subjective part of the process—fine-tuning the display settings. The trick is balancing contrast and sharpness levels—which greatly affect picture quality—with color saturation and each viewer's preferences. For home integrators setting up a display connected to a Media Center PC, the process is wizard-driven and quite painless, but time-consuming. The crucial areas are contrast, brightness and color temperature. For setups that don't involve a PC, integrators can turn to third-party tools that demonstrate high-resolution images and guide technicians through the fine-tuning process. Joe Kane Productions, North Hollywood, Calif., offers several DVD and VHS test suites for fine-tuning a display. The company's premier product is Digital Video Essentials: Professional Edition. The product is pricey, but for $295 DVE: Pro offers a six-disc DVD/HD-DVD set that includes all the diagnostic tools necessary for the professional audio/video technician. DVE: Pro includes the test signals required for accurate reproduction, engineering, manufacturing, testing, or calibrating audio and video.

Another option is AVIA from Ovation Media, a Marietta, Ohio-based A/V solutions company. AVIA offers extensive menus with drill-down capabilities to assist in fine-tuning both video and audio systems. AVIA's entry-level test suite starts at $400. On the high end, Ovation offers the $2,400 OpticOne system, which includes a "test eye" that examines picture quality to make sure the best possible image is achieved.

Regardless of the fine-tuning method, there are still some basic tenets all technicians should follow. Light control—whether the light is natural or artificial—is the easiest way to optimize the viewing environment. This is especially important because technologies such as plasma, LCD and projection screens offer very poor "black" level performance. Since the black level is basically the absence of light, it can be easily overpowered by lighting. And, of course, lighting control offers additional opportunities for home integrators to upsell remote-controlled blinds, automated light-dimming equipment and more as part of a home theater solution.

Lighting control is also important when considering the primary environment and time of day a home theater is used. If it is only used at night, then lighting control options can be kept to a minimum. For daytime use, screen location, light control and viewing angles all become much more critical.

For projection-based setups, the viewing screen has the largest impact on visual quality. Some viewers attempt to use a white-painted wall as a screen and experience poor results. Other users turn to projector screens commonly used for viewing home movies and find video quality is compromised. The secret is a color-balanced screen built specifically for the home theater market. Those screens can range in price from several hundred to thousands of dollars, and make a margin-rich add-on to any projector-based home theater system sale. Typically, there are three types of screens: portable, stationary/wall-mounted and motorized. Motorized screens are the most expensive but offer the most versatility. The screen simply drops from the ceiling at a touch of a button for viewing and tucks away when not in use. Stationary/wall-mounted screens offer a huge savings over motorized screens and have a stable image platform. Wall-mounted units work well in dedicated media rooms but may look unappealing aesthetically when not in use. Integrators should avoid portable screens unless there is an absolute need to make the home theater mobile. For stationary environments, portable screens need constant adjustment to offer the best image quality.

When it comes down to it, setting up home theater equipment is one of the best opportunities for a home integrator to demonstrate its expertise and increase margins. After all, the home theater is usually the most visible component of the integrated home and is the centerpiece of today's digital family.