Optimal Audio and Video Reproduction at Home : Improving the Listening and Viewing Experience

Optimal Audio and Video Reproduction at Home is a comprehensive guide that will help every reader set up a modern audio-video system in a small room such as a home theater or studio control room. Verdult covers everything the reader needs to know to optimize the reproduction of multichannel audio and high-resolution video. The book provides concrete advice on equipment setup, display calibration, loudspeaker positioning, room acoustics, and much more. Detailed, easy-to-grasp explanations of the underlying principles ensure the reader will make the right choices, find alternatives, and separate the rigid from the more flexible requirements to achieve the best possible results. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 Preface......Page 10 1 Introduction......Page 12 2.1 The Audio-Video System......Page 14 2.1.1 Multichannel Audio......Page 16 2.1.2 Audio and Video Equipment......Page 19 2.1.3 Factors That Influence Reproduction Quality......Page 22 2.2 Moving Images......Page 24 2.2.1 Luminance and Brightness......Page 25 2.2.2 Color......Page 27 2.3 Sound......Page 30 2.3.1 Frequency, Pitch, and Timbre......Page 31 2.3.2 Sound Pressure and Loudness......Page 36 2.3.3 Sound Propagation......Page 39 2.3.4 Room Acoustics......Page 41 3.1 Film and Video Production......Page 47 3.2.1 Tonal Quality......Page 49 3.2.2 Detail......Page 58 3.2.3 Spatial Quality......Page 60 3.3.1 Recording and Mixing......Page 61 3.3.2 Sound Reproduction......Page 63 3.4 Sound Quality......Page 64 3.4.1 Spectral Balance......Page 65 3.4.2 Clarity......Page 67 3.4.3 Dynamics......Page 68 3.4.4 Localization......Page 69 3.4.5 Immersion......Page 72 3.5 Listening Tests......Page 73 4 Room Design......Page 76 4.1 The Need for Subwoofers......Page 77 4.2.1 Placement Options......Page 79 4.2.2 Position of the Video Display......Page 87 4.2.3 Positions of the Front Loudspeakers......Page 93 4.2.4 Positions of the Surround Loudspeakers......Page 101 4.2.5 Distance Between Loudspeakers and Nearby Walls......Page 107 4.2.6 Positions of the Subwoofers......Page 113 4.3 Room Requirements......Page 119 4.3.1 Ambient Light......Page 120 4.3.2 Background Noise......Page 124 4.4 Installing a Front-Projection System......Page 125 5 Digital Sources......Page 130 5.1 Video Coding......Page 131 5.1.1 Aspect Ratio......Page 132 5.1.2 Resolution......Page 134 5.1.3 Progressive and Interlaced Scanning......Page 135 5.1.4 Perceptual Coding......Page 136 5.2 Audio Coding......Page 139 5.2.1 Sampling Rate......Page 141 5.2.2 Bit Depth......Page 143 5.2.3 Direct Stream Digital (DSD)......Page 146 5.2.4 Lossless Audio Compression......Page 147 5.2.5 Perceptual Coding......Page 149 5.3 Digital Media......Page 152 5.3.1 Digital Television......Page 154 5.3.2 Internet Streaming......Page 155 5.3.3 Media Files......Page 157 5.3.4 Computer Audio......Page 161 5.3.5 Digital Audio Extraction......Page 166 5.3.6 Optical Discs......Page 168 5.4 Digital Connections......Page 170 5.4.1 HDMI......Page 171 5.4.3 USB Audio......Page 175 6 Video Equipment......Page 178 6.1.1 Performance......Page 179 6.1.2 Flat-Panel Displays......Page 182 6.1.3 Front Projectors......Page 185 6.1.4 Projection Screens......Page 190 6.2 Display Calibration......Page 193 6.2.1 White Point......Page 196 6.2.2 Black and White Level......Page 197 6.2.3 Luminance Output......Page 201 6.2.4 Color and Tint......Page 202 6.2.5 Grayscale Tracking......Page 204 6.2.6 Color Gamut......Page 209 6.3 Video Processing......Page 211 6.3.1 Scaling......Page 212 6.3.2 Sharpness......Page 214 6.3.3 Output Color Space......Page 215 6.3.4 Deinterlacing......Page 219 6.3.5 Motion Resolution......Page 223 6.3.6 Image Enhancement......Page 225 7 Audio Equipment......Page 227 7.1 Loudspeakers......Page 228 7.1.1 Drivers......Page 229 7.1.2 Crossovers......Page 231 7.1.3 Enclosures......Page 233 7.1.4 Performance......Page 235 7.1.5 Front Loudspeakers......Page 244 7.1.6 Surround Loudspeakers......Page 248 7.1.7 Loudspeaker Stands......Page 250 7.2 Power Amplifiers......Page 251 7.2.1 Power Requirements......Page 252 7.2.2 Amplifier Types......Page 256 7.2.3 Performance......Page 259 7.3 Subwoofers......Page 263 7.3.1 Lowest Frequency......Page 264 7.3.2 Maximum Sound Level......Page 267 7.4 Cables for Analog Audio Signals......Page 271 7.4.1 Loudspeaker Cables......Page 272 7.4.2 Interconnects......Page 276 7.5 Audio Processing......Page 279 7.5.1 Surround Decoding and Processing......Page 280 7.5.2 Bass Management......Page 283 7.5.3 Delay Settings......Page 284 7.5.4 Level Settings......Page 286 7.5.5 Dynamic Range Control......Page 289 7.5.6 Room Correction and Equalization......Page 290 8 Room Acoustics......Page 292 8.1.1 Room Resonance Modes......Page 293 8.1.2 Bass Absorbers......Page 297 8.1.3 Subwoofer Calibration......Page 302 8.2 Reproducing High and Mid Frequencies in Rooms......Page 312 8.2.1 Controlling Early Reflections......Page 313 8.2.2 Porous Absorbers......Page 317 8.2.3 Diffusers......Page 320 9.1 Buying Equipment......Page 323 9.2 Designing the Room......Page 326 9.3 Placing Loudspeakers......Page 327 9.4 Installing Equipment......Page 329 9.5 Setting Up the System......Page 331 9.6 Playing Content......Page 335 Appendix A: Test Tones and Patterns......Page 336 Appendix B: Software......Page 338 Bibliography......Page 342 Index......Page 354 Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 CONTENTS 6 Preface 10 1 Introduction 12 2 Audio and Video Basics 14 2.1 The Audio-Video System 14 2.1.1 Multichannel Audio 16 2.1.2 Audio and Video Equipment 19 2.1.3 Factors That Influence Reproduction Quality 22 2.2 Moving Images 24 2.2.1 Luminance and Brightness 25 2.2.2 Color 27 2.3 Sound 30 2.3.1 Frequency, Pitch, and Timbre 31 2.3.2 Sound Pressure and Loudness 36 2.3.3 Sound Propagation 39 2.3.4 Room Acoustics 41 3 Optimal Reproduction 47 3.1 Film and Video Production 47 3.2 Image Quality 49 3.2.1 Tonal Quality 49 3.2.2 Detail 58 3.2.3 Spatial Quality 60 3.3 Sound Production 61 3.3.1 Recording and Mixing 61 3.3.2 Sound Reproduction 63 3.4 Sound Quality 64 3.4.1 Spectral Balance 65 3.4.2 Clarity 67 3.4.3 Dynamics 68 3.4.4 Localization 69 3.4.5 Immersion 72 3.5 Listening Tests 73 4 Room Design 76 4.1 The Need for Subwoofers 77 4.2 Floor Plan 79 4.2.1 Placement Options 79 4.2.2 Position of the Video Display 87 4.2.3 Positions of the Front Loudspeakers 93 4.2.4 Positions of the Surround Loudspeakers 101 4.2.5 Distance Between Loudspeakers and Nearby Walls 107 4.2.6 Positions of the Subwoofers 113 4.3 Room Requirements 119 4.3.1 Ambient Light 120 4.3.2 Background Noise 124 4.4 Installing a Front-Projection System 125 5 Digital Sources 130 5.1 Video Coding 131 5.1.1 Aspect Ratio 132 5.1.2 Resolution 134 5.1.3 Progressive and Interlaced Scanning 135 5.1.4 Perceptual Coding 136 5.2 Audio Coding 139 5.2.1 Sampling Rate 141 5.2.2 Bit Depth 143 5.2.3 Direct Stream Digital (DSD) 146 5.2.4 Lossless Audio Compression 147 5.2.5 Perceptual Coding 149 5.3 Digital Media 152 5.3.1 Digital Television 154 5.3.2 Internet Streaming 155 5.3.3 Media Files 157 5.3.4 Computer Audio 161 5.3.5 Digital Audio Extraction 166 5.3.6 Optical Discs 168 5.4 Digital Connections 170 5.4.1 HDMI 171 5.4.2 S/PDIF 175 5.4.3 USB Audio 175 6 Video Equipment 178 6.1 Video Displays 179 6.1.1 Performance 179 6.1.2 Flat-Panel Displays 182 6.1.3 Front Projectors 185 6.1.4 Projection Screens 190 6.2 Display Calibration 193 6.2.1 White Point 196 6.2.2 Black and White Level 197 6.2.3 Luminance Output 201 6.2.4 Color and Tint 202 6.2.5 Grayscale Tracking 204 6.2.6 Color Gamut 209 6.3 Video Processing 211 6.3.1 Scaling 212 6.3.2 Sharpness 214 6.3.3 Output Color Space 215 6.3.4 Deinterlacing 219 6.3.5 Motion Resolution 223 6.3.6 Image Enhancement 225 7 Audio Equipment 227 7.1 Loudspeakers 228 7.1.1 Drivers 229 7.1.2 Crossovers 231 7.1.3 Enclosures 233 7.1.4 Performance 235 7.1.5 Front Loudspeakers 244 7.1.6 Surround Loudspeakers 248 7.1.7 Loudspeaker Stands 250 7.2 Power Amplifiers 251 7.2.1 Power Requirements 252 7.2.2 Amplifier Types 256 7.2.3 Performance 259 7.3 Subwoofers 263 7.3.1 Lowest Frequency 264 7.3.2 Maximum Sound Level 267 7.4 Cables for Analog Audio Signals 271 7.4.1 Loudspeaker Cables 272 7.4.2 Interconnects 276 7.5 Audio Processing 279 7.5.1 Surround Decoding and Processing 280 7.5.2 Bass Management 283 7.5.3 Delay Settings 284 7.5.4 Level Settings 286 7.5.5 Dynamic Range Control 289 7.5.6 Room Correction and Equalization 290 8 Room Acoustics 292 8.1 Reproducing Low Frequencies in Rooms 293 8.1.1 Room Resonance Modes 293 8.1.2 Bass Absorbers 297 8.1.3 Subwoofer Calibration 302 8.2 Reproducing High and Mid Frequencies in Rooms 312 8.2.1 Controlling Early Reflections 313 8.2.2 Porous Absorbers 317 8.2.3 Diffusers 320 9 Summary 323 9.1 Buying Equipment 323 9.2 Designing the Room 326 9.3 Placing Loudspeakers 327 9.4 Installing Equipment 329 9.5 Setting Up the System 331 9.6 Playing Content 335 Appendix A: Test Tones and Patterns 336 Appendix B: Software 338 Bibliography 342 Index 354