Home Theater

You might need a nerd if…

You need help installing a home theater
You want to set your home up with surround sound
Your devices aren’t communicating properly and you need a home network
You’re interested in smart home technology
You need help installing and running parental control software

Common Terms

HDMI

A High-Definition Multimedia Interface cable is the modern standard for trasmitting high-definition digital video and audio. HDMI cables can carry both standard and 3D video as well as surround sound audio and internet. For this reason, most modern game consoles and televisions use HDMI to interface with computers or set-top boxes.

RCA

RCA connectors, also called phono connectors, are analog cables and have been used for years to transmit standard definition video and audio. RCA cables for home theater are usually seen in triples: a yellow video jack, and the red and white stereo audio cables.

S/PDIF

The Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format is used for transmitting digital audio. It can carry multiple channels and is often used in home theater systems where HDMI does not carry audio

NTSC/PAL

NTSC and PAL are two types of encoding video signals: NTSC is used in the Americas, while PAL is widely used in the rest of the world. Devices designed to play NTSC content cannot play PAL content, and vice versa.

Surround Speakers

5.1, 6.1 and others refer to speaker configurations. A 5.1 speaker system has five (5) satellite speakers and one (1) subwoofer. This is the standard method of referring to speaker configurations. For instance, a 3.3 sound system would be a strange one with three satellite speakers and three subwoofers

A home theater is the very height of nerdish luxury. It’s not just about the technology which makes it happen. It’s about that magical moment of sitting down in the comfort of your own home and being transported to another world. Sure you can go to the movies for the same escapism, but you can’t wear your Star Wars pajamas. You can’t stretch out on the sofa with a bowl of delicious snacks balanced on your midriff. You definitely can’t take your pet iguana to the movies. This luxury does not come without serious time, effort and technological knowhow! Choosing the right equipment within a budget and then installing it properly requires much nerd wisdom. Nerds On Call offers a wide variety of services to get your home theater working perfectly, from selecting the right equipment through to assembling it into a smoothly functioning network. If you need help with your home theater, call us at 1-800-919-6373 or fill out our handy contact form. We’ll leap into action for you. Here are the home theater setup services we provide.

Home theater selection

The first stop on your pilgrimage to home theater Shangri La is to take advantage of our home theater selection service. We won’t just throw an expensive shopping list at you and send you on your way. We’ll sit down with you and talk about your budget, your room layout and the kinds of entertainment you’re interested in. We can even go shopping with you to give you a nerd’s eye view of the technology! Needless to say, we’ll also help you install it and get it functioning perfectly.

Click here to learn more about how we can help you choose the perfect entertainment rig for your home.

Surround sound and speaker setup

Then there’s our surround sound and speaker setup service. Sound is kind of a big deal when it comes to getting the maximum entertainment oomph from a movie. Research is clear that what we hear is far more powerful than what we see in instantly evoking a strong reaction. The challenge is getting your sound just right. There’s a lot to it! First, there’s the nerdy science of finding the right speaker choice for your home. Then there’s the delicate art of optimizing those speakers to produce the best surround sound experience. We’ll do a complete surround sound installation for you and if any of your existing speakers aren’t functioning correctly, we’ll fix those issues too.

To learn more about how we can fill your home with crisp, high fidelity, low latency sound, click here.

Parental controls

If you’ve got kids in the house, parental controls can give a lot of peace of mind. There’s a lot of stuff out there which isn’t suitable for kids and it’s available through all kinds of technologies: home theater, gaming consoles, handheld devices, TV. Fortunately, parental control software can be installed to provide all kinds of protection, from limiting time online, to filtering content to alerting parents to cyber-bullying and other dangerous activity. We won’t just install parental control software and leave you to figure it out! We can sit down with you and give you clear, simple advice on how to use it effectively.

Want to learn more about parental controls and how we can help you use them? Great! Click here.

Home network integration

Sure, you can get all the jammin’ cool tech in your home. You can get your devices serving up a constant stream of awesome, from Astleys to Zombies. But are your devices working together like a well-trained team of ninjas? Can you send your phone content to your TV? Can you print to the other side of the house? Are you able to share files with everyone in your house as easily as sharing a cookie? This is the full nerdish power of home network integration. We’ll do whatever it takes to get your home networked. We’ll improve your WiFI performance. We’ll configure your devices to play nice. We’ll even run an ethernet cable into those tough to reach rooms.

Ready to take it to the next level with a fully networked home? Click here. You won’t ever look back.

Smart Home consultation

Then there’s smart home technology. Picture everything you’ve read above (your home theater, your network of speakers, your centralized network, and controls) all linked together via a computer which will work with you to make you as comfortable as possible. Now add to that a security system, lighting, and a thermostat. Welcome to The Jetsons on steroids! This is smart home technology. The technology is surprisingly affordable these days and it’s quite possible to enjoy some of the benefits without investing in every available technology. We will come to your home and provide a free smart home integration estimate which fits in your budget. Then we’ll install and configure it for you!

Click here to learn more about our smart home consultation service.

Super Secret!

Nerds Price List

Now you too can get the answer to our most frequently asked question, “How much do you charge?” Just enter your email address and we’ll send you our Nerds on Call Price Chart.

Questions nerds often hear about Home Theater

Everyone is talking about smart home this smart home that. What actually is it?

To put it really simply, it’s setting a computer up in your home to manage home technologies like thermostats, entertainment equipment, and security systems.

What is a home network?

It’s how all your devices talk to one another. Your computer, your television, your printer – all these devices are able to connect to one another and work together through a home network.

Is this stuff crazy expensive?

You might be surprised at how reasonable the price can be to install decent sound, entertainment and smart home technologies. The prices have come down a lot in recent years and there are options for most budgets.

Can you offer me advice on surround sound over the phone?

Well, yes we can. While we can do this, we suggest a home visit. Surround sound is a technology which needs to be adapted to room in which it will be installed. Ideally, we’d come and look at your space and offer tailored advice.

Does making a network happen require extra equipment?

If you have a modem and a router, this is sufficient for a basic network to be set up in your home. If you have ethernet cable running through your home, all the better! If you don’t have the infrastructure in place we can provide a free estimate on how much it would cost to set up.