Consumers pay dearly for the technology. Neither does Michael Toto. Ga. Installers reinforce ceilings, too, for front-projection equipment. Then they have to precisely level the units so the projected image doesn't drift. That's partly due to the devices' tricky video wiring, which channels red, green, and blue signals through separate wires.
Speaker wiring is fairly simple, but audio component wiring can get complicated.
HDTV equipment requires a type of computer cable only pros can properly connect. Despite the sensational picture quality, there aren't a whole lot of programs broadcast in HDTV format. Toto is dismayed by manufacturers that market their sets as HDTV-compatible, partly because there are currently 18 digital TV formats. Regardless, the future of home theaters is exciting. Manufacturers believe DVD recording will become popular, and that downloading movies from the Internet will be mainstream.