DK Arts & Entertainment: Home Entertainment
Home entertainment is how we have fun and relax at home. Today it is dominated by technology, especially television. Watching videos, playing computer games, and listening to music are all home entertainment. So are reading books, playing cards, and storytelling.
People had to make their own amusement by playing games, singing, or reading stories. The invention of the radio and the gramophone at the beginning of the 20th century meant that people could listen to music and programs at home. Just as we sit in front of the TV to watch our favorite shows, people in the past sat around the radio or listened to the gramophone.
Home cinema is an attempt to bring the look, the sound, and the excitement of movies to the home. A basic kit includes a wide-screen television, a DVD (digital video disc) player, and speakers positioned around the room to give surround sound. For a more cinematic effect, a wall-mounted digital projector and projection screen can be used instead of a TV.
Digital broadcasting has many advantages over the old analog system. Information is compressed (made smaller), producing more channels and better-quality pictures and sound. Digital technology makes TV and radio more interactive for the audience.
“Hi-fi” is short for “high-fidelity,” and it refers to recorded music that is an accurate copy of the original music. High-fidelity recordings were first made using vinyl records, then magnetic tape (cassettes). They are now captured on digital media—CDs, MiniDiscs, and MP3 files.
