Video Games and Home Theater

By: Mike Hopkins
Aperion Product Manager

Think Video Games Are Just For Kids?

Think again! Studies have shown that the average gamer is over thirty years old and new high definition videogame consoles like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 usher in a new era of gameplay — integrating seamlessly into a modern home theater setup. Taking full advantage of this by hooking your console up to an HD-ready display and multi-channel receiver will give you the best performance possible. Now you can become totally immersed by the combination of HD gameplay and surround sound. It’s that impressive.

So How Do I Integrate It into My Home Theater?

If you can hook up a DVD player, you can hook up a game console. Similar to DVD, a television and a multi-channel receiver are required, and using the right connections is key for optimum performance. If you have an HD-ready display, you’ll want to use component or HDMI video cables and an optical digital cable to wire it up for sound. New game consoles set up just like a DVD player or receiver, they have an on-screen setup menu and you can tell the console what types of hardware you’re using, as well as configure your personal settings. Once you have all the right connections and configuration done, it’s game time! If you have a child in the house, prepare your ego for a bad beatdown.

What else can these marvels of amusement technology do?

Most next generation consoles also act as a High Definition DVD player, a media pc, and a hub to connect your personal computer to your home theater system. The HD-DVD (Xbox 360) or Blu-Ray (Playstation 3) drives let you watch high-definition movies in multi-channel surround sound. What’s more, using your console with either a wireless or wired network connection, you can access all the music and digital photos on your computer. Your mp3’s are streamed directly from your computer to your console, then played or viewed through your home theater. You can also access the internet through your console, and have it displayed on your TV. Currently your options are limited to web surfing, but the options are increasing. Finally, another feature that is particularly interesting is the ability to stream HD programming from your computer’s hard drive. You can actually use a video tuner in your computer, record your favorite shows to your hard drive, and watch them in high-def on your home theater – using a video game console! While this may make the mighty entertainment industry shake in its boots, it’s a real bonus for you.

In Conclusion

With home theater and PC’s coming closer together, the game console is a perfect bridge for the two. The processing power of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are comparable to many top of the line home PCs. The real advantage to the consumer is that having video game consoles competing for your attention brings the price down, which means you win!