What/Who is Custom Theater & Audio?

We are the Grand Strand's select quality audio/video equipment store and home theater design center. As specialists in designing and installing custom audio and video systems for homes, we feature a variety of in-wall speakers, subwoofers, infrared remote systems, and whole house audio/video and theater systems. Whether you are interested in concert hall sound or movie theater video, we can design a custom audio or video system to fit your building and budget, or pre-wire your home for later.

CUSTOM THEATER AND AUDIO is a locally owned and managed business, founded in January of 1995. We expanded to our present location in June 1999. As members of the international organization CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association), we are trained audio-video experts, emphasizing sound and picture quality.


What brand names do you carry, and are you an authorized dealer?

We carry an extensive line of electronics, and we are factory-authorized dealers for everything that we sell. When you purchase something from us, it will be brand new, in the original, unopened box from the manufacturer, and fully covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Being authorized to carry a product can involve more than just selling it. As an example, before we were able to carry Runco video projectors, our sales manager had to go to California for a week of training at the factory. Also, we continue to receive ongoing factory training from many of the companies that we carry, which means that we will always know about the latest and greatest things coming out!
You will probably be familiar with many of the names that we carry, but others might be new to you. We have selected our product lines based on a several criteria. Performance and quality is certainly important, but also the company's reputation for service and support as well as a wide array of products at different price points.

We carry speakers from:
B&W, Definitive Technology, Sonance and Velodyne.
We carry televisions from:
JVC, Panasonic, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Sharp, Toshiba, and Toshiba Cinema Series
We carry audio/video electronics from: Crestron, Denon, Elan, Escient, Fujitsu, Lexicon, Niles, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Rotel, Escient and Toshiba.
We carry video projectors and plasma televisions from:
Runco, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Fujitsu, Electrograph, and SharpVision.
We carry telephone systems from:
Elan, Doorbell Fon, and Panasonic Home/Office
Other companies we proudly support:
Berekline, Draper, Hughes, Lutron, Middle Atlantic, Monster Cable, Stewart Filmscreen.


What is "Surround Sound"?

(Interestingly enough, the term "home theater" was copyrighted by Sam Runco, president of Runco, in the 1970s.) Although some older films had experimented with different sound technologies (notably Disney with "Fantasia") the modern-day beginnings of home theater started back in 1977 with a small movie called "Star Wars." Looking for a more dynamic audio presentation, George Lucas, sound designer Gary Rydstrom and Dolby Laboratories created a way to immerse the audience in sound. This "surround sound" added speakers behind the audience, and anyone who saw "Star Wars" in the theater will remember the opening shot where the Imperial Cruiser flew overhead!

Looking to bring the excitement home, Dolby licensed the first generation products called "Dolby Surround." Three channels of information were "matrixed" onto a stereo left/right recording. This used four speakers: Two in the front and a mono rear channel played from two speakers intended for placement behind the listener.

The second generation of surround came with "Dolby Pro-Logic." This has four channels of information matrixed onto a stereo recording. The improvements were better channel steering logic, and a dedicated center channel to anchor dialog to the TV screen.

The movie "Superman III" brought about the third generation of surround known as "Dolby Digital." This was a quantum improvement over Pro-Logic. Instead of a matrix recording, we now have 6-channels of independently recorded information. Known affectionately as 5.1, there are three speakers in the front (Left, Center, Right) two for surround sound (left and right) and the low frequency effects (LFE or .1) subwoofer channel. Dolby Digital offers increased channel separation, 5 full range channels, and stereo rear channels.

A competing 5.1 digital audio format created by Digital Theater Systems (dts) debuted with Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park." The latest incarnation of surround sound was again the brainchild of a collaboration with LucasFilm and Dolby Labs. For the film "Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace" an addition to Dolby Digital was created called "EX." Surround EX is only available on THX certified components, and adds a surround back channel to Dolby Digital. This is fully backward compatible with Dolby Digital, and adds an exciting new dimension to watching movies at home. DTS answered with their version which is knows as "ES."

Please stop by our store for a demonstration of these exciting surround sound formats, as well as Lexicon's proprietary Logic 7 that uses seven speakers!


What is a prewire?

"Prewire" is the term used for running wiring through a home while it is under construction. Creating a housewide audio and video system and planning for future technologies like cable modems and computer LANs requires several different types of wire. We use 16 gauge or better speaker wiring, certified Category 5-enhanced data cable, Quad-Shield RG6 coax cable, and Monster Cable audio and video interconnect wire. Further, all wiring is CL3 certified to be run through wall studs. Where applicable, we use direct burial rated wiring for wiring that needs to be buried underground.

We like to meet with clients early on in the building process, often times before ground has even broken on the actual construction. With a set of blueprints, we can help you to design your dream system. We begin our actual wiring after the HVAC, electrical and plumbing have been roughed-in; just before the insulation is installed.


What is DVD, and is it really better than my VCR or DSS satellite?

The short answer is, YES!

DVD is the king of the hill in consumer video products. The digital video image is more stable, has better color accuracy and deeper black levels. However, what makes it so much noticeably better is the increased amount resolution. The resolution numbers below are the amount of HORIZONTAL information present per format.

Cable TV and VCR tapes deliver about 220 lines of information. The old Laser Disc format was a great improvement at 400 lines. DSS signals raised the bar to 425. But, DVD is clearly better with 500 lines of resolution.

Aside from video, the audio is better as well. The vast majority of DVDs carry a 6-channel digital soundtrack (either Dolby Digital or dts or both).

In addition, a DVD movie (if treated with care) will NEVER wear out. From the first viewing to the thousandth, it will always look the same, which is to say, PERFECT! When you add in the ability to carry multiple digital audio soundtracks, deleted scenes, production featurettes, director's commentaries, alternate endings, actor biographies, etc. DVD is the clear choice when it comes to Home Theater!


What is Progressive Scan DVD?

A standard TV picture is comprised of a frame of 480 VERTICAL lines. This frame is divided into two separate fields which are scanned or "drawn" from top-to-bottom every 1/60th of a second. The first field comprises the odd numbered lines (1-3-5....479) while the second field contains the even numbered lines (2-4-5...480). These fields are interlaced together to create one complete TV frame every 1/30th of a second. This process happens so rapidly, that you are not aware that only 1/2 the information is on the screen at a given time. However, the larger and more detailed that your TV's picture is, the more you will notice problems like gaps between scan lines, motion artifacts, image flicker, and jagged lines around the borders of onscreen objects.
Progressive Scanning solves many these problems by drawing the entire TV frame (all 480 lines) in one pass. We have several progressive scan DVD players on display!


Can I install a custom home theater in an existing or older house?

Yes, our installation crew has extensive experience in retro-fitting audio/video systems in older homes. Whether it's fishing wire through walls, under crawl spaces, through attics, or under carpeting, our crew is able to add just about anything you would like. One prime example is an old Plantation House built in 1797. Our team disassembled the original cabinetry, extended the shelving, reinstalled the original woodwork, and installed a video projector and 100" film screen!


Do you do commercial sound for my business?

Yes! We have designed and installed audio systems in many restaurants, dental offices, interior decorator's show rooms, and even a golf shop. Our commercial systems can also incorporate other functions like paging to allow you to talk over the music for announcements.


Do you do car stereos?

Unfortunately, no. We also do not sell any appliances, office supplies, cellular phones, etc. Custom Theater and Audio focuses on delivering the highest caliber audio/video systems in residential applications (with some commercial work).