Entertainment Equipment Standards
Noise Criteria (NC) are noise-level guidelines applicable to cinema and home cinema. For this application, it is a measure of a room's ambient noise level at various frequencies. For example, in order for a theater to be THX certified, it must have an ambient sound level of NC-30 or less. This helps to retain the dynamic range of the system. Some NC levels are:
- NC 40: Significant but not a dooming level of ambient noise; the highest "acceptable" ambient noise level. 40 decibels is the lower sound pressure level of normal talking; 60 being the highest.
- NC 30: A good NC level; necessary for THX certification in cinemas.
- NC 20: An excellent NC level; difficult to attain in large rooms and sought after for dedicated home cinema systems. For example, for a home cinema to be THX certified, it has to have a rating of NC 22.
- NC 10: Virtually impossible noise criteria to attain; 10 decibels is associated with the sound level of calm breathing.
Projectors used for home cinemas have a set of recommended criteria. Those criteria are:
- Brightness, usually at least 1800 lumens.
- Resolution (the number of pixels making up the image), usually at least 1920×1080.
- Contrast (how well white, black and greyscales are displayed), usually a minimum of 5000:1.
- HDMI connection sockets.
- Specific manufacturers, although this is largely a choice of personal preference and budget.
Read more about this topic: Home Cinema
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