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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
The concept of having a theater in your home has come a
long way since those notorious flick parties at Will Hearst's
place in San Simeon.
There, in a lavish home-theater room at Hearst Castle, the
likes of Clark Gable, Carol Lombard and Errol Flynn got to
view the latest Hollywood film fare well before audiences
saw them.
Today, home theater has come back down to earth. You, too,
can have a Hearst Castle-like experience -- for under $400
(not including the cost of your TV set).
It's called Home Theater in a Box -- a category that has
expanded the market for home-theater components while also
providing solid profit margins for mainstream audio-video
manufacturers.
The electronics industry likes this category so much it has
given it a special acronym -- HTIB. Prices for these complete
HTIB systems, which usually include an audio-video receiver,
five to seven loudspeakers and a powered subwoofer, range
from $300 for a basic surround-sound system connected to your
TV to $100,000 for state-of-the-art systems.
Sound & Vision Magazine's Buyer's Guide 2004 and others
list more than 150 packaged home-theater systems offered by
more than 50 manufacturers.
At the lowest end of this category is the so-called Home
Theater in a Box. One's first impression of such a system:
Don't expect too much. Indeed, the early HTIB systems that
were strung together in the late 1990s gave listeners only
a sniff of the real thing.
In recent model years, though, these packaged systems have
improved significantly. For one thing, the audio-video receivers
that drive the system are for the most part solid performers.
The weakest link remains the loudspeakers; most of the lower-priced
HTIB systems skimp on speaker quality.
Consumers can upgrade their systems by spending more on better-quality
home-theater speaker systems to match the electronics of what
they get in the all-in-one-box system.
The theater-in-a-box category, of course, isn't for everyone.
It was designed to appeal to consumers who want their gadgets
to be as cheap as possible and, above all, simple to operate.
The November issue of Consumer Reports reviewed a dozen of
last year's packaged systems, breaking them down into those
that include a DVD player and those that don't. Our advice
is simple: It really doesn't matter whether the DVD player
is part of the box or bought separately.
What matters more is that you make sure that the audio-video
receiver that comes in the box has enough audio and video
inputs to accommodate an external DVD player, a VCR, a CD
player or changer and a cable box or satellite receiver --
components you're likely to want to add in the future.
Among the many HTIB offerings, one brand that scores well
for its sound and build qualities is Onkyo, which last year
introduced four packaged systems.
Of those, Model HT-S667C, at a suggested retail price of
$700, is an impressive performer. It features a 5.1-channel
receiver that delivers 100 watts to each of the five included
satellite speakers, and a pre-out connection to supply low
bass signals to its 150-watt powered subwoofer.
The receiver also features Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic
II processing, plus connections for up to four A/V components
and two audio-only components, including 5.1-channel analog
inputs for both DVD-Audio or SACD encoded software.
The unit also comes with a six-disc, progressive scan DVD
changer.
Panasonic counters with its new SC-HT07, which includes Panasonic's
DVD-RAM-based recorder. It's the only theater-in-a-box on
the market that includes a DVD recorder. At a suggested retail
price of $399.95, the SC-HT07 includes five "Tall Boy"
loudspeakers and 700-plus watts total output.
Sony offers a lineup of what it calls Sony DVD Dream Systems.
One -- the DAV-FR8, at a suggested retail price of $800 --
uses a twin-drive subwoofer with a total of 800 watts of system
power to drive two front tower speakers, two satellite rear
speakers and a center channel speaker.
Yamaha has added three new systems to its "DVD Home
CinemaStations" series. The S200P and S120P are designed
to look and sound good with plasma TVs that hang on the wall.
The DVX-S120, a conventional design, offers a DVD/audio-video
receiver unit, five satellite speakers and a separate 100-watt
power subwoofer for $499.
The advantages of HTIB systems are simplicity, component
compatibility, value and price. After striking such a bargain,
though, be prepared to upgrade the loudspeakers at some point.
Choosing superior loudspeakers may sting your budget a little,
but doing so will give you a better sense of what those Hearst
Castle parties might have been like.
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