Home Theatre System
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Its amazing how small home theatre systems have become. Instead of multiple components and huge floor speakers, you can pick up a 5.1 surround sound DVD/Receiver starting at $200. We are looking for one but as usual I have specifics that need to be addressed. The device needs to have inputs on the back so I can connect the Wii as well as an HDMI out to connect back to the tv. The device also needs inputs whether it be RCA or component to connect the DVR to allow surround sound for normal cable watching.
I wasn't about all of these things until I went looking yesterday and started reading reviews. Right now we just play the Wii thru the tv speakers which is fine but when you are thrashing out to Guitar Hero, you need volume. The 2nd consideration has to do with the current battle between Blu Ray and HD DVD. Some of the cheaper home theatre systems do not have an additional inputs to allow connections of a stand alone dvd player. Now when Blu Ray wins, you will want to pick up one of these devices and if it cannot go thru the surround sound, what good is it?
Another selling point but one that fell flat after further investigation are rear wireless speakers. They are not truly wireless since they connect to a transmitter which then sends the signal back to the receiver. You can get interruptions with microwaves and wireless networks (well this is what reviewers have said) and I really don't want to take my chances.
So I am back at square one deciding what I want. Since I am able to rule out wireless I can now find one that has the desired inputs arround the same price. For those of you who are wondering what the whole DVD upconversion is, I found out yesterday. Regular DVD will broadcast at 480 and when stretched for widescreen and 720/1080p tv's gaps will appear in the resolution. The upconversion will fill these gaps in with black to try and smooth out the picture. Does it really work, I don't know but at this time I don't plan on going high def until the format war is over.
Posted by mardenhill 1/10/2008 09:47:00 AM
Labels: Technology
1 Comment:
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5:30 PM
that is all WAY too confusing for me ! I need em' to give me something simple - make it all like an IPOD, no more BlueRay, Tivo, DVR, dish, plasma, HD......
