The tittle pretty much says it all. I am thinking about giving my son a Home Theater In a Box (HTIB) for Christmas.
I looked at what Samsung offers (His new TV is a Samsung so I thought I would stay with the same brand) The reviews would make you wonder if the people are reviewing the same product. Half the reviews seem to think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the other half had nothing but trouble. Kinda makes me go :dubious:
So what I am looking for is a HTIB that will interface with an iPOD, have HDMI inputs/outputs, upconvert CDs to 1080i, and the ability to run the rear channel speakers wireless. It OK if it requires an additional piece of equipment to make the rear channels wireless.
Needless to say I am not looking for a project, I want a unit that works right out of the box.
::: Rick crosses his fingers that such an animal exists:::
Panasonic’s SC-PT950 seems to do it all, and for $425 or so. It has what’s described as a universal dock connector for an iPod. Their $510 SC-PT1050 adds a wireless connection for the subwoofer - handy as subwoofer placement is not necessarily going to be neatly next to the TV.
While I have always liked Onkyo products, I don’t see where the rear speakers can be made wireless.
Right now the Panasonic looks like the leader.
Anybody else got a suggestion?
It’s a bit pricey, but I definitely recommend the Sony Bravia series. I have the DAV-HDX500, which I love (as you can see in my review), but the rear speakers are wired. The DAV-HDX500i has wireless ready rear speakers. I believe it has everything else you’re looking for. $499 msrp.
Oh yeah the rear wireless is an issue. I’m asusming we’re not talking about Bang Olufson type stuff right? That Pioneer set-up is a nice one, and that Bravia I have heard great things about.
I’m not sure I’d go with a complete HTIB. The problem I have is, if one component (either the DVD or the receiver) fails, then you probably can’t use any of it. So a better choice might be a good 5.1 system with an independent receiver and then a reasonably-good DVD player.
Don’t do it! I had one once and could only hook up a DVD player and a VCR to it. After getting other components, like a 5-CD changer and a tape player, I had to hook them up separately to stereo speakers. Now that I bought a 7.1 receiver with several inputs, and have picked up an upconverting DVD player, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray player in the meantime, life is much better.
Buying the receiver, speakers, and components separately costs more, but you’ll be glad in the long run that you did it and have plenty of room left over for expansion.
My only concern here is my son is not the geek I am. I was looking at the TIB as a painless way to do this.
I am going to go look at stuff this afternoon and see what is out there both in a box, and as seperate components.
I have to say, getting a HTIB does negate some of the “omg, does s-video upsample to HDMI?” etc issues that you get from a separate 5.1 reciever, and are not readily apparent at first glance. Personally, I’d go with the separate components in a heartbeat, but its not a slam-dunk.
If you’re willing to spend the money, you might want to look at one of the new directed speaker array products that can recreate a 5.1 soundfield from one speaker. They actually work remarkably well if you have a suitable room. No wires at all required for speakers.
Something like a Yamaha Sound Projector. They have built-in amplifiers and switching for multiple components, and you can buy one of these and a $49 DVD player and have the equivalent of an HTiB, only with much better sound and easier installation.
There are matching subwoofers available for all the models. In any event, the same is true of an HTiB - you won’t get really good bass unless you add on an external subwoofer. Or for that matter, any bookshelf or cube speaker. The need for a subwoofer only goes away when you get into large floor-standing speakers.
Whether or not it’s too expensive depends on what you’re comparing it with. Sure, one of these systems will set you back anywhere from $550 to $1000, depending on model and subwoofer. For many people, that’s less than half of what a decent home theater receiver alone would cost. But it’s certainly more expensive that a cheap boom box.
the HTIBs I have been looking at come with external subs, so that is not an issue.
The Yamaha looks nice, but in the reviews stuff on the walls and having the sofa back against the wall are mentioned as interfering with the sound. I don’t think the Yamaha is the correct solution for my son’s condo. Maybe when I put in a home theater it will be right for me.
I swear I am more confused now than I was when I started this project.
::: Wanders off into teh interwebs to do more research:::
Okay, I’ll tell you what I did (spending far too much money this summer that I shouldn’t have in the process.) I bought a Sony HT-DDW790. My only problem with the receiver is that it is limited in its digital audio inputs. There’s only one toslink input and one coax input, meaning I’ll need to get a switchbox in the future to add new video game systems or the like. Now, this particular model has wired rear speakers, but they do make a similar model (not sure, but I know I’ve seen it) with wireless. I then bought a fairly cheap (Insignia, the Best Buy house brand, and I can’t really recommend it–too slow to respond, among other problems) upconverting DVD player.
Now, I don’t know if Sony makes an iPod-compatible system in the sense of being able to stick it in a dock and control the iPod through the receiver. To just hook in an iPod as an audio source, all you need is a Y-cable that goes from a 1/8" stereo to two RCA plugs.
Not sure what you mean here… the system I mentioned came with (when I purchased it, anyway) a rebate giving you a free ipod dock which you control through the receiver with the TIB remote, and displays on the TV. About the only thing it doesn’t do is let you play video.
There’s a review of some of these speaker array systems in the New York Times today (although the review calls them “sound bars”). The ones they review cost $800-1,800.
And I looked at the Crutchfield website where some sound bars are available for $400 on up.
