Video Asylum

Posted by Shawn Harvey on December 09, 1999 at 07:29:14:

In Reply to: Advice on home theater system $600-$2500 posted by jackrandom on December 09, 1999 at 04:09:28:

1. Is it important that I get a receiver that has Dolby, DTS, THX, Dolby Prologic etc?

If she only has a VHS then ProLogic is important; if a DVD then DD is important (or even if she wants to upgrade one day). DTS is worthless as far as I'm concerned because there are so few titles but you'll probably get it on the box anyway. THX is nice but not necessary, especially for DD.

2. Am I better off getting brands like Sony, JVC, Onkyo etc or investing in a complete home theater system from Polk or Bose?

I read that Polk's latests system is nice but it's around 2 g's I think. You're best to stay as far away from Bose as possible in my opinion.

3. Can anyone recommend a DVD player that sounds decent for audio CDs as well? Price range $200-$600.

Any of the current approx. $400 DVD players make nice cd players: Sony 530, Toshiba 3109/2109, Pioneer (forget model #'s).

4. Her TV is an older Sony. How many and what jacks would she need on the TV to set all this up? Will she have to buy A/V switcher?

The receiver *should* act as an AV switcher. All she needs is composite inputs (rca jacks). If she doesn't have those then she'll have to get a converter and suffer a nasty picture, probably, unless the receiver has rg59 output.

Shawn