In Reply to: Advice on home theater system $600-$2500 posted by jackrandom on December 9, 1999 at 04:09:28:
1. Dolby Digital, yes. That is clearly the format of choice now. More DVD's are being released with only 5.1 soundtracks. Pro-Logic is automatically handled by a 5.1 system. DTS: nope. There's not much software available, and I don't see that changing. THX is more a set of standards: for example, bass xover must be 80Hz; highs are rolled off to ease a harsh soundtrack, etc. THX is not necessary; I doubt that you can find a complete THX system in your price range---for example, THX specifies a pretty heavy duty sub2. A complete package offers a great benefit: it's easy to deal with for a technophobe, and gets you _decent_ HT performance quickly.
I have a review sample of the Polk RMDS system, and one of the great things about it is that I can setup a HT system in 15 minutes, and start enjoying movies.
My wife likes the little Polk system b/c the subwoofer level is controlled via remote, so she can turn it down to avoid feeling pounded by the bass...yet the sub does a respectable job of filling a room. But now for the tradeoff: it has a pretty steep cutoff at (guessing) 30Hz or so...that's how it gets close to 100dB potential without costing an arm and a leg.
I'm willing to bet that every prepackaged system makes similar tradeoffs...it's always a compromise.
3. Ditto Shawn.4. Ditto Shawn, with a word of explanation: the receiver will not do a format conversion, i.e., you can't plug in an S-video source and a composite video source into the receiver and have *only* an S-video hookup from receiver to TV. You will also need to run a composite out from the receiver to the TV.
Good luck.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Advice on home theater system $600-$2500 - Bob Wanamaker 18:09:09 12/09/99 (0)