Home Theater Package

What Is A Home Theater Package?

You have probably heard that you can save more money by buying a home theater package as opposed to buying individual components.  Before you go out and buy one, you first need to define it. What, exactly, is a home theater package? The answer is: that depends. It depends on whatever you want it to be. There an infinite variety of home theater packages available, each determined by what components you want.

A complete home theater system consists of a high definition television, a CD player, an amplifier, and a set of at least 5 speakers. In actuality, the speakers are a system unto themselves. In order to be considered a true surround sound system the speaker package must include a quality subwoofer, midrange speakers and tweeters. Some would argue that the most important component of a home theater package is the speaker system, while others insist that quality sound is not as important as a quality picture. The truth is that you need both in order to immerse your self in the home theater experience. Some retailers will include everything you need, including a chair to sit in, in their home theater package. They will also break them down into mini home theater packages, depending on the needs of the customer.

The latest rage is the home theater in a box. Everything needed for getting a complete home theater started will be found in these neat all-in-one packages. They come with the amplifier, speakers and all the cabling in one box, and many will have a built-in DVD/Blu-ray player too. All you need to do is connect it to your TV and you’re good to go. However, the down side to these packages is their limited ability in connecting other devices.

Buy a system that offers at least 1,000 watts output. The higher the wattage, the less distortion when playing movies at high volume. Make sure that the system includes an HDMI jack, so that you can transmit high-quality video and audio through only one cable.

Onkyo offers the HT-S3200, an entry-level home theater in a box. It is a 660-watt package and comes with a 5.1-channel AV receiver with 110 watts per channel; three HDMI inputs; DTS and Dolby Digital surround processing; and five loudspeakers. The system also has four digital  sound modes that adjust the system’s settings for music, sports, action movies and computer games. It costs less than $400.

Onkyo also has the HT-S5200, a 1,200-watt, 7.1-channel system with 130 watts per channel, has a 10-inch, 290-watt bass-reflex subwoofer. It also includes an iPod dock and charging station. It is also Sirius satellite radio compatible and costs about $600.

Samsung’s HT-BD1250 Blu-ray Home Theater System has many of the most needed components one package. It plays Blu-rays, CDs, DVDs and portable media from an iPod. It’s also Netflix compatible. It even has a radio! Plus it includes wireless networking with the optional Samsung’s WIS09ABGN Wireless USB/LAN Adapter.

The Sony HTSS360 5.1 Channel Home Theater System is probably the most popular home theater package due to it’s widespread availability. At less than $300 it’s a bargain.