A Plea to Upgrade Your Home Theater Audio

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://notebooks.com/2010/12/03/ask-an-expert-how-to-shop-for-a-home-theater-audio-system/' target='_blank'>http://notebooks.com/2010/12/03/ask...r-audio-system/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"People put a lot of thought into what their movies, video games and other digital content will look like when they&rsquo;re getting ready to buy a new HDTV. But most people don&rsquo;t think enough about what all that high-def content will sound like. Even the most expensive HDTVs deliver relatively poor audio through tiny speakers that are almost an afterthought."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1291702971.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 0px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>HDTVs have become much more affordable over the past couple of years and while the latest trend is the promotion of 3D TVs, audio has taken a back seat.&nbsp; Home Theater systems serve as an excellent compliment to that shiny big screen TV and can serve to make a much more immersible experience.&nbsp; I think that less attention is given to audio largely because people seem much more willing to tolerate "just enough" and that higher quality audio is not always as readily apparent as a higher resolution video.&nbsp; Two examples come to mind when I think of how people interpret audio, are MP3s and stock earbuds.&nbsp; MP3s still dominate audio in many ways and people seemed to be quite happy with 128kbps quality for the longest time.&nbsp; Sure, higher bitrates are now available but think of how long of road it has to reach that point.&nbsp; By stock earbuds, I mean those lightweight, token earbuds that usually come with your PMP, be it an iPod, Archos or that discount player at Walmart.&nbsp; While competent at playing back music, they hardly are a shining beacon when it comes to audio reproduction, though many might not realize it.&nbsp; The same comes to home theater audio.&nbsp; While tiny stereo speakers may be adequate, a good sound system, while adding quite a penny to your home theater cost, is worth it.</p>

[Sven Johannsen]

I think some of the problems with home theatre sound is it isn't always simple. You have to get it all wired, and the back speakers can present a problem for cabling. Then there are a thousand options on the units, for sound type, dolby, concert, etc. Easier just to pop the DVD in and let the TV/Monitor handle the sound. I specifically opted for a Panasonic home theatre to go with my Panasonic wide screen TV. One button on the remote sets the sound and the TV for DVD playback. The units talk to each other over the HDMI cable. I know you can get a Harmony remote, but that is another thing that would need setting up. I think it is worth it, but it can be challanging for many.

One thing that always seemed to be a challange with programmable remotes is setting the input on the TV. The couple of TVs I have, there is no way to go directly to any particular input. You bring up the input menu and have to step up or down to the desired source. That of course depends on where you are when you start. Makes it tough to program a programmable remote, since the steps are different if you are on TV and want to go to DVD, than if you are on Game and want to go to DVD. Should be a standard to allow you to hit source and then a number, to jump directly to a particular source from any other. Actually the Home theatre is the same. Have to step through line in, HDMI in, AM, FM, DVD, if I'm not using the dedicated playback DVD on-touch button.

[Jason Dunn]

I know you can get a Harmony remote, but that is another thing that would need setting up. I think it is worth it, but it can be challanging for many...The couple of TVs I have, there is no way to go directly to any particular input. You bring up the input menu and have to step up or down to the desired source. That of course depends on where you are when you start.

If it helps, most TVs have the ability to jump to a specific input via an IR command, but it's not always on the remote - point is, you can program a Harmony remote to do it since they usually have far more remote commands than buttons on the remote. Their system is pretty darn slick! I use a Harmony Remote on both my TV setups.

[Sven Johannsen]

If it helps, most TVs have the ability to jump to a specific input via an IR command, but it's not always on the remote - point is, you can program a Harmony remote to do it since they usually have far more remote commands than buttons on the remote. Their system is pretty darn slick! I use a Harmony Remote on both my TV setups.
Hmm, hadn't considered Harmony potentially having more capability than the 500 button remote that came with the TV. May have to look into that.

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm, hadn't considered Harmony potentially having more capability than the 500 button remote that came with the TV. May have to look into that.

The power of a harmony remote is the macros - you get "Tasks" that fire up all your gear in order. It's good stuff.

[Sven Johannsen]

The power of a harmony remote is the macros - you get "Tasks" that fire up all your gear in order. It's good stuff.
I get that. I've used various such products before, such as the NEVO built into some HP Pocket PCs, including buying a Palm long ago, just to use a third party remote control function. What I never could do is go directly to a particular input, if that function wasn't provided in the product's inherent control functions. The macro could say, hit source, hit down, hit down, hit enter, navigating down a list, but there was no way to say, hit source, hit HDMI2. The first macro only works if I am on TV when I start. Certainly direct access to particular inputs would be a device feature, but none of the TV/Monitors I have seem to support that. Might be undocumented and Harmony can take advantage of it, just never considered that. Would be cool if it could.