Best Home Theatre in a Box

For many of us choosing individual components to build up our home theatre system can be a daunting, tedious and disappointing process. Often the overall quality of the experience is let down by a single below-par product. This is where home theatres in a box come to the fore, providing quality components in one easy to use package. Compatibility and functionality problems are removed and getting down to enjoying the product is lightning fast.

Blu-Ray Systems

Selecting the best possible home theatre in a box for your budget and needs can be made even simpler by following this quick guide. Considering the inevitable conversion of the home entertainment experience towards the Blu-Ray format, let’s kick this off by looking at two great all-in-one systems. The LG HB954TB is a powerful and intuitive package, offering 7.1 channels of audio (5×155 watts + 225 watts). The surround-sound speakers look like ultra-slim champagne flutes and complement the standard centre and sub-woofer speakers. The system includes a useful addition in the form of an iPod dock. This allows for additional control through the iPod system if the inbuilt OSD’s aren’t to your liking. Sonically, the LG HB954TB performs exceptionally, with perfect balance and powerful bass. Again, visuals are excellent and system functionality is hiccup-free.

Sony home cinema

The Sony BDV-E300 is an equally capable home cinema system, but very different. Its speakers are small and unassuming, but pumping them up to their full capacity of 1000W assures you that performance is not compromised. The amp/receiver delivers immersive and pinpoint sound to the set of speakers – their small size means positioning them in your lounge is easy. In a sentence, the Sony BDV-E300 home theatre is the simplest of systems to set up, calibrate and enjoy, all within a quarter of an hour. For those new to the domain of home theatre entertainment there couldn’t be a better, more affordable package to get you started.

Mini Systems

Mini Systems are advantageous when product form has to intersect with the need to minimise space usage. These compact systems have all the features and capabilities of their bigger brothers, but in a far smaller package. The NAD VISO 2 DVD Receiver/VISO 20 Speaker System exceeds nearly all of these expectations. Design is superb; the compact and boxy 2.1’s (2×50 watts) suit the detailed and well laid out NAD VISO 2 Receiver. The only possible downfall of this otherwise impressive package is the lack of HDMI input, meaning connectivity to some newer devices isn’t possible. On the other hand, all other formats, DVD-V, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MPEG, JPEG and WMA operate well, with the assistance of the handy backlight remote.

Making your choice

The most important consideration to make in choosing a home theatre system is being sure it fulfills your requirements, is easy to set up (and operate!) and is comprised of individual quality components which together deliver the expected performance.

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