Showing posts with label home theater system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home theater system. Show all posts

3/12/2012

LG LHB535 1100-Watt Network Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System, Black Review

LG LHB535 1100-Watt Network Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System, Black
Average Reviews:

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Updated January 2011.
At the time of my current purchase (yes, current purchase - I'll explain that later), the unit was $420 and is worth every penny (it's almost $100 less now, so there's really no excuse for anyone to not pick it up). For that price, you get a very good Blu-ray player, decent speakers (I'll get to that later too), and the ability to do all kinds of streaming to the device using either an Ethernet cable or the device's built in Wireless N certified antenna. The main reason I wanted this particular unit was two-fold. One, it is the only decent Home Theater System that has built-in DivX HD support, which means that it has the ability to play pretty much all types of media (MKV, AVI, DivX, MP4, MPG, etc...) off of a USB or from your home server. This was crucial. This Blu-ray home theater system also just so happened to match the design of my LG 42LH40 1080p 120hz LCD HDTV (seen here: http://www.amazon.com/LG-42LH40-42-Inch-1080p-120Hz/dp/B001VJHWTQ - AMAZING television as soon as you turn off the 'TruMotion' feature). So, this Home Theater System matched my needs.
This was my first Blu-ray player, but I didn't even really get it for that. I mainly wanted to be able to stream all kinds of media to something in my living room that could also playback my DVDs and eventual Blu-rays. My Xbox 360 can handle all of my media, but that's in the bedroom. I needed something decent for the living room, and something to take advantage of my beautiful TV. So, after getting this system, I tried some Blu-rays out - and WOW! I've since bought almost 50 titles on Blu-ray. The picture and sound is amazing - but I'll get to that later!
I've mentioned "current purchase" and "first purchase" in this review so let me explain that. This device originally had a manufacturing defect which caused a loud high pitch whistle sound (sounded like a tea kettle) to emit from the front right, rear right, and sometimes the center speaker. I was the first to document this online, and I did it on the Amazon message board on this very page. I also replied to several reviewers on this and the page for the LG LHB335 device. Others mentioned this problem on various websites (I'm not going to plug them here in my review), so trust me, this was a big problem. On top of that, I was in constant contact with the head of LG's Quality Assurance team. After talking to him about the issue, he admitted it existed and promised to find a fix. I grew impatient and saw the price for this device drop (around $80 from what I originally purchased it for) so I decided to return it and thought I would re-buy it at a cheaper price once he assured me a fix was found. Well, a fix was found. I re-purchased the device and it's working flawlessly. The fixed ones are manufactured June 2010 and later. If you purchase it and the manufacturing date is before June 2010, you will have the whistle sound.
So, back to the review. There have been some firmware updates lately that added some new features (DivX TV - which is awesome, MLB TV, and Napster), so make sure the first thing you do when you get the device is to update the firmware. It's also good to do a factory reset the first time you do that just in case (me and at least one other person have noticed a bug that was solved when we did that - but it's possible that the bug would have been fixed with the firmware update that was released a few days after that - I don't know). It's also a good idea to go into the speaker settings and adjust the speaker distance (the amount of feet between each speaker and your usual listening position). Now, this device came with rather short speaker wires (probably the shortest out of any Home Theater System I've ever purchased). This was solved with less than $10 and a quick trip to Radio Shack. I'm glad the speaker connections aren't proprietary like some other manufacturer's models out there. Let's get to the sound.
The sound is pretty impressive. It's possible that the people complaining about the sound are doing it for two reasons. For one, maybe they used the short speaker wires and thus, their speakers are too close together. Mine are pretty far apart from each other, so I have no sound problems. For two, it's possible that they left the default 2-channel sound output set to Natural (or was it Natural Plus?). For two-channel stereo audio, I didn't like this very much. Changing it to 'PL II Movie' made two-channel stereo audio sound NICE. I have 0 complaints about regular stereo audio anymore. By default, the receiver is properly set to output 5.1 channel audio with the 'Bypass' setting. This means that the receiver does no artificial mixing of 5.1 channel sound. It outputs it exactly as it is given it. This is the right way to do it. The receiver will also remember your settings for 5.1 channel and 2 channel, so don't worry about having to manually switch it to Bypass for 5.1 and to PL II Movie for 2 channel. Go to something that is 2 channel (like the FM radio, or a DVD menu), change the sound output to PL II Movie once, and never worry about adjusting the sound output again (unless you are strictly listening to CDs or MP3s and then you will have various different music outputs to choose from). So, due to changing the stereo output and having the speakers at a nice distance, I really love the sound output of this system. I did notice that the bass was a little low by default so I increased the sub-woofer volume to 3 and it sounded really good. I tried changing it to 6 at first but that was WAY too much bass for me. 3 was a perfect level.
Hooking the system up to my Wireless N network was a breeze. To make matters easier, I set my SSID to 'broadcast' so the Wireless N device inside the device would pick up my network, I put in the password once, and it was a go. I then disabled the broadcast of my SSID, turned the unit off, turned it back on, and it automatically re-connected without a problem. It remembers your password and automatically logs you in to your network so you never have to worry about that again. Good. Clicking on Homelink, I was greeted to my wireless network. I saw the CIFS network login for the PC, and the one for my Windows 7 Homegroup (which is the one I wanted to use). Before it would connect to my PC via the Windows Media Player server (the Windows 7 Homegroup), I had to go into the Homegroup settings in my Windows 7 PC, click on 'All Networks,' and make sure the device (which is listed as 'Unknown Device') was set to ALLOW. Once done, I was inside my PC's video library. 14GB 1080p MKV files streamed flawlessly over my wireless connection where my device was 50 feet from my router. The only time I would run in to a problem was when I would try to fast-forward a large file. I'm not sure if this is because of the device, or my wireless network, so I won't blame the device. However, fast-forwarding a file when played on a USB (and naturally, off of a Blu-ray disc and a DVD) worked fine. So the issue was definitely wireless related. It's probably too much to ask to be able to fast-forward such a large file over WiFi, but I don't care as long as it PLAYS the file fine. It does. You can pause it all you want and it will resume instantly as soon as you press play. This was all I wanted. In addition, since fast-forwarding large files doesn't work, I've noticed that you can press 'Info' and skip directly to the time that you want, which works just as well if not better than fast-forwarding.
The player had no problem playing files off of each of my USB sticks, but there was one thing I noticed. If the USB external hard drive was formatted to NTFS, I could just plug it in and the device would pick it up right away. If the USB flash drive was formatted to FAT32, I would have to turn the device off and turn it back on for it to recognize it. It may be because of my particular USB flash drive, or it may be because it is FAT32 and not NTFS. Either way, not really a big deal. As long as I can play all file types off of FAT32 and NTFS, I'm happy.
YouTube, Pandora, VuDu, Netflix - all worked fine. As of now, you can't search via Netflix - you can only access things from your Instant Queue or look at some recommendations. Not really a problem, but worth mentioning. If you open up VuDu, make sure to go into the options and check out the overscan settings and make sure it is appropriate to your HDTV so nothing is cut off (unless your HDTV is set to 1:1 pixel mapping - which it definitely should be if you want the sharpest and most accurate picture - then you won't ever have to worry about overscan). YouTube works well, it seems to stream videos at whatever their default resolution is (whether it is 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p). You can log in to your YouTube account so I'm sure that if you have your account to display HD video by default, that it would do that on this device. I don't really care to find out since I have a PC for YouTube. I just wanted to see if it worked. It does. It will store your YouTube history and not present you with an option to clear it, though. Doing a factory restore will clear your history (among other things) in the event that you reaaaaaaaally need to clear your history.
Let's talk Blu-ray. When I first got the device, I had a little problem with some movies when playing them at 24 frames per second (which you will want to enable as long as you have a 120hz/240hz LCD, or Plasma HDTV) but that was promptly fixed with a firmware update a week after I e-mailed LG about the problem (apparently, their whole line of this year's Blu-ray players were affected so I'm sure I was not the only one contacting them about it) and I have not had a problem since. If you don't know why you would want to set it to 24hz instead of 60hz - to make a long story short,...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: LG LHB535 1100-Watt Network Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System, Black

If you want to make the most out of your HD entertainment, the LHB535 Network Blu-ray Home Theater System more than delivers. Instant streaming movies, shows and music direct from your Wi-Fi connection to your TV. Full HD video and superior audio performance with Blu-ray. Crystal-clear, dazzling sound from state-of-the-art speakers. It's the total package.

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1/04/2012

LG LHB975 1100-Watt Blu-ray Home Theater System, Gloss Black Review

LG LHB975 1100-Watt Blu-ray Home Theater System, Gloss Black
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We got this system yesterday after waiting about six weeks. We had found it when searching the LG site, and while it was "released", the LG rep I emailed said that it was just taking time for the distributors to get it to retailers. LG service was prompt and VERY helpful!
When it was finally available on Amazon, my wife and I jumped on it and had it over nighted. (BTW: Amazon Prime rocks!).
This system was everything we wanted. It was easy to put together, and the NetFlix, You Tube, and the Pandora radio were simple to get going.
The picture and sound quality were excellent and we were thrilled with every feature except one.
The rear speakers are NOT exactly wireless.
We had envisioned that three front three (right, left, and center) would plug into the blu ray receiver, and the subwoofer and rear speakers would be completely wireless.
What we found was that the system comes with a box (about the size and weight of a Wii) called the "Wireless Speaker Router". This box can be placed anywhere in a room, as long as it has access to an electrical outlet. The box DOES wirelessly connect to the receiver AND wirelessly connect to the subwoofer.
HOWEVER, the two rear speakers have to be connected via speaker wire to this device.
We have put the wireless router in the back of our living room, thus significantly reducing the amount of wire needed for each rear speaker. If we has had to wire these rear speakers directly to the blu ray receiver, it would have taken a lot more wire. But make no mistake, the rear speakers are wired. You will have figure out how to hide the wires along open walls and across doorways. We had hoped for complete wireless.
The wireless router has pretty good range from what we've seen. It doesn't have to have an unobstructed line of site to the receiver/subwoofer or anything. So I suppose you could take it and the two speakers to another room and enjoy the internet radio or the ipod dock or the built in AM/FM radio or any other audio signal. The router and speakers are small enough to be quite portable.
So all in all, this is a five star system. Just not with completely wireless speakers.

Click Here to see more reviews about: LG LHB975 1100-Watt Blu-ray Home Theater System, Gloss Black

LG's NetCast Interface lets you easily access a vast array of internet content. This model comes with two tower speakers.

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12/21/2011

Panasonic SC-ZT2 Wireless Home Theater System with Full HD 3D Pass for Panasonic 3D HDTVs Review

Panasonic SC-ZT2 Wireless Home Theater System with Full HD 3D Pass for Panasonic 3D HDTVs
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I was hoping as this is HDMI 1.4 that it would pass-through the 3D signal for my Samsung TV and Bluray... Unfortunately, no... it doesn't. I had to run the HDMI to the TV direct and then pass an optical from the TV return to get surround sound and keep my 3D working... Overall sound is pretty good and I enjoy it...I just am disappointed it did not pass through the 3D signal..

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Panasonic SC-ZT2 Wireless Home Theater System with Full HD 3D Pass for Panasonic 3D HDTVs

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12/04/2011

Samsung HT-BD7200 Bluetooth Speaker Bar Home Theater System (Black) Review

Samsung HT-BD7200 Bluetooth Speaker Bar Home Theater System (Black)
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Okay, so first lets start with what has not been listed in the product listing:
Blu-ray Profile 2.0 compliant for playback of BD Live material on compatible discs(needs internet connection)
Upconverts DVDs selectable 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p output via HDMI
Plays Blu-ray discs, DVD-Video discs, DVD-RAM, DVD-Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+Rs, & DVD+RWs
Plays CDs, audio CD-Rs, CD-RWs, CD+Rs, CD+RWs, & MP3 CDs
Plays digital picture CDs (JPEG) and DivX videos
Built-in decoding for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital True HD, DTS, and DTS-HD Master Audio (No DTS ES Discrete 6.1
DTS 96/24 DTS Neo 6)
3-channel amplifier (133 watts x 2 for front speakers, 134 watts for subwoofer)
Has a USB port for connecting an optional thumb drive or hard drive
Wi-Fi capable (needs optional USB adapter) and Ethernet port
Built-in support for Netflix movie and Pandora music services (you need to subscribe)
Has built-in iPod dock with audio, video, and iPhone support
Bluetooth-enabled (listen to your TV with a wireless Bluetooth headset)
No component or composite inputs
No coax input
No XM or AM radioSo, with all of these features, I can tell you that this is ok if you have a small space and no children. The finish is very glossy and shows every bit of dust and fingerprints and likely will easily scratch. The sound is a bit lacking when compared to a a true 7.1 system with a good (Onkyo) receiver. So, even though this decodes DTS-HD as well as DD True HD, it's kind of useless with this system. While it will decode those, you will not really get to appreciate it. Also, the sub is a bit weak. You have a 3 channel amp to run 2 speakers and the sub. So, if you simply do not have the room and you have to worry about neighbors, this is an okay system. I was thinking about giving this 4 stars, but after all, you can do better without spending that much more.

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10/10/2011

Samsung HT-BD1250 Blu-ray Home Theater System Review

Samsung HT-BD1250 Blu-ray Home Theater System
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After deciding on a Samsung HTIB system to integrate with my 2-year-old Samsung 46" HDTV, I came across this HT-BD1250 system at Best Buy with all the features I wanted (Bluray, surround sound with wireless to the rear speakers, Anynet+ integration, iPod integration), plus a few that I decided were "nice-to-have" (wireless network integration/Pandora/Netflix). Once I realized I would need to add the Samsung SWA-4000 wireless speaker amplifier and additional HDMI and optical cables for integration with my TV and HD/DVR cable box, the total package through Amazon was by far the best deal and way to go.
First quick note: You DO NOT need anything other than BASIC HDMI cables, which when purchased as a package here with Amazon are 80+% cheaper (even with the shipping charge from the third-party vendors) than if you buy them at Best Buy or other brick/mortar. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE on so-called "higher end" HDMI cables.
As for the HTIB system itself, I found that the documentation guided me through most of my installation/cabliing scenarios, and everything worked pretty much the first time once I powered everything up. I needed to make a few calls to Samsung tech support to get everything configured the way I wanted (I had some specific questions about the video/resolution modes switching between HD and non-HD inputs), but the support was English-speaking and reasonably competent. (I only got one "bum steer" from their tech support when I was making what turned out to be a user error on my part with the iPod integration, but the tech also didn't identify it correctly and wanted me to send the unit in for service at my own expense...not an acceptable option. I later walked away from it for a few hours and then returned back to it with a clear head, and figured out my error in using the setup menus, and it turned out all was well after all.)
I should probably mention my wiring/integration setup: I have a Samsung LN-4661F HD TV, a Motorola HD/DVR cable box from my cable company, and now my Samsung HT-BD1250 HTIB. Cabling is as follows: HDMI Out from the Motorola HD/DVR cable box to HDMI In 1 on the TV (CATV audio and video are integrated on the HDMI), HDMI Out from the HD-BD1250 HTIB to HDMI In 2 on the TV (for DVD/BD video), and Optical Audio Out 1 from the TV to Optical Audio In 1 on the HD-BD1250 (to feed the CATV audio back from the TV to be reproduced through the HTIB's sound amplifier).
I attempted to use a "standard" USB wireless network adapter to integrate with my home wireless network and found that it was unable to detect it; I suspect I could have made it work with some additional initial configuration first on my laptop, but I ended up scrapping that idea and I simply ordered the Samsung Wireless adapter for this unit, and it integrated perfectly with my home network in minutes. If you're really tech-savvy and think you can get a "standard" USB wireless adapter configured to work with this, I suppose you could try to do so and save $30 or $40, but for $79.99 the Samsung WIS09ABGN adapter works right out of the box and is a supported solution.
As for the wireless network/Internet integration itself, I've tested Pandora and it works well; haven't tested Netflix on demand yet. I also have yet to be able to figure out how to get integration with my PC via wireless to work as a source input (like to access music/multimedia I have on my PC), but it's an advertised feature of this system and I'm confident I can hack my way through and make that work eventually...not a priority for me, though, just another "nice to have".
The iPod integration works fairly well, but I'm a little disappointed that I was not able to figure out how to make "Shuffle" functionality work...I seem to be stuck playing my music in the order it's stored in my playlists. Not sure yet if this is a limitation or if I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.
The wireless speaker connection to the rear speakers with the SWA-4000 configured well pretty much the first time (I just had to play with the power cycling upon initial configuration) and the sound has been loud and clear. I did experience exactly one sound dropout on it the first day which immediately resolved and has not recurred, but it got my attention and I'm concerned about it based on reviews I read of other Samsung HTIB systems with wireless rear speaker connections. We shall see.
Configured out of the box, sound to the rear speakers only comes out if the input source provides it (like from a Dolby 5.1-enhanced DVD or BD), but I found that by cycling through the Dolby Effect Modes on the remote to the "Matrix" setting, I can hear sound through all 5 speakers all the time...exactly what I want, and the sound is great.
Another quick item to mention: I tested a couple of "standard" DVDs and the "1080p upscaling" feature of the BD player works well. As a result of this, I plan to only choose the added expense of Bluray discs in cases when I know there will be real value added, either feature-wise or sound/picture-wise (example, I purposely chose The Dark Knight as my first Bluray disc purchase). For my 45-year-old eyes and ears, upscaled DVD will be more than adequate in most cases.
Finally, I found that even with Anynet+ capability, I still needed to access all 3 of my remotes (TV, HTIB, and CATV) to control all needed functionality. Samsung support informed me that Anynet+ capability would allow integrated power on/off and basic volume/channel control, but it would not allow advanced function control on my TV such as P.SIZE, etc. Keep your expectations realistic on what Anynet+ will and won't provide. I solved this by also purchasing a Logitech Harmony One universal remote (which I have reviewed separately), and this product, while expensive, is a true one-remote solution for my new home theater setup, and one I would recommend highly.
Bottom line (for this reviewer): For me, the HT-BD1250 HTIB was not a true one-box solution. However, after adding the SWA-4000 wireless speaker amplifier, 2 inexpensive HDMI cables and 1 inexpensive optical audio cable, the Samsung WIS09ABGN adapter for wireless network/Internet integration, and the Logitech Harmony One universal remote, I am now extremely pleased with the result, and I look forward to using my new Home Theater every day after work. I feel like I'm finally fulfilling to potential of the HD TV that I purchased 2 years ago...and I now know that was certainly NOT the case with my old setup of just the TV and my HD/DVR box with a 5-way component cable providing the connection.
The Samsung HT-BD1250 HTIB is a good solution if you do your research and you set your expectation levels properly.
= = = = =
Review update from author:
I spoke to Samsung Level II tech support, and they informed me that (a) PC integration is not available - the placard included with the system is "not exactly true", and (b) Shuffle functionality on iPod is not available, despite the fact that Level I support told me I should be able to "use any feature that I can use conventionally on an iPod". Again, "not exactly true".
These are not showstoppers, but I am disappointed in those 2 shortcomings. Not enough to return the unit, but enough to hold my rating at only 4 stars instead of 5.
= = = = =
Review update #2 from author:
Signed up for a trial subscription of Netflix, and tried the Instant Queue/Streaming to my HTIB. It works well, but we definitely found that the picture quality was not nearly DVD quality (let alone BD quality). We watched National Treasure 2. I'm sure this has to do with the speed of my Internet connection (

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9/15/2011

Samsung HT-Z310T 5.1-Channel Home Theater Surround Sound System (Set of Seven, Black) Review

Samsung HT-Z310T 5.1-Channel Home Theater Surround Sound System (Set of Seven, Black)
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I purchased this surround sound system with my Samsung LCD 46in 750 series HDTV.
This is a great surround sound system for the price. I was not looking to spend a crazy amount of $ for a surround sound system. Some go for over $1000.
I am overall extremely satisfied with this product. Setup was easy, but the manual is somewhat confusing.
Sound is great. I use an optical digital audio cable (NOT included--about $30-$50 depending on length) from this system to HDTV. This is the best way for me, as I then don't have to connect anything else to the surround system. Any device that I use (Cable, Wii, XBOX 360), gets connected to the TV & the sound goes from the TV to the system via the optical audio cable.
Also, has anynet+. Which means that any other Samsung device's remote with anynet+ can operate the system (& vice versa) without programming.
Had built in up-converting DVD player. Is not an HD-DVD, but will up-convert any DVD to a better digital looking & sounding DVD. The built in DVD player gives you one less device in your home theater
Issues that could be better (therefore 4 star):
Wires for rear speakers could be longer. They are only about 30ft. Need to be at least 50 feet, or maybe even longer, to adequately run the wires over doors so they don't run across the room
Also, the speaker wires that connect to the samsung system itself are attached to a special connector. Therefore, you can't just run your own speaker wire from the system. You need to "splice" additional wire to the wires provided (Samsung doesn't sell longer wires, I called them).
The wires that do come with the system are not great in terms of gauge (samsung doesn't even known what gauge they are--level 2 support had no idea), but based on the size, I'm guessing about 18, maybe even 20 gauge)
You can go wireless for the rear speakers, but that's an additional $100 for a wireless receiver. ALSO, BE AWARE, that with any wireless speaker device, it WILL INTERFERE with wireless internet (you will get bumped off router if using in same room when receiver is on), certain cordless phones & certain microwaves. For this reason, I didn't purchase the wireless receiver.
Others have mentioned issues with mounting, as the mounts cannot be turned towards a specified direction. This is NOT an issue for me, as my speakers are not mounted, so I can't comment
OVERALL, This is a great sounding system for an unbelievable price!!
If you are an audiophile, this is NOT for you. Spend over $1000 for something else. If you want great sound at a great price, then this is for you

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The Samsung HT-Z310T 5.1-channel single disc home theater surround sound system is high performance and high style. Now there are more ways to enjoy your home theater system. Got an iPod? It also has a dock so you can listen to music from your iPod whenever you want. This home theater system is also wireless ready, so there's no need to hide wires or trip over them. Hear the amazing sound, enjoy more capabilities with the SAMSUNG HT-Z310T.

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8/31/2011

Samsung HT-WS1G Soundbar Review

Samsung HT-WS1G Soundbar
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I know very little about the technical aspects of sound equipment so this review is aimed at fellow non-techies. The sound on my Samsung LED TV is WOEFUL despite playing around with the sound menu. From the start, the thing vibrated and distorted the sound at certain levels - very annoying, particularly to my border terrier!
I'd been looking around for a sound bar as I didn't want a massive piece of kit, rather something that has a small footprint and was simple to set up. I saw the Samsung HT-WS1G in Best Buy in Union Square, liked the look of it, thought it sounded good in-store when compared to the other models on display and considered the price reasonable ($299). I went home to do some research and, admittedly, was initially put off by the negative reviews. However, I thought would give it a go as I knew I could always return it.
SET-UP
Set up was pretty straight-forward involving an optical lead and a power cable (great for those like me who want to curl up in a ball when they venture round the back of the TV). There was also an audio input cable should you prefer this option. I do, however, think that the instruction manual could have been clearer when it came to linking the wireless subwoofer to the main speaker. I had to go online because following the instructions just wasn't working. I then almost had to pay a minimum of $18 to ask a Samsung expert online how to remedy my problem - pah! No chance.
Fortunately, there were quite a few postings online from people who had had similar problems and it took a guy from Montenegro to clear it up. Very simply, all you had to do was make sure the TV was off while you were setting the subwoofer up. Why they couldn't put this in the instruction manual is beyond me; 5 words "make sure TV is off" - hardly a thesis.
SOUND
Even without the subwoofer, the sound was so much better but when we finally got the sub linked up - wow! My husband and I kept looking at each other and saying "wow, did you hear that?" every time someone slammed a door on the TV. To us, the sound is rich and deep with different modes to choose from (movie, music, news and a neutral setting). I'd read that it wasn't brilliant for filling large rooms with sound; I don't know how large a room these people were talking about but our living area is about 25' x 12' and it really does give the impression of surround sound.
REPORTED NIGGLES vs OUR EXPERIENCE
I'd read that that subwoofer fan hums quite loudly - I haven't had a problem with this as yet; we haven't heard a peep from ours. Nor have I had any interference with our wireless network so I haven't had to change channels. Weirdly, unlike our Samsung TV, its light comes on when it's on stand-by. Some people have said it's enough to be disruptive if you have the speaker in your bedroom but I don't think it's such a big deal. The sub also comes with a kind of foam muffler thingy should the bass be too much but we haven't had to use it - the dog has been eying it, however, so maybe it will have a use after all.
In all, I'm very pleased with the HT-WS1G. I've had some late nights recently just so I can replay all my DVDs with this new-found sound. I'm glad I disregarded the negative reviews. For the price, it's GREAT!

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Samsung Soundbar

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5/19/2011

Samsung HT-C6930W 3D Blu-ray Home Theater System Review

Samsung HT-C6930W 3D Blu-ray Home Theater System
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I had a 10-year-old rear projection TV (it died), so I went with the HT-C6930W home theater w/ 3D Blu-ray player and paired it with the PN58C8000 58" Plasma TV. A very good combo indeed! With respect to the Samsung Home Theater unit - lets talk about the 'pros' first...
Overall the components are all 'shiny black' and look futuristic without being gawdy. The Blu-ray player is the brains of the system, and it has a beautiful blue-glo when turned on through touch-sensitive icons that serve as buttons. Most programming is easier done through the remote.
There are many settings available on the Blu-Ray unit to tune sound and video. You won't be wanting there. Many of them will work 'just fine' in Auto, so you don't have to be a genius out-of-the-box. Still, you have the option of tweaking them.
Let's talk about the speakers - the front towers line up well sitting with your TV at eye-level. The center speaker sits well just below your TV screen, and the sub-woofer on the floor. The remaining 4 speakers provide your rear pair and side pair -OR- you can put one pair up-front to get 'vertical' sound. One of these pairs is 'wireless', sort of. The Blu-ray player has a transmitter card that sends the signal to a plugged-in reciever unit. The speakers still have wires running from the reciever to each speaker. Useful if you don't want to run wires from the front to the back of the room. Otherwise they aren't much of an improvement over wired. That said, they still sound very good, and 'no' you can't wire them into the Blu-ray player directly because there aren't any inputs for them on the player, so wireless components had better work. I only bring this up because on my first unit the wireless system didn't work, so I had to bring the whole home theater back in exchange for another one. Ignoring that - the speakers are very good.
The Dolby LPZII audio feature is amazing - beautiful 7.1 sound and even with HD cable most all of the stations take full advantage of it.
Cons - let's talk about them:
I already mentioned that the wireless speaker are just 2 of them, and there are still wires. Of course, to power speakers without wires you need each speaker to have it's own power source (either a battery, or a power cord). So, it does eliminate running wires from front of room to back, and that's helpful. Too bad my first wireless components were bad, and I worry that in the future, if they fail again, I'll have to return the whole system (not just the wireless) for repair.
Some of the video and sound settings seem to fight with each other. They have a feature to level sound when switching TV channels (so the volume won't suddenly increase on you), but that turns off the LPZII feature. Similar thing with video. But, this is the exception, and most all features don't fight with each other.
Overall, this is a great system, and it integrates well with the latest flat screen TVs, plays Blu-ray well, and even works with the Samsung 3D glasses (I got 2 pairs and 'monsters vs. aliens' 3D for free because I bought both Samsung TV and 3D Blu-ray player as a combo). They should just include this 'starter kit' with every 3D Blu-ray system. That will get more people to buy 3D movies.
Summing up - this is a great system, just hope it doesn't need service because it's a monster to return. And they should make the 3D glasses part of the package.

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5/01/2011

Samsung HT-C5500 Blu-ray Home Theater System Review

Samsung HT-C5500 Blu-ray Home Theater System
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The HT-C5500 is a solid all-in-one home theater package at a good price, but you need to know what it can--and can't--do before you decide to buy.
First, some pros and cons:
Pros:
*Low cost
*Compact
*Easy setup
*Integrates with Samsung AnyConnect+ TVs for one-step DVD playback
*Decent enough sound and sufficient volume for a family room
*Netflix and YouTube connectivity work well
*Completely integrated in one relatively small unit
*iPod/iPhone dock included
*Speakers look nice and are very small and unobtrusive
Cons:
*Very limited inputs (Audio only; there are no HDMI inputs--the description above is wrong)
*Flabby bass response (no surprise given the 8lb passive subwoofer)
*Completely integrated--if one part dies, your entire home theater system is offline
*Wireless Internet use requires optional ($70) proprietary Samsung LAN adapter
*Proprietary speaker connectors
*AnyConnect+ can be a little wonky: If you have a disc in the tray, DVD playback seems to override all the other functions such as Internet services or the AUX input.
Even given all the Cons, this system suits my needs very well. I already owned a Samsung TV. I didn't want a proliferation of remotes or components. And the odd shape of my living room meant that I wasn't going to get optimal surround sound in any case, so I wasn't willing to pay a fortune for a system.
I ran the HT-C5500's HDMI output to one input on my TV and connected my FIOS box's optical audio output and my Mac mini's analog audio output to the appropriate inputs on the HT-C5500. The HT-C5500's remote is nothing special, but it makes it quite easy (after a little practice and reading of the manual) to switch between setups. You still need, however, to manually switch between HDMI inputs on the TV depending on what source you want to watch.
Note, however, that I'm at the absolute limit of what this system can do. I couldn't add, for instance, a game console into the mix.
Still, I'm very happy with my purchase. Yes, the HT-C5500 hits a wall quickly, but if you intend to stop before that wall arrives, you won't be disappointed.

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