Home theater in a box?

[Lego]

I don't check out the Home Theater forum much, but I thought I would stop in. While flipping the channels today I landed on a rerun of G4's "Filter" gift list. They showed a home theater in a box. It came with speakers, DVD player, and etc.

Now I made a thread a while ago about looking for a new TV. I decided not to upgrade and just keep it as is. But for the price(was around 300-500 for the whole thing) it interested me. Are these "home theaters in a box" worth the money?

[Pepperidge]

Only if you get a receiver only unit, and only if you're not too concerned with speaker quality. The DVD combo ones are no good. It's not as good as buying everything separately, but just make sure you're getting a decent receiver with it.

[Ty]

Rather than setting off looking for a HTiB right from the start you should think about what it is you need/want to get in all and then set a budget for it. Then you can look at all your options. Sometimes a HTiB can be a good choice, and other times you can do better by selecting individual components yourself and putting it together into a system. It all depends really.

[Lego]

Ah, thanks for the info. Just saw it on TV and had a little extra Christmas money. Was just wondering if they were worth the price and etc. I'll hold onto my money /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif.

[Billthree]

HTIB can be an excellent choice if...

You are looking for hassle free purchase.
Compact easy to set up systems
Good tone match between speakers
Overall bang for the buck

But beware of the risks associated with the cheaper systems (which genrally include a DVD player integrated with the amplifier).

Risk One: Cheaper systems will use crappy speakers / hardware. If one Speaker craps out fining a tone matching replacement is impossible.

Risk Two: SOme of the cheaper integrated systems use different impedences on their speakers that the standard 8 ohm found on typical stereo systems. This is fine as long as the system functions but if a speaker craps out, where are you going to find a replacement. If the amp craps out what are you going to do with the funky speakers.

Also: make sure you are getting a system with a decent subwoofer, not some passive useless piece-o-crap.

Make sure the amp/reciever has the latest digital standards (not just DD 5.1).

As suggested before avoid the units with built in DVD players.

So my advice. If you want to go the HTIB route get a package from Yamaha or JBL or Sony or whatever that essentially sells the same or similar components in the package seperately. That way the HITB can serve as care for later upgrades.

Bill III

Risk Two