Five Things To Know Before You Purchase Any Home Theatre System
Purchasing a new home theatre system can be a daunting task. With so much technology built into an AV Receiver it can be quite confusing identifying what you need and what you don't. To help, consider these five questions before you start shopping:
What do I currently have?
If you have components such as a DVD, VHS or DVR player, Digital Set-top box (which are usually built-in to the more recent LCD and plasma televisions) then you will need to make sure you purchase a receiver with enough connectivity (ability) to accommodate all these sources.
What type of connectivity do my sources have?
If you have a plasma or LCD, chances are it has HDMI. HDMI transfers both audio and video over one cable and can handle the highest picture resolution of 1080p which comes from Blu-Ray sources.
So, if you have plasma or LCD and a source player (such as a Blu-Ray player) with HDMI, then you should be looking for a receiver with HDMI. All the receivers in Yamaha's latest range feature varying degrees of HDMI capability.
Do I want wireless surround?
Five or more speakers placed around the room can take up a significant amount of space, not to mention running wires either in the walls or along the floor. If you want an uncluttered room, look at Yamaha's exclusive Digital Sound Projectors which produce 5.1 channels of surround sound from one single component. They have amazing technology that literally bounces the sound off the walls.
Do I need 5.1 or 7.1 channels?
With the advent of Blu-Ray, the capacity for movies mastered in 7.1 channels is now available. Standard DVD has 5.1 channels due to its limited storage capacity. If you have the room for the extra speakers and want to future proof your system, select a system with 7.1 channels.
Most receivers that can power 7 channels will have the ability to take 5.1 channels of sound and output this in 7.1 channels, making use of the extra rear speakers and the current DVDs that you own. Read more »
7.1 channels will also provide you with the flexibility to operate a second room (zone) using the extra internal amplifiers.
Yamaha's RX-V663 and RX-V863 in the YHT-895 and YHT-995 packs respectively, both have the capacity to run a 5.1 channel source, such as a movie, in one zone and a completely different audio source in 2 channel, perhaps a CD, in another zone. If this is something you think you would benefit from, it is worth selecting a package or receiver that supports multi-zone functionality.
Do I want to listen to music through my system as well as watching movies?
If you love listening to music and watching movies equally, you need a receiver that is good for both.
More and more people listen to music from their iPod or other compressed source. You need to consider how the AV Receiver deals with both compressed audio sources as well as uncompressed sources such as CDs. Many of Yamaha's home theatre packages come with iPod docks or are iPod compatible via Yamaha's own dock. Check for features such as Yamaha's Compressed Music Enhancer, which is great for compressed audio sources.
If you want better quality audio, Yamaha's higher end YHT packages with the RX-V663 and RX-V863 receivers have a feature called Pure Direct. This feature shuts down all unnecessary circuitry, including the front display, to prevent any interference to the clean, pure sound of your music.
It sounds like a lot to think about however it's important that you find the right product for your needs.
For any further enquiries please feel free to email us on avsales@gmx.yamaha.com
Good luck and happy shopping!
Glossary:
Blu-Ray
A disc format which is capable of storing large amounts of data, enabling HD audio and video content. A successor to the DVD format.
Pure Direct
This function shuts down all unnecessary video circuitry to prevent any interference, leaving a completely pure audio signal.
Plasma
A type of vide display characterised by its flat profile and availability in large sizes. Most plasma screens can display HD video.
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display. A type of video display characterised by its flat profile and availability in large sizes. Most LCD screens can display HD video.
Compressed Music Enhancer
When audio is compressed to a format such as MP3, data is lost from the original source material, resulting in reduced audio quality. The Compressed Music Enhancer, a feature exclusive to Yamaha, uses detailed algorithms to determine the information lost during the compression stages and replace some of that information, resulting in an improved audio track.
AV Receiver
The hub of your home theatre system. An AV Receiver is designed to control all your inputs such as DVD, CD, Blu-Ray, DVR and VHS (among others), sending the video signal to your display device and the audio to your home theatre speakers.
HDMI
Acronym for High Definition Multimedia Interface. A high-bandwidth transmission protocol which enables HD audio and video content, and allows this content to be copy protected via the HDCP protocol.
