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Home theaters dominate the market
(The Jakarta Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)from THE JAKARTA POST -- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2005 -- PAGE 19 The home theater market boomed this year. Thanks to the availability of pirated movies, anyone in the bigger towns seems unable to resist the temptation to build a home theater, where they can watch their favorite movies for next to nothing
VCDs, which were an indispensable part of the lifestyle of Indonesians until several years ago, have been replaced by DVD, which provides a much clearer picture and cinema-like sound
Indeed, home theater equipment is now available in all electronic stores across the country
Next year, demand for home theaters is projected to remain strong. Sales could be affected by weakening purchasing power as the result of higher inflation, spurred by the rise in fuel prices. Yet, the government's plan to scrap luxury tax on electronic goods costing less than Rp 25 million next year will likely give a strong boost to sales of Plasma and LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs. Prices are getting cheaper this year and the scrapping of the luxury tax would cut them even further, making them more affordable to a larger segment of buyers
Certainly, the tax policy will be the death knell for CRT (cathode ray tube) or conventional TV sets
A home theater system needs a proper monitor that suits the size of the room. The bigger the size of the monitor, the greater the cinema sensation it produces. Today, there is a wide variety of big-screen TVs with complete features in the local markets, such as CRT, projection, Plasma and LCD in screen sizes measuring 32 inch to 100 inch. Plasma and LCD TVs, which are now a favorite choice at the high end of the market, are predicted to get a larger market share next year given continued falling prices and the clearer pictures they produce
Projector TVs are another alternative monitor for a home theater system. The types of projectors generally found in Indonesia are LCD projectors. If an LCD projector has two ratio types, namely 4:3 and 16:9, this means that this projector has been set up to serve as a multi-function device and can therefore be used for a business presentation or for a home theater
You may have to spend hundreds of millions of rupiah to build a discrete home theater, including for the purchase of the TV, DVD player, A/V receiver, speakers and other supporting equipment like sofas, racks and so forth
A branded A/V receiver like Yamaha, Onkyo, NAD or Harman Kardon -- all boasting quite a good quality -- can cost over Rp 5 million. Then you need six speakers, for which you may have to fork out a further several tens of millions of rupiah per pair. And don't forget that you will also need a good-quality DVD player. Take a Marantz DVD player, for example. It will cost you Rp 7,500,000. Understandably, in the pursuit of an excellent home theater, you will have to spend a lot of time, energy and money
However, if your budget is limited, you can buy a DVD Compo set. Today, many DVD Compo sets come complete with external speakers such as a pair of surround speakers, a center speaker and one sub-woofer speaker. There is even a particular type of DVD Compo that is provided with two sub-woofer speakers! With six satellite speakers, a DVD Compo is usually equipped with Dolby Digital AC3. Nowadays, premium-class DVD Compo sets not only have built-in decoder AC3, dts Surround or Dolby Surround sound, but some of them also come with the Prologic II sound system
Given that a DVD Compo set may have speakers and a sound system that meets the standard requirements for a good home theater, this could be the way to go if you wish to build a home theater on a limited budget. One question worth asking is what superior edge a compo system has over a discrete home theater
First, we need not be confused and troubled by determining the brand, type and power of the receiver and the speakers, the three things that you must consider very carefully when building a real home theater. In the market, there are many brands and types of receivers and speakers that you can choose from. There are, for example, receivers that give a better audio performance than even the AV receivers of a very good quality for a real home theater
It should be noted that a real receiver does not even have, for example, DVD/CD/VCD/SVCD/MP3/JPEG/DivX, double cassette and full karaoke features that DVD Compo sets are usually provided with. DVD Compo sets of particular makes/types may even be provided with Progressive Scan, Mini Disc, Front AV input terminal and Touch Screen Display features. A DVD Compo may have an additional and quite important function when it is provided with an audio-in (Aux in) terminal to reinforce the audio signal that comes not from the Compo set itself but from, for example, the audio source of a TV set, a play station, a keyboard and so on
The third superior edge of a compo set is that it only takes up a little space. If you have a real home theater, you will have to provide ample space for six quite large speakers
The shortcomings of a DVD Compo when compared with a real home theater is power output. Also, the AV/Audio receiver of a home theater can always be upgraded. Another superiority of a home theater vis-a-vis a DVD Compo is that it has many more audio out/aux terminals, and its surround system has a complete range, like Algorithm THX, Dolby Digital EX, dts-ES Discrete, Dolby Surround Prologic Iis, Cinema DSP processor and so on
Another alternative when you have a limited budget is an HTiB (Home Theater in Box). Unfortunately, an HTiB, with its small speakers, is not as "convincing" in appearance as a DVD Compo with six speakers
To ensure that HTiBs attract buyers, many manufacturers have designed them with tower speakers or with a standing platform for the speakers. Generally the tower model is suitable for front and surround speakers. Today, even the standard HTiB uses wireless technology for the surround speakers. In addition, the design shows a greater refined finishing touch and even gives the impression of being futuristic. As for the price, naturally, it is slightly more expensive
LG has just launched its LH-T753TB, an HTiB that comes out as a blend of art and technology. The LH-T753TB is provided with superior features like Semi Karaoke and USB port and can also present a good (DVD) audio quality for music listening. All the satellite speakers of this particular HTiB can produce an output of 700 watts (RMS)! A close rival of the LG HTiB is Sony's DAV-FX100W. Unfortunately, Sony has designed its surround speakers in a full tower model. The terrific thing about these surround speakers is that they are wireless thanks to infrared technology. As for its DVD player, it can take five discs at the same time. It is also equipped with HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), namely a connection system capable of producing high-quality pictures. Meanwhile, Sony also has another type, the DAV- SC8, with adjustable speaker stands
South Korea's Samsung, however, is the manufacturer most seriously tackling the HTiB market, as evident from the fact that its line-up consists of four types: the HT-DS420 (400 watts RMS), HT-TP33 (500 watts RMS), HT-910HD (600 watts RMS) and HT-P1200 (800 watts RMS). The last one is Samsung's flag carrier. Why? Not only is its audio output impressive but it is also provided with features such as USB port, HDMI TM Out, DCDi TM, DivX, DVD Audio and surround speakers, front speakers and center speaker that comes out in a tower model
In an HTiB market that sees the dominance of Japanese and South Korean products, Chinese products certainly do not want to be left behind. Take, for example Crystal's HT-5310 (Rp 2,000,000). Its surround and front speakers come out in a full tower model. Unfortunately, this HTiB does not come with a DVD player
It must be acknowledged that prices of HTiB sets have become increasingly affordable. South Korean products carry price tags of around Rp 1 million, and much lower prices are carried by Chinese-made products. LG has just launched its NE-9421P, an HTiB with an almost entirely black body that, unfortunately, is yet to be provided with a pair of surround speakers or center speaker. Sold for only Rp 925,000, this set has an audio output of only 1,600 watts (PMPO) and is provided with FM tuner, Progressive Scan, Dolby AC3 Decoder and dts features. It must be a serious rival for Chinese-made HTiBs! True to its original design, HTiB is actually more suitable for a room that is not too large, such as a study or bedroom. It does not mean, however, that an HTiB is not suitable for a rather large room. It should be noted that there are now many premium-class HTiBs with floor- standing speakers
Home theater is enjoying great popularity among Indonesians and will certainly become part of the lifestyles of a greater number of people in the future. Every audio-video set looks to support home theater system so much that there are now some handy cams with a Dolby Digital 5.1 ch sound system! "Home theaters" can now be found in motor vehicles, especially with the introduction of a DVD Tablet with complete features including FM/IR transmitter
Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor, Jakarta Copyright 2005 The Jakarta Post
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