Home Theater for Everyone: A Practical Guide to Today's Home Entertainment Systems [Paperback]

Robert Harley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1997

A home entertainment system is among the most expensive purchases a household will make. This book provides the information consumers need to choose, install, and use home entertainment equipment. Beginning with an overview of home theater components, this book explains surround sound and THX, audio/video receivers, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and video displays. The DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) format that is the size of a CD and holds up to four hours of spectacular quality video and digital surround sound is also discussed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the best guidebook we've seen on the subject." -- Wayne Thompson, the Oregonian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Robert Harley is the editor-in-chief of 'The Absolute Sound'. He lives in Tijeras, New Mexico. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Acapella Pub; Revised 2000 edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964084929
• ISBN-13: 978-0964084926
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #607,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Necessary for Anybody into A/V!, June 10, 2000

By 

Zachary Riley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Theater for Everyone: A Practical Guide to Today's Home Entertainment Systems (Paperback)

This book is the best book I have read on Home Theater. It has more information on Audio and Video than most in-depth books on either respective subject. It is well-written, easy to read, and the explanations are detailed, yet easy to understand. He could have left out a little of the THX bias, but it is understandable, everyone lets some personal bias slip a little now and again. Note-he does admit many manufacturers of the best equipment and best values on the market do not participate in the THX program for various reasons. This book cuts through almost all of the misinformation this industry is notorious for being saturated with. I highly recommend this book for any music lover, movie lover, or anybody else for that matter.

P.S. Once you get started on this one, you might not be able to stop.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bit dated, but still excellent for HT enthusiasts/builders, November 10, 1999

By 

James L Huseby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Theater for Everyone: A Practical Guide to Today's Home Entertainment Systems (Paperback)

This is a terrific book that explains the nuts and bolts of Home Theater equipment & terms in plain english. It was written just as DVD's were coming out and Dolby Digital was an emerging, but as yet, unestablished standards, but the author's views and forecasts of these products have been right on, so there's not any misinformation.

He clearly favors high quality equipment over mass merchant stuff (e.g. Rotel over Pioneer), but doesn't provide specific opinions or guidance on individual brands or pieces. The author merely suggests what to look for in a quality AV equipment (e.g. binding posts for speaker connections on receivers rather than simple push clips), then suggests that you read reviews in his magazine, Fi. <I>This review refers to the first edition.</I>

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable introduction to Home Theater, August 5, 2000

By 

Ryan (Kirkland, WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Theater for Everyone: A Practical Guide to Today's Home Entertainment Systems (Paperback)

For someone who is new to A/V and Home Theater and wants to ramp up the initial learning curve quickly this book will come in very handy. He explains all the various standards and formats, general tips on choosing what to buy, and finally how to setup your system once you have everything. At the back of the book Harley provides a fairly comprehensive glossary and scattered throughout are warnings for what to watch out for when looking at various specifications. However if you are looking for really in-depth information this book is not the place to look and I'm not even sure such a book exists. If you plan on replacing that old stereo setup with the reel-to-reel tape and quadraphonic sound then I highly recommend reading this book to get you going down the right path.