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

by Robert Harley (Author), Tomlinson Holman (Foreword)
Key Phrases: surround decorrelation, image scaler, line quadrupler, Dolby Digital, Pro Logic, Dolby Surround (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This is the best guidebook we've seen on the subject." -- Wayne Thompson, the Oregonian

Product Description
With this consumer's guide, buyers of home theater systems will be taken through the technology and components of home entertainment and learn how they suit their individual needs. Consumers will discover the best components, how to be a savvy shopper, how to avoid buying the wrong technology, and how to set up and fine-tune a system. In addition, all the technologies behind home theater are explained. These technologies include DVD players, audio/video receivers, multichannel speaker systems, high-definition television (HDTV), and digital satellite systems.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Acapella Publishing; 2 edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964084988
• ISBN-13: 978-0964084988
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #384,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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 (Pinehurst, NC United States) - 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	Jim Huseby (Bernardsville, NJ USA) - 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	R. Snodgrass (Seattle, WA) - 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.