Okay, at this point I do NOT have a home theatre for my player... I am thinking of purchasing the RCA Home Theatre in a box... you know, the 5 speaker, supwoofer set they got out there now...

What am I missing without the home theatre? How are DVDs audio enhanced... Give me a good example of regular tv viewing and 5.1 surround (I mean, seems like the obviouse answer is right there...the surround, but I would like an example...)?

How is the RCA system for someone who is NOT very interested at this point in DTS, just wants to start out?

Does it (RCA system) sound good?

To anyone who has that system, how have you set it up... speaker placement, ect.

Thanks,
QJ

My first step up to surround sound was a Sharp Pro-logic mini system, and that was a big leap from just hearing audio from the tv speakers.

5.1 sound is incredible, it puts you in the center of the action and it really does make you feel like you are in a movie theater.

As far as the RCA set I can not comment, go to audioreview.com and look it up, they have a ton of products and probably have that system listed with comments from owners.

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The Star Wars collecting, DVD watching, Highlander addicted, keyboard playing, music loving, bad a$$ mo fo!!!

I am also interested in this RCA HT, it's only $300, has dolby digital decoding (no DTS though) and comes with 5 50w speakers, 1 100w subwoofer at 800.com (RCA HT RT2250). Unfortunately nobody at AudioReview.com has reviewed it...!

Any advice? I'm also just looking for dolby digital 5.1, and have a DVD player already.

~ELmO

My first foray into home theater was when I purchased an RCA setup like you are describing. I purchased it at Wal-Mart for $400 I think, and I took it back two days later. I am not sure that it is the same system you are talking about, but it sounds like it is. However, this was about a year and a half ago, so it may be a newer model. I would definatly stay away from the RCA model.

Anyway, if you must buy a home theater in a box, which can be more than enough for most people, I would suggest the Kenwood HTB 503. It does cost more money (I belive $500 at Sears), but I recently purchased and hooked one up for my dad, and I was impressed by the sound. It does decode DTS, so you already have something that the RCA doesn't. Plus, I belive it has double the power (100 Watts per channel).

If that doesn't sound right to you, then I belive that I have heard good things about an Onkyo H-T-B system that you may want to check out.

There are also a few other box systems that are supposed to sound good, but I don't recall which ones. Email me for more information.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to buy. And welcome to the world of home theater.

It's a very addicting! Be careful!

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-Gonnosuke

"Glory, glory Man. United! As the Reds go marching on..."

Theres a saying "you get what you pay
for".So it is with HT equitment.Years ago
it took a couple of thousand $$$ to get a
avg. system.Today a couple of hundred will
get you in the door.
You can do better than the RCA system.
Then again it depends on your budget and
how far are you willing to "dabble" in the
HT world.There's a better selection if your
budget allows in the $400-$600 range.
There's packaged systems(refered as Home
Theater In A Box-HTB) from Kenwood,Sony,
Yamaha,Pioneer,JVC. Or places like CC and
BB have packages with say a Sony,Kenwood,
etc..receivers and JBL,Klipse,Infinity etc
...speakers.These "packages may offer a
better performace over a HTB from the same
manufacture.
If you can swing it a great entry system
would be the Energy Take Five Speaker setup
($475 avg) and Pioneer's VSX-D409,Sony's
DE545, and Onkyo's TX-DS484 receivers.All
with DTS and around $250-$300.You'll enjoy
the movies a lot more and should last you
till you can afford a better system.Good
luck.
Kenny
(Denon 1801 rec'r,Boston 9000 speaker
set-up,Sony 36"XBR TV,Pioneer 5 Disc DVD,
Dish 4700 SAT with DD.)--"We Will Rock You"

I jumped right from a basic stereo system right into a DTS full blown Home Theater. My brother-in-law, started with the JVC HT in a box. I really thought it was pretty good for the price. A good way to start, and then upgrade piecemeal.

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Mitsubishi 55907, Yamaha 595a, Def Tech BP 2004's, plus center channel and surrounds, Toshiba 5109, Pioneer LD
Widescreen Presentation
Jim's DVD's

The Kenwood HTB has gotten some good reviews if ou care to track them down. Seems like a better purchase than the RCA system.

I tend to steer people away from home theaters in a box. I tell people to s-l-o-w-l-y build up their home theaters with quality components like a good receiver and good speakers. This is stuff you tend to hang on to as opposed to stuff from RCA which I guarantee you will throw away after a few years.

I just hooked a Kenwood HTB-453 up for my father-in-law, and was extremely impressed with the sound (for this pricerange).

You won't find the HTB-453 listed on Kenwood's website. It is basically a halfway point between the 403 and 503. The 403 just has 50 watts per channel, and no DTS, while the 503 has 100 watts per channel, and DTS. The 453 has no DTS, but steps up to 100 watts per channel.

I think they just manufacture the 453 for wholesale clubs (Sam's club, Costco, BJ's). I picked this one up at Costco for $329.99.

I think it's more fun to do one component at a time. I've gradually built up from a receiver/two-speaker, and I can always look forward to the next upgrade. I've spent the same amount on each component as you're thinking about for the whole box, but I have stuff that will last at least until the next ad comes out (or one of the forum followers starts hyping the latest). Who says there's no such thing as delayed gratification?

Scott

I started with a Theatre in a Box.
And loved it "then"......
I can suggest that it is probably better than what you have now (nothing) and it does introduce you to something that is addictive.
More than likely you will want to UPGRADE sooner than later. I've bought two completly new systems in 1 and 1/2 years after the theater in a box.

But if you aren't even sold on what it does for you, you might want to give the RCA or similar model a try. It's not the best so buy as much as you can afford.


And for your question on what it does:
With the 6 speaker setup and DD5.1 sound you get different noises out of each speaker.
So if you are sitting in the middle of the room it is AMAZING. Some movies if there is a knock on the door (and the door is on the left side of the screen) you will hear it just out of the left front speaker. If there is a gunshot from the rear left, well.... you got it that's where you'll hear it. Or even movies like Armageddon during the space scenes they use the rears alot for the surrounds and truely enhances the movie watching.
I probably like the Digital 5.1 best on Horror films, they can be great for jumpy scenes and hearing noises from WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HEAR THEM FROM.

now like I said buy the best that you can afford. If it's the "in a box" version so be it if that's what you want right now. If you can afford more but can't understand what you are paying for yet, try to demo it at a high-end store. Because you WILL LOVE IT and will want to upgrade if you don't buy nice now. Some of the DTS stuff coming out now is GREAT.

And FINAL THOUGHT:
You are questioning the enhanced sound.
I would go as far as saying DVD does MUCH MORE for sound improvement than it did for VIDEO!!!

And FINAL THOUGHT:
You are questioning the enhanced sound.
I would go as far as saying DVD does MUCH MORE for sound improvement than it did for VIDEO!!!
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Ooooo. And I'm running my DVD player through composite cabling, I just ordered some component cables should be here tomorrow. Anyways I'm looking for a beginners home theater setup after I view my DVDs with those cables...