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Bargain HD home-theater bundle: $1,100 |
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 John Falcone Senior editor |
Updated February 10, 2006
It's a common refrain: "I want a good home-theater system, but I'm on a limited budget." In the past, the phrase budget home theater left you quite a bit of leeway--as long as you already had a TV. But prices for high-definition TVs continue to slide, and home audio systems have never been more affordable. Yes, you'll still have to make some compromises--flat panels and big-screen models haven't quite hit bargain territory--but you will be getting a full-on HD-ready television, a great-sounding 5.1 home audio system, and a versatile CD/DVD player for just more than a grand. And it's not the attack of the no-names--each of the three products listed here are brands you've actually heard of. Home-theater bundles for every budget:
 $2,000: Midsize LCD flat-panelhome theater | |||
$3,000: High-performance plasmahome theater
$3,000: Big-screen LCDhome theater
$1,500: Flat-panel HDhome theater
$1,100: Bargain HDhome theater
| Remove from list | Remove from list | Remove from list | |
| Product name |
Sony KV-30HS420 |
Onkyo HT-S580 |
Philips DVP642 |
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| Review date | July 14, 2004 | April 21, 2005 | August 12, 2004 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
7.1
Very good |
6.7
Good |
7.4
Very good |
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| Buying choices |
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| Review summary | Sony's KV-30HS420 entry-level 30-inch wide-screen HDTV delivers a lot of bang for your buck. | Once again, Onkyo has raised its performance and build-quality benchmarks for affordable all-in-one home-theater systems. | The Philips DVP642 is good choice for DivX aficionados, but everyday DVD watchers can do better for the price. |
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| Product series | See all products in this series | N/A | N/A |
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| Basic Specs | |||
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• 149.7 lbs • 16:9 • 2 speakers Full specifications |
• Speaker system , AV receiver • Surround Sound • 5.1 channel • DTS Neo:6 , Dolby Pro Logic II , Dolby Digital , DTS decoder • Home theater system • AV receiver , Speaker system Full specifications |
• 24bit / 192kHz • 6.6 lbs • Stereo • DVD player • Tabletop • DVD+R , CD , Video CD , CD-RW , DVD-RW , SVCD , CD-R , DVD+RW , DVD , DVD-R • PAL , NTSC Full specifications |
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