tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2172197173105895712011-11-28T00:27:40.685ZThe musings of a home cinema enthusiast covering all things surround sound related.Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-40109400910585627162011-04-13T13:57:00.000+01:002011-04-13T13:57:45.430+01:00

Years and years ago I read on a hi-fi enthusiast website that if you use un-terminated speaker cables, the copper wire can, over time, become oxidised. The recommendation was that every six months or so, you remove the cable from the amplifier and speakers, and snip each end of the cable off by about an inch to reveal lovely fresh shiny copper. The theory goes that this will have an effect on

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-23005462608898362072011-02-04T13:29:00.005Z2011-04-08T22:22:07.275+01:00

It's early 2011 and probably as good a time as any to reflect on the last years products and see if it gives us any clues as to where we might be heading in the coming twelve months with regards to home cinema systems. The beginning of the end for DVD Home Cinema Systems 2010 saw many more Blu-ray all in one systems being introduced than DVD so it looks like manufacturers are really starting

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-14238618211574841762010-10-14T23:17:00.004+01:002010-10-14T23:31:34.896+01:00

Being a blog named 'DVD Home Cinema' doesn't mean that we are exclusively and forever tied to the DVD format, but there is still a little sadness when we see the final days of the format that got many of us into the home cinema in the first place.Whilst there have been many articles written online about the quality of the Blu-ray format, the UK Blu-ray Disc Association have recently published an

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-85147916880598837312010-09-01T00:00:00.002+01:002010-09-01T00:02:58.876+01:00

The compromise between looks and performance is an age old conundrum, and it is especially prevalent in home cinema.Normally, there is one type of person who wants the best performance and is prepared to sacrifice looks for audio and visual supremacy, and there is another who wants something good looking, that will match with the decor etc. but still sound good.If you one of the latter group, you

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-36795516748933444522010-05-05T19:34:00.004+01:002010-05-05T19:48:08.784+01:00

Consumer electronics brands often come up with fancy new ways to describe their latest design trends but they are often little more than meaningless terms and do nothing to describe the influences or inspiration behind them. Sony's new 'Monolith' design concept though is different, and the reasons are obvious they very first time you see them.Take a look at even the low height entry level Blu-ray

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-1213989378326786692010-01-26T22:59:00.002Z2010-01-26T23:15:21.908Z

We all know that one of the most consistent annoyances about home cinema systems is the setting up of the rear speakers. The front speakers aren't so bad because they are physically near the amplifiers or home cinema system, but the rears never are, so trailing the speaker cables around the room can be awkward and often difficult, and normally leaves the cables visible and unsightly. Whilst some

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-408536879107196932009-12-14T21:40:00.003Z2009-12-14T21:49:55.474Z

We all love great surround sound, but positioning speakers in your lounge or bedroom can be tricky. Fortunately, the big manufacturers have been spending lots of time researching how to get an improved sound from smaller speakers so we can enjoy the cinema experience without loads of big speakers everywhere.However, the temptation with smaller speakers is to hide them away so they are even less

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-54773167415824918312009-11-20T13:17:00.004Z2009-11-20T13:32:48.083Z

With Blu-ray players taking all the limelight at the moment with their sparkling high definition quality, we thought we'd take a moment to look at what is still the most popular format by far - the good old DVD.With many people ditching their DVD players to buy shiny new Blu-ray players, there are still lots of people who want to get the very best of their DVD collection. Luckily, all the big

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-16392061009810791422009-11-05T12:58:00.002Z2009-11-05T13:32:21.809Z

Seeing as Sony were one of the main driving forces behind Blu-ray, it is no surprise that they have just launched a new range of high definition home cinema systems aimed at making the very most from the format.The Sony BDV-360FS is aimed at people who want to enjoy an improved sound experience but don't want to have to put speakers all around the room and perhaps just want or need to improve the

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-34560557048030828702009-10-29T18:04:00.003Z2009-10-29T18:36:09.203Z

There is a whole host of new Blu-ray home cinema systems out at the monent but two of the most popular systems fron Panasonic have left us a little intrigued.The Panasonic SC-BT200 is a very good Blu-ray based home cinema with its compact speakers meaning they will be easy to position in many different rooms. Whilst the looks may not exactly be cutting egde (they are quite conservatively styled)

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-83683430224474385102009-09-29T13:20:00.002+01:002009-09-29T13:31:49.306+01:00

Well it seems to have been a log wait, but the Sony BDP-S360 is finally with us, to replace the old BDP-S350.This Blu-ray player is being marketed as a budget model, and with street prices of around £160 this seems to be about right. Where as the previous player had a few shortcomings - namely the lack of BD-LIVE and not being able to decode DTS-HD Master Audio -the new S360 resolves all these

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-11717636016572426522009-09-13T22:47:00.002+01:002009-09-13T23:07:30.863+01:00

If you're looking for an all in one home cinema system that can act as a hub for your home audio and well as home cinema, you are currently spoilt for choice. Two systems from the biggest names in home electronics both offer systems with similar specification but with sublte differences.The Sony DAV-DZ280 is a sleek modern looking system which includes iPod connectivity so it can really act as

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-40212854952098005752009-08-20T21:13:00.003+01:002009-08-20T21:38:38.162+01:00

Onkyo is not the best known brand in the High Street general consumer electronics marketplace, but in the home cinema and enthusiasts audio market they are one of the most respected brands out there. Therefore it is always an exciting event when a new range of Onkyo Home Cinema Amplifiers are launched.The new entry level home cinema receiver from the brand, the Onkyo TX-SR307, is a great value

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-49067675513552865992009-08-18T13:34:00.003+01:002009-08-18T13:50:52.359+01:00

The British based company KEF has been making decent speakers for many, many years now and were one of the first manufacturers to get involved in dedicated home cinema speakers and packages. They were also one of the first speaker producers to produce really good looking home cinema speaker packages for the home, with the now famous KEF 'Egg' series.Now in their third incarnation, the KEF

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-2407518962337521742009-07-03T08:54:00.005+01:002009-07-03T09:39:46.625+01:00

Universal remote controls are godsends when it comes to home cinema. When you have multiple devices to control at the same time, the plethora of remotes that has to sit on your chair arm becomes tiresome and confusing, so a single remote that does the lot is always going to be a welcome relief.Surprisingly though, there aren't a huge number of remotes available that do the job really well. One

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-74788175357526775832009-06-17T18:40:00.003+01:002009-06-17T19:36:26.231+01:00

Panasonic have been producing great quality home cinema systems for some years now, and two of their latest systems are worthy of a further look, namely the new Panasonic SC-PT170 and the Blu-ray based SC-BT100.The Panasonic SC-PT170 is a full 5.1 home cinema system offering the complete immersive surround sound experience for under £200. It has the looks to appeal to a wide range of personal

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-84504278785807698502009-06-01T23:05:00.002+01:002009-06-01T23:10:53.277+01:00

Panasonic have just released their two new Blu-ray players to take over from the highly regards previous models, the BD35 and BD55.The Panasonic DMP-BD60 is the natural successor to the BD35 and whilst the performance is about the same, the feature set has been improved to offer Panasonics new 'Viera Cast' functionality which allows you to watch YouTube videos and view Picasa pictures on your

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-32247628434027067802009-05-21T12:40:00.002+01:002009-05-21T12:50:32.625+01:00

Last week we looked at two interesting, mould breaking designs for DVD Players but another one that may be of interest is the Sony Persona DVP-PR30 Compact DVD Player.This cute little player has actually been around for a while but it gets little interest because of its shortcomings. With the lack of any upscaling or HDMI connections, it can't really be considered a serious DVD player for the

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-51313368229055966872009-05-15T23:15:00.003+01:002009-05-15T23:29:14.045+01:00

DVD Players, and in fact most home audio visual equipment, are normally rectangular square edged boxes. Often very attractive boxes we have to say, but they have stuck to a tried and tested design nonetheless. This week we've seen two DVD players that are anything but boxy - the LG DVS450H and Samsung DVD H1080.The Samsung DVD 1080 is an attractive pebble shaped design with smooth edges and a

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-14401621298916747322009-04-24T13:45:00.004+01:002009-04-24T14:15:41.030+01:00

HDMI Cables come and go, and to be honest they are are very similar in design with just the odd colour change here and there to set them all apart. But 2 HDMI cables which are a bit different are the Lindy Premium Gold HDMI and the Lindy White Premium Flat HDMI cables.The Lindy Premium Gold HDMI cable is a chunky but well built cable that is surprising light. It also performs well as the Lindy

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-1464697099516941452009-04-20T09:26:00.005+01:002009-05-18T13:16:13.954+01:00

Harmon/Kardon has always made very stylish audio equipment. Like some of the other premium AV brands, design is very high on the list of requirements when they develop their new products. This all means that because of the extra time and resources required, Harmon/Kardon products tend to be slightly more expensive than equivalent brands.Harmon Kardon's home cinema amplifiers range currently

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-1730478119371542009-03-27T09:08:00.006Z2009-05-18T13:36:35.061+01:00

The new Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player is the latest generation of high definition player that does more than just play discs - it also has a neat little trick up its sleeve.The look and feel of the Samsung P1600 is very similar to the previous machine (the P1500), it has a glossy black front fascia and if has slightly cleaner looks than its predecessor. The Samsung has the latest Blu-ray

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-70445547860716775372009-03-12T13:34:00.002Z2009-03-12T13:58:18.922Z

The Onkyo TX-SR606 and Sony STR-DG820 AV Receivers are two of the most popular home cinema amplifiers around at the moment, mainly because of their high definition sound capabilities and their array of features at a good value price.There is still a £100 price difference between the two though, so is it worth spending the extra money and going for the Onkyo 606 over the Sony 820?Sony

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-22821340595318964252009-02-19T13:37:00.002Z2009-02-19T13:46:08.302Z

Whilst consumer electronics have been getting smaller for years, it was a fairly widespread accepted fact that speakers could not get too small without affecting the performance and quality of the sound.Over the last few years though, we've seen some really great small speaker sets from the likes of Orb, Mission and KEF (with their fantastic KHT 2005 egg speakers) that not only looked great, but

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-27852091477414948082008-11-25T14:12:00.001Z2008-11-25T14:19:32.000Z

The new Blu-ray player from Sony, the BDP-S350 is certainly causing some waves in the Blu-ray player and home cinema market. Not only is it quite a bit cheaper than the Panasonic BD35 but it is also just as good in terms of performance. Although slightly more expensive than the Samsung BD-P1500, it is the better player so makes the additional expense worthwhile.The Sony S350 is a budget player,

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-76109194274951792502008-11-06T22:45:00.000Z2008-11-06T22:49:48.311Z

The TX-SR506 is the entry level model in the Onkyo range of AV Receivers.As around £150 less it is quite a bit cheaper than the Onkyo 606 but lacking on some of the major features. However, if you don't need or want these, it could make a fine buy for you.Read the review of the Onkyo 506 on the DVD Home Cinema website.

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-15849892408289122722008-10-02T12:22:00.000+01:002008-10-02T12:25:12.659+01:00

All those trips to the Cinema, and impluse purchases of DVDs all add up to a pretty tidy sum of money over the space of a year.DVD Home Cinema looks at how you can cut back on that spending by purchasing your own home cinema system, and still save money.read the full article at Buy a Home Cinema system and save money »

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-9297837931376788772008-09-02T22:59:00.001+01:002008-09-02T23:03:56.789+01:00

There appear to be loads of online DVD Rental providers available, but some are most definitely better than others.Although the prices tend to be similar, the level of service and title availability can vary enormously. All the main players such as LoveFilm and Blockbuster can provide the big box office releases, but if you are into less widely available DVDs there are still providers that will

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-82067749184043464412008-07-23T22:03:00.000+01:002008-07-23T22:10:07.348+01:00

At last!The first proper Profile 2 Blu-ray player has been launched in the form of the Panasonic BD50.At around £400 though it's not a cheap Blu-ray player, so is it worth getting over something like the cheaper Playstation 3 (also Blu-ray profile 2) or the Samsung P1500 which is less than half the price (although currently only profile 1.1) ?Read the full Panasonic BD50 review at DVD Home Cinema.

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-4360359222605132162008-07-23T09:21:00.000+01:002008-07-23T09:25:10.932+01:00

The latest generation of the original and fantastic KEF Eggs, the KEF KHT2005.3 Speaker Package have been released.Not only do they stick the original concept, they improve on it. We're still convinced that for the money, you'd be hard pressed to get much better in our review: KEF KHT2005.3 Speaker Package

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-32004176877578700452008-07-08T12:55:00.000+01:002008-07-23T22:10:52.335+01:00

The new BD-P1500 is a new Blu-ray player from Samsung, and now one of the cheapest on the market.However, it comes at a time when two other serious Blu-ray players have been released from Sony and Panasonic. So can the Samsung BD-P1500 compete with the players from the current biggest names in Blu-ray?Read the complete article »

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-31430554559387801782008-06-13T14:08:00.001+01:002009-06-04T23:45:06.550+01:00

Confused by the different Blu-ray profiles? Don't know your 1.1 from your BD-Live?It's not surprising really, just when the High Definition player market needs some stability after the high definition format war, the Blu-ray profiles are still causing confusion amongst the general public.As long as you go for the latest profile, you are likely to be fairly safe. Read more about Blu-ray profiles

Home Cinema Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17918140129142610413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217219717310589571.post-65020068139179210472008-06-10T23:00:00.000+01:002008-07-01T11:34:17.136+01:00

When I first watched Juno, to be honest I wasn't expecting much. But my low expectations probably contributed towards the fact that I ended up really enjoying it. It is very much in the same sort of mould as Little Miss Sunshine, and despite me thinking it would be a bit of a chick flick, found it hugely enjoyable.There is a full review here: Review of Juno Starring Ellen Page

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