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The
Abridged Book
Chapter 7: Shopping for EquipmentSo far we’ve explored all the important features of HT equipment, so you should be in a pretty good position to make a shopping list. It will contain whatever decisions you’ve reached about 4:3 vs. 16:9 TVs, a/v receiver power, progressive-scan DVD, and so on. But there’s still the problem of deciding what specific models to buy. There are lots of 16:9 rear-projection TVs, lots of progressive-scan DVD players, lots of speakers, and lots of everything else. How do you decide what to buy? Well, you could… · Buy the cheapest model that has the features you want. Also, two variants of this method:
· Read reviews in magazines or Internet sites and only buy models favorably reviewed. · Find a good salesperson at a specialty dealer and buy whatever he or she recommends. · Discuss the purchase on an Internet forum and don’t buy any model that gets criticized. Any out-and-out raves such as “I’d grab that one in a heartbeat” or “I would have paid twice as much for mine” make the selection automatic. · Buy what your friend has, but go one model number higher just to be safe. Each of these methods has pitfalls. Most of the problems result from relying on someone else’s opinion when that person is either biased, ignorant, or both. So, what should you do? Here are my step-by-step recommendations: Step 1: Set Your BudgetThis is perhaps the most important step. Otherwise you’ll be lost, since there’s a ratio of prices of at least 100:1. There are $600 TVs and $60,000 TVs. DVD players for $90 and ones for $9000. You may want to proceed incrementally, buying some components now and some later. If so you’ll want a long-term upgrade plan. For instance, you might want to keep your TV and spend your immediate budget on better sound, or keep your existing sound system and put today’s money into a better TV. Or, even if you’re starting from scratch, you might want to buy some components cheaply as interim solutions and upgrade them later. Maybe a $100 DVD player now, upgraded to a progressive-scan player in a year or two. Or, a $500 HT-in-a-Box now, to be replaced later. At Spring 2002 prices, the minimum you should expect to spend for a complete system consisting of TV, DVD player, receiver, and speakers (5 plus powered subwoofer) is around $2000. Any less and you’ll severely compromise video or audio or both. If you can keep some of what you already have, of course, your bill will be lower. Step 2: Prioritize FeaturesUnless your budget is well over $5000 you’re going to have to leave out some features. So, it makes sense to list everything that’s important to you and try to label each item as “essential” or “desired.” For completeness, you might also want to list unimportant features so you can label them “don’t care;” that way someone else reading your list will learn a bit about your thinking. Here are two sample lists: List 1 – Mostly Satellite/Cable TV and Serious Audio Listening
List 2 – Mostly DVD Watching
Now, if your budget is high enough (over $5000, say) you can meet all the features—even some “don’t care” features—on both lists. But at lower numbers you’re have to put the money one place or another. For example, List 1 requires only a $500 TV, so if the budget is only a few thousand dollars you could afford to get the SACD player along with top-notch receiver and speakers to do it justice. This works because the emphasis with List 1 is on the sound. But with List 2 you’d have to put a lot ($1300 minimum) into the TV, and that might not leave much for the receiver and speakers. So, make your own list!
Step 3: Survey the MarketStep 4: Pick Your Store and SalespersonStep 5: Select the Brands and ModelsHow to DecideThe Hazards of In-Store DemosGetting the Best PriceOther ServicesComponents for Modest BudgetsTVsReceiversSpeakersHome-Theater-in-a-Box SystemsDVD PlayersComponents for Immodest BudgetsBuying From an Internet Site
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