A home-cinema purist might call it plain lazy, but integrated solutions are perfect for beginners – and for people with small living rooms.
We all know about soundbars, right? For those that don’t, they’re a surround-sound system in a single box, producing the surround effect either using clever psychoacoustic trickery or by ping-ponging sound waves around the room. It sounds like a whacky idea, but the results can be pretty convincing. Check out our introduction to soundbars for more information.
Now, manufacturers are starting to integrate Blu-ray players into the devices, meaning you need even fewer boxes stacked beneath the TV. In fact, it’s now conceivable to have just a soundbar wall-mounted beneath the screen – plus one extra box if you subscribe to Virgin or Sky. Let’s count the cables you’d need: Well, the soundbar needs power – that’s one – and it’ll output video to the TV via HDMI – that’s two. Then the TV needs power – three – and an antenna connection – four. And that’s it. Stick them through a neat cable duct and presto – you’ve got all the fun of home cinema but none of the clutter.
LG's HLB54S offers BD playback and 4.1-channel sound from a single unit.
Is there a catch? Of course! These devices are new to the market this month, and the cheapest price we can find online so far is 550 GBP. Still, if you compare that to the cost of buying a Blu-ray player, an AV receiver, surround-sound speakers, and a subwoofer separately, it’s really not a lot. Samsung, for example, offers the HTBD8200, an all-in-one home-theatre setup, but this only gives you a 2.1-channel setup – i.e. stereo plus a wireless sub. What about LG’s HLB54S? Here, you get 4.1 channels – front left and right, back left and right, and a wireless sub. It’s better, but it’s still not full surround, and the price (starting at 580 GBP) is already notching up. Even worse: That’s where the list ends – for now at least.
But there’s an alternative. As with all second-best options, you’ll have to accept a compromise, but it’s still possible to achieve an elegant solution. Try Samsung’s BD-P 4610, for example, a slim-line Blu-ray player you can wall-mount. Combine that with JVC’s 4.1-channel TH-BA1 soundbar and you’ve got basically the same setup, albeit with ever-so-slightly more clutter. Still, it’s all wall-mountable, as is the TV, so you’re saving space compared to a traditional setup – it’s ideal for enjoying the full home-cinema experience in a smaller room.