1. Slim and Slimmer. Is there a Winner?
First, let's answer the question:
"What is a home theater receiver and what does it do?"
A home theater receiver serves as the central point of a home theater or home audio system and performs the following functions:
Switching for all of your home theater system's audio and video components
Surround sound decoding
Signal processing for simulated soundfields and bass management
Amplifies the audio signals to drive the loudspeakers and controls the playback volume
Serves as an AM/FM radio tuner
The receiver is both the "smarts" and the "power" behind a home theater system.
It takes the audio signals from all of your source components (e.g., DVD-Video player, CD player, VCR, tape deck, turntable), performs any needed decoding and post-processing, amplifies the signal to power your home theater's array of loudspeakers, and controls the playback volume.
For video signal, the receiver performs the necessary switching and outputs it to your TV. With all this functionality, a receiver is one of the more complex and expensive components in a home theater or home audio system.
The terms "home theater receiver", "audio/video receiver", "A/V receiver", "surround receiver", "Dolby Digital/DTS receiver", and "receiver" are used interchangeably on this web site, since we're talking about a receiver that has at least five channels of processing and amplification for home theater and multi-channel music sources such as DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. If you're not familiar with all the terms we just threw out, don't worry. We'll discuss each of these functions in turn. Then we'll tell you what else you should look for, and how to compare and audition A/V receivers when you shop.
Surround Sound
This is an easy one and the first thing you need to sort out if you're buying a new TV – what size do I need? That depends on how far away you're sitting. Here's a quick guide:
Once you've decided on size, the choice may be no choice: if you've decided on something smaller than 42" then it's probably going to be an LCD.
If you want a TV bigger than 42", say 50" or 55" then it's going to be a plasma unless you have a big budget, because although you can get LCD panels this size, they are considerably pricier than their plasma equivalent. This is changing and already LCD is challenging plasma at the larger sizes.
Where the market is evenly weighted between plasma and LCD is round the 40 – 42" mark. Plenty of choice in either flavour at this popular size.
Verdict: LCD below 42" and plasma above – so it's a draw on this point.
Weight
Both LCD and plasma are flat panel technology. That's what makes them so appealing – try hanging an old CRT on your wall! Either technology is suitably thin but plasma, in particular, is surprisingly heavy. In either case, if you're planning on wall mounting your flat panel you'll need the correct bracket and a professional to do the job properly. Don't try hanging it yourself unless you do it for a living.
But here's the rub – it seems that most people are opting for their flat panel on a stand anyway. Something to do with all those windows and fireplaces getting in the way.
Verdict: Wall mounting any TV is a job for the professionals, particularly at larger sizes.
Resolution
Everyone is fixated with screen resolution right now. But what exactly is it, and how important is it anyway?
Your TV screen is made up of thousands of tiny dots (pixels). Together they light up to create the picture you see. They're so tiny that unless you get really close, your picture just looks smooth and seamless. The number of dots on a screen is called its resolution.
In theory, the higher the resolution (i.e. more pixels) the better the picture will look (finer, more detail). We say "in theory", because so many other factors weigh in to determine the picture quality – the power of the on-board video processing, issues like colour balance and black levels, the quality of the source you're getting the picture from (DVD, TV signal) and so on.
In fact we say you shouldn't get too hung up on resolution when choosing a TV, with the obvious caveat that it needs, at least, to be hi-def capable (see more below).
Not all TVs have the same number of pixels – some have more than others. When your TV is manufactured it has a fixed number of pixels on the screen. This is called its native resolution.
Ordinary free to air TV is broadcast at 576 lines, requiring 576 pixels measured from the top of your screen to the bottom. This is known as Standard Definition or SD. So why would you need more?
Resolution is important because broadcasting and movie technology is constantly evolving, bringing with it the promise of a new level of viewing. That's right folks, it's the High Definition show or HDTV. It's all anyone is talking about these days with the promise of stunningly realistic high definition images. We're seeing it already overseas, and the new high definition DVD formats, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are being rolled out.
To enjoy the pictures delivered by these new technologies to the full, you'll need a TV capable of displaying them, right? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, most flat panels are already high definition capable, the problem is there just ain't much to watch on them. How many high definition DVD titles have you seen in your local store lately, and how many high definition TV programmes are currently airing? Err, none at last count. Yes, it will happen in the fullness of time – SKY are promising high def TV soon, TVNZ are mentioning it, but as we say, most current generation flat panel now available will have more than enough resolution to view these broadcasts for the foreseeable future.
So what resolution will you need as a minimum to enjoy hi-def TV broadcasts? Well that depends on the broadcaster but HDTV is likely to be round 1280 x 720 pixels (compare that with existing broadcast of 720 x 576). To see HDTV your TV will need to be able to display this level of resolution. Make sure it can before you buy.
Most current generation plasma and LCD sets are manufactured with higher resolution – anything up to 1920 x 1080 (called "FULL HD" – see below) but there are several different resolutions currently offered – 852 x 480, 1024 x 768, 1366 x 768 etc. Is it important? Yes. If High Definition TV requires a minimum of 720 lines top to bottom, your TV will need a native resolution of at least 720 pixels top to bottom to be able to display HDTV. So a screen with native resolution of 1366 x 768 will do the trick, while 852 x 480 won't.
What about Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs? Let's put aside for a minute the fact that the formats are still battling it out like Beta vs VHS, and that titles are thin on the ground, and assume that titles will soon flood the shelves. First you'll need a Blu-ray player, PS3 console or HD player. OK, so you've got one of those, you've got a disc and now you want a TV that'll display that image with no interpolation or scaling. You'll need one of the very latest generation "Full-HD" panels with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 that are now coming on to the market. But how much much better will the picture look on a 1920 x 1080 panel than on a, say, standard 1366 x 768 panel?
We can't answer that. It once again depends on more than just the technology and the resolution – the quality of the panel, the DVD player and the connections are critical.
So is there a difference between LCD and plasma? Nope. Just make sure that whichever you buy, it has sufficient resolution to future-proof you for the arrival of HDTV.
Verdict: Whatever you buy, make sure it has a minimum of 720 pixels vertical resolution