Electronics Gadget Reviews

Sony HT IS100 BRAVIA Theater Micro System Set of Six Black

HT-IS100 is the perfect surround-sound add-on system to existing Blu-ray Disc or DVD players.For those consumers who already have a Blu-ray Disc player or a DVD player/recorder, the perfect upgrade solution is the HT-IS100, combining all the surround processing and amplification into a single hideaway subwoofer unit.Within the subwoofer is powerful s-master digital amplification and sophisticated surround-sound processing, able to handle all the surround-sound formats on DVD and also accept high-definition audio from Blu-ray Disc for an even more thrilling home cinema experience.The system can also accept video signals from all your existing sources, either via HDMI connections or component and composite video sockets, and then will up convert for a single HDMI cable connection to your BRAVIA TV.It has the same digital cinema auto calibration as the other ‘IS family’ systems, and also features the digital media port for fast and easy hook-up of portable devices. If you’re looking for a simple, great-sounding system to take you from just watching TV to truly experiencing it, look no further.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars I’m not picky but…..
PROS:

Audio: I’m not picky, so in terms of the audio, it’s fine to be. I just wanted an upgrade from the tv speakers. This is loud enough!

Looks: I also didn’t want huge speakers. These tiny speakers are cool and unobtrusive. You find plenty of universal stands for the speakers.

CON:

Notice my con is not plural. I’m just going to summarize. I own a Samsung LN52A850. You might want to consider what brand tv you have before buying this. There is no on-screen menu for me. Nobody else has mentioned this in their review. Because if someone has a Bravia and the HT-IS100 and still don’t have on-screen menu, I would imagine that someone would have mention this “con” by now. So I’m assuming that those with Bravia TVs do have on-screen menu. Or, maybe people just don’t mind not having an on-screen menu. Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because the LCD display on the sub woofer faces the ceiling. Then engineers who made this should realize that if you make the display face the ceiling, then you better provide an on-screen menu. So I’m surprise I’m the first person to complain about this. Like I said, I have a Samsung, those with a Bravia may have onscreen menu. I don’t know, I can’t confirm that. I hope the next reviewer will confirm this. So for me, it sucks that I got to walk to my sub woofer every time to look at the display when I want to play around with the functions. Another con is that the accessories to make the rear speakers wireless is expensive, hard to find and quite frankly, confusing. You need to buy a transmitter, and you also have to buy a subunit. That’s right, it’s not totally wireless. You need to buy another subunit to place in the back of your room and the wires of the rear speakers will go into this subunit. Tricky marketing!!

Man, writing this review has made me more angry and determined to return this.

4 Stars Great for a Small Room/Apt/Studio
I live in a 1bd Apartment and my living room is fairly large (for an apt) The sound that this System produces is truly beautiful. I have my HD Digital Box, PS3, Xbox and Wii hooked up and they all sound great. I had a Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH (paired with POLK speakers) and although that receiver is far superior in features and sound effects (as well as total watts) This little system worked out better for me because it’s far more simple and practical (and won’t get me kicked out of my building. For those looking for a good Surround System that won’t take a lot of space, Offers simple menus and won’t cost too much $$$$, this is it!

1 Star HT-IS100 micro system
Can only give one star right now because the systems center speaker and remote did not work. Called Sony and they had me send the center speaker and remote to Texas for repair. After a week they sent back still not repaired. Call Sony and they said to send the complete system back for repair. Looks like I will receive tomorrow (3/4/09). I have been waiting over a month now to hear this system. I will review later if it works this time. One thing I can say is the ease of setup, and no wires from front to back for the speakers using the SA1. Also, purchased two stands for the back speakers. They look great and enable you ease of hiding wires to each of the back speakers under the carpet.

It is now 3/7, received system back from Sony repaired and ready to go.

However, they forgot to enclose the remote, so I am waiting another 4 days for the most important part. I can say now that this system sounds great, of course mine is not tuned because of no remote. But, it really makes a difference in watching blue rays. It puts you right in the movie, what a great sound from such small speakers. I now rate this a 4 star system

3 Stars It would be a great system if wireless accessories could be bought…
Its a great system from looks and sound wise and I first purchased it without the wireless accessories to see if I need them. After a short time I decided to opt for the wireless amplifier for [...]. When it arrived in the mail I was first excited but then quickly realized that additionally an EZW T100 is neede for[...]. First of all I find this to expensive to have to add 200 dollars to a 700 dollar system to make it wireless, if 400 dollar systems are available that already have that function included. But the real dissapointment was that the EZW T100 is sold out for 2 months and I have invested 850 bucks in a system that is still wired and the required accessories are not available. That is not acceptable.

5 Stars HT-IS100
I’ve been back and forth about home theater systems for the last month or so and I finally came across this bad boy at frys for 549 promo sale and got it after hearing it at best buy and all I can say is WOW if your considering this system dont be afraid to pull the trigger on it. The system feels my room full of sound just like the movies. I’m glad I did a little research and went for this with all the connectivity it offers you cant go wrong. Amazing hooked up to my kdl52-wl140 is not enough for this system.

Buy/More Info

Sony HT SS2300 Component Home Theater System

Upgrade your entertainment room with the HT-SS2300 component home theater system. This slim receiver, designed to look great alongside your Blu-ray Disc player, combines great styling with unparalleled performance and includes a 5.1-channel A/V receiver thrusting 1000 watts of power (RMS). In addition, the A/V receiver’s HDMI interface transmits both audio and video while offering 1080p resolution and full bandwidth sound tracks (LPCM) support through a single cable. You can also integrate your portable music into a traditional home theater system while providing enhanced audio quality with the portable audio enhancer. Designed to sync with Sony Blu-ray Disc components, the HT-SS2300 offers one-touch operation which eliminates the need of multiple remote controls.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Powerful System, Can not beat the price.
At first I wased worried because the speakers were small, but it delivers great sound,10 times better than my TV’s. The code for universal remotes for this system is 1758. You will need it if your TV or DVD/BD player does not have Sony Bravia Sync. 3 HDMI inputs is terrific, no need for a switch box. It upconverts the signal of your old DVD player to 1080p so you do not need an all in one combo. Do not go for products that have DVD players built in, get this one. Black finish matches my TV great even though it is not Sony.

1 Star Sony HT-SS2300 Home Theater Piece of Junk
Don’t waste your hard earned cash on this piece of junk. I hooked this unit up and it worked for about 4 Hours. The unit died with a protect message on the screen. I tried to do a factory reset as per the owners manual with no success. Doing a quick research on the internet I found I was not alone. I must have gotten at least several hundred hits with people getting the same problem. I ended up returning this and buying the Yamaha Home theater in a box. The Yamaha blows the quality of this unit away for about $50.00 more. Sony should be ashamed of its poor quality. They should yank this unit from the shelves immediatly.

4 Stars Terrific system for the price
The sound quality of this product is great, especially for an under $300.00 system. Plenty of bass as well. My only two issues are, as other people have found out, that the auto sound microphone that’s supposed to automatically adjust all speaker volumes simply doesn’t work. No big deal, just use your ears. The other issue is the very lame instruction manual, but that’s pretty much the norm nowadays. Simply put, if 5.1 is being implemented to its fullest extent with the movie you’re watching, the experience is incredible!!

4 Stars Way less $$$ than in stores….Great Price and Value from Amazon
I researched several Home Theaters and went with this one based on the additional HDMI Inputs and I trust Sony. The sound output is great. I use this HT in my Family room and the sound quality is awesome. It’s not a BOSE, but for $299…I can’t complain. Going back and forth from different HD Components is very easy (just a touch of a button on the remote). Shop around…after I purchased this, I saw a multiple HDMI Input system on Sony Style for a little more money. I would encourage anyone to purchase this item.

5 Stars Wow

I was a little skeptical that a home theater in a box would be able to produce the kind of bass that you need to recreate the experience of going to a theater, but this product is excellent. I decided to give it a try because of the positive reviews I saw here and on other sites. It has not disappointed. My only caveat is that I’m using it in my bedroom, so I can’t really say how it will work in a bigger room. The small size for the reciever is a big bonus for me because I didn’t have a lot of room for it.

Buy/More Info

Sony BRAVIA 52 Inch HDTV Blu ray and Home Theater Bundle Save 400

Step up to the complete HD Experience for less. Enter promotional code SONYCOMP to save $400 when you purchase a 52-inch V-Series Sony BRAVIA LCD HDTV with a BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray disc player, and an HT-SS2300 component home theater system.

The BRAVIA V-Series HDTVs offer 16:9 1080p resolution with BRAVIA Engine video processing, 24p true cinema capability, Sony’s award-winning Xross interface, S-Force front surround sound, and robust connectivity features. (Learn more)

The BDP-S350 Blu-ray player comes with an Ethernet port for firmware updates, BD-Live capability, and a USB port so you can expand onboard storage to take advantage of the growing number of special features available on Blu-ray discs. (Learn more)

The HT-SS2300 system is built to match the Blu-ray player, and combines great styling with unparalleled performance. It includes a 5.1-channel A/V receiver with 1000 watts of power and an HDMI interface that transmits both audio and video while offering 1080p resolution and full bandwidth sound tracks support through a single cable; a sub-woofer, center speaker, and four surround speakers. (Learn more)

Promotional offer ends September 27, 2008. Some restrictions apply (see details).

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Pioneer Elite SC 05 AV network receiver 7 1 channel

High definition multi-channel sound is here with the Pioneer Elite SC-05. With the newly designed Direct Energy HD 7.1 channel amplifier, surround sound has evolved from re-creation to reality. Completely re-engineered for high definition world, Pioneer Elite receivers take full command of your high definition home theater.Supported by Pioneer’s legacy sound-tuning technology, the SC-05 was designed from the ground up to produce a 3-dimensional aural experience unlike any other. Transporting you to an entirely world of home entertainment, the SC-05 offers a listening experience that takes you to a whole level of high-resolution, multi-channel surround sound.Surrender your heart to one of the first Pioneer Elite models crafted with ICEpower Analog Class D Amplification technology. When paired with an Elite BDP-05FD Blu-ray Disc player, enjoy the benefits of PQLS Jitter-free audio for CD playback. Prepare yourself for a graphical user interface (GUI), On-Screen display and Home Media Gallery with photo viewing capability.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Now This Is One Excellent Receiver. Elite Quality All The Way!
“I was waiting for this receiver for a long time. Amazon has the best price on this receiver that I have seen. As far as performance goes, it is simply terrific. It has the ability to connect to a home network which is really easy and the feature really works and is just great. I listen to Internet Radio all the time on the weekends. It has plenty of power to handle anything you throw at it. It also makes anything you throw at it sound just wonderful. It’s MCACC auto setup works so much easier than Audessey. This receiver replaces a Denon AVR2309ci which is no slump receiver, however the Pioneer Elite just simply outclassed the Denon. Again sound quality is where it is at with this beast. 130 watts of pure joy power per channel. My speakers, B&W M1’s never sounded better. This receiver is a really simple to set up vs. Denon’s. The OSD and GUI are far easier to use and look so much better than the Denon. Not to mention, the SC-05 looks just fantastic. It is in a class all its own. I have my receiver on every time I watch TV which was not the case with the Denon. It sounds too good not to have on. Just as simple as that. I have the SC-05 hooked up to a Kuro TV (PDP-5020FD). BD movies are a SIGHT and SOUND to behold. I replaced my Sub just recently and purchased a Polk PSW505. This receiver allows my Sub to literally shake my floor and walls. We recently watched Hulk BD version, and I really thought my neighbors would knock on my door. I did not have the pioneer anywhere near reference level, -15db, and it was awesome. The SC-05 never broke a sweat. It has so much more in her. It was the first time in my life I was nervous about turning it up any louder.

All in all, I could not be more pleased with the SC-05. It is easy to set up. The sound it produces is crisp, clear, warm and totally engrossing. Many different options to play with to get the most out of what you are trying to accomplish. And you will no doubt be able to accomplish anything you want with this receiver. I have had many receivers over the years, and this by far, without a doubt, is the best I have ever owned. What a joy it is to have such a fine product.”

5 Stars Excellent choice
Husband and son love this receiver. Sound is great and so far no problems. After much research and review, we’re very happy with the Pioneer Elite.

5 Stars Excellent performance and value
I upgraded about a month ago to the Pioneer SC-05 from a very respectable Onkyo 605 and have had a very good experience thus far with the receiver. Here are some things that I like and dislike:

LIKE

1) Looks. Some people may deem this silly but what initially attracted me to the Pioneer Elite line was their aesthetics. These things, simply put, are gorgeous (at least as far as AVRs go). Beautiful piano black casing, crisp front screen, LEDs, etc.

2) Power. Read up on the ICEPower Class D amps that these units use because they are really what differentiate the SC-05 from its competition at this price point (I got mine for $999). Crisp, bright and powerful.

3) Sound. At one point I was considering a Denon 3808 until I heard them side by side. The Pioneer sounded a whole lot cleaner, brighter and punchier. The Denon, a very well received receiver, sounded muddled in comparison

4) MCACC. This autocalibration tool really impressed me. Much more so than the Audessey2 that my old Onkyo had; much more thorough and customizable.

DISLIKE

1) Bulk. The Pioneer Elite SC-05 is large…very large. At almost 8″ high and 19″ deep it’s hard to fit into some, ok…most, conventional AV furniture. When purchasing please keep this in mind because you don’t want to end up with a useless TV stand once it arrives.

2) Video processing. I’m not sure how much of a difference upconverting makes these days and everything seems to be going hi-def but the SC-05 doesn’t upconvert any HD signals (i.e. it won’t take 720p and upconvert it to 1080p). It’s a small annoyance and, in actuality, probably doesn’t matter.

I am very satisfied with my purchase and believe that at this price point, its the best out there.

4 Stars Exceptional A/V Reciever
I recently purchased this SC-05 by Pioneer Elite. This new AVR replaced a Sony unit that was 10-12 years old. My reasoning for upgrading was to have an up to date unit capable of video switching today’s HD video sources, converting playing the most current HD audio codecs such as DTS-MA and True HD. In the past year I had bought an HDTV (Sammy 1080p) and a PS3, so my existing AVR w/ only Dolby Digital and no HD video capabilities became quickly outdated.

I had looked at many different models, and was critically considering the Onkyo 806, Denon 3808, Sony ES and Pioneer. I had heard the Onkyo’s run very hot and that the current 806 was not living up to the expectations set by the prior 805. The Denon 3808 is receiving many solid reviews but some criticisms were in regards to sound quality and ease of use. The Sony’s were still not yet readily available nor reviewed and the previous Sony ES models had not gotten very positive feedback.

Then I listened to both the 3808 and SC-05 at my local BB-Magnolia store. The SC-05 really blew me away, both in SQ and asthetics.

I began researching the SC-05 extensively and found the following thread at AVS Forums maintained by CHP_VR, exceptionally useful.

[...]

After careful consideration I purchased the SC-05 and with its MCACC capabilities my home theater has been revitalized. It has made my B&W 602 S2 speakers come alive. It works very well with my TV and PS3 as well as my D* STB, legacy SD-DVD player and Wii. The SC-05 does all my switching and upconverts my non-HD sources to 1080p. While my TV was doing this previously, the SC-05 is more convenient for switching inputs and sources. The SQ is phenominal.

Other cool features are Home Media integration, internet radio and Neural THX radio.

I definitely recommend this AVR…the price is hefty, but worth it.

Buy/More Info

Samsung BD P2500 1080p Blu ray Disc Player

Samsung’s BD-P2500 is BD-Live 2.0 Ready with an ethernet port so you can enjoy special interactive features, download extra content from the internet, and more. It has 1Gb of onboard memory and a USB port for memory expansion. You’ll enjoy bold color and crisp details with full 1080p resolution. The BD-P2500 also offers breakthrough enhancements such as Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) processing and 7.1-Channel analog audio outputs creating a powerful HD audio-visual experience. Plays Blu-ray discs, upscales standard DVDs, and is compatible with BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-R (V mode only), DVD-RW (V/VR mode), Audio CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and AVCHD discs. Movie night just got even more exciting – with the highest-quality audio and an incredible picture.

Key Features

• Total BD Profile Compatibility right out of the box, lets you instantly enjoy the latest interactive features available, including BD Live (Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (Profile 1.1)
• Lots of Memory and Easy Upgradeability: The BD-P2500 comes with a built-in, wired Ethernet connection, 1GB of internal flash memory, and a USB port for memory expansion
• Full HD 1080p
• HQV processing chip for the highest quality viewing of Blu-ray discs, upconversion of standard DVDs, and viewing of JPEG images
• HDMI 1.3 output with xvYCC Deep Color support, and a 24fps film mode, exhibiting smoother, more natural playback of film-based material.
• 7.1-Channel Dolby TrueHD Sound and dts-HD Master Audio capable of decoding the latest high-resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks

HQV Video Processor

In a perfect world, every disc’s image that passed through your Blu-ray disc player into your HDTV would offer immaculate 1080p video with flawless color, impeccable detail, and nary a bit of pesky video noise. In the real world, though, pristine source material isn’t available for every Blu-ray disc—due to age or neglect of the original elements—and there are plenty of movies and TV shows on DVD that you’ll still want to watch on your Blu-ray player. HQV video processing is a great way of elevating those less-than-perfect video sources to a new level, and ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your beautiful high-definition video display.

To do this, the HQV video processors built into better Blu-ray players employ sophisticated algorithms to alleviate the problems that often plague less-than-perfect video sources. HQV processors analyze multiple video fields at once to determine where frames match up and where they don’t, and even which objects are in motion within those frames. In analyzing the video signal over time, the processor also determines the proper frame rate or refresh rate of the original video signal—whether it’s a 24 fps film source or a 30 fps video source, for example—and makes sure that it is dealt with properly. HQV video processors are also great at minimizing video noise without scrubbing the image of all its fine detail, as well as restoring some of the detail that’s lost as a result of aggressive video filtering during the Blu-ray or DVD mastering process. And unlike some competing video processors, HQV processors boast enough processing power to keep up with the multiple video streams (picture-in-picture and split screen) found on many new Blu-ray discs.

Stream Netflix Movies Right Over Your Player

Netflix, the world’s largest online movie rental service, has a library of more than 12,000 movies and television episodes available for streaming. You must be a Netflix subscriber in order to receive streaming video service. For Netflix customers you simply need to activate your new BluRay player to your existing Netflix account. Non-Netflix customers must first sign up for Netflix in order to utilize this feature-there is a monthly cost.

BD-Live

BD-Live is a Blu-ray feature that enables you to access special content via an internet-connected Blu-ray player. Because it’s not coded into the disc, BD-Live content is always updated, always fresh. With BD-Live, your Blu-ray disc is different every time you view it. Check out the latest previews, download special scenes, exclusive features and ringtones, and participate in online communities or games. As BD-Live continues to grow and expand, even more features will become available, customizing features and content to your location or preferences. Now, your disc k

Bonus View

Blu-ray Disc has 5x more storage capacity than DVD, which allows more content to fit on the disc. The extra storage capacity also means more room for special features like inline navigation, Bonus View, interactive games, deleted scenes, director commentary and more
Navigate to special features, other scenes, or settings without leaving the content you are watching.	Bonus View lets you watch special features and commentary inline without leaving the movie.

High Definition Soundtrack Support and Output

Providing a truly immersive HD home theater experience, Samsung’s BD-P2500 is capable of decoding the latest high-resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks available. Out of the box, the player can output Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts as an uncompressed PCM signal, as a bitstream, or via the 7.1 analog outputs for cinematic sound that is comparable with the latest movie theaters. Additionally, dts-HD HR (High Resolution) decoding will become available with a firmware upgrade in the fall. The BD-P2500 will also pass these and dts-HD MA (Master Audio) as a bitstream output to a separate, external surround sound decoder.

HDMI Features

x.v Color

RGB Color Range

xvYCC Color Range

Thanks to the adoption of a newly approved international color standard called xvYCC (an option in the HDMI v1.3 spec, the color space has been greatly expanded. All Sony XBR HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or “x.v. color” for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation “xvYCC” color space actually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize. Next-generation “xvYCC” color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors

Deep Color

So, where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color. Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors Enables increased contrast ratio Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white

Specifications

Design

• Piano black with chrome accents and touch pad controls

A/V Features

• Compatible with BD Profile 2.0 (BD Live), Profile 1.1 (Bonus View), and Profile 1.0 interactivity features
• 1GB internal flash memory for BD Live
• Award-winning Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) processing
• 24fps film mode
• xvYCC Deep Color
• Selectable DVD upconversion (720p / 1080i / 1080p)
• Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD decoding
• dts-HD HR decoding via firmware update in the fall
• Dolby Digital Plus