Soundbars are really trendy right now. Lazy salespeople not pushing filling your room with speakers. For shame! There may be a recession, but how many of these need to come out?

Its not perfect by any means, but this is a good idea if you think it is. Audiophiles, go away, we are not talking to you.

Get the/a freakin' sub, YOU will need it. Unless your my 70 year old parents, who love their Yamaha YSP800, they don't have a sub, and that seems somehow...okay.

For those of you wanting real speakers for low cash. They are better than anything you get out of one box, and will only set you back a few bucks.

The top models may make you want to hear some better styles (low high end vs high low end...the legend continues) for the same or little price difference.

I use this style speaker for my rears and rear center.

Wenge is soooooooo trendy right?

HTIBs will in no way be the same as a bigger, segmented system. But they cost so little $$. Especially when you consider that 'good' speakers are not cheap - and you need 5 of them. And a sub. And some cable. And install will suck/you will pay too much for it. Lets face it, if your in the $500 range to $1000, it could cost $300+ to get it installed. Better to get features and live.

One Major Brand has all the features, but sound like headphones. They are small and provide no clarity. They are really small. REALLY small. The major thing here is Bass is huge, treble is blured, and you'll get highs! Hard to watch dialog on. Music can have a hard time hearing vocals.

Another Major Brand are cheap. Its gonna fall apart. Consider the warranty if you can get 5 years for less than 10%. Usually they are cheap on systems $499 or less. Speakers sound like cell phones. Bass is non-existent.

Other Major Brands offer 'Real' amplifiers or receivers, with a brand of speakers. They are usually pretty identical, but nice if you want to upgrade. If you care about upgrading - you know how to install it right? Exactly, these are really for people looking to put off system purchases, but needed a fix.

My first system was a sherwood 'component' system bought some years ago. It was a steal, but I quickly got better speakers as I could save. It was college, as I got more space, my stack got taller.

If you want Surround sound - for Movies and Games - You will enjoy your HTIB. Music will need better speakers, and TV will either be awesome (broadcast well - HD stuff can sound as good as movies), or kinda muffled, you will turn it up a lot, and get blasted by commercials.

Good luck world.

My rear Speakers, Lithographs from Tolkien books, My old artist roommate's work, a piece of community art from Somerville, MA, a photo of Fenway Park, and the old fold out poster things from Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, Actraiser, and Final Fantasy III (or 6 as we know it today, but it does say III)

I would like a Wii Fit so I can get rid of the bedsores on my behind from playing too much Mario Kart.

HA! Rimbaud, I think you were racing me! I have been using my Hitler Mii named Adolf for a while, so this article made me think. For those of you who dont get the irony, look at what the man believed in. Since the only answer you can get is the holocost, remember the banning of most materials, and the overall destruction of free thought. This is why making fun of Hitler is EXACTLY what he would not have wanted, so the political message of using a little tiny Mii with a funny moustache is a better message than you think.

Course, little guy, moustache, annoying voice...could have him confused for baby mario.

Okay, lots of good info here, but its lost amoungst fanboyisms...

Contrast ratio is a useless number. There is no solid standard that starts the count, so it means litterally NOTHING. You cannot look at one TV, and then another via contrast ratio, even the same manufacturer!

The only thing you can trust is your own eye. Go to the store, and ask to see something dark on the screens, although, if you want to save time, heres what you will see:

-Pioneer Kuro will be the best
-Panasonics will be good, better than most LCDs, and cheaper, but not as good as a pioneer
-Sony's XBR LCDs will have great blacks, for an LCD, as is probably the best out there from an LCD.
-Samsung's 71 series is right behind there, but can look washed out if set too high, they will grey/blue out really easily
-pretty much the rest are really bad, and if you are really looking for a good tv. I wont even get into opinions about the Funai's and suchs.

Look, there are no secrets or magic out there, spend real money, there is no super saver tv. buy from a confident and well trained store, not a website or a warehouse club. you will find there are lots of good options, and the specs DONT MATTER, use your EYES!

The concept store is actually in Dedham MA, which is considerably outside Boston (about 15 miles). The Boston Store is a different entity entirely than the chain as well. The playgrounds are very interesting concepts, and if you have the chance to see one, do so! Itll change the way you look at electronics retailers.

Ahhh, why are they comparing such off models? They get a 50pz750 from panasonic, but compare it to a sony 60a3000? A discontinued model, 10" bigger, and a completely different format tv...This whole article is BS. Where did this selection come from, really? You have Panasonics flagship, Pioneers low end (I wonder where the PRO1150 would have fit, especially since its around $3000 for a 50"), JVC's top peice, Samsung's totally flawed display. Its like they knew what they wanted to happen and hand picked peices to make sure that the final came out that way.

Wait...they probably did...

It would be a lie to say I DESERVE one. I could use one, it would allow me to donate my DS Phat to the childrens hospital.