HTIB.com URL Forwards to HomeTheaterInABox.com
Do you hate typing out the long “HomeTheaterInABox.com” domain name into your web browser’s address bar to return to this website? Simply enter the much shorter “HTIB.com” and you will be forwarded to this page. HTIB is the consumer electronics industry’s abbreviation for Home Theater In A Box, but I like to think of HTIB as also standing for Home Theater In A Bundle. By the way, the HTIB abbreviation is an initialism, not an acronym.
Surround Sound Audio System Packages and Bundles
A “Home Theater In A Box” or “HTIB” is a pre-matched home theater surround sound audio system (packaged, shipped, and delivered to your home either in a single large box or as a multiple box bundle) which can be easily connected to your existing big screen smart television or ultra short throw projector, together with one or more of your existing high resolution source components such as a video game console or Blu-ray Disc player to create a fun, entertaining, immersive home theater audio-visual experience similar to going to see a movie at the cinema.
Conventional Hard-Wired vs. "Wireless" Home Theater
Higher-end, more-expensive hard-wired surround sound audio systems such as the Onkyo TX-NR6100 THX Certified receiver + Klipsch RP-8000F II 5.1.2 home theater speaker system bundle pictured below can easily outperform wireless systems due to having considerably larger speakers and a component home theater receiver with more power and the latest and greatest surround sound decoding capabilities.
The biggest potential drawback to conventional hard-wired 5.1-channel (or more) surround sound audio systems is the expense, time, and hassle required to buy, run/conceal, cut, strip/terminate, and connect five individual speaker wires, plus a subwoofer cable running from the outputs on back of a home theater receiver to each of the desired locations of the five speakers and the sub. Depending on your specific situation and room layout, this challenge could involve cutting or drilling some holes into walls, floors, and/or ceilings to fish wires to each of the required locations, especially for the two rear surrounds. This could be a problem for older homes and especially renters. Good luck getting your security deposit back if you leave a bunch of holes behind when you move out!
Notice that the word “Wireless” above is in quotation marks. That’s because the wireless surround sound systems featured on this website like the new Platin Monaco WiSA 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos home theater system pictured below require that the wireless transmitter, EACH of the wireless speakers, and the wireless subwoofer ALL be plugged individually into an AC outlet for power, so you may need to separately purchase a power strip surge protector with enough outlets to plug in behind your television, or perhaps an extension cord if one of your ideal speaker or sub locations is beyond the reach of an AC outlet due to the length of the speaker or sub’s power cord.
A major difference between “wireless” surround sound systems and hard-wired home theater receiver and speakers based systems is that the “wireless” systems utilize the inputs on back of your television to connect each of your source components (such as a Blu-ray Disc player and/or video game console), whereas with an “old-school” hard-wired system, you connect each of your source components to one of the inputs on back of your home theater receiver.
Why There Are NO SOUNDBAR SYSTEMS on HomeTheaterInABox.com
The biggest drawbacks to a soundbar system are especially important to music lovers! Because a soundbar speaker crams at least the front left, center, and front right channels into a single unit that sits underneath your television, you cannot experience the improved stereo separation that is possible by placing individual left and right speakers to each side of your TV. Also, in an effort to conserve as much space as possible to fit beneath a television, the low-profile cabinet of a soundbar speaker must be ultra-slim to avoid blocking the bottom of your television screen. This limits the size and depth of speaker drivers that can be mounted on the front of the soundbar. Better sound from music (and more immersive surround sound) is best achieved from larger speaker drivers located closer to ear level. (If I were to hypothetically feature just one soundbar system, it would have to be the recently-announced $3499 Nakamichi Dragon.)
What Else You Might Need To Complete Your Home Theater System...
In addition to buying your surround sound audio system, you may also need to separately supply or buy most or all of the following to complete the proper setup and installation of your system or enhance your home theater experience:
- a large smart television or a UST (ultra short throw) projector and ALR (ambient light rejecting) projection screen
- one or more high resolution A/V source components such as a Blu-ray Disc player (which also plays conventional DVDs and music CDs) and/or video game console
- a stand wide enough for supporting the TV/UST projector plus a front left and right bookshelf or satellite speaker sitting at each side of it (unless you prefer placing the front speakers atop their own stands at each side of the television stand) and adequate space underneath for placing and directing the center channel speaker towards ear level and also holding components
- one or more pairs of floor stands and/or wall mounting brackets for proper placement of smaller bookshelf/satellite front left and right speakers, side surrounds and/or rear speakers
- high-speed Internet connection for streaming entertainment and online gaming
- speaker wires for each speaker, plus a subwoofer cable to connect the sub, UNLESS you go with a “wireless” system
- HDMI, optical audio, and/or Ethernet cable(s)
- a power strip surge protector with plenty of AC outlets
- comfortable (home theater) seating
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