Home Theater for Everyone: A Practical Guide to Today's Home Entertainment Systems | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Harley
Creator: Tomlinson Holman
Publisher: Acapella Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $0.46
You Save: $19.49 (98%)
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Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 90296
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0964084988
Dewey Decimal Number: 621.3893
EAN: 9780964084988
ASIN: 0964084988
Publication Date: June 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
With this consumer's guide, buyers of home theatre systems will be taken through the technology and components of home entertainment and learn how they suit their individual needs. Consumers will discover the best components, how to be a savvy shopper, how to avoid buying the wrong technology, and how to set up and fine-tune a system. In addition, all the technologies behind home theatre are explained. These technologies include DVD players, audio/video receivers, multi-channel speaker systems, high-definition television (HDTV), and digital satellite systems.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
Expansive review! October 17, 2005
CJOaNeoD.O. (Dallas, Texas)
I have been keeping up with AV via periodicals and product pamphlets. This was to me not a lot of new information but for folks who are just starting out, this would be a GREAT place to begin. Not too tech-y, tech-y enough when it needs to be. A decent overall offering that does what it says.
 NOT for Everyone September 16, 2005
F. B. Brown (SC)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I purchased this book as a requirement for a new job. I recently left the practice of law and went to work for a company that designs, sells and installs home theaters. Having graduated from law school, one would think I could understand just about everything. Wrong. This book touts itself as one that is for the masses - the everyday schmo who is looking to do this themselves. While extraordinarily well written, it is NOT for everyone. It is overly complex and technical for the everyday guy and is more apropos for electrical engineers or experts in the field. finally, the issue I received was supposed to be a recent edition and, if it was, it's already painfully out of date and needs revamped.
 Some good stuff here - Some is total nonsense! August 28, 2004
Chris A. Kantack (Bellingham, WA United States)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Robert Harley is a "high-end audiophile" and you need to keep that in mind when reading thru any of his books. In "Home Theater For Everyone", he provides a lot of useful information. But he also supplies a lot of "hokum" as well. That is, there is much in this books that he states as fact when infact it is nothing more than his own (often erroneous) opinion.
If you are already well-versed in audio/video equipment, you'll know when Mr. Harley goes "off-the-wall" with his crazy statements and conclusions. But if you're new to the world of audio/video, I say "buyer beware". If you follow all of Mr. Harley's advice, you will end up spending thousands of dollars on overpriced equipment and unnecessary frills.
Buy the book for the great general information Mr. Harley provides. But be wary of some of his conclusions and advice. One area where I strongly agree with Mr. Harley is when he advocates to do your own shopping and make your own judgements.
A mixed bag of good information and tommyrot June 9, 2004
Keith Carlsen (Asheville, NC, USA)
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
Much of the information in this book is good, but a couple of issues need to be addressed. Tomlinson Holman, a good engineer, is the man behind both the THX professional cinema house certification and the Home THX certification program for home theater components. I have a substantial issue with, particularly, the latter because it consists of a secret set of parameters, which are divulged only to licensees under nondisclosure. Because the requirements are themselves secret, how can anyone judge their validity, or the comparative value of the certification? Mr. Harley, on the other hand, is no engineer at all, nor even a hands-on amateur, but a promoter. He combines occasionally astute observations with technical nonsense, so that even when his conclusions appear to make sense you have no idea how he got there. Simply put, he often either doesn't know what he's talking about, or he does and is simply writing what equipment vendors and the gullible want said.
Detailed info, much of it dated, more current books out ther July 9, 2003
James B Southworth (Centreville, Va United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This author obviously knows what he's talking about, but the book is dated and too detailed on some topics and not enough detailed on other topics to really provide a good broad brush of the topic. There's lots on audio, but not enough on much of what is going on today, like Windows XP Media Center Edition and PVRs and DirecWAY and other things. This is a consumer electronics focus in an increasingly broader industry. I've put a lot more into my home theater than he's talked about. I'm buying Home Theater for Dummies to see what they say -- their outline is broader and their edition is just out.
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