Just a few weeks ago I was watching movies on a Samsung LNT4071F, which has a spectacular picture, but hardly any sound. Was I doomed to spend my eternity without a full experience as going to the movie theatres? I think not, I did some research and found out that I was missing half the experience. At first I was skeptical about what kind of equipment and accessories I would need and on top of that I was fearful that it was going to be a real difficult project. There are several options to purchase and setup a home theatre systems, which can sway consumers not to purchase a home theatre setup, it also can seem intimidating to first time adopters. I will share my insights and experience from purchasing, to planning, installing, and finally enjoying! 

I woke up a few weeks ago thinking in my head, "Alright time to go buy that home theatre system I've always wanted." Off I went to Circuit City (my only choice of payment and further more they usually have great deals and carry wide selection of variety equipment that is why I choose to shop there). Prior to going straight to the store, I did not do much research on the different types of audio inputs; audio formats, and really had no clue what a receiver was intended to be used for. A few colleagues referred their preferred brands and shared their two cents on what they currently own and how audio technology works. A colleague also told me to think big because you can't do much upgrading and just as with computers newer technology for audio comes and goes, so keep that in mind. My mind was set to buy a cheap an inexpensive system such as a Sony HT-DDW790, which is beneficial for any low-end entry level audiophile, but what did I know? All home theatres sound the same right? Wrong! 

While browsing around at Circuit City, looking at the difference between the receivers mentioned above and other Home Theatres in A Box, I was beginning to wonder what the differences were. Why did one receiver have more inputs than the other? Should I buy a 5.1 system, or 7.1 system? Should I buy the receiver and speakers system, or is it more advantage to buy the system in a package? These questions were pondering my mind while I was awaiting a sales person to help me. While I was at Circuit City, I noticed that most of the home theatres (about 50% or more) were including a DVD player, which would be fine if I didn't have one already, but of course I love new technology and I have a HD DVD player. Those systems with DVD players were real turn offs for me and from inspecting the players, they seem to lack in the input/output departments. Things were becoming clear now, I was to seek a receiver with a multiple inputs as well as the latest HDMI addition, but what about the speakers? At Circuit City you don't have much of a choice, you either go with Bose, or you choose the selective Polk Audio. Right off the bat, I choose the Polk Audio simply for the price (price matched Fry's Electronics) and they looked great as well! Frustrated and helpless, I went home without any answers and without a home theatre system. Quickly did I Google for my 20 question game and boy was I glad I did my research. As a proud owner of a HD DVD player and casual television watcher and possibly future Blu-ray owner, I want the best look and sound of course. 

When I browsed on Circuit City's website to read product reviews it seemed that the best affordable solution was to go with the Onkyo TX-SR605. I mostly learned about HDMI switching from reading the reviews and finding more information on the internet. Also I was interested in Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby TrueHD, which are the newest audio formats for High Definition players. These new audio formats are encoded high bit-rate audio as opposed to PCM (Pulse-code modulation) uncompressed RAW audio and as well as DTS-MA (MA stands for Master Audio). These bad boys can sure pack and punch and sound extraordinary while watching listening to music, watching movies, and playing games according to research and first hand accounts from users online. On this journey, I learned that DVD's can only hold so much audio data and does not contain the crystal clear audio, which makes sense, since data is valuable and DVD's can only hold so much data. It was settled, I needed a receiver to support the older audio formats and as well as the newest formats as well. Video was a top priority for me as well, because I want to be able to switch between HDMI inputs and component inputs (used for my Wii game console). There are a few receivers out there can do HDMI, but some of them lack the full HDMI switching that allows both audio and video to be processed. After reading between the Onkyo TX-SR505 and Onkyo TX-SR605, I was convinced that I needed a receiver to support both audio and video output through HDMI. The last notion to explore was the benefits of a 7.1 surround sound system vs. a 5.1 system. Which will prevail in the future was my only question and the obvious choice was 7.1. The future is now brighter with High Definition gaming and movies, so to experience a movie in 5.1 is great and what from I understood with a 7.1 receiver you can have a 5.1 setup!

Two days after an unsuccessful event at Circuit City and researching online, I was mind set on the Onkyo TX-SR605. To recap, I was looking for a 7.1 receiver with capabilities of multiple inputs and as well as HDMI support (1.3), a receiver that can Decode the latest audio format types, and something affordable.