Trained in 'psycho-acoustics', the Philips SoundBar HD HTS8160B makes your ears think they're surrounded - but they're not
A full high-definition home-theatre system just isn't going to reach its full potential if you don't also have a high-resolution audio system. You really do need that immersive 5.1 or 7.1 sound experience.
Watching a movie on a Blu-ray disc with the sound coming out of your LCD TV speakers is like eating unsalted popcorn - and no butter, either.
The usual approach is to get a home-theatre audio system with five to seven satellite speakers, plus a subwoofer. You set out three of the speakers in front of you, two behind you, and one at either ear.
Apart from having numerous places to park your drink, that amounts to quite a clutter. And that's why the "soundbar system" has been developed - fewer speakers and hardly any audio cables.
Selling for a significant Bt43,000, Philips' impressive SoundBar HD HTS8160B has only two pieces - the main unit and the subwoofer - but we ran it through a test and were fundamentally impressed.
The main unit is a Blu-ray player with wings, each wing topped with three speaker cones. Philips' Ambisound technology guarantees the full, authentic multi-channel surround sound by bouncing all the noise that comes out of these six speakers off the walls and floor.
The result is "psycho-acoustic": Your ears think they're listening to a circle of speakers. You've tricked your ears by giving the HTS8160B a blueprint to your room.
The machine will tell you what it needs to know, guiding you step by step - describe the walls, the size of the room, where the main unit will be relative to the front wall and floor, etc.
The system is really easy to set up, a straightforward matter of the programming and a couple of cable connections. Hook up the iPod dock too if you want to play music from your iPod through the system.
There are several settings that will get your TV enthusiastic about its new companion. Change the colour setting to taste, for example - standard, vivid, cool, action or animation. I love the action option because it enhances detail in the dark areas onscreen.
Our test was conducted with both an LG Scarlet TV and a Philips LCD TV 32PFL5609s, and in both cases the picture was very good, with sharp detail and rich colour.
What amazed us most, though, was the surround sound. In a large living room, movie sound effects become almost a full envelope. In a bedroom the immersion is complete.
The test films were "2012" and "Terminator Salvation", both encoded in DTS-HD Master Audio. The HTS8160B had no problem deciphering the code and the subwoofer let loose with deep, powerful explosions. The bass was so powerful that the floor seemed to tremble.
The blasts in "2012" seemed to go off behind my head - and remember, there were no speakers there. The collapsing Washington Monument cracked and splintered as realistically as if I was standing there with the president.
The Java menu of "Terminator Salvation", which makes it unplayable on some machines, proved no obstacle here.
The HTS8160B has a LAN port for linking to your ADSL router so you can download online Blu-ray bonus content.
The player supports BD-Live Profile 2.0, but offers nothing that will help you play YouTube videos.
You get a USB port so you can play MP3 files, and the built-in technology enhances their sound too. You can watch slideshows of your photos and any video in the main formats.
What else?
An FM tuner, so it really is an all-in-one entertainment hub, and a bracket to use for hanging the whole system on the wall, right next to your flat-screen TV!
KEY SPECS
Total amplifier output power: 500 W RMS
Frequency response: 20 Hz ~ 20 kHz /?3 dB
Signal-to-noise ratio: > 65 dB (CCIR)
Picture enhancement: High Def (720p, 1080i, 1080p), Video upscaling
Sound System: Ambisound, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Prologic II, Stereo, Dolby True HD, DTS HD (Advanced Digital Out)
Video formats: DivX Ultra, Mpeg1, 2 and 4, AVCHD, AVI, MKV, WMV, XviD
Audio formats: MP3, WMA
Picture formats: JPEG, GIF, HD JPEG
Set dimensions: 999x189x159mm
Set weight: 11.5kg
Subwoofer dimensions: 322x425x322mm
Subwoofer weight: 12.7kg
Just plug this in (Blu-ray disc reviewed on the player)
Mika - Live Parc Des Princes, Paris Universal Music Amazon.co.uk: 17 pounds
Mika's addictive music and bright, kaleidoscopic stage artistry is presented in dazzling clarity on Blu-ray in this concert, recorded at the Parc Des Princes in Paris on July 4, 2008. Show in front of 55,000 fans, the show was recorded at 1080i resolution, not full 1080p, but the picture is clear as can be on the Philips HTS8160B Blu-ray soundbar system and a Philips LCD TV. Mika - Michael Holbrook Penniman - is at his high-pitched best, showing off a vocal range that he claims spans three and a half octaves. Most of the songs are from his "Life in Cartoon Motion" album, including "Relax (Take it Easy)", "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)", "Lollipop" and "Grace Kelly". Mika keeps things fun with his falsetto and introduces characters from the album onstage, among them the large ladies of "Big Girl", who dance in colourful costumes. The Blu-ray disc has two sound formats - PCM stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The latter sounds great on the Philips system.
