The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Theater Systems

It's difficult to up to date on such a fast hanging market, but this book does a very good job.

Having decided to plunge anew in the world of TV (now no longer just TV it seems but home cinema), I found the amount of new jargon and abbreviations overwhelming coming from a salesperson. I found this an excellent guide to understanding the basics and getting a firmer idea of what I really needed.

This book gives a good overview of what it takes to put together a small to medium sized home theater system (big screen TV, A/V receiver, speakers, DVD, HIFI VCR, etc..). The book was published this year so it is pretty up to date on all the latest technologies (HDTV, progressive scan DVD,..) which is important in this rapidly changing field. I think the book goes into just the right level of detail in explaining the different technologies available. If you haven't started looking at getting a system yet you will be astounded by the many brands, systems, options, and devices you have to choose from. This book will help you make the choices intelligently. If you don't read this book and think the salesperson at your local electornics store is going to sell you the system that is right for you then you will probably be disappointed with your purchase. Get this book and be an informed consumer.