System selector
Home Cinema Choice|Spring 2021
Team HCC assembles a trio of AV packages that approach home cinema from different ways – but are all about maximum bang-for-buck
System selector

The £1,000 streaming setup

Keeping it simple but effective with a TV, soundbar and media player

CAN YOU ASSEMBLE an authentic 'home cinema' setup for a thousand pounds? Possibly yes, with some judicious second-hand shopping – but that's not what we're about here.

Our focus is on buying new, which does put a limit on hardware choices. Yet while some AV doors are closed when you only have £1,000 to play with – an AVR/speaker-based system, for example, would take so much out of the budget that you'll be hamstrung elsewhere – others are opened. And there's good quality to be had too. Immersive home entertainment here we come!

Wanna Vision

Our starting point is a TV. There are obvious criteria here – it needs to be 4K HDR, and big enough to make movie night feel cinematic. It also needs to be a solid performer to avoid buyer remorse, and – ideally – Dolby Vision HDR capable. Why? Because we're envisioning streamed VOD being our main content source, and our two favourite platforms, Netflix and Disney+, are DV devotees. We also want to feel future-proof.

There are two main ways you can approach buying at TV. One makes screen size a top priority, the other cherishes picture quality prowess and feature spec. So, for instance, a TV such as Hisense's 65AE7400FT (£600 approx, reviewed HCC #319) is very tempting. 65in, Dolby Vision and bright enough to do justice to HDR content.

Denne historien er fra Spring 2021-utgaven av Home Cinema Choice.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Spring 2021-utgaven av Home Cinema Choice.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA HOME CINEMA CHOICESe alt
AV Avenger
Home Cinema Choice

AV Avenger

You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2023
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Home Cinema Choice

Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney

Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2023
Feedback
Home Cinema Choice

Feedback

Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2023
M&K Sound V12
Home Cinema Choice

M&K Sound V12

TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2023
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
Home Cinema Choice

Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded

This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2023
Short and sweet
Home Cinema Choice

Short and sweet

Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2023
Discreet delivery
Home Cinema Choice

Discreet delivery

A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2023
One project, two rooms
Home Cinema Choice

One project, two rooms

Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2023
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Home Cinema Choice

THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD

Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 2023
System selector!
Home Cinema Choice

System selector!

Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming

time-read
8 mins  |
May 2023