Why You Need an AVR

							An AVR (Audio/Video Receiver) simplifies access to all of your home entertainment
components with one 鈥渆 ntertainment router 鈥? It 鈥檚 essentially a network hub
from your Blu-ray player, satellite or cable box, iPod, game console, and computer to
your surround sound speakers and your LCD or Plasma HDTV.
The best part is complete audio immersion. Films like Avatar and games like Call of
Duty have incredible surround sound design. Without the right equipment to hear it,
you 鈥檙 e left listening to mostly monotone dialogue and poor-quality bass on TV
speakers.
What to Look for in Surround Sound
A 5.1 channel AVR is probably all you need for most surround sound. Dolby DTS
decoding gets you discrete 5.1 channels and works incredibly well, but for lossless
audio (an exact replication of the studio recording) go with Dolby TrueHD or
DTS-Master Audio decoding on a five or seven speaker configuration.
HDMI, Blu-ray, & 3D
If you 鈥檝 e held off on getting that Blu-ray player, getting an AVR with a built-in
Blu-ray player makes good economic sense. Select an AVR with at least 4 or more
HDMI ports for component switching from one HD device to another, and look for
one that does upconverting, which scales up non-HD video. For 3D, choose one with
an HDMI 1.4a port. Otherwise, the HDMI 1.3 is perfect.
New AVR Features
Most AVRs come with auto-audio calibration for speaker configuration. Audiophiles
can sink their teeth into the manual calibration option for precise acoustic tailoring.
New AVRs come with iPod docks and bridges and some have Sirius & XM Radio
tuners built-in. Expect to see lots of Internet & computer connected options like
Ethernet, USB, and even wireless router connectivity for streaming Pandora and
viewing party and vacation photos on your TV.
You can pick up a good AVR for around $500. The AVR surround sound feature can
last you 10 plus years, because audio technology changes very little over the years.
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