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Owning a home-theater system is rapidly becoming an affordable luxury. You'll find big savings on big screens; a 50-inch plasma set now costs $2,000, and prices are still falling. An audio/video receiver and a set of surround-sound speakers now go for $600 to $1,000, bringing the price tag for your personal cinematic experience to less than $3,000.
Plus, to assemble many systems, you no longer need to be an audio engineer. As prices have dropped, so has the degree of setup difficulty -- especially for speakers. To enhance your system, you can add a media streamer ($200 to $300) to your home computer so you can wirelessly send music, movies and photos to your home theater.
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A professional installer may be called for if you envision a dream system in a dedicated home-theater room -- and you are willing to spend five figures or more.
The real trick now for the do-it-yourselfer is choosing the right components. So in addition to hardware choices, we've added primers on screen size and speaker specs, and provided a list of useful terms.
But first, our take on the eternal question: plasma or LCD? Either screen type measures only a few inches thick and is wall-mountable. Plasma is currently the better value, with many 50-inch sets selling for $1,000 less than comparable-size LCDs. Plasma's vibrant colors and deeper blacks make it the favorite for watching movies in a dark room. An LCD has a brighter screen and reflects considerably less light than a plasma, so it's best for daytime watching in a sunlit room.
If you want a really big image -- say, 100 inches or larger -- a front projector is the right call. It's best for a dedicated theater room, particularly one with an uninterrupted white wall that can double as a movie screen.
Our TV picks
For bright rooms: The Sharp Aquos LC-52D62U is a 52-inch LCD with excellent color and clarity, and a built-in HDTV tuner. Plus, for an LCD, it delivers unusually deep black levels. Price: $2,600.
For darker rooms: The Panasonic TH-50PX6U 50-inch plasma has a great picture and a good price (a new model is due to come out soon). It also has a built-in HDTV tuner. Price: $2,000.
For the (really) big picture: The Mitsubishi HD1000U is a high-definition front projector and features advanced color technology. Price: $1,000
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