Comparison Samsung HT-J5550 vs Samsung HT-H6550WK

The range of audio frequencies reproduced by a home theater speaker system. The wider the range — the richer the sound, the less likely it is that the acoustics will “cut off” part of the low or high frequencies. When evaluating this indicator, one should proceed from the fact that the range perceived by the average human ear is from 16 Hz to 20 kHz. However, modern home cinemas for the most part cover this range completely or almost completely.

The sensitivity value determines the volume of the speaker system when an external signal of a certain power is applied to it. With the same signal strength and resistance (impedance), more sensitive acoustics provide greater volume.

The phase inverter is a tube installed in the column housing and having an outlet to the surrounding space. Most often, this feature is found in subwoofers, although it can also be used in main acoustics. The length of the tube is chosen so that a signal comes out of the outlet, inverted in phase relative to the signal from the front of the diffuser. This increases the sound pressure and improves the sound of the speakers, however, it can create certain side effects (in particular, associated with the hum of the air flow in the bass reflex pipe). Therefore, the presence or absence of this function is not a clear advantage — it all depends on the preferences of the listener and the design features of a particular speaker.

The range of audio frequencies that the built-in home theater amplifier can produce. This indicator is similar to the speaker range described above: the wider it is, the more part of the sound is covered by the device, the less high and low frequencies are outside the operating range. At the same time, it is worth noting that the frequency range of the amplifier, usually, corresponds to the capabilities of the complete speakers. Therefore, usually, you have to pay attention to this parameter only when connecting "non-native" acoustics: it is desirable that its range is not narrower than that of the amplifier, otherwise the latter will not be able to realize all its capabilities.

Possibility to block the control of the home theater — so a small child will not be able to independently remove the disc from the DVD player, change the operation settings, etc. Usually, we are talking about blocking the control panel on the main unit, because. the remote control without any problems can be placed in a place inaccessible to the baby (in extreme cases, keep it with you). To disable the lock, a method is chosen that is easily accessible for an adult, but not feasible for a child — for example, by simultaneously pressing two rather tight buttons.

Prevent children from viewing discs with inappropriate content, such as erotica or violence. Licensed discs with such films, usually, have appropriate digital marks that are recognized by the home theater player, and adult users can set a password without knowing which it will be impossible to start such a disc.

— Smart TV. This function actually turns the home theater into a networked medical centre with Internet access. Specific Smart TV capabilities vary by manufacturer, but in most cases they include at least access to branded online content repositories and/or Internet services (like YouTube). In addition, games, educational programs can be provided, and the most advanced models even allow you to install additional applications at the request of the user. To connect to a network, a Wi-Fi module(see below) or a LAN port (see "Inputs") is usually used.

— Connecting an iPod. A special dock connector for connecting iPod family players to the acoustics of a home theater (except shuffle, which does not have a dock connector). You can also connect such players to play music through a regular line -in, however, connecting via a dock connector provides more additional features — for example, you can switch tracks from the home theater control panel.

— Wireless playback (AirPlay). The device supports AirPlay wireless playback technology. AirPlay was created by Apple to replace AirTunes proprietary wireless technology. Wi-Fi technology is used to transfer data, and in this way you can broadcast not only music, but also additional data (song titles, album covers and even videos). A...irPlay is especially useful for portable devices (iPhone, iPod touch, etc.) as allows you to play music without placing the gadget on the docking station. Although the technology was originally created for Apple devices, it is not completely closed. Not only portable devices and Apple computers can serve as music transmitters, but also PCs with iTunes installed, and receiving systems of various classes (from acoustic sets to music centers) are produced by several third-party manufacturers.

— FM tuner. The presence of an FM tuner allows the home theater to receive and play FM radio broadcasts through its own acoustics — that is, in fact, turns the device into a full-fledged receiver (however, an external antenna may be required for reliable operation). This feature is relevant in light of the fact that it is the FM band that the vast majority of modern music radio stations prefer.

— TV tuner. With a TV tuner, your home theater can receive cable, over-the-air or satellite television broadcasts. This option can be useful given that not all TVs come with their own built-in tuners (especially for wall panels). When buying a cinema with a TV tuner, you should separately pay attention to the standard of the received signal. Main signal standards:
DVB-T (Terrestrial) — conventional terrestrial television signal;
DVB-C (Cable) — cable TV;
DVB-S (Satellite) — satellite TV.
In addition, it should be taken into account that all these standards are digital, and analogue broadcasting is still very common in the post-Soviet space.

— Bluetooth. Wireless communication technology between different devices. In home theater systems, Bluetooth can be used, for example, to play music from a Bluetooth device (such as a mobile phone or player), copy files from such devices to the home theater's own storage, connect wireless headphones, etc.

— Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi technology is most often used to wirelessly connect a home theater to local computer networks. In this way, you can access content that is stored on the hard drives of computers on your home network, and even access the Internet — for example, to update the player's firmware. In addition, such a connection can be used to use DLNA features (see DLNA Support). And more recently, many Wi-Fi modules also support other accessibility features, such as Direct mode (a direct connection between two devices that does not require a computer network). Such a connection can be used, for example, to operate a smartphone as a remote control, to wirelessly connect a video signal using Wi-Di or Miracast technology, etc. Specific Wi-Fi capabilities vary by home theater model.

— Card reader. A memory card reader that allows direct playback of memory card content on your home theater system, such as photos taken with this digital camera or video from a camcorder. Note that at the present time several types of memory cards are actively used, and not all of them are mutually compatible; therefore, when using a card reader, you need to pay attention to the type of supported cards.

— NFC. NFC technology is intended for direct wireless communication between various devices over short distances — up to 10 cm. Theoretically, the applications for this technology are very diverse, but in home theaters it is most often used to simplify connection with an external device (also with NFC support) using Wi-Fi technology and bluetooth. The chip is most often installed in the remote control, and to establish a connection, it is enough to bring the connected device to this remote control so that the chips “see” each other and confirm the connection via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This is much more convenient than digging into the settings and establishing a connection manually.

— Karaoke. A popular entertainment that gives users the opportunity to sing their favorite songs themselves: under the appropriate musical accompaniment (the so-called phonogram — “minus”, in fact, a composition with a cut out vocal part), lyrics are displayed on the screen, highlighted as they need to be sung. A mandatory attribute of a home theater with a karaoke option is a microphone jack; sometimes there can be two such connectors.

— Karaoke Mix. A system that provides advanced features for using karaoke (see Karaoke). So, participants can be given points for the quality of performance, it becomes possible to arrange team competitions. There is a function of creating and editing a list of favorite songs, sorting them by a number of parameters (title, artist, genre), etc.

Video formats supported by the home theater.

— DVD/VCD. In this case, not only the file format is implied, but also certain types of media — Video DVD and Video CD (VCD). The first variety is widely known from licensed DVDs on which various films, series, etc. are released; the quality of such video does not reach HD, but it still turns out to be quite high. VCD is a standard for recording video on CDs, similar to Video DVD, but earlier; due to the small capacity of the CD, such video has a low resolution and does not differ in quality, therefore the standard itself is rarely used. However, home theaters usually provide the ability to work with both formats, which is why they are combined into one item.

— MPEG4. A standard used for compressing digital audio and video. It is generally accepted, supported by most modern devices, from players to smartphones. It is used not only for recording movies, but also for video telephony.

— H.264. Digital video compression standard. Allows you to achieve good quality with higher compression compared to previous standards. It is sometimes also referred to as MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC. Supported by many modern devices.

— AVCHD. The standard, developed primarily for recording HD video on discs and memory cards, is mainly used in camcorders. It provides a high level of compression with minimal loss of quality, but is relatively "young", due to which devices with AVCHD support are quite rare.

— MKV...(Matroska). Open and unlicensed multimedia container format (sound + video). It provides numerous additional features, and according to the developers, it is a "project designed for the future" and has great potential for further expansion of functionality. Thanks to this, MKV, a relatively recent standard, is gaining more and more popularity (including as an HD video format), and is supported by an increasing number of devices.

— VC-1. Format developed by Microsoft; some consider it a worthy alternative to H.264. Provides high quality with high compression.

In addition to those described above, modern home theater systems may support other video file formats.

Non-video file formats supported by the home theater (see above).

— MP3/WMA. One of the most common music file formats. They are two separate types of digital audio, but in many practical aspects they are so similar that it is technically easy to provide simultaneous support for MP3 and WMA, and in most modern home theaters one is not separated from the other. They belong to formats that provide the so-called lossy compression (lossy) — the file size is small, but this is achieved by deteriorating the accuracy of sound transmission in certain sections of the track. However, these sections are chosen in such a way that the deterioration is almost inaudible, and at a high bitrate, the sound in MP3 or WMA is almost indistinguishable from FLAC (see below) and other lossless formats.

— Audio CD. An ordinary, familiar to everyone and ubiquitous music disc, usually containing about 15-20 tracks (up to 80 minutes of sound). Universal, supported by absolutely all devices capable of reading optical media, regardless of the year of their release. At the same time, the sound quality of Audio CD is so high that it is sufficient even for Hi-Fi level equipment. Due to this, and also due to the low cost, such media are still widely used, despite the emergence of more advanced options.

— Audio DVD. A format similar to Audio CD, but designed for DVD discs and designed specifically for the storage and high-quality reproduction of audio information. In this format,...you can record sound with a different number of channels, up to 5.1. It has not received wide popularity, although it enjoys a certain popularity — in particular, due to the higher sound quality than on Audio CDs (which are quite good in themselves).

— Super Audio CD. An improved version of a regular Audio CD that exceeds its sampling rate by 64 times, thereby providing a higher sound quality. SACD discs are not compatible with conventional CD drives (at best, it is possible to play the so-called "hybrid disc" as a normal Audio CD); therefore, to work with media of this type, it is worth choosing devices in which support for Super Audio CD is directly claimed.

— JPEG. The most common modern graphic file format is, in particular, the standard in digital photography. Therefore, if you intend to use your home theater to view photos, you should choose a model with JPEG support.

These are the most common additional formats. In addition to them, modern home theaters can support other types of files, for example:

— AAC. An audio format similar to MP3 and WMA, but primarily used by Apple technology.

— GIF. Graphic format primarily used for creating animated images.

— FLAC. An audio standard that provides lossless compression, one of the most popular lossless audio formats today. Provides higher fidelity sound transmission than MP3 and the like, but the file size is many times larger.

— A.P.E. Another lossless compression standard. The size of APE files is smaller than FLAC, but this requires quite a lot of processing power from the playback device. Therefore, support for this format is somewhat less common.

— txt. Text storage format. Working with such files can be useful, for example, to view the text of a song being played from a disc on a TV screen.

— SRT, SUB, ASS. Popular external subtitle formats. They differ in functional features: for example, SRT allows you to work only with unformatted text, while ASS supports various fonts, colours, effects, etc. However, the essence of such files is the same — the addition of video files with subtitles.