Comparison Sony BDV-N9200W vs Sony BDV-E370

Rated output of one front channel of a home theater system. This paragraph indicates the power of the complete front speaker, however, it can also be used to determine the characteristics of the built-in amplifier — its rated power on a particular channel (not necessarily the front one), usually, slightly exceeds the power of the corresponding speaker.

Rated power in this case is the highest average (root mean square, RMS) sound power that the speaker is capable of delivering for an unlimited time, working without failures and overloads. Individual signal jumps can be stronger, but the power of acoustics is determined precisely by RMS.

The higher this indicator(regardless of whether we are talking about front or some other speakers) — the louder the speakers, the better they are suitable for large rooms. At the same time, in a small room, too high power may be unnecessary, because. operating the speaker at full volume will cause discomfort — despite the fact that powerful acoustics also have the appropriate dimensions, weight and price. More detailed recommendations on the optimal power of the speaker components, depending on the characteristics of the situation, can be found in special sources.

Rated output of one home theater rear channel. For more information about the meaning of this parameter, see "Front" above.

Rated power of one centre channel of a home theater. For more information about the meaning of this parameter, see "Front" above.

Rated power of the subwoofer supplied with the home theater. See "Front" above for details on power rating; here we note that subwoofers often have a fairly high power, because. they are designed to cover low frequencies in all audio channels.

The total power rating of all home theater speakers, including subwoofers. The value of the rated power is described in detail in paragraph "Front" above.

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.

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.

— 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.