AV receiver - Control centre of home cinema entertainment

By Renate Grimming Jan 15, 2012, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Audio-video (AV) receivers come into their own as the heart of a home cinema stereo system. Whether it's a DVD player, a video recorder or a game console, the device is connected to the amplifier and the tones are decoded, distributed to the various channels and played in surround-sound over the speakers. The receivers also work with the widest array of video formats, even converting standard images to HD videos. And there are devices available for any size of wallet.

'The prices have fallen drastically in the last few years,' said Nico Jurran of German computer magazine c't. High performance, fully-functioned multi-channel receivers can be bought starting at 300 euro (390 dollars). There are also high-end devices for thousands of euros, but there are plenty of receivers for about 400 euros that have internet radio integrated and can control up to eight speakers.

Important when selecting the appropriate model, according to Jurran, is the number of inlets and outlets available and how many formats the models recognize. 'That separates the wheat from the chaff,' he said. If you want to run a television and a projector and connect a Blu-ray player then you need to make sure the device has enough HDMI outputs. There are also differences in the offered image editing functions.

Earlier it used to be common that users configured the equipment themselves, said Jurran, and the balancing was often a really elaborate matter. Nowadays, even the reasonably priced devices use automatic acoustics measuring to determine how the speakers are placed in the room and which frequencies can been transmitted failure-free.

The trend, according to expert Wolfgang Tunze, currently is heading to the furnishing of numerous additional functions such as internet radio and the support of iPods or iPhones which turn the AV receiver into the middle of the home network.

Still, AV receivers have never become a product for the masses. While the difference between SD and HD image resolution can been seen by anyone immediately, Jurran said many users did not really take full advantage of the quality of lossless HD sound. For example, the THX seal, which guarantees that the sound is similar to cinema sound quality at home, has lost its splendour. One reason is because many amplifiers can easily fulfil the norms from a technical standpoint.

In addition, there is the fact that an AV receiver is not enough. 'You also need the corresponding speakers,' said Jurran. Those who value professional quality also have the additional problem of finding space in the living room for up to eight speakers. 'That brings up the classical man-woman problem,' said Jurran.