Wireless Home Theater Systems

Everyone wants the experience of being at the movies right in their living room, but honestly, who wants to fool around with all those miles of wire everywhere? Sure, it's fine when you can hide it behind your console or entertainment center, but what about your surround sound speakers located in various spots all over the room? Let's face it, not all of us are carpenters and able to easily run the wiring through the walls. For those of us who are not quite as handy, a wireless home theater system might be the answer to all our problems.

Wireless options

Several manufacturers today are beginning to produce wireless home theater systems. Here are just a few of the various models that are available now for consumers

Pioneer DCS 525 - This "home-theater-in-a-box" features a subwoofer, center, and front speakers, all wired to the DVD receiver combo. The rear channel signals, however, are wirelessly transmitted to a unit with built-in speakers.

 
Sony DAV-FX100W - This wireless home theater system features a 5-disc progressive scan DVD changer, an AV receiver section, and SACD playback. It also eliminates wires from the rear speakers to the main receiver.

Philips MX6000i - Another home theater in a box system, the Philips wireless home theater is unique in that it can communicate with a router or PC via Ethernet.

Wireless portability

The beauty of wireless home theater systems is that they can be set up in virtually any room of the house. Being able to switch the speakers around and try them in different locations in the room until you get that perfect sound is an added bonus.

What do you really mean by wireless?

Calling it a wireless home theater system might be a bit misleading to the consumer unversed in all the technical jargon. Indeed, many wireless home theater systems still use wires to connect many of the components used.  In some cases, a wireless home theater system simply refers to the fact that the system has rear speakers that do not require wires. However, this is an important distinction since rear speakers are typically the ones that require wire to be run across the room.

More information on home theater systems