Resolving the Home Cinema Issue

When we moved into the new house, one of the things I stonrly considered doing was upgrading my home cinema system - the existing system is thirteen years old, and although it has done sterling service in that time it is also clearly quite long in the tooth. So I spent some time looking around for a suitable replacement, but never quite found the ideal solution.

Of course, and as I've mentioned elsewhere, there was also the need to get the cables cut to length and fastened down as part of our child-proofing approach - a task that has been getting ever more important as time goes by. (And which still isn't done.)

As of this weekend, I've found the solution to both problems, at least for the near to mid future.

What we've decided to do is to remove the existing home cinema system entirely, and replace it with a serviceable but not top-of-the-range soundbar - something that will give decent playback options without a massive outlay of funds (and, most importantly, something that doesn't have lots of cables snaking everywhere!). That will mean something of a downgrade, since we'll no longer have true surround sound, but should provide good performance for a number of years. (And if it's really not hitting the spot, the soundbar we've chosen allows for the possibility of adding a wireless subwoofer and rear speakers, so if we want we can get true surround sound back.)

The second part of the plan will then come into play in a number of years, once we're past the need for child-proofing. At that time, we'll consider paying out for an upgrade of the whole system - replace the TV with the latest model, get new input devices, and a new surround sound system with all the bells and whistles (and probably get it professionally installed, complete with wall-mounting for all components). But that's all for the future.

Anyway, the soundbar is now on order, and due to arrive at the end of this week. Which means that my big task for the weekend is now decided, but also means that it should be a more enjoyable installation rather than a tedious chore.