Samsung HT-Z310T 5.1-Channel Home Theater Surround Sound System (Set of Seven, Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this surround sound system with my Samsung LCD 46in 750 series HDTV.
This is a great surround sound system for the price. I was not looking to spend a crazy amount of $$ for a surround sound system. Some go for over $1000.
I am overall extremely satisfied with this product. Setup was easy, but the manual is somewhat confusing.
Sound is great. I use an optical digital audio cable (NOT included--about $30-$50 depending on length) from this system to HDTV. This is the best way for me, as I then don't have to connect anything else to the surround system. Any device that I use (Cable, Wii, XBOX 360), gets connected to the TV & the sound goes from the TV to the system via the optical audio cable.
Also, has anynet+. Which means that any other Samsung device's remote with anynet+ can operate the system (& vice versa) without programming.
Had built in up-converting DVD player. Is not an HD-DVD, but will up-convert any DVD to a better digital looking & sounding DVD. The built in DVD player gives you one less device in your home theater
Issues that could be better (therefore 4 star):
Wires for rear speakers could be longer. They are only about 30ft. Need to be at least 50 feet, or maybe even longer, to adequately run the wires over doors so they don't run across the room
Also, the speaker wires that connect to the samsung system itself are attached to a special connector. Therefore, you can't just run your own speaker wire from the system. You need to "splice" additional wire to the wires provided (Samsung doesn't sell longer wires, I called them).
The wires that do come with the system are not great in terms of gauge (samsung doesn't even known what gauge they are--level 2 support had no idea), but based on the size, I'm guessing about 18, maybe even 20 gauge)
You can go wireless for the rear speakers, but that's an additional $100 for a wireless receiver. ALSO, BE AWARE, that with any wireless speaker device, it WILL INTERFERE with wireless internet (you will get bumped off router if using in same room when receiver is on), certain cordless phones & certain microwaves. For this reason, I didn't purchase the wireless receiver.
Others have mentioned issues with mounting, as the mounts cannot be turned towards a specified direction. This is NOT an issue for me, as my speakers are not mounted, so I can't comment
OVERALL, This is a great sounding system for an unbelievable price!!
If you are an audiophile, this is NOT for you. Spend over $1000 for something else. If you want great sound at a great price, then this is for you

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The Samsung HT-Z310T 5.1-channel single disc home theater surround sound system is high performance and high style. Now there are more ways to enjoy your home theater system. Got an iPod? It also has a dock so you can listen to music from your iPod whenever you want. This home theater system is also wireless ready, so there's no need to hide wires or trip over them. Hear the amazing sound, enjoy more capabilities with the SAMSUNG HT-Z310T.

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Sony STR-DG710 6.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been playing with my STR-DG710 for two days, and this is my early review. The sound quality is good (only 1% Total Harmonic Distortion or "THD") in stereo, but gets ridiculous (10% THD!) when listening in surround sound. I realize that this is an entry-level video receiver, and that most people aren't really fanatical about sound accuracy when they are watching their special effects laden 6.1 surround sound Hollywood blockbuster. Nevertheless, any THD over 1% is noticeable, so this specification should be noted.
The same people who care about THD also wouldn't be using a receiver as their video switcher, but Sony did a good job with this unit. If you use either or both of the HDMI, the receiver doesn't mess with the signal and sends it as is to the TV, which is great. The only limitation as far as this hands-off approach goes, is that if you want to take advantage of a 96 kHz surround source, your video resolution is limited to 720p or 1080i. In other words, if you go with the highest quality audio (96 kHz sampling frequency), you won't be able to also use the highest quality video (1080p). In case you really want the best of both worlds, hook up the HDMI straight from your source to the TV, and connect the audio from the source to the receiver.
Also about the unit's video switching capabilities, it switches fine, but it doesn't convert. Other receivers, even in the same price range, will take a composite input (yellow RCA connector), a component input (red, blue, green connectors), and an S-Video input, and will output all of them to a component output to your TV, for instance. This is good because it means that you never have to switch anything on the TV, just leave it on Video 1 (or whatever) and the receiver does the conversion. This Sony unit doesn't do that. It sends the component inputs to the component output, the composite inputs to the composite output, and the HDMI inputs to the HDMI output. This means that you will need to switch the TV to Video 1, Video 2, etc, depending on how different your source outputs are. This is no big deal, and you can just program a macro on your remote, but it's also worth mentioning.
Speaking of inputs and outputs, most stores (including Amazon) and reviewers are taking Sony's word for gospel on this, but they are all wrong. This receiver has no S-Video inputs or outputs. The only site I saw that got this right is Crutchfield. They probably looked at the back of the unit before publishing their specs. Even the SonyStyle site says how this receiver has "3 S-Video Inputs and 1 S-Video Output" - it does not. Check out the photo, here on Amazon or any other site that sells it, there are no S-Video jacks on the back. Considering how this receiver already has component, composite, and HDMI, I realize I shouldn't be complaining, but in my case, with a couple of older non-HD components (2nd Gen Tivo, for example), I could have really used S-Video ins and outs.
Lastly, and this is good, I promise, Sony did a good job allowing for customization of the unit. You can switch inputs around, rename inputs ("Tivo" instead of "Video 1") and radio stations, and tweak all kinds of levels for that perfectly balanced sound.
The STR-DG710 is a fine, flexible audio/video receiver for a good price. It sounds good and has a lot of special effects for you to play with if you dive into the manual. Now that you know its limitations you can make a better comparison with other low-end receivers. Hope this helps!

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Bellagio-Italia Brown DVD Storage Binder Review

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(More customer reviews)This is just what I was looking for to hold extra CD's that don't come in their own jewel cases. Perfect for installation or recovery CD's for the computer. You can even fit the paper sleeve that comes with it in case it has an unlock code on it. Would highly recommend.

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