Budget HTIBs

Multi-feature entry-level HTIBs

Professional reviewers rarely cover home theater systems priced at $200 and less. Most who do seldom have much good to say about systems in this price range. Worthwhile features -- at least on paper -- are typically overwhelmed by other issues, including insufficient power, poor sound quality and questionable reliability.

Among sub-$200 home theater systems, we spotted one professional review for the RCA RT2910 (*Est. $170) -- and that review not complimentary. Sound quality is described as possibly adequate for movies, but flat-out not worth it if you're interested in listening to music. This budget-priced all-in-one Doesn't include a video player, but that's probably a positive at this price point. Connectivity is generous for a budget HTIB and includes three 3D-capable HDMI inputs, two digital audio inputs and a handful of other inputs and outputs. There are no video processing features.

User reviews on Amazon.com are limited and not very inspiring. Although many users award the RCA RT2910 a 4-star rating, lots of quibbles are mentioned. Most significantly, most report that the sound frequently drops out during playback. Crackling sounds can also be heard when using the analog ports. On the plus side, most say that sound quality is acceptable, considering the price.

The Philips HTS3251B/F7 5.1-channel home theater system with Blu-ray player (*Est. $200) might be a better choice in this price range, however. The one professional review of the system we found was a mixed bag. The video quality of both Blu-ray discs and 1080p DVD upscaling is described as excellent, but the audio quality was found to be lacking; it is described as "muffled" and "closed in." However, users at Walmart.com sing a different tune. Most of those posting reviews or ratings at the site award the HTS3251B/F7 4 stars or higher. Many owners say that its 1,000 watts of total system power deliver very good sound for the money, and that the system's video quality is nothing short of outstanding.

The feature lineup is not too impressive when compared to more expensive HTIBs, but some extras not often found in this price range are included. One is an Ethernet port, which allows the HTS3251B/F7 to access BD-Live content on Blu-ray discs (although you'll need a separate 1 GB SD card) and stream videos from Netflix (but no other Internet content providers). The home theater system also supports EasyLink, which lets you use one remote to control any HDMI CEC-enabled equipment connected to the system. However, you'll need to spring for an HDMI cable on your own, because one isn't included in the box.

As should be expected at this price, there are some drawbacks to the Philips HTS3251B/F7. Users at Amazon.com complain that the system's output source defaults to the Blu-ray player at startup, even if another source was being used before the HTS3251B/F7 was turned off. Connectivity -- and hence expandability -- is also very limited. There are no analog or digital video inputs. On the audio side, there are a single coaxial digital audio input and two analog stereo audio inputs.