HDTV Solutions
By Dick De Jong
May 25, 2012

I've said it before and regretfully, I can continue to state the ugly truth, the sound quality output by most HDTVs simply does not match the picture quality - often, it's not even close.

Occasionally, a TV like the JVC JLC47BC3000 is the exception to the sorry sound situation. But with TVs becoming sleeker and their integrated speakers shrinking accordingly, the prospects of improving the audio fidelity seem slim to none.

If you actually want to understand that English accent on Downton Abbey or appreciate the soundtrack of the Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray, you need a dedicated speaker system.

You have two options. If you are building a full-blown home theater, you will want to invest in a surround sound system with at least 5 speakers and a subwoofer, all powered by an AV receiver. Of course, this option could put a major dent in your wallet and the installation can be daunting.

A much simpler solution is purchasing a soundbar system like the VIZIO VHT215. It's less expensive and the setup is almost painless. And best of all, the sound quality improvement is quite remarkable.
Out of the Box

The whole VIZIO VHT215 package consist of two basic components, the long, slender soundbar (40.1" x 4.1" x 2.1") and the wireless subwoofer (8.5" x 12.8" x 11"), along with a remote and some cables.

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