Customer Reviews
A Bargain at Twice the Price 
2003-02-03
When I went shopping for a home theater system I had many questions; Do you get more when you pay more for equipment?, Do I need the big wire (Monster Cables), What do all those letters like THX, DSS, HDTV, MPEG, really mean?
This book answers all those questions and a lot more. It should be titled, "All you really need to know about home theater." I figure that I have scrounged together a $15,000 system for about 1/2 that amount. When you know what you're looking for, you can get closeouts, discontinued models, etc and not get ripped off. I found that the information I had received in stores was sometimes close but sometimes dead wrong. When you finish this book you will not be at the mercy of uninformed sales people!
The book does get fairly technical but this is essentially a technical subject. Harley does a nice job of making it very understandable. The book is also very thorough as it covers every aspect of a home theater system.
I wished he had made more product recommendations but I can imagine that they would change frequently. I checked out his website and found that I could purchase up-to-date product reviews and recommendations for a few bucks; well worth it if you are about to spend from 3,000 on up on a home theater system.
This book is, as they say, a bargain at twice the price!
Absolutely Awesome! 2002-07-22
Bought this yesterday 7/20/2002. Updated for the latest technology (e.g. THX Ultra 2 - 7.1 discrete channels), this book is pretty much all you need to help you through the complex maze of today's home theater. Not only did it help me understand the technology for the front projection system I'm design for a dedicated home theater system in the basement, it helped me understand more about my current HT set up. For example, I *finally* was able to fix that persistent buzzing noise that appears intermittently for the past several years in my front and rear loudspeakers. I also learned (to my great horror!) that my DVD player wasn't set up correctly, so all these years I thought I was listening to Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound (unless I was watching a rare DTS movie), I was actually listening to it in Dolby Surround! My gosh, a few menu items to change on my DVD player and my system went from sounding pretty damn good to completely awesome!
If there is anything missing from this book it's that I'd like to see a chapter on room design (e.g. room size, recommended projection screen size for viewing distance, more information on acoustic treatment, etc.) Otherwise, this is all you'll need for understanding all those home theater magazine reviews. Make sure you get the version that's been updated for 2002!
Will date quickly 
2001-10-11
These authors were brave trying to write a lasting hardcover on technology that dates faster than sliced bread. Sure, the information is comprehensive and tries to cover all technologies, but in such a general way that those of us with more than a skerick of knowledge will get bored quickly.
Good overall introduction, but has some flaws 
2001-09-09
Home Theatre for Everyone? Well, maybe. I didn't like the fact that the author ignored the reality that most "home theaters" are actually dual-purpose living rooms, family rooms or bedrooms, and are not dedicated rooms that can be set up according to exact specifications. In this sense, the book is less than "A Practical Guide."
This book did not include discussion of using direct-radiating speakers (normal speakers) as surround speakers rather than dipolar or bipolar speakers. I'm quite certain that most home theaters are using direct-radiating speakers as surrounds, but this is not addressed and is not shown in the speaker setup diagrams.
I also found it extremely annoying that the author would say things about how certain speaker or component companies produce inferior products, but then refuse to mention names! Example from 'Build and Sound Quality: How to Spot Overpriced Underachievers': "The company that makes Speaker A is marketing-driven. They don't care what the speaker sounds like, only that it offers perceived value and sells in large quantities." And in that same section: "Speaker B is made by a company founded by dedicated enthusiasts who strive to create the best-sounding speaker possible at a given price level." Now how is that helpful? I'm guessing that the Speaker A company is an advertiser in Robert Harley's home theater magazine and he doesn't want to [make them mad]. This book would be so much more valuable to someone new to the hobby if they were told which brands to avoid and why (but I guess that wasn't the author's objective).
One last problem I found was that the author would quote very specific prices or price ranges for certain components, but not mention that this was "as of December 1999" or even "2000 prices." Someone reading this book in a few years (or even now) could be very misled by this. Example from 'How to Choose a DVD Player': "Budget machines start at about $200, with most players falling in the $400-$600 range." Obviously, a mass-market electronics product such as a DVD player is going to fall in price over time, and in fact budget players now go for $99.99, with most players falling in the $150-$300 range.
Despite the few flaws mentioned above, this book is actually a very good, detailed introduction to the world of home theater. I was especially impressed with the descriptions of the various audio formats that exist (which can be confusing), and also with the discussion of front projector technology.
Note that this is the 2000 edition which is probably fine to buy through the year 2001 or so (since relatively recent technologies such as progressive scan DVD players and DLP projectors are discussed), but the book will probably be showing its age and due for an update by 2002.
Thumbs Up! 2001-08-09
Sick of walking into sticky-floored, over-priced cine-plexes when all you get for your $7.25 is getting to listen to Bob & Muff talk on their cell phones thru-out the picture? Ready to take matters into your own hands? If so... this book is for you!
This is an excellent book for the beginner home theater addict. Buy this book before you go out and purchase that DVD, TV, Reviever combo that * Retailer is selling you for $1000.
It will save you time, and allow you to meet your expectations more realistically based on your budget.
Expansive review! 2005-10-17
I have been keeping up with AV via periodicals and product pamphlets. This was to me not a lot of new information but for folks who are just starting out, this would be a GREAT place to begin. Not too tech-y, tech-y enough when it needs to be. A decent overall offering that does what it says.
NOT for Everyone 2005-09-16
I purchased this book as a requirement for a new job. I recently left the practice of law and went to work for a company that designs, sells and installs home theaters. Having graduated from law school, one would think I could understand just about everything. Wrong. This book touts itself as one that is for the masses - the everyday schmo who is looking to do this themselves. While extraordinarily well written, it is NOT for everyone. It is overly complex and technical for the everyday guy and is more apropos for electrical engineers or experts in the field. finally, the issue I received was supposed to be a recent edition and, if it was, it's already painfully out of date and needs revamped.
Some good stuff here - Some is total nonsense! 
2004-08-28
Robert Harley is a "high-end audiophile" and you need to keep that in mind when reading thru any of his books. In "Home Theater For Everyone", he provides a lot of useful information. But he also supplies a lot of "hokum" as well. That is, there is much in this books that he states as fact when infact it is nothing more than his own (often erroneous) opinion.
If you are already well-versed in audio/video equipment, you'll know when Mr. Harley goes "off-the-wall" with his crazy statements and conclusions. But if you're new to the world of audio/video, I say "buyer beware". If you follow all of Mr. Harley's advice, you will end up spending thousands of dollars on overpriced equipment and unnecessary frills.
Buy the book for the great general information Mr. Harley provides. But be wary of some of his conclusions and advice. One area where I strongly agree with Mr. Harley is when he advocates to do your own shopping and make your own judgements.
A mixed bag of good information and tommyrot 2004-06-09
Much of the information in this book is good, but a couple of issues need to be addressed. Tomlinson Holman, a good engineer, is the man behind both the THX professional cinema house certification and the Home THX certification program for home theater components. I have a substantial issue with, particularly, the latter because it consists of a secret set of parameters, which are divulged only to licensees under nondisclosure. Because the requirements are themselves secret, how can anyone judge their validity, or the comparative value of the certification?
Mr. Harley, on the other hand, is no engineer at all, nor even a hands-on amateur, but a promoter. He combines occasionally astute observations with technical nonsense, so that even when his conclusions appear to make sense you have no idea how he got there. Simply put, he often either doesn't know what he's talking about, or he does and is simply writing what equipment vendors and the gullible want said.
Detailed info, much of it dated, more current books out ther 2003-07-09
This author obviously knows what he's talking about, but the book is dated and too detailed on some topics and not enough detailed on other topics to really provide a good broad brush of the topic. There's lots on audio, but not enough on much of what is going on today, like Windows XP Media Center Edition and PVRs and DirecWAY and other things. This is a consumer electronics focus in an increasingly broader industry. I've put a lot more into my home theater than he's talked about. I'm buying Home Theater for Dummies to see what they say -- their outline is broader and their edition is just out.
