OTHER TECH

Ticket prices at the box office may be at an all-time high, but the cost of admission for good home theater continues to plummet. Case in point: the three home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems gathered here. While enthusiasts might find one of these nice for a bedroom or summer home, they're just the ticket for those getting in the game. In fact, for a family of four, it wouldn't take too many admissions to the mall cineplex to pay for the Yamaha DVX-C700 ($550) or Panasonic SC-HT930 ($650 with wireless surround option). The Samsung HT-P1200 ($1,000) delivers high style at a higher price, but one that's still within reach.

Image quality from all three systems was very good - about what you'd expect from a typical DVD player. But they differed notably in their sound. You'll sacrifice some sonic accuracy and dynamic capability compared with more expensive systems - at these prices, you can't expect perfectly neutral sound or the kind of loud, low-end rumble that comes with top-of-the-line speakers. But all the systems in this trio delivered surprisingly solid home theater performance and some serious bang for the buck.