Philips HTS8140

More convenient than a six-speaker system ; very good upscaled DVD pictures ; decent ability with movie soundtracks

Sound doesn't surround as well as a 'proper' speaker package ; not agile enough for CDs ; units are fairly large

As long as you're not expecting 'proper' surround sound, this is an impressive do-it-all movie player

Clear picture ; Very practical form factor ; Genuine surround FX

Slightly disjointed bass channel ; Sounds compressed in surround modes

Looks great, does a good job of bring basic home cinema to your living room, but pros best steer clear

Not a true replacement for a 5.1 system, but a fine performer that offers spectacular, hassle-free home cinema

Not a true replacement for a 5.1 system, but a fine performer that offers spectacular, hassle-free home cinema

Good audio quality, along with upscaling DVD player and iPod connectivity

Virtual surround sound isn't very effective

As is the ritual with any DVD player, we inserted two test DVDs: the DVE and HQV test DVDs. I was admittedly a bit suspicious about the performance of this stylish unit, maybe due to the adage of style and performance not getting along. I connected via...

Great with music ; Excellent DVD playback ; iPod dock ; 1080p upscaling ; Slick styling

No video switching ; No wireless ; Bass needs adjusting for music

The retail price has recently dropped from AU$1,199 to AU$999, and we've seen it in catalogues for AU$899 — at that price it's a bargain. No-one is ever going to confuse this with a 5.1 system, but if you need a quick and easy set-up that looks good...

Very good all in one, not a proper 5.1 but good substitute if you don't have the space

the units are a bit chunky

Excellent upscaling 1080P HD picture and wonderful cinema sound with deep room shaking bass. Beautiful design with impressive DVD cover display when activated. Love the glass top on the sub woofer!

Would have preferred to have additional on screen display options for volume, treble and bass settings.

Beautiful looking and fantastic sound and image quality. Sexy mechanism for opening the DVD and the lovely white lights on the display.

Most of the inputs are on the subwoofer and it means that I have a lot of wires going backward and forward, maybe its just the way I am set up? It just makes it more difficult as the sub must be 1 metre from the TV.