Kenwood HTB-N815DV Networked Home Theater System GOOD OR NOT FOR ME (1 Viewer)

[Shaftslinger]

hi all. First post

, hopefully not to be a 1 hit wonder but heres what im interested in.

Kenwood HTB-N815DV is on amazon for 499. I have 500 to spend, no more. I want something that sounds decent that can put out some volume in a 14*18 room with hard wood floors. Im not picky as anything would be better than what i am currently running. I know i want at a minimum a 5.1 setup. I currently have an older kenwood that should support 5.1 but i cant et it to work and its all pieced together anyway.

This unit draws me to it because of the ethernet port. I have a huge collection of mp3s and movies on my computer and it would be absolutely pimp if I could play those at will without having to burn a new cd everytime i wanted to hear it. I have a wireless network setup at my house already on my cable modem but nothing else. my computer is about 40 ft from where the reciever will be placed and i can easily fishthe wires to it by drilling into the basement and over to where i want to be then back up.

Is this a good system for my needs or is there something better.
Keep in mind, i have a 500$ budget. Im not willing to spend anymore. I would like it tohave a dvd player as well.. I would like to be able to plug in my tv and video games and have some ports for expandability


heres the technicals



Finish: Silver
Disc capacity: 1
Progressive scan: Yes
Playback formats: DVD-Video (NTSC), DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, red book CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD, WMA CD, JPEG photo CD
Integrated receiver: No (separate components)
Integrated VCR: No
Number of amplified channels: 6
Karaoke: No
Parental controls: Yes
Track programming: Yes
Bookmarks: Yes
Screen dimmer: Yes
Slow motion: Yes
Display: Dot-matrix display with volume indication: 4-line, 20-character
Headphone jack: Yes
Virtual surround sound: Yes
THX-certified: No
Amplifier type: PurePath Digital Power Amplifier
Speaker terminals: Gold-plated, banana-plug-capable terminals
Cooling fan: Yes
AM-FM tuner: Yes (with Quartz PLL Synthesized Digital Tuning)
Bass management: Yes (digital)
Dolby Digital decoder: Yes (including Dolby Digital EX 6.1)
DTS decoder: Yes (including DTS-ES Surround Sound: 96/24, Discrete, Matrix, Neo: 6)
Dolby Pro Logic decoder: Yes
Dolby Pro Logic II decoder: Yes (including DPL IIx 7.1)
DSP sound fields: Active EQ by DSP: with Cinema, Music & Game Listening Modes; Audio DSP Listening Modes: 5 (Arena, Theater, Jazz Club, Stadium, Disco)
5.1 channel input: No
Digital outputs: 0
Digital inputs: 2 coaxial, 3 optical (with auto game box detection)
Front surround power per channel: Maximum: 130 watts x 3 (at 1 kHz, with 10 percent THD, into 6 ohms); 100 watts x 3 (20 to 20,000 Hz, with 0.7 percent THD into 6 ohms, FTC)
Rear surround power per channel: Maximum: 130 watts x 3 (at 1 kHz, with 10 percent THD, into 6 ohms); 100 watts x 3 (20 to 20,000 Hz, with 0.7 percent THD into 6 ohms, FTC)
Subwoofer power (RMS): 100 watts (dynamic power)
Video DAC: 27 MHz, 10-bit
Audio DAC: 96 kHz, 24-bit
MP3 decoding: Yes
HDCD decoding: No
Networking ports: 1 Ethernet (RJ-45), 1 PCMCIA card slot
Networking features: GUI operation for networking features; still picture decoding: JPEG, Bitmap, GIF, PNG, via Ethernet and PCMCIA; streaming audio decoding: MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, via Ethernet; streaming video decoding: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, XviD, via Ethernet
Onscreen display: Yes
Volume control: Dynamic rotary-encoder digital volume control
Remote control: Yes
Front-panel AV inputs: Yes
Phono input: No
Audio outputs: Preamplifier outputs for Subwoofer/SurrBackL/SurrBackR
Audio inputs: 6 stereo analog (left/right) RCA
Composite video inputs: 5
Composite video outputs: 1
Stereo wattage per channel: 100 watts x 2 (20 to 20,000 Hz, with 0.7 percent THD into 6 ohms, FTC)
S-video inputs: 2
S-video outputs: 1
Component video inputs: 2 (HD-compatible)
Component video outputs: 1
Radio station presets: 40
Multichannel ready: No
Speaker drivers: Satellites and center speaker: 2.75-inch drivers, .75-inch tweeters; subwoofer: 6.5-inch, side-firing
Speaker enclosure type: Ported (bass-reflex)
Speaker terminals: One-touch
Speaker type: Bookshelf/satellite
Wall-mountable: Yes (with built-in mounting brackets)
Frequency response (+/-3 dB): Information not available
Nominal speaker impedance: Satellites and center speaker: 8 ohms
Sensitivity/efficiency (1 watt @ 1 meter): Information not available
Video shielded: Yes (front left/right and center speakers)
Power input: AC 120V, 60 Hz
Power consumption: Information not available
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor
In the box: Receiver/amplifier, DVD player, 5 satellite speakers, a center speaker, 2 speaker floor stands (for front left/right), a powered subwoofer, a universal preprogrammed receiver remote control, a full-function DVD remote control, remote batteries, a CD-ROM with Kenwood PC Server Software, all requisite speaker cabling, a user's manual, and warranty information

 

[Shaftslinger]

Ok, well no one responded so I just went ahead and bought it. ITs completely awsome. The ethernet port works flawlessly and Im able to listen to all the music on my computer and watch the movies I downloaded. WOO HOO

The sound is good and theres plenty of volume. Only complaint would be the shitty subwoofer. Doesnt have alot of boom to it. but what do you want for an included sub. I have a 400 watt powered JBL 12inch sub that I bought about 6 years ago that I was going to stop using. It pops some times for no reason even when the main amp isnt turned on and it bothers me. I was going to just put it down in my basement and forget about it. No need now, Ill just use that and put the sub from the kenwood behind the couch or something and turn it way down just to have some base in the front of the room and back of the room. Overall this system is great 499 is a bargain to me. I was going to build an entire PC so that I could watch movies and play songs from my computer on my TV, now I can do it with my existing PC. I deffinately recommend this for anyone looking to play movies and songs from the PC to the TV. Time for a new 500gb hard drive to load with movies.
Now this is what I call on demand. !!!!!