JVC TH-M505 5-disc DVD home theater system

Rating:
Summary: Great Quality, Low on extras
Review: Great sound quality for such small speakers, excellent picture quality, player also plays DVDs quietly.
Five disc DVD player a plus. There are however a few annoyances:
1. Display on the unit could be a little bit bigger.
2. No extra inputs, outputs beyond the minimum.
3. It would be nice if the remote had a backlight.
Despite a few annoyances, you get a lot for your money.

Rating:
Summary: Great price! + Great system!
Review: I am a long-time A/V expert. I recently bought a second home and wanted a smaller theater experience for vacations. I reviewed (heavily) all the systems out there. This one came closest to my requirements for the $$$.
The FIRST thing that attracted me to the system was the power, second MPEG4 capability. Very few systems on the market (Philips only) have this feature.
The sound is awesome for a Class D amp and setup is a simple process. It has Smart Surround setup that lets you clap your hands to create the perfect surround environment. I really didn't want the wired surround speakers but found that managing the thicker power cords for wireless speakers would be aesthetically unpleasing.
Now for the bad part... My only problem with the unit is, it doesn't play DivX which my $50 Philips player does. With one DVD-R/RW I can put four or five full length films on a disc an play it on my Philips player from Walmart. However, based on the price/performance of the JVC I think I'll hang on to it and connect my Philips DVP642 and have the best of everything. This unit has enough power to easily fill my 20'x40' vaulted den.
I bought the unit at Sears for $399, Philips has their MX5600D at Sams Club for $367 but it doesn't have the same power or capabilities.
I plan to get a Philips MX6000i for my primary home when it comes out. Check it out if your looking to spend a little more money and want ALL the features in a single unit.

Rating:
Summary: Has some annoying glitches
Review: I am happy with the overall performance, when it's working. But little things that I experienced make me wonder had I known this, I would have chosen other brand.

What I experienced is as follows:
SOMETIMES, especially if you play non-DVD discs (my case, music CDs), the unit does not recogonize the discs already inside. So you have a stereo which won't run, only showing NO DISC. Even with, say, two DVDs in it, the LCD in the panels might indicate inaccurate status.

I called the help line. They suggested to unplug the stereo to "reset." Then the only option is to call the factory or service center. I told them it's only two days old, I could just return the whole thing to Amazon, asking whether they can swap out the DVD only (rather than the whole box with speakers and everything), and they never provided me with any answer. They just want you to go to warranty center.


Rating:
Summary: JVC (and Amazon) made me happy
Review: I won't list all of the item's features -- you can get that elsewhere. I bought the JVC TH-M505 sight unseen (and unheard) because the previous JVC home theatre model received rave reviews, and it advertised 1000 watts, and because of the price. JVC didn't let me down. Everything was easy to hook up and it sounds great! The powered subwoofer is an ACTIVE powered subwoofer. There's bass and sonic rumble galore! Unlike the sorry Samsung unit that I tried out, you aren't forced into sticking with the manufacturer's own proprietary speaker wire. (You can use the wire supplied with the unit or supply your own if you want to upgrade to something thicker.) Bottom line: I'm a very satisfied customer. No other "Home Theater in a Box" near its price range can outperform the JVC TH-M505.

Thanks Amazon for the great price (and no sales tax) and fast shipping!