Come home to the theatre

THE THEATRE was your home a generation ago. Today, the home is the theatre.

Sound is getting crystal clear and screens are getting wider. Not in the big movie hall, but in the living room. What is more, prices are also keeping pace - things are more affordable.

Zero per cent interest and hundred per cent satisfaction sums up the purchase decision for entertainment gizmos. Mix-n-match is the favourite mechanism. After all, it is all about imaginative sight and sound.

Before the combos came in, the concept of the home theatre was unveiled in Chennai to good effect by Onkyo. The company offers what connoisseurs look forward to, watching and listening to the best from the comfort of their living rooms. Opened about five years ago, the showroom offers home theatre components, essentially music systems and acoustics. If there is something that people have to look around it is for televisions.

Right on track to tap the growing market is Philips, which showed off its Matchline range of hi-end televisions with real-flat screens and many more added features.

Nicole Kidman or Amisha Patel in vivid colour widescreen starts at Rs.39,900. The 29-inch models are priced upto Rs.99,000. The biggest experience, of course the 43-inch Rear Projection Philips TV that converts drawing rooms into home theatre, for around Rs.1.20 lakh. One of the models has an integrated DVD-Video player offering a one-touch Home Cinema, while the special feature of another in the range is its Black Matrix Real Flat Tube.

Says Mr.Suresh Sukumaran, senior general manager- marketing (televisions) at Philips India, ``the Matchline range is the outcome of Philips unique innovation in digital technology, focussed on the high-end premium market''.

For those who like the techy specs, it has 100 Hz Digital Natural Motion (DNM) technology and the 10-bit video power-processing prowess of Digital Crystal Clear feature: in plainspeak, the models promise higher-picture resolution and a flicker-free screen. Causing little strain on eyes, the screens have quality images that bring out the finer details in clarity.

That the Matchline TVs are for the more refined market segment is apparent from the promotion strategies of Philips. No more crossed fingers for those who used to check in their TVs after paying in foreign currency in some Far Eastern holiday destination. Get it all delivered under guarantee right at the doorstep.

To keep up the exclusivity, there will be only a restricted number of dealers for the Matchline series - ten in Chennai. Likewise, the range will be initially available in about 11 select cities.

The company similarly has embarked on a different campaign for the top-of-the-line range, which is for those ``who want more than just excellent picture and sound quality'', with the `Philips Dare-to-Compare' programme. Under this, three different television brands, including one from the Matchline range, will be placed in the showroom. All details including the brand will be masked and the customers would be made to deliver the judgment on the picture and sound quality.

Meanwhile, if you are slightly short and still want that widescreen experience, there are other 29 inch screens with a lot of features, including surround sound. It's all happening today.

By N.Ravi Kumar

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Section  : Entertainment