Head to head: Philips HTS8100 vs Samsung XT200

It's taken a while for manufacturers to fully appreciate this order of priorities, but they really seem to be getting there now, as can be seen in the sudden explosion of new all-in-one systems eschewing the normal 5.1-channel surround sound speaker configuration in favour of more convenient and eminently tidier 2.1 systems and 'soundbars' that use psycho-acoustic processing effects to produce the impression of a surround sound mix without actually using any surround sound speakers.

Even by the standards of this new breed of all-in-one systems though, the two new offerings we're looking at today are unusually living room friendly. One is a 2.1 system featuring a truly original design, while the other actually fits six speakers and a DVD player into a single, tidy bar you can place under your telly. The question is, do they both take the style over substance argument that bit too far?

Overview Price comparison: Philips HTS8100 More info: Philips Size: Main unit - 935(w) x 146(h) x 136(d)mm, subwoofer: 295(w) x 446(h) x 295(d)mm Weight: Main unit - 7kg, subwoofer - 10.5kg HD upscaling: Yes - to 1080p Speaker configuration: One subwoofer, six drivers in one speaker 'bar' Compatible formats: DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, MP3, JPEG, WMA, AAC, WMV, DivX Connections: HDMI output, component video output, Scart output, USB slot, connection to subwoofer Philips HTS8100 The HTS8100 is arguably the most extreme all-in-one system we've yet seen. For remarkably its entire electronics are somehow crammed into just two boxes: a straightforward subwoofer, and a metre-long speaker 'bar' that miraculously contains the DVD deck, tuner and amplification. Amazingly this bar is only 13cm deep, meaning it could certainly be wall-mounted under a flat TV. The subwoofer's a bit ugly, to be honest. But then you can always stick this behind a chair. The speaker bar, on the other hand, looks surprisingly elegant, with the vertical DVD tray remaining invisible until you press the 'Open' button, at which point it emerges from behind a black glass door in the bar's centre. Cute. The only cabling hassles you have to suffer are a single cable between the speaker bar and the subwoofer, and the cable connecting the soundbar to the TV. This is far, far less messy than the mounds of cable that accompany full surround sound systems. Plus, of course, it makes the system a doddle to set up. Other features include DVD upscaling to 1080p, Faroudja DCDi processing for making contours look smoother, and best of all, a free iPod dock. The system's audio talents come courtesy of six separate drive units in the speaker bar working in harmony with Philips' own AmbiSound processing to supposedly reproduce a surround sound effect. To be honest, though, we detected little if any surround sound information during our tests. But this is hardly unusual for such a system. And at least it sounds good in most other ways. For instance, while not exactly surrounding you, the HTS8100's soundstage with films is at least very wide. What's more, spatial effects in a mix are placed as accurately as could be expected given the lack of any rear-channel information; voices always sound clean and locked to the screen; and that chunky subwoofer 'shakes hands' with the soundbar unusually well, leaving no tell-tale gap between the bass parts of a mix and the midrange. MP3 playback from an iPod, meanwhile, sounds likeably crisp and punchy, and even its CD playback isn't the disaster zone you might expect. Couple these more than solid sonics with some really very good picture quality from the DVD deck, including tidier upscaling processing than we'd expected to find, and the HTS8100 really does strike a near-perfect balance between design, utility and performance. Really only two things count against it: a lack of any digital audio inputs so that external sources like a Sky Digital receiver could take advantage of the system's audio talents, and its rather high £1,000 asking price. Overview Price comparison: Samsung HT-X200 More info: Samsung Size: Main unit vertical - 460(w) x 315(h) x 190(d)mm, subwoofer - 175(w) x 380(h) x 392(d)mm, front speakers - 89(w) x 262(h) x 166(d)mm Weight: Main unit - 5.2kg, subwoofer - 6.8kg, front speakers - 1.7kg HD upscaling: Yes - to 1080p Speaker configuration: Subwoofer, stereo speakers, main DVD unit Compatible formats: DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, DVD-A, MP3, JPEG, WMA, AAC, WMV, DivX Connections: HDMI output, component video output, USB slot, composite video output, speaker jacks, digital audio input, analogue audio input, headphone jack Samsung HT-X200 Compared with the Philips system, Samsung's X200 is to some extent a pretty straightforward 2.1 system, with two 'satellite' speakers, a subwoofer, and a separate DVD/tuner/amplification unit. But the beauty, literally, is in the Samsung's details. For the main DVD unit is simply gorgeous. The innovations start with the fact that it can be either laid flat or stood upright. But for our money you're nuts if you don't stand it upright, for otherwise you won't truly appreciate its combination of a smoked blue glass top panel set over a huge LED showing numbers over an inch high. As well as providing a welcome change to the usual 'can only read it if you use binoculars' LEDs, the chunky blue lettering generates a delightfully retro sensibility that should look great in all but the most chintz-obsessed living rooms. Although not as easy to set up as the two-box Philips system, the X200 is hardly complicated, with colour-coded speaker wires and some excellent onscreen menus. Given that the X200 costs just £350, you wouldn't expect it to be over-burdened with features. But it does still upscale your DVDs to 720p or 1080i, and provides an audio delay adjustment for countering any lip-synch problems caused by a rogue disc or your TV. In terms of connections, the Samsung scores over the Philips system in providing a digital input so a Sky receiver can enjoy its audio capabilities. Plus it joins the Philips in having a USB port for direct playback from USB storage devices. Sadly the main evidence of the X200's lowly price can be found in its audio performance. The main problem is a familiar one with all-in-one systems - the bass from the subwoofer doesn't integrate totally successfully with the midrange audio coming from the left and right speakers. The 'gap' in the soundstage isn't desperately large, but it's certainly more pronounced than with the Philips system. What's more, the bass information sounds a little forced and mechanical, and can over-dominate proceedings due to a lack of balancing treble clarity in the left and right speakers. Also troubling are the way that vocals tend to sound dislocated from the screen, and the lack of any real sense of surround sound, even though the soundstage is at least wide. The X200 redeems itself somewhat with its picture quality. Images from DVDs are generally crisp and clean, with natural colours. The upscaling element works nicely too, making pictures look more detailed without causing serious noisy side effects. But for our money the Philips images look slightly more solid and dynamic. Final verdict The two systems we've looked at today are both in some ways classic examples of everything that's good and bad about the latest trend in all-in-one home cinema packages. On the upside, they're both - in very different ways - stunning examples of design, and they're both pretty much foolproof to install and use. On the downside, both require you to swallow compromises in audio quality - especially when it comes to rear channel sound information. But then as we said at the start of this review, surely anyone choosing a style and convenience-first system like these knows that they can't have their audio cake and eat it. Don't they? Picking an actual winner between the Philips and Samsung is pretty easy on sheer performance quality terms. The Philips HTS8100 system produced slightly better pictures and much better sound - and its innovative speaker bar approach also wins it extra points on the convenience side of things. But the Samsung X200's £650 cheaper price ticket almost redeems it for its performance failings. Almost, but ultimately not quite. AVR Glossary