If we were to look at a typical home entertainment setup nowadays, we'd probably find them to be comprised of an HDTV, a DVD or Blu-ray player (or recorder), one or several set-top boxes and a surround sound system. However, several companies have decided to start cutting some corners and launched several all-in-one products, which combine some (or all) of the various gadgets mentioned above.

One of the most interesting such “several-in-one” brand of devices is represented by the soundbar, which integrates both a stereo audio system (typically equipped with some technology able to replicate, but certainly not duplicate, surround sound) and a player. We've seen quite a few products of this type arrive on the market lately, including some featuring built-in Blu-ray players.

And in fact, that's exactly the case with one of the latest announcements from Philips, namely the HTS8160B Soundbar. As Blu-ray.com informs us, this particular device was recently released in Singapore and offers a couple of features quite a few users might be interested in.

So, for example, besides packing a Blu-ray player (which, as expected, also provides DVD and CD playback support), the HTS8160B comes equipped with its own speakers, plus a separate subwoofer. Unfortunately, no actual figures regarding this thing's audio capabilities have been provided, but apparently this thing supports 7.1-channel audio and the Dolby True HD format, plus Ambisound HD technology for improving the sound quality.

Other extras worth mentioning are the fact that the Philips HTS8160B soundbar sports an iPod/iPhone dock, as well as a touchscreen remote control, which provides easier access to the available functions.

Price-wise, the HTS8160B will apparently be available somewhere in the vicinity of 1,500 US dollars, which is indeed a pretty hefty price point, even for an advanced gadget such as this one.


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