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REVIEW
NOKIA HCS-1000 HOME CINEMA SYSTEM
COPY
When it comes to home
cinema technology Nokia are some way ahead of the pack, at least as far as their
big-screen TV sets are concerned. They're one of only four companies marketing 16:9 wide-screen televisions in the
UK, but when it comes to the sound side of the home cinema experience their TV and
VCRs all have more or less conventional stereo sound systems. Now, as if to
make up for lost ground, they've launched the HCS-1000 home cinema sound
system, a complete Dolby Pro Logic set-up in a box. Well, it's almost complete,
the only other thing missing is a NICAM stereo TV, or a hi-fi system. HCS-1000
comprises a SRP-1000 Dolby Pro Logic processor, three speakers and a generous
20 metres of speaker cable. The processor is sourced from Taiwan, the speakers
come from Denmark, a most unusual combination. The two fully enclosed bookshelf
speakers have 4-inch drivers and are for the rear surround channel. The third speaker,
which has two 4-inch drivers and a
1-inch tweeter is magnetically shielded, and carries centre-front dialogue.
The layout and cosmetics of
the processor are unremarkable, it's an anonymous slim black box with an unthreatening
array of knobs, buttons and winking lights; the price, at just under £400 seems
reasonable, and the Nokia name inspires a good deal of confidence, but something
is wrong!
There's no point beating
about the bush, the system, is badly flawed. The main problem is the design of
the processor. It has only one line-audio input, which limits the number of
source components that can conveniently be used with this device, to one... Apparently
Nokia think that's enough, presuming the prospective purchaser to have only a
NICAM VCR to connect it up to; but what
if they want to add a satellite receiver to the system, or a laser disc player,
or a CD and tape player, maybe a CD Video or CD-i deck in a year or two's time ?
In short they can't, at least not without a lot of lead swapping around the
back of the processor, or buying some sort of external switch box. Ironically
there is a second line input and output, for an audio tape deck, but this
completely by-passes the processor and seems to serve no useful purpose
whatsoever.
Nokia make the rather rash assumption
that the user already has a stereo TV, or is willing to re-locate their hi-fi
system and speakers. The processor only has three channels of amplification,
driving the rear surround and centre-front speakers, the main stereo channels
have to be carried on the TV's own speakers or channelled through the living-room
hi-fi. In short Nokia have managed to put together a system that can be of
interest to just a tiny fraction of individuals thinking about setting up a home
cinema system.
Perhaps the HCS-1000 has
other qualities, that redeem its sorry lack of flexibility? 'Fraid not. The
processor has three operating modes, Dolby Pro Logic -- more about that in a
moment -- 'Hall' and 'Matrix'. Hall is
supposed to recreate the ambience of a large space; on the evidence of our
sample the hall in question is about the same size as the one between the
living room and the front door in most British homes... Matrix is a pseudo
stereo mode that outputs a signal from a mono source through all four speakers,
clearly Nokia didn't want to excite would-be customers too much.
The Pro Logic decoder is
just about okay. Set-up is reasonably straightforward, it has a sequential pink
noise generator, input level control, centre and surround output controls, the
minimum needed to achieve a balanced sound field, though it could do with
front/rear balance as well. Thankfully the winking lights only come on when the
levels are adjusted, they are a distraction. Unfortunately the rear speakers have
to be driven hard, too hard in fact for such small units and at times they
sound strained as they struggle to make themselves heard alongside the main
stereo channels. The centre-front speaker, in contrast, is quite well suited to
the job, the only trouble is, the dialogue channel on our sample was not as
sharply defined as it could have been with leakage from the main stereo channels.
Surround sound performance on
this system is fairly average, the best Pro Logic decoders focus specific sounds
with great accuracy, you instinctively move your feet out of the way in a good
car chase, or cower as fighter aircraft screams overhead; the SPR-1000 fails to
generate that kind of emotional intensity. It manages to pick out the surround
and dialogue channels from Dolby encoded soundtracks, but with no great conviction,
there's too much else in there as well and the unequal fight between the rear speakers and main stereo
channels doesn't help.
Nokia must be aware of the
way the home cinema market is going. Hitachi and Toshiba have convincingly
demonstrated the appeal of TVs with built-in Dolby Surround and Pro Logic
decoders; technophobic consumers obviously appreciate this simple one-box
approach. Several other TV manufacturers are following suit, and we would be
very surprised if Nokia haven't considered this option at some stage, and may
even have a set in the pipeline. The more demanding home cinema enthusiast will
go for a component-based solution, built around an AV amplifier or system. Nokias
HCS-1000 sits uncomfortably in between the two extremes, bundling speakers in
with the processor is a very good idea,
but why go and spoil the whole thing by making it dependent on a stereo TV or
hi-fi amplifier, and then cripple it with only one line input? The suspicion is
this is a quick-fix solution, getting Nokia a toehold in the home cinema market,
if that is the case we look forward to a more considered response in the very
near future because in its present form the HCS-1000 does them no favours whatsoever.
Plus: Reasonably cost-effective upgrade for unambitious NICAM
VCR and stereo TV owners. Generous supply of speaker cable.
Minus: No input selector, no stereo channel amplifiers, green
instead of red 'on' indicator light, underrated surround speakers, woolly
centre channel, need we go on?
Sound Quality ***
Build quality ***
Value for money ***
Compatibility **
Features *
Facilities *
---end---
1994 1003
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