HomeTheater Systems Deliver “The Big Wow” (NAPSA)—Hometheateris huge. It’s so big that, chances are, if you don’t already have a setup, you have probably been “wowed” by the audio/video blast of a friend’s system. The widespread popularity of the great picture of DVDs has led the demand for sound that is just as good, and today’s typical home theater system consists of a TV, DVD player, receiver and surround sound. Face the facts: As popular as limited-fidelity MP3s may be for their portability, surround sound is here to stay, and the wayto go for any- one wholoves the thrill-immersive, movie theater, multi-channel sound. In a recent survey of more than 2,000 adults ages 18 to 65 across America, done in conjunction with surround sound pioneer DTS(Digital Theater Systems, Inc.), Nielsen Media Research determined that a full 76 percent of current home theater households already have true “5.1-channel” surround sound for the ultimate movie-viewing experi- ence. The study also shows that home theater ownership has grown by 120 percentover the past couple of years. Another study by market research firm Understandings & Solutions predicts that by 2006, nearly 62 million U.S. households will have a home theater system installed. Clearly, many Americans are trading up to bring homethesonic experience they know and love from modern movie theaters. Sound has become so important, in fact, that DTS is finding that educated consumers are making purchase decisions when buying DVDs based on the presence of a DTS soundtrack on the disc. Thus, it is no coincidence that SOUND IS THE TICKET to home theaters when five speaker channels surroundthelistener. some of the best-selling DVD titles feature DTS, including “The Lord of the Rings,” “Master and Commander,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Spider-Man 2,” and many others. And every month, more movies are released with these advanced soundtracks. Many home theater buffs acknowledge the superior sound and overall home theater experience when the DTS soundtrack is engaged. DTS technologyis built into virtually every home theater amplifier and DVD player on the market—more than 300 million pieces of existing consumerelectronics gear. Surround sound is guaranteed to be part of future hometheater gear as well. So how do you get started at building a home theater? According to Jon Kirchner, President and CEO of DTS, it is incredibly easy these days: “With the price of sys- tems well under the $500 mark, a great-sounding setup is within the grasp of most budgets and living spaces.” To learn more about the exciting world of home theater and surround sound, visit www.dts online.com.