(OT) EN Board, form of...Home Theater advisors!

[CrazyMage]

I'm starting to think about a large upgrade to my current set-up.

I'm looking at
--new TV. Nothing fancy here. Can go up to 32". Worth the extra $$ from a 27"? Features to especially look for? Can't do HD/widescreen at this time, but some day...

--DVD player. It would be nice to watch them in the living room instead of just on the computer. Progressive scan (as I understand it) is not that much more even though of little benefit with a regular TV.

--receiver/surround sound speakers. Worth it to get a package deal? Advice on models?

Total "budget" would be in the neighborhood of $1000--can get something pretty good, but I don't need to have the latest and greatest. Any advice on brands/models/features, etc. is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Drooling at the thought of watching LotR-extended in true surround sound...

 

[Sulimo]

Hmm...I cant really comment as I'm not sure how far 1000 US$ would actually go. It would seem tricky though, esp given you want a TV, DVD & receiver/speakers.

But yeah, a progressive scan DVD player doesn't add anything if you dont have a display device capable of handling any progressive modes (ie: a SD TV).

CNET is quite useful when looking over the various options and to get a feel for prices.

Also very useful is AudioReview .

You really have to ask yourself questions about future plans (esp in relation to features on your AV receiver - digital inputs for instance) and the location of the setup (mainly in relation to speaker types - whether to go for a satelite/sub setup or using fullrange speakers). What you're going to use the setup for also impacts on the type of speaker setup, as some setups are better for music than others.

 

[dshai527]

Here is what I recommend to most of my friends.

T.V. - Sony is nice but over priced JVC will do just as well for usually much less. Most TV's have three models of the same size with different bells and whistles find teh one that is right for you. I highly recommend the JVC D series, but if you can find sony on sale go for it.

DVD - for the money panasonic is usually best, but I prefer Onkyo or sony but they are more expensive

Surround sound packages - I never suggest the all in one box systems they usually have lower quality speakers, but if you do I suggest the JVC or the sony all in one dvd reciever combo system. Circuit City has a ONkyo/Polk Audio package that is nice but pricey.

I suggest you get it all at one place and haggle to see if they will give you a bulk discount most places will, and don't be afraid to return something if you don't like it or it doesn't fit your needs. Most stores have a 30 day return policy use and find what fits your space and your budget.

NOTE: KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU SHOULD BUDGET 20% to go toward cables and hook-ups. To get best results.

 

[jdavis]

If you don't mind bidding on stuff try UBID to save some money, make sure you buy from the company and not individuals.
http://www.ubid.com/cat/get_cat_page.asp?CatID=0

If your serious about it try Crutchfield. They are not the cheapest place but they know what they are talking about.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rGx5wDH9luK/

 

[CrazyMage]

Thanks for your help so far, although since this thread is now in a forum I hadn't even realized existed, I hope you all see it

 

[Lothar]

Home Theater Economics

Here is a good method to determine how much to spend on each component of your home theater.

Spend half of your money on your video display and the other half on audio.

Spend half of your audio budget on speakers.

Spend one quarter of your audio budget on amplification.

Spend one quarter of your audio budget on the playback device.


With a budget of $1000, it breaks down like this:

$500 on a television

$250 on 5 speakers and a subwoofer

$125 on a (dolby digital and/or dts) home theater receiver

$125 on a dvd player


Based on those numbers, a 32" TV would not be a problem. However, it would not have a progressive scan input. A $125 DVD player would allow most any brand name basic single disc player. $125 on a receiver would be very difficult to get digital sound, and $250 on speakers doesn't get you that much either. So you should probably go for one of the home theater in a box combos.

Good Luck.

 

[Broken Fang]

Well over the weekend we kust upgraded our nine year old entertainment system. We purchased the following:

TV - 32" Flat Screen - Sony KV32FS100 - $799
DVD - JVC - don't remember the model # - $99
Receiver/Speaker - Onkyo's HTiaB from Circuit City - $499
14g Speaker wire from Home Depot - ~$20 for 100'
Monster Subwoofer wire - ~$30
Component Video and Digital Audio for DVD - ~$80
S-Video for Satellite connection - ~$30

The TV is awesome (the flat screen is nice to look at from the side...where our love seat is) and it has 16:9 compression for watching DVD's. It doesn't have many other bells and whistles (no PIP) but is very nice.

The DVD plater is not a progressive scan player. but if you don't have a HDTV you don't need one. Everyone I talked to and everything I read when researching says progressive scan gives no better picture than a regular DVD player when viewed on a non-HDTV.

The Onkyo is AWESOME! It is by far the best sounding system we have heard in the $400-600 range. Is supports both Dolby Digital and DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II. 650 Watts (5x100 and 150W powered sub). The speaker boxes are wood NOT plastic and have decent sized mid-ranges.

We played a variety of scenes from LotR and Star Wars on DVD and it was INCREDIBLE! Sound blows you away (we actually had the windows shaking from the sub) and the picture with component video was PERFECT!

 

[Hoju]

ask here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/index.php

very friendly boards with tons of info and opinions.

 

[Lothar]

TV - 32" Flat Screen - Sony KV32FS100 - $799
DVD - JVC - don't remember the model # - $99
Receiver/Speaker - Onkyo's HTiaB from Circuit City - $499
14g Speaker wire from Home Depot - ~$20 for 100'
Monster Subwoofer wire - ~$30
Component Video and Digital Audio for DVD - ~$80
S-Video for Satellite connection - ~$30

Sounds like a good, well-ballanced system. Watch how well it fits into my formula:

Total Budget: $1527 (not including the s-video cable)

Television: $799 52%
Speakers, reciever, speaker wires: $549 36%
DVD and interconnects: $179 12%

The s-video cable is for a secondary playback device, so I didn't include that in the above figures.

16:9 compression is a really good feature.

Enjoy!

 

[Broken Fang]

We might actually take the S-video cable back...we don't see much improvement in picture quality and for ~$30-40 it isn't worth it in our book. The component video and digital audio for the DVD player are great though!