TV / Home Theater - What are y'all running?

[WJenness]

My girlfriend and I just moved into a wonderful apartment...

I'm now trying to figure out what we want to do for a living room TV / Home Theater setup...

What do you guys have? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

There are so many options out there, my brain is scrambled trying to figure it out... I'm an an IT guy, so I like my specs and technical challenges... TVs and Home Theaters are just something I haven't educated myself on in a long time... So I'm starting to dive back into it and it's a bit daunting.

-w

 

[Geoff]

I'm in the stone age. I have a low end Pioneer 5 channel AV Receiver that can read my iPod I use to drive four studio monitors. Tube TV and older DVD player. I keep looking at upgrading to a good flat screen and Blu-ray but I have a kitchen remodel and a boat engine in front of that expenditure.

 

[hammer]

Family Room Setup:

• 50" LCD projection TV (several years old), HDTV compatible (1080i)
• HD set top box
• Basic surround sound system
• Progressive scan DVD player (not Blu-Ray)
• Xbox 360 (games for the kids, streaming video from Netflix)

Just bought a cheap 32" LCD TV with built-in DVD for the Master Bedroom. Picture is not the greatest with the SD set top box, so now I want to upgrade to add another HD set top box...

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

part of the biz i own is Home Theatre

1. budget...how much you looking to spend? We've done great sounding systems for a few grand and others for over $100K...the more you spend, the more headaches you'll encounter...you dont have to spend alot for a great sounding system.

2. Space, what is the size of your area, doing in-wall, in-ceiling speakers?


we primarilaly use:
TV Samsung
Reciever: Denon
Remote: Harmony One Touch Screen
IPOD Dock: Denon Network Dock (wired or wireless)
Speakers: Pheonix Gold or Russound
Cables: goto Cables4less.com or Cables & Kits...do not buy at big box stores...there is tremendous markup on cables...or ping me, I have a bunch here

 

[drjeff]

50" Panasonic 720p Plasma TV
Onkyo TX-NR807 receiver with more inputs in it than I could possibly fathom using
Bose acoustimass 7 system for speakers
HD DVR box
Non blu-ray(for now atleast) samsung progressive scan DVD player

Like the set-up, works very well in my family room at home. Typical guy thing though in that I wish that I had a bigger TV, especially after seeing the 63" LCD that one of my friends just got

 

[WJenness]

part of the biz i own is Home Theatre

1. budget...how much you looking to spend? We've done great sounding systems for a few grand and others for over $100K...the more you spend, the more headaches you'll encounter...you dont have to spend alot for a great sounding system.

2. Space, what is the size of your area, doing in-wall, in-ceiling speakers?


we primarilaly use:
TV Samsung
Reciever: Denon
Remote: Harmony One Touch Screen
IPOD Dock: Denon Network Dock (wired or wireless)
Speakers: Pheonix Gold or Russound
Cables: goto Cables4less.com or Cables & Kits...do not buy at big box stores...there is tremendous markup on cables...or ping me, I have a bunch here

Thanks for the input...

1 Budget: I don't even know what stuff costs, so it's tough for me to decide what the appropriate budget is, but a couple grand is probably where I want to stay... It doesn't have to be an extreme system, I just want something that I can enjoy watching football/baseball/hockey games on as well as movies when the mood strikes.

2. As for the space we're talking about, the living room is about 12' x 15' or so... not huge. The apartment is in an old mill building, so one of our walls in the living room is exposed brick, and the ceiling (12') is old wood beams (looks very nice, but I suspect that acoustics may get... interesting). Because it's a rental apartment, I probably want to stay away from doing in-wall / in-ceiling speakers.

The wall space I have is making me think 52" might be the sweet spot, but I don't want to get it in there and decide it's too big or not big enough...

I'll get some pics of the space up here at some point soon.

I'm wise to the games of big box retailers in terms of cables... I used to work at Best Buy...

monoprice.com is another great source for cables.

50" Panasonic 720p Plasma TV
Onkyo TX-NR807 receiver with more inputs in it than I could possibly fathom using
Bose acoustimass 7 system for speakers
HD DVR box
Non blu-ray(for now atleast) samsung progressive scan DVD player

Like the set-up, works very well in my family room at home. Typical guy thing though in that I wish that I had a bigger TV, especially after seeing the 63" LCD that one of my friends just got

I saw this Onkyo HTIB on newegg and was intrigued: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120141

The 7.1 and iPod dock for ~$450 made me think... hmm...

I feel as though this may be a two stage process... And I could be convinced to go either sound than TV, or vice versa... I have a 32" LCD TV right now that's destined for the bedroom wall, but is biding it's time nicely in the living room right now.

Thanks for your help guys.

-w

 

[campgottagopee]

part of the biz i own is Home Theatre

1. budget...how much you looking to spend? We've done great sounding systems for a few grand and others for over $100K...the more you spend, the more headaches you'll encounter...you dont have to spend alot for a great sounding system.

2. Space, what is the size of your area, doing in-wall, in-ceiling speakers?


we primarilaly use:
TV Samsung
Reciever: Denon
Remote: Harmony One Touch Screen
IPOD Dock: Denon Network Dock (wired or wireless)
Speakers: Pheonix Gold or Russound
Cables: goto Cables4less.com or Cables & Kits...do not buy at big box stores...there is tremendous markup on cables...or ping me, I have a bunch here

Quattro, and others
---what's your opinion on this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Denon+-...stem/9342071.p?id=1218088196263&skuId=9342071

I got a few bucks that needs to be spent at "best buy" and have been eyeing this for several weeks now. Thanks for any input

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

WJ.....since you are in a rental, dont do any inwall wiring etc, wait till you get a home...a few grand will suit you very well, you can get a kick a$$ system

CAMP: personally, i'm not a fan of packages...look at the Denon AVR790, in that price range, its a better reciever, more power, and more room for expansion later on if you need to add additional components...look on line and you can get great deals on speakers..

 

[campgottagopee]

WJ.....since you are in a rental, dont do any inwall wiring etc, wait till you get a home...a few grand will suit you very well, you can get a kick a$$ system

CAMP: personally, i'm not a fan of packages...look at the Denon AVR790, in that price range, its a better reciever, more power, and more room for expansion later on if you need to add additional components...look on line and you can get great deals on speakers..

thanks---thought you would say that :-D

But aren't packages okay for an audio dummy/homeowner who just needs some decent sound????

You'd enjoy talking with my "speaker geek" buddy.... www.northcreekmusic.com

 

[Greg]

42" Panasonic Plasma (EDTV)
Panasonic combo DVD, CD, home theatre
HD Tivo
Wii

Looking to upgrade to a 50" 1080i soon.

 

[hammer]

42" Panasonic Plasma (EDTV)
Panasonic combo DVD, CD, home theatre
HD Tivo
Wii

Looking to upgrade to a 50" 1080i soon.

Wouldn't most new 50" TVs be 1080p at this point?

How big is your room? Mine is 16'x20' and the TV is in one corner so the max viewing distance is just over 20'. A 50" is OK but I could go larger...

 

[Greg]

Wouldn't most new 50" TVs be 1080p at this point?

How big is your room? Mine is 16'x20' and the TV is in one corner so the max viewing distance is just over 20'. A 50" is OK but I could go larger...

Not all. 42" is really fine, but 50" would be nicer. Probably a similar sized room, but the couch in the middle of the room and closer to the TV. Maybe 12-15'.

 

[Puck it]

60" Sony XBR 1080i
Pioneer 100W/ch 7.1surround receiver
Polk Audio Speakers and powered sub
PS3 for Bluray and games( Sony sucks that the 7.1 surround only comes out the HDMI and the receiver does not have HDMI)
Comcast HD DVR

 

[drjeff]

The 7.1 and iPod dock for ~$450 made me think... hmm...

I feel as though this may be a two stage process... And I could be convinced to go either sound than TV, or vice versa... I have a 32" LCD TV right now that's destined for the bedroom wall, but is biding it's time nicely in the living room right now.

Thanks for your help guys.

-w

If you're going to go 2 stages for the purchases, definately get the TV 1st and figure out what type of inputs/sound you'll need/want, especially given the high ceilings and exposed brick in the viewing area. I can honestly say that I ended up with too much receiver for my system, both interms of power (mine's in a big open great room that feeds directly into an open layout kitchen roughly a 40'x15' area with 3 essentially hallways leading into/out of it) and inputs (I'm pretty sure that I could hook up every last piece of AV equipment I own in my house and all 3 of our computers, 2 ipods and an ipod touch and still have about a half dozen unused inputs)

Pretty much input wise for a receiver if I was to do it all over again, I'd want a couple of component video inputs, a couple of sdmi inputs and a couple of usb inputs - most of the time with a modern TV if you want to view pics from your camera on the big screen there's plenty of both video, usb and media card inputs already built into the TV so that's an non issue. And heck, if you're not a mega audiophile, you may very well find out that the basic built in speakers may be plenty for your entertainment needs

 

[deadheadskier]

42" Panasonic Plasma
Older 5.1 Yamaha Receiver - would like to upgrade to a Marantz
Sony DVD Player
PSB Image series B5 Speakers with a PSB sub. Eventually will get PSB center channel and larger front speakers, but for the size room we have now, the 3 piece suffices.

 

[ta&idaho]

Does anyone know how to sabotage our downstairs neighbor's new sound system?

 

[mondeo]

42" Samsung DLP, 720p
Pioneer 7x100W receiver (no HDMI, though)
JBL 5.1 speakers, 150W sub
XBox 360

Got the entire setup a few years back, just before 1080p and HDMI became mainstream. I'll probably upgrade the TV either when the bulb goes (who knows how much longer, could be tomorrow, could be 5 years from now...) or when LED TVs come down in price. Room isn't that big, so probably a 50" for me. Probably replace the receiver at some point too, might get a couple speakers if I get Blu-Ray and 7.1 actually gets used at some point. Just wall mounted speakers w/ external wiring at this point, not gonna bother with a house I'll probably only be in for 5-10 years and the market it's in doesn't justify in-wall speakers for the sake of resale.

 

[drjeff]

Does anyone know how to sabotage our downstairs neighbor's new sound system?

A really large magnet pointed down at the floor just above where you can feel the floor vibrating from the speakers :lol: :lol:

 

[deadheadskier]

Does anyone know how to sabotage our downstairs neighbor's new sound system?

sorry

 

[MR. evil]

50" Panasonic 1080p HDTV
Phillips 3-2-1 home theater system
directv HD service
Wii
Xbox

Our great room is 25' x 25' and the 50" tv is the perfect size, though Randi thinks we could have gone a little bigger. The home theater system uses only 2 speakers and 1 sub, just like the Bose system but about 1/2 the cost and sounds amazing!