I am buying a pioneer 111fd 50" HDTV. My house is pre-wired for a 5.1 surround sound. I have DirecTV HD Tivo and an Xbox360.

I want a blueray player and some type of surround sound. I want to connect everything together.

What do you guys recommend i get? A HTIB, seperate speakers and blueray player...etc.

I want to connect everything in HDMI and don't know if everything should be plugged in seperatly to the HDTV, to the Blueray or to a seperate a/v reciever.

What will give me the best picture and sound?

Thanks in Advance.

If you are looking for good sound and maximum flexibility then don't go with a HTIB. Instead pick out a receiver, speakers, and blu-ray player separately. Now, that being said, you it would be best to visit each of these sections and ask the questions their for each piece of equipment. Also, use the stickies at the top of each section as they contain a lot of valuable information. When you ask your questions in the respective forums make sure to include your budget and any preferences (brand, size, finish, etc.) that you may have for each piece of equipment.

Good luck and congrats.

all that is mentioned above and:
a fast and dirty suggestion....Onkyo HT-S7100 or S9100 HTiB - but replace the packaged speaker wire with at least 16 gauge wire.

a more complicated suggestion is an a/v receiver like the Onkyo SR606, Yamaha V663, or Pioneer 1018 along with a good 5.1 speaker setup. That is where it is complicated....thousands of posts in the "Speakers" thread covering this topic....a lot to learn. A couple of suggestions out of hundreds of possibilities
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast1.html
http://www.aperionaudio.com/catalog/Small-Rooms,70.aspx
http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

or piece together a system with one of many reputatible on-line dealers. You will need to really educate yourself about what is available.

Any detailed suggestions will require a lot more information about your room size, speaker preferences (tower vs. bookshelf, large vs. small, etc), % music vs. movies, BUDGET ! and on and on

sounds like a good start. Keep the suggestions coming.

If you are even remotely serious about wanting the best sound do not get HTIB. You will be glad you didn't in the long run. Get a solid AV receiver and run everything into it. You bought an excellent TV, so the great picture is going to be there provided you set it up properly. Don't short change yourself on the sound. As was mentioned before it would be helpful if you mentioned your budget. Then we will be able to give suggestions to better suit your needs.

I want to spend around 3000 for a/v reciever, blueray player and speakers.

I am not sure if they make recievers with enough hdmi inputs so i can run my HDTV, DirecTV Tivo, Xbox360 and a Blueray player.

Guess i need 3 hdmi imputs and one output to the HDTV.

I want to spend around 3000 for a/v reciever, blueray player and speakers.

I am not sure if they make recievers with enough hdmi inputs so i can run my HDTV, DirecTV Tivo, Xbox360 and a Blueray player.

Guess i need 3 hdmi imputs and one output to the HDTV.
Many of the new receivers will have 3 inputs and one output. Some will have 4 inputs.

Of that $3000 I would spend approx $2000 on speakers/sub, $500 for a receiver, $300 or less on a blu-ray player, and the rest on cables from monoprice.com and possibly a universal remote, like the Harmony one.

Onkyo TX-SR606 has 3 full HDMI inputs
Onkyo TX-SR706 has 4 in
Yamaha V863 has 3 in
Pioneer 1018 has 3 in

Three HDMI inputs covers cable or satellite in, blu-ray in, and game console in

If you will scan the "Speakers" thread on this board, you will see literally hundreds of posts on speaker systems in the $1K to $2K price range. This is where you need to think of how you want to set up your HT, the room characteristis and size, the WAF (wife approval factor), one or two subwoofers, etc.

I really suggest you do your "homework" on a separates system (a/v receiver and speaker setup) for the money you want to spend. As above....1/3rd on receiver, 2/3rd on speakers and $250 to $350 on blu-ray.

I second the advice to get all your wiring interconnect cables from www.monoprice.com

Thanks for all the replys and the heads up advice. Definitly have a better idea of what i want to do.

Didn't see your room dimensions but all I can say is if you have $3,000 to spend for the Land's sake don't spend it on your ears - please consider spending as least some of it on your eyeballs so you can step up from that little television to Theater in the Home which is simply defined as "The creation in one's home as best as possible the same visual experience as found in a commercial theater". No television on the consumer market today can deliver true Home Theater experience simply defined as when the lights go dim and the Theater sized screen illuminates everyone in the room goes "SOS, this is just like being at the movies!!!"

HT is a visual experience and a key accessory is surround sound but a TV with surround sound is simply a televison with external speakers - LOL BUT it is so true. If you don't believe it go to a commercial theater and buy a ticket and put on a blindfold and see if you believe it's a primary visual experience or a primary hearing experience.

I am speaking as one who bought a 56in HD 1080p tv display and while it is a superb tv it just ain't Home Theater and can't be.

We kept our perfectly satisfactory surround system and bought a nice HD projector and screen and, guess what, Theater in the Home had arrived and everyone went WOW and etc.

No offense ever intended - I'm investing my time to share our eye-opening personal experience which is relavant since your topic and thread reference your HT. You can spend as little as $1k and get a wonderful 720p front projector. Basic Theater in the Home isn't about what goes into your ears nearly as much as what your eyes see. You can spend $100,000 on ear candy and it simply won't create Home Theater if hooked up to a television.
GoodLuck and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Didn't see your room dimensions but all I can say is if you have $3,000 to spend for the Land's sake don't spend it on your ears - please consider spending as least some of it on your eyeballs so you can step up from that little television to Theater in the Home which is simply defined as "The creation in one's home as best as possible the same visual experience as found in a commercial theater". No television on the consumer market today can deliver true Home Theater experience simply defined as when the lights go dim and the Theater sized screen illuminates everyone in the room goes "SOS, this is just like being at the movies!!!"

HT is a visual experience and a key accessory is surround sound but a TV with surround sound is simply a televison with external speakers - LOL BUT it is so true. If you don't believe it go to a commercial theater and buy a ticket and put on a blindfold and see if you believe it's a primary visual experience or a primary hearing experience.

I am speaking as one who bought a 56in HD 1080p tv display and while it is a superb tv it just ain't Home Theater and can't be.

We kept our perfectly satisfactory surround system and bought a nice HD projector and screen and, guess what, Theater in the Home had arrived and everyone went WOW and etc.

No offense ever intended - I'm investing my time to share our eye-opening personal experience which is relavant since your topic and thread reference your HT. You can spend as little as $1k and get a wonderful 720p front projector. Basic Theater in the Home isn't about what goes into your ears nearly as much as what your eyes see. You can spend $100,000 on ear candy and it simply won't create Home Theater if hooked up to a television.
GoodLuck and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

i couldn't agree more...