Hey All,
I am a new user to the network and I am seeking some advice for my new apartment’s home theater. I am interested in a display, a DVD player, and some audio/speakers for the whole thing. For a little back ground, I just moved in with some college buddies and we are looking for a pretty sweet setup. We watch a fair amount of cable, actions movies, and baseball. Our price range is around $5,000 for any combination of these three products. Any advice or cautions would be greatly appreciated, especially about what items would work best together.

Audio/Speakers: We have taken a look at the Samsung HTTX75, Onkyo HT-s907, and the Panasonic SC-PT750. We don’t necessarily want the place to shake, but we want to enjoy our movies. We are looking to spend $300-$800 for our sound system. Finally, I would like to know what anyone has to say about any of these devices with a USB port. I was hoping to sometimes hook-up our computers so we can play music when we hangout on the weekends. Also, if there is an easier connection, that would be great.

TV: We are looking to spend 2K-3.5K for our TV. We are interested in an LCD, Plasma, or DLP, unless someone could recommend better? As for size, 40-60 inches is preferred, but not an absolute requirement (our living room is ridiculously huge). We are unsure about resolution and brand and thickness are irrelevant.

DVD Player: Our range is $300-$800 and we are deciding between Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Can anyone tell me the benefits or cons of either with respect to the TVs we are interested in. We were also wondering about a Blu-Ray/HD combo?


Thanks for all the help,
StannyUG

Hey All,
I am a new user to the network and I am seeking some advice for my new apartment’s home theater. I am interested in a display, a DVD player, and some audio/speakers for the whole thing. For a little back ground, I just moved in with some college buddies and we are looking for a pretty sweet setup. We watch a fair amount of cable, actions movies, and baseball. Our price range is around $5,000 for any combination of these three products. Any advice or cautions would be greatly appreciated, especially about what items would work best together.

Audio/Speakers: We have taken a look at the Samsung HTTX75, Onkyo HT-s907, and the Panasonic SC-PT750. We don’t necessarily want the place to shake, but we want to enjoy our movies. We are looking to spend $300-$800 for our sound system. Finally, I would like to know what anyone has to say about any of these devices with a USB port. I was hoping to sometimes hook-up our computers so we can play music when we hangout on the weekends. Also, if there is an easier connection, that would be great.

TV: We are looking to spend 2K-3.5K for our TV. We are interested in an LCD, Plasma, or DLP, unless someone could recommend better? As for size, 40-60 inches is preferred, but not an absolute requirement (our living room is ridiculously huge). We are unsure about resolution and brand and thickness are irrelevant.

DVD Player: Our range is $300-$800 and we are deciding between Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Can anyone tell me the benefits or cons of either with respect to the TVs we are interested in. We were also wondering about a Blu-Ray/HD combo?


Thanks for all the help,
StannyUG

You are better off going through the individual sections for advice on different components. But just glancing, personally, I would drop the budget on the TV and up it on the sound. I just picked up 57 1080p DLP 2 weeks back for less than $1300. The 65 version of that same TV could probably be picked up for 1500-1600. DLP would save money for spending on good speakers and a decent reciever with HDMI for your HD-DVD or BD player.

I personally have HD-DVD and love it. I have the XA2 which is probably one of the best upconverting players on the market. Like I said earlier, check out the HD-DVD and BD threads for more info on those. I don't want to point you in any direction on that as some here our "touchy" with the whole format war.

PM if you want more info, I just upgraded nearly all of my components and it was about at what your budget is.