Please feel free to tear this setup apart. I am looking to redo my setup in my non-deticated family room:

Here is what I currently have:

Video
Sony 60” Grand Wega (if you know anyone who would be interested in buying this I am looking to sell)
Sony 5.1 Receiver, no HDMI
Sony DVD Player, no upconvert
Directv HR20-100

Audio
Polk 5.1 speaker system
2 speakers outdoors

What I am looking to do:

• Replace Grand Wega with 50” plasma above fireplace (looking at Panasonic, don’t know if 720p or 1080p, looking for suggestions)
• Replace current receiver with 7.1 receiver with HDMI in and out, optical audio, and secondary zone for outside (looking at Onkyo TXSR605 but open to suggestions)
• Replace current DVD player with 1080p upscaling DVD player with HDMI and optical audio (looking at Onkyo DV-SP405B, again open for suggestions)
• Utilize current location of Grand Wega for StudioTech U-22SCAB to house receiver, DVD player, and Directv receiver (this is where all of the current audio/video connections are located and run 1 HDMI from receiver out to TV via in wall HDMI cable)

The one thing i'd say is spend a bit more money and get a blu-ray player or hd-dvd.
why do things twice?, you know :)

The one thing i'd say is spend a bit more money and get a blu-ray player or hd-dvd.
why do things twice?, you know :)

I thought about that but I wanted to wait until the format war works itself out.

That's what I thought, but some of the deals over the last few days have made it so you can get a next-generation player for the price of an upscaling DVD player-- and they work just as well as a good upscaling DVD player on regular DVDs.

The one thing i'd say is spend a bit more money and get a blu-ray player or hd-dvd.
why do things twice?, you know :)


I like both BR and HD but at $99, the Toshiba HD-A2 is a damn good upscaler. I wouldn't buy an SD-DVD player any longer.

1. Why are you going down in screen size?
2. 720p vs 1080p depends upon your seating distance mainly.
3. Why would you want to put the screen above the fireplace? Get a different stand to house your equipment and place the new plasma (or LCD or whatever) on top of it. Over a fireplace it too high and should only be done if you have absolutely no other option (and even then, I'd be hesitant). It's fine for casual viewing, but do you really want to sit for a 2 hour movie with your head tilted up?
4. Get an HD-DVD or Blu Ray player instead. Even if you pick the wrong format, it'll still be a great upconverting player.
5. Why a 7.1 receiver if you'll only have a 5.1 set-up? If your TV has 2 HDMI inputs (or more), you don't necessarily need and HDMI switching receiver. Even if it doesn't, you can get an HDMI switcher instead of an HDMI receiver, if you have budget concerns.

1. Why are you going down in screen size?
2. 720p vs 1080p depends upon your seating distance mainly.
3. Why would you want to put the screen above the fireplace? Get a different stand to house your equipment and place the new plasma (or LCD or whatever) on top of it. Over a fireplace it too high and should only be done if you have absolutely no other option (and even then, I'd be hesitant). It's fine for casual viewing, but do you really want to sit for a 2 hour movie with your head tilted up?
4. Get an HD-DVD or Blu Ray player instead. Even if you pick the wrong format, it'll still be a great upconverting player.
5. Why a 7.1 receiver if you'll only have a 5.1 set-up? If your TV has 2 HDMI inputs (or more), you don't necessarily need and HDMI switching receiver. Even if it doesn't, you can get an HDMI switcher instead of an HDMI receiver, if you have budget concerns.

Thanks for the input. See my reasoning below:

1. The way the room lays out and the location of my couch lend itself for the TV to be above the fireplace. I am only going down in size due to cost. I have also thought about the 58" Panasonic monitor.

2. The seating distance will be 12 - 15', so I am going to go with 720p

3. See answer 1.

4. That's a good idea. I may pickup the Toshiba A2 if my Walmart still has them.

5. My plan for this was to only have to run one cable to the TV from the components. As well, I am planning to do 7.1 at some point so I wanted to get a receiver that would support any future additions in audio.

Bump for any other critiques.