Hi. Thanks for reading.
While I put $300 in the title, a bit more is ok, while any less is ABSOLUTELY OK!
I have the following equipment
TV - Sony KDL-46VE5
BR - Samsung BD-P1600
DVR - TW Scientific Atlanta 8300HD
Computer - Mac Mini
OTA antenna (not sure of model...it's a flat black square)
also have a Wii, but rarely use it
Currently everything hooks up to the TV via HDMI other than the Wii. The version of mini I have doesn't do sound over HDMI.
Reading most posts, it seems mounting on top of TV is best. I can do this either with HD velcro or I'll fashion a bar myself.
80% will be used for TV/Movies. I have two kids (5/2) and as you can guess, we watch a lot of Disney movies. When the wife and I do watch BluRay movies, it is normally after the kids are asleep, so good sound while still being "quiet" is important. The other 20% is music, either OTA (PBS music channels), Time Warner music channels, Pandora through the BluRay player, or iTunes through mini.
So for the money, what would be good? I am thinking the CT-150 (Best Buy has this for $239) or the CT-550 (which I think is around $350). But honestly I don't care about the brand, and if hdmi through tv, and tv out via toslink to soundbar is ok, I don't care about hdmi. (I don't believe my TV does ARC). But what does matter is ease of use. I'd prefer that the volume up/down can be controlled via the "universal" remote that comes with the Scientific Altanta box. That is what we currently use, and it works for everything except netflix/pandora on the BluRay player.
Room is not best for sound bar I gather. The TV is against a half wall, and where the speaker would go would be "open" to the eat in kitchen behind it. To the left (looking directly at the speaker) is a hallway, but everything else is walls.
Let me know if I left anything out. Thanks again.