Sharp LC-37D90U Home Theatre  

I will soon be purchasing the Sharp LC-37D90U and need all new components.

I was thinking of building a high end HTPC specifically around the LCD and am looking for advice. My first direct question does this LCD act as a media hub?

I was especially impressed with the 37D90U i/o connections and this is what made me think about building a custom box. I have posted a similar question in the HTPC section.

Here I would like to open a discussion about the i/o connections and components that best utilize the connections. For instance I see it has an R232C port for custom installations. What type of device would use this kind of port?

I want quality sound but not loud sound. Color and size is a factor; it should resemble the LCD styling and color. I've been looking at form factors and mobo that support RAID as I have a large MP3 collection. The theatre is in a small room right now.

I'm interested in suggestions in low-mid-high price ranges. hdtvsolutions has a pdf with detailed specifcations.

Thank you for input and feedback.

After reading posts in this forum and elsewhere, I understand why the HTPC isn't a good receiver, so it appears to me that the next most important addition would be that receiver.

I may end of waiting until Fall/Winter because of the availability of 1080p HDMI quality components. The only receiver I found available in silver with this video switching ability is the Dennon AVR-4306: 7.1 CH Home Theater/MultiMedia A/V Receiver which way out of my budget. It also has an RS-232 Port for Third Party Remote Controllers, so I understand that port better.

Does anyone have comments or additions? Thanks

Cox Cable accepts CableCard w/o access to their Interactive Program Guide. I plan on connecting via this card so now I will need to research the work around.

If I used an HTPC in my system, I could include an HDTV tuner as well as an anlog tuner for PRV. These packages will include a guide.

Beside that, are there any others? Thanks for your help.

I am looking at the Neodigits Helios HVD2085 1080p upscaling player. I'm interested in whether or not it will have a correct 1080p operation via HDMI (no sparkly pixels). Now that people are getting their LCD’s, I would like to read about what they are hooking up to.

I personally am interested in reading about the equipment that uses HDMI and DVI but also lives in the real analog world too.

I might have now found a reason to put everything on hold and do nothing but save a lot of money for next year.

It appears to me that HDMI 1.3 is a major upgrade in part because of the cables alone. AV receivers specifically will undergo the most radical changes. Since 1.3 is backward compatible to 1.1 I'm sure there will be cables for connecing the two standards but as I am understanding the technology a 1.1 device will never be able to handle the 1.3 audio capabilities.

Does anyone have information about Sharp's plan to license this technology?

I have emailed customer service at SharpUSA asking them about HDMI 1.3 and will post their reply. I am eager to consolidate cables.