*** THE OFFICIAL HOME THEATER & AUDIO THREAD**

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

why is the PS3 and the receiver so close to the couch? is that a cabinet they are in? If so that will cause some serious audio issues as it is directly inbetween your front speakers and you! .

yes was planning to put it in a cabinet (custom built), an i wanted to put it closer to the couch so it can act like a coffee table/ foot rest
but seriously why would it affect the audio?

I take it the TV is a 1080p TV. Recommended viewing distance for 1080p is much closer than 720p. The recommended viewing distance for a 1080p 40" TV is ~6.3 feet for theater quality. You want about a 30degree viewing angle for that theater experience.

well do u think i should go with a 720p because of the distance?
or i could just move the sofa closer when veiwing movies?

If you are sitting 8 feet away, the recommended TV size is a 50"..

a 50" tv will be out of my price range

ALso that is a 5.1 setup. the rear speakers are in a good spot on the side of the sofa, but the back wall is not in a good spot..

what do recommend to achive this?
floor stands on either side of the sofa?

At the end of the day once you are comfortable then that is all that matters ..

trust that i will!, once i can make up my mind on what to buy

WRT to cables, I can't suggest lenghts as I dont know if you are running them surface or in the walls or around the room.
You will need one HDMI cable from the receiver OUT to the TV IN.
You will need one HDMI cable from the receiver IN to the PS3 OUT.
You will need a LFE or Subwoofer cable from the receiver sub/LFE OUT to the sub IN.
You will need 5 pairs (+/-) 12-16ga speaker wire from the receiver OUT to each speaker IN
If you are planning to connect FLOW cable TV, You will need one composite cable from the receiver IN to the digital FLOW box OUT. The receiver should upscale this analog signal to 720 or 1080 before sending it to the TV.

i will install cable (flow digital) later on because i wont be home alot to watch regular tv.

hope this image helps with averaging cable lenghts.


i was planning to rout all cables in the floor/ walls using conduits
because the room is still being renovated.

also i'm guessing raptor or amazon will be the best source to buy HDMI cables?

OK this drawing explains more. Looks good.
Putting the receiver and PS3 there will require alot more cabling though rather than putting them near the TV.
and this shouldnt affect the audio.

For the best viewing experience, make sure the center of the TV is at the same height as your eyes when you sit at the sofa.

as for speaker placement - this was posted before

5.1


7.1


So you'd want the wall behind the sofa to ideally be behind the rear speakers for the 7.1 setup

if you have a wall directly behind the sofa then it wouldnt allow for 7.1

"Surround speakers should be placed high enough so that the drivers do not fire directly at your ears when you're sitting down — one rule of thumb is to place them at ear level while standing. (If your surround speakers fire directly at your ears, they can overpower your front speakers.)"

check this thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1033203

[AYE_SOLDIER]

Thanks for the info dude
and that forum link is a good read as well!

[VexXx Dogg]

Need some help choosing a basic audio setup.
When it comes to AV i am a total uber noob.
This is for a bedroom setup - so I wont need ALL the bells and whistles.

Getting a Panasonic 42 Plasma 720p , looking for a decent DVD player and audio options.

I dont care for full HT with big speakers to shake down the place, but a basic surround will be nice.

Any recommendations for a basic surround setup to work with the Panasonic C2 42" Plasma?

[RapToR]

Need some help choosing a basic audio setup.
When it comes to AV i am a total uber noob.
This is for a bedroom setup - so I wont need ALL the bells and whistles.

Getting a Panasonic 42 Plasma 720p , looking for a decent DVD player and audio options.

I dont care for full HT with big speakers to shake down the place, but a basic surround will be nice.

Any recommendations for a basic surround setup to work with the Panasonic C2 42" Plasma?

Onkyo HT-S3300 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package


$3500.00 - by order only

6 Months Warranty


http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=HT- ... ystems&p=i


FREE Delivery <--- Almost Anywhere !!!


Richard - 680-3752

[33 hertz]

^ can you get the HT-S5300? price?

[RapToR]

^ can you get the HT-S5300? price?

Onkyo HT-S5300 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package with iPod Dock

$4500.00


6mts warranty

[sharkman121]

Am in the market for a new HDTV again, preferably in the 46" to 56" range.

Was unsure about whether to buy a Led, Lcd or plasma. Did some research online.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lcd-vs-l ... lasma.html

You guys input & reasons here would help in my choice. Ive had a Samsung 55 plasma for the past 2 yrs, i find the LED & LCD tvs to show brighter and with a bit more contrast.

Raptor, what you have coming in..?

[RapToR]

Am in the market for a new HDTV again, preferably in the 46" to 56" range.

Was unsure about whether to buy a Led, Lcd or plasma. Did some research online.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lcd-vs-l ... lasma.html

You guys input & reasons here would help in my choice. Ive had a Samsung 55 plasma for the past 2 yrs, i find the LED & LCD tvs to show brighter and with a bit more contrast.

Raptor, what you have coming in..?

not stocking

only bringing by order now


choose model from sony or samsung and i qoute you price

6months warranty

[trinitachi]

a lil off topic here.. Can any of you recommend a good Media Player so i can take the movies i have dled off my pc and run it to my HDTV. If possible, a media player with an onboard 1tb or more disk space and also an HDMI output.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ most good media players wont come with internal storage
the idea is that you stream media to the media player via your network from your PC or your NAS.

Check out the Western Digital HD TV Live Plus
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/wd-tv-live-plus/4505-6739_7-34117510.html?tag=contentBody;compare

You have to plug a USB hard drive or network cable into this to stream media to it.

If you already have a PS3 or Xbox they work perfectly for this use also without having to buy anything extra.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Am in the market for a new HDTV again, preferably in the 46" to 56" range.

Was unsure about whether to buy a Led, Lcd or plasma. Did some research online.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lcd-vs-l ... lasma.html

You guys input & reasons here would help in my choice. Ive had a Samsung 55 plasma for the past 2 yrs, i find the LED & LCD tvs to show brighter and with a bit more contrast.

Raptor, what you have coming in..?

there is alot of discussion earlier on in this same thread about LCD, LED and Plasma

Plasma is still the image quality king, but LED has the advantage of using less power.
Make sure you look at a backlit LED with local dimming. Stay away from edge lit LED.

remember that TV's you see in stores will be in TORCH MODE when on display and will be brighter than what you have your plasma at home set to. You wont want to run them that bright and vivid when at home. Don't get caught by that glitz in the store.

Plasmas also show perfectly at all viewing angles, not the same with LED or plain LCD.
Plasma still get better black levels (once you buy a good panel) because of the way plasma works.

Plasmas do burn more electricity though and are not good for PC use for long periods.

Plasmas are best for movie watching and colour accuracy

[sharkman121]

Thanks meng, plasma it is then..

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Check cnet
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-high-definition-tvs/

the top two are plasma - Samsung has held the top since Pioneer stopped manufacturing their Elite Kuro Pro (which is the undisputed king of TV's for quality) - it's good to see now Panasonic has the top. Even Sound & Vision magazine has a big rate up on the Panasonic 3D plasma in this month's issue.

[sharkman121]

^ Was watching something like this...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037B ... PDKIKX0DER

My bro has one like this, love how it shows.

[topshotterz]

are yall mad??

for everyone information

BOSE is the bess you cud get

the question is if u cud afford it

so doh be tlkin down of BOSE.

i wonder wat allyuh really have at home

[sharkman121]

^^ bwahahahahaha

[ru$$ell]

are yall mad??

for everyone information

BOSE is the bess you cud get

the question is if u cud afford it

so doh be tlkin down of BOSE.

i wonder wat allyuh really have at home

[16 cycles]

hope thread doesn;t go downhill from here...

[shaneelal]

are yall mad??

for everyone information

BOSE is the bess you cud get

the question is if u cud afford it

so doh be tlkin down of BOSE.

i wonder wat allyuh really have at home

Do your research, don't just go by the marketing hype.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

just ignore it

topshotterz please read this
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=296046

ok question, digital coax cables - some are directional

mine is a monster cable...with arrows that look like <<<signal flow<<<

the arrows should be pointing to the receiver input right?

yes towards the input

but what are you using it for?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ oh ok

YOu will get HD video with that setup, but I don't think you will get HD audio

[Chiney]

what i might even do is build a HTPC for the living room

yeh
thats the next me-too...

but its worth the investment really eh

[pimptacular]

what i might even do is build a HTPC for the living room

yeh
thats the next me-too...

but its worth the investment really eh

like you have one ent?

[M_2NR]

building an HTPC is very affordable though... ATI mid-low end cards suffice as excellent gpu's and render HD audio and video nicely via hdmi. I got a ATI 4650 and an AMD build(X2 5600+, 4GB RAM, 780G chipset) that probably will cost under $2000 now. I normally stream stuff from my next pc. but i plan to do what duane has and pull a gigabit cable to connect my main pc/router with a maybe network drive on it (plugged into the router). so i wouldnt need a main pc on... ever.

[Chiney]

^^ wen u ready for a HD playback device
message me on MSN
i go link u bess

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ well Chiney why not let us all know what the device is?

[Chiney]

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=328546&hilit=+xtreamer

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0627415938

those 2

the seller ez-dealz4u is actually my brother in law. the prices landed will be different.. but u guys can check up on the devices on AVS forums..he post under the name XTREAMER USA there..

http://myworld.ebay.com/ez-dealz4u/

check his items for sale and let me know if u guys want anything i can arrange from here ( im in the USA for 1 month ) and send it straight to your skybox for the price you see there online, i wud even have him lower the invoice prices doe better customs fees.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ yes Xtreamer was one of the ones I was looking at before but supply was an issue back then as they were all backordered

I think I will look into a HTPC now though just to be able to run boxee or XBMC on linux on a small SSD for quick boots

http://xbmc.org/about/

[Chiney]

yup

u saw the one i did for karti ?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ nope but I want to get one in a case like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204037

I woulda buy a Thermaltake DH101 but I doh think I need to spend US$300 on a case alone

I want to go intel

I want sound and video out of the HDMI

gimme a price nuh