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Creating a home theatre, would like suggestions!

post #1 of 6
10/16/09 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone, as you can see I'm a new member. I recently bought a new home and I have a perfect room for a home theatre, no windows in it or anything. I am wondering, since it is so dark, shouldn't I opt for a Plasma? I'm not really all that knowledgeable in this field, so I came for some suggestions. However, I am going to wait until boxing day to purchase my home theatre surround, which will be a bose system. (not sure which though)

I will be using the telivision to watch Blu-Ray movies, play Xbox 360 and watch hockey ( Yes, I am Canadian) I know plasma have a better contrast ratio and refresh rate. But I also know that the human eye can catch only so much...

So people, please suggest something.

Remember, the less I spend on a TV the more I have to spend on a couch, surround sound, cables, and anything you reccomend.

Don't expect to be blown away with my setup once I post pictures but it will be a nice first home theatre.

I think the 40" MIGHT be too big... that goes with the 50" too... But I think I could work it out. My couch will be about 7 feet away.


I am going to Best Buy on October 30th to buy one of these options:

LCD Options:


http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10122777&catid=23244

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10120715&catid=23244

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010122882&catid=24558

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010120386&catid=24558

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010124484&catid=24558

Plasma options


http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010131602&catid=28399

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0926HDS0010120713&catid=23249&logon=&langid=EN

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010127736&catid=23249

http://www.2001audiovideo.com/product_info.php?cPath=45_71&products_id=5483&osCsid=bb8e1246abde44418458b64bdbee75db

Thank you so much,

 

Mantook

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post #2 of 6
10/16/09 at 2:28pm
You should add the Panasonic plasmas to your list.  Their G10 & G15 series are excellent!

Do some more research on your surround system.  You will quickly find that on this forum (and just about every other forum) bose gets very little respect.  The general thought is that bose is: a) extremely overpriced, and b) pretty low quality . . . especially at their price point.
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post #3 of 6
10/18/09 at 8:24pm
Firstly, I'd say if you want to save money, check out the Craigslist web site for home theatre equipment.  You can get some excellent value on everything in HT equipment that is like-new or little-used.  There's no sales taxes and somebody else ate the depreciation, and even unpacked it for you!~  Of course warranty can be an issue although my own experience is that manufacturer's warranties are transferable and in any case you saved a ton of money!

Secondly, I'd suggest that it's NOT necessary to buy state-of-the-art equipment at premium prices.  For my own home theatre system, I bought a slightly older Sharp Aquos LCD monitor, not one of those fancy new "120 Hz ones" and a Sony 5.1 surround amplifier.  With the lights out in the room the whole system looks and sounds great and I saved a bundle !!!

Finally - I'd say don't waste your money on Blue Ray titles - it's just a marketing craze to increase the profits of the movie studios.  You get much better value out of letterboxed DVD's (especially if you can find used ones on craiglist and in the pawn shops) and when you're really watching a movie you really won't notice the difference in visual detail if you're correctly positioned about 4 to 6 screen-widths away from the monitor.

IMHO spending big dollars on expensive HT equipment is great for bragging rights and self pride of ownership but absolutely lousy value and a losing investment!

Regards and happy viewing!
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post #4 of 6
10/19/09 at 1:02am
Quote:
Finally - I'd say don't waste your money on Blue Ray titles - it's just a marketing craze to increase the profits of the movie studios.  You get much better value out of letterboxed DVD's (especially if you can find used ones on craiglist and in the pawn shops) and when you're really watching a movie you really won't notice the difference in visual detail if you're correctly positioned about 4 to 6 screen-widths away from the monitor.

Certainly.

And if you sit 10 screen-widths away, even a VHS looks great.
At 20 screen-widths, you don't even need the movie at all.

Don't forget to turn the audio down to an absolute minimum!


Cees
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post #5 of 6
10/20/09 at 9:36am
IMHO, the TV (or projector and screen) is the most important element, followed closely by the speakers.  Given you have a tight budget, I suggested saving a few dollars on the furniture and buying better equipment.   You probably can pick up some nice used furniture on gregslist or at estate sales.

As far as the right size screen for your situation, THX and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers each recommend a certain field of view (i.e. size of screen compared to distance from screen) for optimal watching.  See my calculator here.

The difference between HD and standard definition movies is stunning.  I don't think the old letterbox style DVDs will wow you the way you might expect from your home theater.  In lieu (or maybe just delaying purchase) of a Blu Ray player, I picked up an AppleTV.  The AppleTV allows me to play regular and HD movies purchased or rented through my iTunes account.  Its great on movie night, we can watch a movie without leaving home.
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post #6 of 6
10/24/09 at 9:31pm
You have some great choices.  Just remember that most of your purchases can be returned if you don't find them satisfactory.  I would opt for an online purchase from a vendor like Amazon to avoid shipping costs and TAXES.  By the looks of what you are spending, this could be hundreds of dollars in savings.
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