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Help with HT equipment selection (1 Viewer)

maybach57

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Oct 17, 2014
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Sivaram
I have a dedicated HT room and I plan to use the following equipment. There are a few items that I have not been able to make up my mind on and would welcome any comments.

1) The room is a dedicated HT and so is completely dark. Also, I have a separate area outside the room for all the equipment (except the projector); so sound is not an issue.

2) I am planning to use a Sony VPL-HW40ES SXRD projector.

3) I am thinking of using Paradigm AMS-150R-30 in-ceiling speakers for the front. These speakers, though ceiling mounted, are pointed downward at a 30 degree angle and makes the sound appear from the front.

4) Also regular Paradigm AMS speakers for the side and rear-surround.

5) I am unable to choose between an Oppo BDP-103 and a Sony PS4 as a Blu-Ray player. I have a 10-yr old who will enjoy the PS4, but if its playback is bad, then I would rather go with the Oppo.

6) I am thinking of an Elite ezframe screen. But a friend insists that I should paint the wall directly with special silver-infused paint which he swears will outperform a substantially more expensive Stewart Studiotek.

7) A vendor suggested the MX-780 and MRF-260 remote control combo, but I hate the idea of spending $450 for what is essentially a fancy remote control. Isn't there an App that I can use on my smart phone to control?

Feel free to comment - but I particularly welcome feedback on the choice of Blu-Ray player, the screen and the remote control.
 

Robert_J

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Aug 22, 2000
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Mississippi
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Robert
3) Even with the 30 degree angle, your front speakers will sound like they are in the ceiling. Not directly above you but in front of you at a 30 degree angle. It sounds like you are planning a very nice room and then compromising on the speaker placement.

5) Why not both? Use the Oppo for Blu-ray playback and the PS4 for games.

6) I went DIY on my screen with the ability to remove the frame and paint it with a silverish paint color that I found on another popular home theater forum. Plain blackout fabric was better than the $1,000+ screen in the demo room of the store we stopped in. When my wife found out I saved $925, she was extremely happy.

7) Harmony remotes. Get the app for your phone or one of their RF to IR remotes that will control your equipment in another room.
 

FoxyMulder

映画ファン
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Sep 14, 2009
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Malcolm
I read the PS4 wasn't as good for blu ray playback as the PS3 was, possibly they fixed that with a firmware upgrade but i believe it failed several basic tests, the X box One was even worse, the info is somewhere over at HDTV Test site, maybe in their forum.

If i was you i'd buy a dedicated player, the Oppo are fab and for a very small fee can be hardware modded to run discs from any region, this hardware mod is easily installed and does not affect firmware upgrades, alternatively look at a cheap Panasonic player.

There will be no difference in blu ray playback between a cheap Panasonic player and the Oppo, the differences come if you wish to use the Darbee processing, in dvd scaling and in analog audio if you wish to use that, otherwise buy a Panasonic instead.
 

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