Church audio video room (1 Viewer)

Hello everyone,

I am in charge of putting together the audio/video components for a new room we are currently building in our church in Ohio.

The room is 20 ft. by 20 ft. square, with an 8 ft. ceiling and carpet on the floor.

Here's what we think we would like to have:

[*]TV screen/monitor mounted on the wall - we're thinking 80 inches
[*]Receiver or amp to power the speakers
[*]Speakers
[*]DVD or Blu-Ray player with streaming capabilities
[*]Ability to easily play content (audio or video) from a mobile device (iPhone or iPad, for example)
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Maybe most importantly: we would like for anyone to be able to easily turn things on and use the remote(s) to play a DVD or watch TV, without much training, if any. It needs to be simple.

Some things I'm not sure of:

[*]What size speakers to get
[*]Where to put the speakers (corners of room on wall near ceiling?)
[*]Do we need surround speakers?
[*]Do we need a subwoofer?
[*]The TV doesn't need to be a smart TV, right?
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Our budget is about $2,500.

I would love to have suggestions as to the best way we can achieve our goals. I'm tech-minded, but not really knowledgeable about the latest audio/video systems. I have a 20 year old Onkyo system at home.

Thanks.

What will the room be used for? With no details I'm shooting in the dark here, but I still have a couple of suggestions.

You say the system has to be simple, which means the people using it won't be home theater buffs. That means go with stereo rather than 5.1, and no sub. I would get a receiver that can power two sets of stereo speakers with an a/b switch. Reverend Jones will struggle to make it work properly but he would never figure out surround sound.

In terms of display size you'd probably be better off getting one 60" monitor for the front of the room and two 40" displays for the sides than one 80".

Keep in mind you're not building a home theater for yourself, it's picture and sound for people who can barely figure out how to how to work their hdtvs.

$2500 is 1/2 the amount of money this will take.

The room will be used for study groups to meet and watch DVD's, casual groups of 8-10 to watch TV, groups to meet while listening to background music, etc.

Let me revise the budget: Not counting the TV/monitor, we have a $1,500 budget for the audio/hardware components.

Onkyo TX 8050. Stereo receiver with USB for apple use...and has networking.Put 4 speakers in...the 4 corners of the room. I would use towers so they can just sit on the floor and be moved around as needed.Seriously consider on Oppo BD player. Doesn't have to be a new one, just make sure it is a 83 or higher number. It will handle everything else...the 8050 won't (on the networking side of things). You "might" even try calling Oppo directly. Maybe they have one with a scratched case they'd sell cheap(well, cheap for them...and have no idea if they will discount for this type of use. Some manufacturers do...).(If you want 5.0...you will not need a sub if you go with 4 towers. Change out the Onkyo 8050 to a SR333. You don't get much simpler to use than Onkyo)

I like Carl Johnson's approach. 20'x20' is not a huge room. Presumably there will be a fair # of chairs and people in the room, so I don't think you need an 80" TV. There are lots of good deals on 60" TVs these days. I also agree that you do not need surround sound. I expect the users of the room will watch religious based videos and movies and listen to or watch religious based music, so no need to equip the room to watch something like Captain America or Thor.

Just my 2¢, but I prefer to do my streaming with a Roku rather than my Blu-ray players. Some players may not offer streaming for a service you want to use. Roku does (there are other streaming devices, but I am only familiar with Roku). And these devices are small and cheap (under $100). If you set up your system with a receiver with at least 2 HDMI inputs, you can connect the Blu-ray and Roku to those inputs of the receiver. You would then have 4 remotes to contend with: one for the TV, one for the receiver, one for the Blu-ray and one for the Roku. The Blu-ray player can play Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs. The receiver remote will be used to power the receiver on and off, set volume, and select the player you are using. The TV remote will largely just be used to turn the TV on and off. The Roku and Blu-ray remotes are used to contol those respective players.

I personally do not recommend an Oppo Blu-ray for your purposes. I have one and love it, but if you get one, there's $500 of your budget gone already. You can get a cheaper player and Roku for much less.

If he goes stereo receiver, there is no HDMI.The Oppo* has an HDMI input for said Roku...or laptop, or anything else(the Oppo is built like a tank as well).To me, a used Oppo 93* in the $350-$450 range makes complete sense.*93 and up.There is one on Ebay with 2 days to go, $350 + shipping. Subtract out shipping to make it $450 shipped...throw on the bid...see what happens.If you go stereo, buy the Oppo just for the HDMI input.If you go AVR, you are spending more on this, buy a less expensive BD player.

By the way, to get the networking the TX 8050 has in an AVR, you need the NR525/535. Not the SR333.

In terms of stereo only, I meant that he could get a 5.1 receiver run it as a stereo only receiver by skipping the extra speakers. I have a 5.1 receiver with 5.1 speakers, but I play stereo CDs in stereo only.

I didn't know the Oppos had an HDMI input. I have a BDP 93. It has two HDMI outputs, and USB inputs. Does this model also have an HDMI input?

Regarding Oppo...thought they all did.Just checked the 83 and 95. No.103...yes.Oops.So...yes $500 for a BD player is a bit much. But it will do everything...

As for the TV, my church has a projector and a 4:3 screen. How about a Benq W1070 and a screen.

For speakers...

I'm planning on a center speaker on top of the equipment stand.

For the two front speakers - should I put them on the floor on either side of the stand? Or in the upper corner of the left and right sides at the joints between the side/back walls and ceiling?