I have $1,200 - What is my best option? (1 Viewer)

[chris*p]

I'm savvy when it comes to computers, but home theaters are probably just a bit out of my realm. This system is actually for my Mom.

What I want to do for her is show her how much she could save by shopping online for the stuff rather than buying at Best Buy. The upside of Best Buy is she gets no-payments for 6 months or so, but I'd rather her buy it flat out, I say if you don't have the $, you don't get the stuff.

This is what the system needs/should do.

1) A nice TV (LCD, should be the most expensive part)
2) Play, DVD's, Cassettes, VHS.
3) A receiver that can have multiple inputs (the DVD/VHS/Cassette etc as well as other A/V inputs)
4) Everything on one remote (if you have to recommend a remote)

I'm looking for recommendations on the products with links to good online stores to buy them from, perhaps a word of general advice or something.

Thank you everyone.

 

[SethH]

That's going to be pretty tough. You didn't mention a size requirement on the TV. You should be able to find a 26" LCD with a good brand (Sony, Panasonic, JVC, etc) for just under $1000, but that doesn't leave much money for everything else. If you go down to 23" you'll save some money, but have a pretty small screen.

You're really asking for a lot here for the money you've got to spend. So you want something to play DVD, VHS, and cassette tapes? You could possibly save a little by getting a DVD/VCR combo, but I'm not a huge fan of those personally. But the truth is, with only about $200-$300 to play with, you're going to have a hard time getting a DVD player, VCR, and receiver. Would you need speakers too? If so, then you probably need to either rethink your budget or rethink your needs. You best bet in this situation may actually be an HTiB at BestBuy if they have something in your price range that will do everything you want.