Kerry, there is another option available to you, that will make watching movies fun too with just a bit - relatively speaking - less involvement but is much easier to deal with.
A stereo HT system.
1 receiver
2 speakers
1 source
No calibration needed. No finicky set-up menus to deal with. And from an aesthetics point of view, a clean & elegantly simple system that doesn't overwhelm a room. And despite the lack of marketing, stereo is not a "dead" technology.
What you don't get with a stereo HT system: directional sound effects with newer action/adventure films; extreme low bass sound effects*; people seated off center of the TV will not hear center-sourced sounds exactly from the center of the screen. And I have never seen component or HDMI source switching on a stereo receiver.....yet. Most do have composite video switching (VCRs & older camcorders and game consoles) but for best picture quality from a dvd, BD player or digital cable box - via component or HDMI - you would need to connect those directly to the TV.
---> To avoid the switching issue, you could buy a 5.1 channel receiver and configure its speaker management system for stereo operation.**
Otherwise, even a $300 2.0 channel HT will sound incredibly better than any set of TV speakers, there is no comparison whatsoever. I run a 2.0 system in my living room for three years now and enjoy listening to it (just finished watching the final Battlestar Galactica episode on it actually).
Besides the switching issue, the only other fundamental drawback might the fact the speakers cannot be those really tiny models that fit in the palm of your hand. The smallest I would advise using is something with a 6.5" woofer or dual 5.25" woofers. Anything smaller and they won't sound full/rich enough to create that HT "feeling".
* standard dvd players (and I think BD players) as per dvd consortium standards deliberately delete the .1 channel - also called the LFE or low frequency effects channel - when they take a 5.1 soundtrack and mix it down to stereo and send it to the player's left/right analog output.
** this will also enable the use of a subwoofer - a 2.1 system - but that can start making things complicated quick. BUT.......if the left/right speakers are large enough - something with dual 8" woofers for example - and whenever a 5.1 receiver is set up for stereo operation, it takes the .1 channel from whatever 5.1 source and combines it with the left/right channels. So depending on the capability of those speakers, you will experience X portion of those rumbly sound effects many movies include. I know because I ran my system with no sub for nearly four years i.e. a 4.0 channel system (no center channel either).
A stereo HT system.
1 receiver
2 speakers
1 source
No calibration needed. No finicky set-up menus to deal with. And from an aesthetics point of view, a clean & elegantly simple system that doesn't overwhelm a room. And despite the lack of marketing, stereo is not a "dead" technology.
What you don't get with a stereo HT system: directional sound effects with newer action/adventure films; extreme low bass sound effects*; people seated off center of the TV will not hear center-sourced sounds exactly from the center of the screen. And I have never seen component or HDMI source switching on a stereo receiver.....yet. Most do have composite video switching (VCRs & older camcorders and game consoles) but for best picture quality from a dvd, BD player or digital cable box - via component or HDMI - you would need to connect those directly to the TV.
---> To avoid the switching issue, you could buy a 5.1 channel receiver and configure its speaker management system for stereo operation.**
Otherwise, even a $300 2.0 channel HT will sound incredibly better than any set of TV speakers, there is no comparison whatsoever. I run a 2.0 system in my living room for three years now and enjoy listening to it (just finished watching the final Battlestar Galactica episode on it actually).
Besides the switching issue, the only other fundamental drawback might the fact the speakers cannot be those really tiny models that fit in the palm of your hand. The smallest I would advise using is something with a 6.5" woofer or dual 5.25" woofers. Anything smaller and they won't sound full/rich enough to create that HT "feeling".
* standard dvd players (and I think BD players) as per dvd consortium standards deliberately delete the .1 channel - also called the LFE or low frequency effects channel - when they take a 5.1 soundtrack and mix it down to stereo and send it to the player's left/right analog output.
** this will also enable the use of a subwoofer - a 2.1 system - but that can start making things complicated quick. BUT.......if the left/right speakers are large enough - something with dual 8" woofers for example - and whenever a 5.1 receiver is set up for stereo operation, it takes the .1 channel from whatever 5.1 source and combines it with the left/right channels. So depending on the capability of those speakers, you will experience X portion of those rumbly sound effects many movies include. I know because I ran my system with no sub for nearly four years i.e. a 4.0 channel system (no center channel either).