Newbie: Thoughts on this HT (1 Viewer)

[richn41]

I’m new to the HD world and was wondering if some if you could comment on what I’m thinking of purchasing. Right now I live in an apartment (approx. 12’x13’ living room) but I also am thinking of the future. I will most likely buy a house in the next year or two. Here’s what I’ve tentatively decided on”

HDTV Budget: $2500 max
Samsung LN-S4695D
46” LCD 1080p

HT System Budget: $1100 max
Onkyo HT-S907
7.1 Channel (110 watts x 7) and 230 watt 10” front firing sub

Receiver: “The HDMI inputs can accept and switch 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p signals to a TV, monitor, or projector.”

6 Disc DVD Player: “The video resolution for the HDMI output can be set to 480p, 720p, or 1080i.”

Questions:
1.Is the upconversion related to the DVD player and the switching related to the receiver?
2.Does that mean that if I play a DVD it can, or will, upconvert to 1080i at the highest?
3.Does that mean that if in two years I decide to buy a HD-DVD player or Blu-Ray player that the receiver will accept the 1080p signal?

Also, I’m kind of on the fence as to whether I should go with the 40” or 46” Samsung LCD. I’m afraid the 46 will be too big and the picture won’t look good in my apartment. But, I’m also afraid that if I buy a 40” that I will regret it later.

Anyway, I would greatly appreciate any comments and suggestions.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[jmrock]

I own the exact same HD-TV which you are thinking about buying (Samsung 4695) which is a great TV, esp. with the HD programming. My living room is 18'x11' and the 46" screen is just about right for the size of the room, so I would say given the dimensions of your living room, the Samsung 4695 would be a good fit. Better to get the 46" and not regretting buying the 40" because of it being too "small".

 

[Robert_J]

Too big a picture? Is there such a thing? I sit 12' from a 103" screen in my theater and it's perfect.

-Robert

 

[richn41]

That's reassuring to hear the TV is good. I'm almost definitely going with the 46". Does anybody have opinions on the Onkyo system?

 

[Chad Isaacs]

I am on my second Onkyo receiver, not because of problems but because I had the itch to upgrade from 5.1 - 7.1

For under a grand I ( including shipping ) I purchased ( from bhphoto.com)

1 Onkyo TXSR503 7.1
1 Pair JBL E30 ( front main speakers)
1 JBL EC35 ( center channel speaker)
1 pair JBl E 20 ( side surround speakers)
1 pair JBL E 10 ( rear surround speakers)
1 JBL E250p ( 12" powered sub)

The speakers themselves are great ( as are most reviews) but I have been wanting to shift the 10's to the back, the 30's to the side and go with floor standers up front. Mainly because I want to and because of baby, dog and cat who have an easy time knocking over stands. The sub does not have great reviews but for my space it works well, it is basically a 14x14x9 room that opens to another room ( of the same size) and it fills the living room with good bass. I have owned a SVsubwoofer and while it was nice(r) for the price this cant be beat ( unless you diy and even then its hard to beat the price I paid)

For you dvd player, why not get a HD DVD player? If you go with the speakers receiver I did you save over $100 from the get go and you can find first gen players for decent prices these days... might as well do it right the first time. Personally, I have an Oppo dvd player and while it is very nice I will be upgrading to an HD DVD player come tax time. I really want the better up conversion capabilities and (from what I hear) it is a great cd player not to mention HD.

I can't comment on the tv.We have a 32" hdtvish tv in the living room.I say ish because its 4:3 and not even a flat screen, but, it will take the signal. I use a Sanyo Z3 projector with a 110" screen for movies.


Good luck, have fun. Don't get tied into a home theater in a box and you will thank us for it down the road!

 

[richn41]

When I think of HT in a box I think of the DVD/Receiver/Amp all in one. I guess I wouldn't consider the Onkyo system that I talking about as one of those because it still has separate components. I definitely want to be able to replace the DVD player in the future if I so desire. Plus, the DVD player that is with the system has 720p/1080i output.

As for the HD-DVD, I guess I can't see buying one now. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't you have to have HD-DVD's in order to use the player to it's potential? Does it play regular DVD's any better? Plus, not knowing which format is going to win the war (HD vs Blu Ray) I thought it might be a wise move to wait a year or so.

 

[Chad Isaacs]

Your right, you would want hd dvd to play it at its full potential, however, it has wonderful sd upconversion ( even Mike Knapp said its as good as his $3000 Cary dvd player) and if you look in the right places HD titles are not THAT much more than standard.

If your not interested in an HD unit, I would strongly suggest an Oppo player. Check AVS forum for more info, and check out their site, oppodigital.com. I have the 971h and its great. They have frequent firmware upgrades as well. I paid $199 for my player and have not checked prices in a while. The player I have will play MOST formats even dvd audio, I think their other unit does SACD.

 

[Mike Knapp]

Just to clarify...

I have the Cary DVD7 and the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player.

I also still use my legacy (code word for old school) display, a 65" Mitsubishi CRT display. The Mits will only accept component HD signal, no HDMI port.

Now, The Toshiba does a good job with HD material (after the ice age passes and it finally boots up) but I cannot test the upscaling feature in it because it only upscales via HDMI. Thats why I got the Cary, it upscales via the component outputs, and it will do any output resolution you need including 1080P. (see RAFs article about outboard scaling) The Cary is an SD player that is designed specifically to upscale, not an HD player that upscales as a bonus feature.

The Cary produces an upscaled 1080I image that has rivaled any of the HD-DVD's I have purshased except one. The exception is Blazing Saddles, the upscaled version is not close to the HD version.

Now, I have been called on the rug for not having the proper display to show off HD-DVD (7" CRT's) and for sitting too far from the display to realize the resolution increase, so take those points into consideration.

On my set, as is from where I sit, there is very little difference between HD-DVD and the upscaled Cary image with one noted exception being the HD color palette.

I had two other players that upscaled via component. Neither came anywhere near the Cary.

I know the Cary is not for everyone, but because of my large SD disc collection, it was an investment I was willing to make. I now buy HD discs when available, but don't sweat it if a title is only released in SD.

It's all good.

Mike