TV and dvd player are dying, need HT advice (1 Viewer)

[Abby]

Way back in 2003, I think, I asked for advice on a speaker system and bought a Sony STR-DE595 receiver and JBL speakers. Well now I'm back for advice on a new TV and blu-ray. My dvd player can't play discs it was playing the night before and I can't hit my TV to get the screen to come back on anymore so I think it's time to update. I've got an affection towards Panasonic, though I'm not glued to it. I am leaning towards a Panasonic DMP-BDT210 and a 42" Panasonic TC-P42ST30. My questions are about TV size, hook-up, and the center speaker. 1. The attached photo is a to scale model of my "theater room". I've made a scale model of the 42" TV and put it on a table I use as a TV stand. The two bookcases (brown) on either side are short but they may limit the placement of the TV. Now, I could put a box under the TV and get a 46", but I wonder if I should bother. Money isn't really an issue, but the room is small and I'm used to a 27" 4:3 tv, so a 42" would be bigger than what I've got now. I'm not thrilled about mounting the TV to the wall, don't want holes in the wall. Oh, I'll also mention I'm near sighted and like to sit close, hence the chair in the middle of the room. Thoughts? [ATTACHMENT=178]Theatre Room.jpg (52k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT] 2. My receiver does not have an HDMI jack, so what would be the best way to hook up the audio? I've been using the Digital Audio *edit* Digital Optical. 3. And finally, where do you put the center speaker with a flat panel? Currently, my JBL S-Series center is on top of my 27" TV (yes, there are green spots over the tv's speakers, but unless I'm watching Due South, I rarely notice them.) Do you put it below? How close can it get? Thanks so much for your time.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Hi Abby,


I won't comment too much on the screen size. I think either one will do. I generally figure it's best to go as big as you can, but at that seating distance, maybe 46" is too big?


For the audio connection, your only option is to use digital coaxial or optical (depending on what you have available on the devices). Note, that the lossless audio formats (DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD) are NOT supported on anything other than HDMI or multichannel analog outs, so you'll basically be getting slightly higher bitrate lossy DD and DTS soundtracks for BR. You will still want to run HDMI from the Blu-Ray directly to the TV to get the HD video.


I checked and your receiver DOES support DTS, so you should be OK in that regard (older receivers that don't decode DTS aren't able to do anything with Blu-Rays that only contain DTS soundtracks).


Finally, for the center channel, most of us place it below the screen (with flat panels, below is easier to achieve than above, since the TV is so thin). You can angle it up slightly if you like and it should be just fine. Also, flat panels (plasma and LCD) are not susceptible to magnetic interference like CRT sets, so you shouldn't notice ANY discoloration no matter how close the speaker is to the set.


Good luck!