What Do I Buy First? (1 Viewer)

[TerryT]

I want to transition from a 27” direct view tv, with DVD, VCR, and Direct TV dish/recorder to a HD/HT setup with surround sound capability. My budget is $5,000 - $6,000 for tv, receiver, speakers, and HD capability to be purchased over the next 6 months. I will integrate the existing DVD and VCR players into the new system.

I’d like a DLP tv in the 46” – 50” size range, bookshelf-type speakers, and a receiver that I won’t outgrow for a while. My questions are…should I purchase these items in any particular order (receiver, then speakers, then tv???)? My thought is that I'll buy the TV last so as to get the most current DLP chip coming out this year.

What features should I look for in a receiver? How powerful a receiver do I need for a 5.1/6.1 speaker system?

Would you recommend switching from dish to cable for HD capability (to eliminate having an antenna)? Thanks for the help

 

[Ted Lee]

doesn't matter. either way, you'll eventually have to get everything anyway. the idea of getting the dlp last to get a current chip seems pretty smart.

for the receiver, just look for one with enough inputs and connection types (s-video and component) to keep you flexible and future-proof. don't worry too much about the whole wattage thing - those numbers are usually suspect at best anyway.

for speakers, make sure you listen to as many as you can. it'll give you a better idea of how varied speakers can sound.

unless your cable provider has a hi-def option (comcast only charges 5 more dollars per monthy - a great bargain) it'll cost you an additional few hundred dollars to get into hdtv.

make sure you have a good dvd player. if you're getting a dlp, you may want to consider a dvd player like the samsung 931 which upconverts to 1081i via the dvi connection - it's a straight digital signal to your tv. awesome...

 

[Ernest Yee]

I would shop around for the speakers first, that alone will last you through several upgrades. Then w/ the remaining budget, you can see if you want to go seperates or spend the majority on the DLP screen. Since the DLP is "new tech", it might pay off to shop around and wait a little bit before doing to full plunge since prices are always likely to fall, so you can wait for a relatively good deal to come by.