What will I need in order to build my home theater to do what I want it to be able to do. (1 Viewer)

[ddub]

Hello HT Forum Members, Been a while since my first post .. After speaking wih my wife, I have an accurate idea of what we want out of our Home Theater. My goal is to have a 2 zone system. Zone 1 will be in my basement , a 5.1 setup. Zone 2 will be my living room ... Zone1, all I want is typical 5.1 Home theater setup... nothing special..(Blu Ray, Xbox360, FIOS box) Zone 2 is what I have questions about regarding what I can and can't do. In zone 2 I want to be able to: 1. Play music via airplay, CDs, and tuner with the option to simultaneously watch a movie in zone 1 using the 5.1 and not lose any sound or power quality 2. Be able to use the speakers in zone 2 for audio for watching movies in zone 2. (simultaneously watching a different movie in zone 1 using 5.1 system if possible) 3. Be able to combine zone 1 and zone 2 to play the same music from airplay, CD's tuner.. ----------------- A. Is this possible with just one reciever? if so, what am I to look for in a reciever and what hardware would I need and why ? B. Would it be best to just buy two seperate recievers ? If I must get two seperate recievers , can I somehow connect the "main" reciever in zone 1 to the "secondary" reciever in zone 2 in order to reach my goals 1, 2 and 3 ? C. I am also considering adding a 5TB to 10TB media center to be able to box up our physicall DVDs and Blu-Rays.. Any thoughts or ideas on brands, models, "HOW-TO's" would be greatly appreciated. I've been doing some homework but I have not come across many different types of media center solutions. Looking forward to any responses suggestions you may have.. please posts weblinks as well ( I don't mind doing my own reading and homework..**If I knew what I was to be doing homework on**) Money is burning a hole in my pocket.. I am so eager to buy buy buy.. but I want to make sure I buy what I need , nothing more.. nothing less..

 

[schan1269]

The only "hitch" in your plan is Airplay. Apple is a PITA. On many "zone" AVR, Airplay has to be "in use" Zone 1, to be in Zone 2. That irks numerous people. The way "around" it is to pick a device(ipad, ipod or iphone) and use the bluetooth link analog(Miccus Blubridge, Belkin F8Z...look on Amazon for "bluetooth music receiver"). Otherwise, you just need an AVR with 2nd zone HD video via component or HDMI. The lowest cost AVR with 2nd zone HDMI is the Denon AVR 3313 and it "might" also be able to do 2nd zone Airplay independent of zone 1...emphasis on "might". Everything else you ask is cake for the 3313. If you are willing to do "the hoops" for component 2nd zone(ie, connect your sources TWICE)...you can save maybe $200 on your AVR choice.

 

[ddub]

Hey schan1269 Thanks for the quick reply.. That irks numerous people. The way "around" it is to pick a device(ipad, ipod or iphone) and use the bluetooth link analog(Miccus Blubridge, Belkin F8Z...look on Amazon for "bluetooth music receiver"). ---- I will do some research on those tools and see what I like----- The lowest cost AVR with 2nd zone HDMI is the Denon AVR 3313 and it "might" also be able to do 2nd zone Airplay independent of zone 1...emphasis on "might". -------MIGHT works for me, the airplay thing isn't a show-stopper but if I can get it to work, awesome..---- Everything else you ask is cake for the 3313. -------------- At a glance 3313 looks like it will do waaay more than what I am asking.. Good thing to buy a reciever with room to "improve" my setup without having to buy a new reciever.. I'll read up more on its features, etc .. I also failed to mention that in Zone 2, there is a FIOS box and blu-ray player...---- If you are willing to do "the hoops" for component 2nd zone(ie, connect your sources TWICE)...you can save maybe $200 on your AVR choice. -------------Always looking to save some money where possible but my decision to add or not add a 2nd reciever is only based on ease of us.. My wife will be using this as well and I want to "SOMEHOW" make these options as easy as possible for her.------------------

 

[schan1269]

Easiest, technically, is buy two differnt receivers. If all you want to do is "link" the two stereos together, you can run zone 2 pre-out to a stereo receiver(or even a soundbar) in the other room. Pre-out from zone 1 will be just like connecting "anything else" in the next room. I do that from the living room theater(Onkyo SR707) to the bedroom theater(Integra DTR 5.8). Zone out runs into an audio input on the Integra(there is no CD player nor "network" in the bedroom). I bluetooth the laptop into Belkin BT music receiver and the "other" devices I want audio for are connected analog. But if you want one AVR to "do it all"...you often need one that does more than you need...so it has the features you are actually going to use.