astroglide's home theater: what i own, what i would buy today

turnipmonster · #1 11-13-2007, 09:13 PM

will it sound decent without a subwoofer? I really want a minimum amount of wires and stuff running around the room. I don't need super amazing sound, as we only use the speakers for movies ~3 times a month or so.

BretWeir · #2 11-13-2007, 11:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
will it sound decent without a subwoofer? I really want a minimum amount of wires and stuff running around the room. I don't need super amazing sound, as we only use the speakers for movies ~3 times a month or so.

[/ QUOTE ]

It'll still have good sound, but it doesn't put out much bass by itself -- probably not as much as larger stand-alone speakers.

I'm not at all an audiophile, but I heard a noticeable improvement in both music and movie sound effects with the subwoofer. Like, I was watching a movie with a thunderstorm last night, and my dog ran under the couch because he thought it was real.

It'll still be a vast improvement over the TV's built-in speakers even without the sub, but I think you'd do yourself a service by adding even a smaller 6 or 6.5" subwoofer. We have our sub right next to the TV cabinet, so there's really no extra exposed wiring.

turnipmonster · #3 11-13-2007, 11:27 PM

good to know, it's definitely an option. what's the deal with the receiver? do I have to buy it special with the polk surroundbar or will another receiver work or do I need one at all?

fwiw, our current setup is a panasonic 30something plasma with a old school jvc receiver powering some old bose stereo speakers. it doesn't really sound that great.

UMTerp · #4 11-14-2007, 01:35 PM

This is probably way general for this thread, but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff. I need a sound system type thing (I guess surround sound?) for my TV room. I want to spend ~$1K. A bit more isn't the end of the world. Can I get something decent for that price?

The previous owners of my townhouse had this room wired for surround sound, and left the wires for us, so I assume they'll suffice? What type of system do I need? I assume I'll want the four speakers for the walls, a receiver (I don't even know what a receiver does), and a subwoofer? Do these all come in some sort of package anywhere? Should I buy them individually? Will these speakers be able to be used for music as well, or just the TV? (Will I be able to hook up my iPod for parties/poker night?)

The room is about 15' from front to back if that matters for anything. Here's a picture. Will I need to do any other wiring other than what's already there?

Second question, has either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD emerged as superior? I'd like one or the other, and I don't want to buy something and have it be obsolete in two years.

Thanks for any help.

gusmahler · #5 11-14-2007, 02:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Second question, has either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD emerged as superior? I'd like one or the other, and I don't want to buy something and have it be obsolete in two years.

[/ QUOTE ]

They're identical (Blu-Ray has more capacity, but that hasn't made any difference in actual quality of the movies). The only question is which format has the movies you want.

Here are two good threads where you can see what movies are available and which have the best quality.

Blu-Ray

HD DVD

Also see the release schedule, color coded by format.

If you have kids, it's a no brainer: Blu Ray has exclusives for Disney and several kids movies (e.g., Ice Age, Open Season). (OTOH, Shrek is HD DVD exclusive, so I guess it's closer than I thought).

Also see the 4th quarter exclusives thread. In the 4th quarter, BR will have 79 exclusives compared to 44 HD DVD exclusives.

UMTerp · #6 11-14-2007, 03:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Second question, has either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD emerged as superior? I'd like one or the other, and I don't want to buy something and have it be obsolete in two years.

[/ QUOTE ]

They're identical (Blu-Ray has more capacity, but that hasn't made any difference in actual quality of the movies). The only question is which format has the movies you want.

Here are two good threads where you can see what movies are available and which have the best quality.

Blu-Ray

HD DVD

Also see the release schedule, color coded by format.

If you have kids, it's a no brainer: Blu Ray has exclusives for Disney and several kids movies (e.g., Ice Age, Open Season). (OTOH, Shrek is HD DVD exclusive, so I guess it's closer than I thought).

Also see the 4th quarter exclusives thread. In the 4th quarter, BR will have 79 exclusives compared to 44 HD DVD exclusives.

[/ QUOTE ]

So this isn't going to be another VHS-Betamax thing? They'll both still be around in 3 years?

mikeczyz · #7 11-14-2007, 03:49 PM

hey gang,
Have used a NAD 2-channel integrated amp for the past 5+ years.
I've been doing some research into a pre-amp/amp combo b/c I'm looking to upgrade to a home theater sometime in the next year. Anyone have any experience with products from Outlaw Audio? They seem to be very well reviewed and the price seems about right.

Thanks,
Mike

gusmahler · #8 11-14-2007, 05:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So this isn't going to be another VHS-Betamax thing? They'll both still be around in 3 years?

[/ QUOTE ]
Keep in mind the VHS-Betamax war lasted a long time. Betamax started in 1975. VHS didn't take over until the mid 80s and Sony started making VHS machines in 1988. Also keep in mind that technological superiority is meaningless--Betamax was better than VHS. But VHS won.

No one really knows who'll win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray "war." It's just too early to tell. Blu Ray has more players (because of the PS3) and also sells more discs by a rate of about 60% to 40%. But the HD market is so small that it could switch the other way with the right title. (E.g., when Transformers was released exclusively to HD DVD, the weekly sales ratio was only 51 to 49. But when Spiderman 3 was released exclusively to Blu-Ray, the ratio was 71 to 29.)

Each has its pros and cons:

HD DVD:
* Cheaper players (Wal Mart had one model for $99 a few weeks ago. You can still get that model for $185 on-line: search for Toshiba A2.

* Availability of combo discs (this gives you a Standard DVD on one side and HD DVD on the other, allowing you to play a movie on other players.

Blu-Ray
* More movies
* Cheapest player is also a gaming machine (PS3)
* Higher capacity (not used now, but possibly will be in the future. Also could lead to Blu-Ray winning the market of recordable media, which may lead to overall victory)
* Combo discs are more expensive than Blu-Ray discs. (Though non-combo HD DVDs are the same price as Blu Ray.)

It should also be noted that the earliest Blu-Ray discs were compressed using what many consider an inferior compression scheme. Thus leading to the same movie looking better on HD DVD than Blu Ray. This situation is rare now and I believe the consensus is that movies released today in both formats look pretty much identical.

jeffnc · #9 11-29-2007, 05:48 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So this isn't going to be another VHS-Betamax thing? They'll both still be around in 3 years?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, that's almost exactly like what this is. They might easily still both be around in 3 years though.

gusmahler · #10 11-14-2007, 02:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I assume I'll want the four speakers for the walls, a receiver (I don't even know what a receiver does), and a subwoofer?

[/ QUOTE ]

You may also want a center channel speaker. (or not, some people don't like them.)

What a receiver does is switch between sources (e.g., between your cable box and your DVD player) and sends the signals to the speakers. E.g., your DVD player has a digital output that the receiver will separate into signals for each of your speakers.

Search this thread for recommendations on home theater in a box (which has the receiver and all the speakers).