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

[TheProbst]

Hi. I am a giant home theater nut and I thought Id chime in on some of the things I have read in this post and add some other thoughts.

Firstly, burn in, imo is a thing of the past. The newer plasmas all have burn in protection built in. I own an entry level 50 inch vizio plasma and have played video games extensively on it as well as letter boxing SD. I have never experienced burn in only what is known as image retention. These two things are very much different. With image retention a static image may appear on static color backgrounds immediately after playing a video or form leter boxing but 99.9999% of the time it will go away after about 15 mins of watching something else.

Secondly, It is my firm belief that if you really want a true HT experience you need aprox a 4 to 1 ratio from dollars spent on sound and dollars spent on the actual TV or Projector.

Here is my setup.

Speakers - Martin Logan Sequel II electrostatics for the LR
The center is the Martin Logan Cinema I electrostatic center channel.

Sub - SVS PB10. Anyone looking for a sub needs to check out SVS products.

Receiver - Denon 4806.

Dvd player - HDA2 HDDVD player + PS3 for BluRay



(I have since hidden the wires)

[nolanfan34]

Update,

Wow, I got my Slingbox hooked up tonight. That thing is sweet. We just got a new LCD TV in my office, that my wife wants to use to be able to watch the DVR when using the elliptical machine. I hooked up the TV for use as my computer monitor, and watching TV through the Slingbox gives me a far better picture than standard definition through cable. I'm impressed so far.

[Marwan]

astro, do you have any suggestions on a decent setup for a budget-minded college student? Are there any generic/non brand names that sell good tv's or should I stick with trusted names always? (Sony, Panasonic, Samsung etc)..

[jba]

question:

I'd like to setup a little surround sound action in my living room, but I'm not sure how it will sound because I always sit in the corner of the room. Can someone give me some advice on how to setup the rear speakers given the layout below?

The tv is the skinny rectangle at the top, the big rectangle is the couch where I basically never sit (but the girlfriend does - she wont care much at all about the sound), and the crooked square is where my comfy chair is - this is where I do all of my tv/movie watching and video game playing.

suggestions?

[unfrgvn]

[ QUOTE ]
question:

I'd like to setup a little surround sound action in my living room, but I'm not sure how it will sound because I always sit in the corner of the room.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a similiar situation, small living room, all the furniture towards that back wall. You can't really get good surround unless you are in the center of the room. The best you can do is put on speaker on each side of the back wall. My receiver allows me to adjust the volume of each output, so I tried to compensate for the fact that I am closer to the right speaker by increasing the volume from the left rear, but it's not all that great. My advice to you, place the rear speakers so they are equi-distant from the center of the room, and when you want to watch a movie move the couch to the center of the room and join your gf on the couch. Profit.

[astroglide]

goofyballer,
i think a good plasma looks slightly better than sxrd with a 720p source, but apples to apples i consider it a net loss because of reduced immersion: 50" vs 60" for the same price. sxrd sets are also 1080p, impossible to burn, and don't have the same mounting/distance issues. for my own money that's still an easy decision, but i think plasma vs rp is a lot closer today than it was 2 or so years ago when i bought my lcd. and for some, form factor alone is king.

nolanfan,
glad you like the slingbox. it's worth noting to the others that it works a lot better on a lan than it does over the internet, though.

marwan,
at college i would probably just buy a cheap crt on craigslist. i don't think entry level is worth tapping a bank account, and you can save up. saving rules.

jba,
it sounds like you could use a more comfortable couch!

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
nolanfan,
glad you like the slingbox. it's worth noting to the others that it works a lot better on a lan than it does over the internet, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, I noticed this when I tried it at work yesterday. Still was completely watchable, but the full screen quality is certainly not as good. But, the fact I could still watch my DVR during my lunch was pretty cool.

Another benefit for those who have a juvenile sense of humor like I do occasionally - I can change the channel remotely when my wife is watching TV. She needs to watch more ESPN, I think.

[asofel]

nice post astro...i think i'll be going with the same dvd player and home stereo system...

as far as the tv, i'm going with the pioneer 50" plasma...i've found a nice deal at newegg, but now I'm wondering about warranty...if you or others have any thoughts on that, i'd love to hear it.

[private joker]

I'm currently in the market for a new TV too (everyone would lol at my current box -- a 27" Sony Trinitron from the late '90s).

I don't have a set budget but I'd like to keep it around $1,000. Maybe 1200 max. Should I spring for a better TV of smaller proportions? Or get a decent-but-not-awesome TV that's bigger? I'm totally clueless here. I don't think I can afford a *good* plasma, as was mentioned, so the Panasonic 42" is probably out of my range.

Is there a good LCD that I can get for 1k that's 40" or so? Or will I have to go down to a 36"?

And what brands are musts to avoid?

[gusmahler]

You can get a Samsung 46" DLP for $1000 from Amazon (plus no taxes and free shipping).

From a brief search of Amazon, you can't get any plasma for $1100. You can get an LCD, but it's only 32".