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Few Questions about a New A/V Setup
The Dude With Herpes
Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
I scanned a few pages but didn't really see any thread I could just tag along to, so I am making a new one.
My wife and I are currently looking into replacing my ancient massive 60in projection screen with an LCD/Plasma. My old box is gigantic, was made before there was any digital option (480p or anything), has extremely limited input options, the coaxial input has been broken for years, the buttons barely work and there's been a Food Network logo burned into the screen for about 6 years now. :P
Issue One:
Anyway, I had been thinking a 46in LCD, probably LED lit since those are coming down in price pretty rapidly; but I've been reading the TV thread and a lot of other threads and it sounds like I might instead look into a larger plasma. Looks like I can get a 50-54in panasonic plasma for as much or a bit more than a mid-40's LCD and that sounds pretty damn good to me. Is there anything wrong with this perspective? I don't have any specific model in mind, but I keep seeing good things said about panasonics, particularly veiras. I'm not looking for a 3DTV at all. We're just not interested in it really. We've seen plenty of movies in 3d in theaters and while they're fine for novelty we just don't care, at best, and get headaches at worst.
Issue Two:
I was going to mount the TV on the wall, not with an arm, just a flat mount against the wall. This seemed fine until I started thinking about a Plasma and keep hearing about how heavy they are. I'm worried about mounting a 50+in plasma on my wall if the weight is going to be an issue. I don't want the mount to sag out of the wall, or worse, come out completely if the TV is so heavy. I've hung many many things on my wall myself, shelves that hold quite a bit of weight so I'm comfortable in my ability to mount things correctly; but I just don't know how much of an issue the concentrated weight of a plasma could be mounting to drywall. Anyone have any comments?
Issue Three:
My receiver is older than my TV. Meaning no digital input options, plenty of svideo though!
. There's only two (one optical, one digital) 5.1 inputs, zero hdmi, zero component, etc. So yeah, it'd be useless for a new system setup. I don't need to move to 7.1 audio as our living room is pretty small, and anywhere we'll be moving for years will also probably be on the small side, and I have pretty good 5.1 speakers that I've had for years and don't need to replace. I've looked at a few receivers and think I have one that is a later model of the current one I have that seems to be what I'd be looking for. Here is a link to it on the Best Buy site. My prospective inputs are going to be 2 HDMI (Blu Ray/PS3? and occasionally my 360) 2 Component (PS2, Wii) and cable. That leaves only one HDMI free and no more component for upgrading. I was also thinking of just jumping to a 7.1 model for more inputs and future-proofing , this is what I was looking at (I'd get it at amazon, not BB), as it has an extra component and two extra HDMI's. Any thoughts?
Issue Four:
Related to three, I know plasmas don't have the whole 120/240hz distinction that LCD's do, but I'm curious if running at a higher framerate or whatever is going to be limited by the Receiver if I'm using it for A/V passthrough for all of my components (Ideally, I only one one single cable going to my TV, one HDMI).
Issue Five
Related to four, if I input my Wii to the receiver via Component, will the receiver pass the information through to the TV via HDMI? Will the Receiver limit the video information being sent? Again, I'd ideally just one one single HDMI cable going from my receiver to the TV and nothing else at all.
Issue Six:
Looking into a Blu-Ray player, apparently one with internet connection is the norm now, and for the better I suppose, so I don't run into movies that decide I need a different version of somesuch and blah blah. Anyway, I just have a 360, never really felt a need to get a PS3, but now that a new TV and needing a blu-ray player is on the table, I'm now curious about a PS3. See, I don't have any strong inclination to get a PS3 for gaming, I have way more than enough games on my PC/360/Wii, many I haven't gotten around to touching yet. But if the player on the PS3 is comparable with any straight blu-ray box, and it's not terribly more expensive, it might be worth just having in case. But if the price difference is significant and/or the actual player on the PS3 isn't up to snuff compared to other dedicated players, I'd rather just save a bit of cash and get just a normal player. Any thoughts/advise?
I think that's it.
My wife and I are currently looking into replacing my ancient massive 60in projection screen with an LCD/Plasma. My old box is gigantic, was made before there was any digital option (480p or anything), has extremely limited input options, the coaxial input has been broken for years, the buttons barely work and there's been a Food Network logo burned into the screen for about 6 years now. :P
Issue One:
Anyway, I had been thinking a 46in LCD, probably LED lit since those are coming down in price pretty rapidly; but I've been reading the TV thread and a lot of other threads and it sounds like I might instead look into a larger plasma. Looks like I can get a 50-54in panasonic plasma for as much or a bit more than a mid-40's LCD and that sounds pretty damn good to me. Is there anything wrong with this perspective? I don't have any specific model in mind, but I keep seeing good things said about panasonics, particularly veiras. I'm not looking for a 3DTV at all. We're just not interested in it really. We've seen plenty of movies in 3d in theaters and while they're fine for novelty we just don't care, at best, and get headaches at worst.
Issue Two:
I was going to mount the TV on the wall, not with an arm, just a flat mount against the wall. This seemed fine until I started thinking about a Plasma and keep hearing about how heavy they are. I'm worried about mounting a 50+in plasma on my wall if the weight is going to be an issue. I don't want the mount to sag out of the wall, or worse, come out completely if the TV is so heavy. I've hung many many things on my wall myself, shelves that hold quite a bit of weight so I'm comfortable in my ability to mount things correctly; but I just don't know how much of an issue the concentrated weight of a plasma could be mounting to drywall. Anyone have any comments?
Issue Three:
My receiver is older than my TV. Meaning no digital input options, plenty of svideo though!
. There's only two (one optical, one digital) 5.1 inputs, zero hdmi, zero component, etc. So yeah, it'd be useless for a new system setup. I don't need to move to 7.1 audio as our living room is pretty small, and anywhere we'll be moving for years will also probably be on the small side, and I have pretty good 5.1 speakers that I've had for years and don't need to replace. I've looked at a few receivers and think I have one that is a later model of the current one I have that seems to be what I'd be looking for. Here is a link to it on the Best Buy site. My prospective inputs are going to be 2 HDMI (Blu Ray/PS3? and occasionally my 360) 2 Component (PS2, Wii) and cable. That leaves only one HDMI free and no more component for upgrading. I was also thinking of just jumping to a 7.1 model for more inputs and future-proofing , this is what I was looking at (I'd get it at amazon, not BB), as it has an extra component and two extra HDMI's. Any thoughts?Issue Four:
Related to three, I know plasmas don't have the whole 120/240hz distinction that LCD's do, but I'm curious if running at a higher framerate or whatever is going to be limited by the Receiver if I'm using it for A/V passthrough for all of my components (Ideally, I only one one single cable going to my TV, one HDMI).
Issue Five
Related to four, if I input my Wii to the receiver via Component, will the receiver pass the information through to the TV via HDMI? Will the Receiver limit the video information being sent? Again, I'd ideally just one one single HDMI cable going from my receiver to the TV and nothing else at all.
Issue Six:
Looking into a Blu-Ray player, apparently one with internet connection is the norm now, and for the better I suppose, so I don't run into movies that decide I need a different version of somesuch and blah blah. Anyway, I just have a 360, never really felt a need to get a PS3, but now that a new TV and needing a blu-ray player is on the table, I'm now curious about a PS3. See, I don't have any strong inclination to get a PS3 for gaming, I have way more than enough games on my PC/360/Wii, many I haven't gotten around to touching yet. But if the player on the PS3 is comparable with any straight blu-ray box, and it's not terribly more expensive, it might be worth just having in case. But if the price difference is significant and/or the actual player on the PS3 isn't up to snuff compared to other dedicated players, I'd rather just save a bit of cash and get just a normal player. Any thoughts/advise?
I think that's it.
Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
The Dude With Herpes on
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Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I'm not too familiar with this but my understanding is you will absolutely not be mounting ANY HDTV to drywall. And definitely not the plasma. Has to be studs. Beyond that I know people do mount plasmas. I have a stand because my room wouldn't support that kind of setup even if I wanted it.
For receivers I generally prefer Onkyo right now for the great feature set and quality at a low price. This one for example. See the next issue. Also, Cnet sure doesn't like that second Sony.
The receiver won't matter. What's really important here is your desire for a single cable. What you need for this is a receiver that does analog-to-digital conversion. Otherwise you will need an HDMI cable and a Component cable (for your digital and analog inputs). A lot of people see upconversion and think it does this...it does not. This is typically a mid-end feature. The second sony you linked supports this, as does the onkyo I put up.
See above. The receiver will in no way limit the video information being sent. The only thing to consider is that extra upconversion processing may introduce input lag, so if you play rhythm/fighting games you may want to turn it off.
The PS3 is the best blu-ray player out there. I really don't see an argument against that. Bring price into the picture and it's not as necessary. Given that you already have a PC and a 360, I don't see you using some of the internet features on either a blu-ray or the PS3 (talking Hulu, Netflix, etc.) You already have devices for those. Firmware updates aren't that common for blu-rays anymore. So if you're looking to save money, a cheap $90 standalone player from amazon may be what you're looking for.
One thing though. Under no circumstance should you buy a non-internet player thinking you'll get a wireless USB thing to save money. In most cases these players will only accept THEIR wireless usb device, and I have never seen more criminal pricing (talking $70-90+ for functionality computers get out of a $20 dongle)
PSN: TheScrublet
I'll have to look into the mounting thing more I suppose. I know the anchors I use for most of the stuff I hang are rated to hold quite a bit of weight. I think the number of books I have on the shelf above my desk, for instance, weigh considerably more than any TV I would hang.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Double yes on Okyos. Make sure you place and balance your speakers properly.
Blu-Ray is pretty as all fuck. We have a nice Samsung at work that plays Netflix and it works so goddamned amazing. I highly insist you get something that lets you stream Netflix on your TV. Its the goddamned future. The PS3 will do this (and other great things!) but it will cost more.
Speaking of which, what is your total budget for this?
What is your total budget?
Once we actually move forward with it I think that a $1k-$1.5k price range for everything (TV, Blu-Ray, Receiver) is about all I'll be able to swing. Probably more like $1.5k. I haven't seen many sub $1k tv's that are going to suffice for me, I think. about $1k for the TV is about right and $500 for a bluray/reciever. I have all the cables etc I should need.
My only concern now is the mounting thing. I don't want to spend too much on a mount and we absolutely don't want our TV on a stand, and I hadn't given any thought to needing to mount it on studs. I own the place, even though its in a condo complex, so I have the right to go in and add in an additional stud if required, it just wasn't something I was planning on. I'll have to bust out the stud finder and look at mounts to see if I can get away with what is already in the wall.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Sign up for Newegg's e-mail blasts, they have regular sales and I'm sure you'll wind up seeing something that fits your budget for your TV. Definitely go with Onkyo for the receiver and surround, and maybe a Samsung Bluray (with Netflix!!!). I think you can swing decent stuff for 1500 if you wait for a sale to pop up. Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Sony, and Vizio are your go to brands.
Stud finders are typically about 10 bucks give or take, and very easy to use. You can also knock on the wall to find the spots that sound less hollow, but being accurate with that can take quite a bit of practice.
For receivers, I've reached the point where I couldn't recommend Onkyo. If you have a problem be prepared to be without it for a couple months or more. Their service center support is atrocious, at least in Canada. I have a Denon currently which has never had a problem, but because of that I can't compare their service to Onkyo's. Harman Kardon's service is better than Onkyo's and they're quality is pretty equivelant.
Most receivers will passthrough or even upconvert from other signals, but it depends on the receiver. Generally the manual has a chart showing which signals can be passed through or upconverted and through which outputs. It's very reasonable to assume you'll just have an HDMI cable running to your TV and that's it though.
The PS3 is generally considered a very good blu ray player. When blu ray first came out, it was one of the players recommended by a/v enthusiast sites and while other players are starting to have similar picture quality, the PS3 is still up there. An mid-entry level blu ray is going to run about 150 or so, so whether an extra 100 bucks is worth it to get a PS3 is up to you.
I can say that in the states, you shouldn't have to send your Onkyo to service. You take it to an authorized repair shop. Most cities will have one. The service will depend on that.
Your Denon hasn't had a problem because Denon is a much better brand than Onkyo. But while I haven't done a model-to-model comparison in a year or so, generally speaking a Denon will cost much more than an Onkyo if the feature sets are identical.
PSN: TheScrublet
That's the thing, my work has me working with authorized repair centers for many products including Onkyo and frequently it turns into a drawn out affair where almost every other brand I work with is multiple times better.
I sincerely hope it's different south of the border, they're products are excellent overall especially for the price, but from what I see they seem to save their money on the service side of things.
Ok.
I think I have what I'm going to be buying picked out. Anyone feel free to comment if you think whatever is a bad choice or not. It all comes to my $1500 price goal so it's all good.
TV: Panasonic VIERA TC-P50S30 $899.00
Blu-Ray: Panasonic DMP-BDT210 $169.98
Receiver: Onkyo HT-RC260 $314.10
And a few HDMI cables because I could use them. The total for it all is $1420.03 with free shipping. There's a fine wall mount at Costco for $90 that I'll get so my grand total will be $1510 but that's fine.
The TV seems like a great set and we don't care about 3D at all so that's not a big deal. And the price is nice. The Blu-Ray player is a 3D player which, again, don't care; but it has all the VIERA Cast stuff that the next (new) lower model doesn't have, including Wi-Fi so I figured I'd just get the nicer one even though we won't use the 3D. The Onkyo receiver was recommended to me. I don't need mind blowing sound as I live in a small condo and it won't be very loud anyway. It can't possibly be worse than my current ancient sony box; plus all the inputs are really what I'm interested in.
The only reason I'm not pulling the trigger right now on these things is I figured I'd wait till tomorrow to see next weeks sales at B&M stores so I didn't have to buy online; but unless something pops up I'll just be ordering them via Amazon.
Feel free to comment.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Do you have speakers?
What's wrong with the Amazon HDMI cables? The Amazon branded ones? They're not random seller ones, they're the AmazonBasics ones here. They've got a ton of, and quite good, reviews.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
If my cable situation gets too unweildly behind my entertainment stand then I might go and get some of those monoprice ones. Now that I look at them I wish I had taken a minute to before I ordered this stuff late last night. The only long-ish hdmi I'll need is the one from my receiver to the TV, the rest can probably be pretty short.
Oh wells, they're cheap enough that I can always go and get them later.
Everything is scheduled to get here between the 15-20th, hopefully sooner rather than later. They're all coming seperately though, but I still hope they come the same day or close to. I don't have the hookups in my current receiver to do any HDMI and/or Component so if the new receiver comes late then zomg. We probably won't be picking up many blu-rays for a while so that's not a huge deal but my current dvd player doesn't have hdmi so bleh again.
Pretty excited though. I think I got some great stuff, hopefully I don't get defective stuff and can set it up right away.
I'm concerned about the "breaking in" period for the TV however. I can do it but I don't think, even if I explain it clearly, my wife will pay attention to stuff and will just use the TV normally whenever. I should go and read more information about how to do that properly anyway.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
EDIT: Browsing around the webs for a few minutes is leading me to believe that the breaking in isn't even really required anymore with modern plasmas.
I guess what I need to be worried about is buying a calibration DVD or something. Bleh.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t267390-dvds-with-thx-calibration-procedures.html
You can also find your model on AVS forum and just put in whatever the average seems to be settings wise. I remember a few posters here have done that with a new set then compared to what they'd change with a calibration disc and it was pretty similar.
Also, get a professional to calibrate it!
I had a thought with my new TV. Or question I guess.
Anyway, I like to watch my hulu shows while I work out, but I do P90X/Insanity so I need the TV for them. It occurred to me that this TV should have picture in picture so I could do both on the same screen.
However, it then occurred to me that I only plan on having one HDMI out going from my receiver to the TV for everything. Now, this will probably limit that option, right? I mean, as nice as it would be, is it safe to assume that the receiver can't send two distinct signals at once to have displayed on the TV via PiP
What other options would I have here?
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Honestly, I wouldn't. When I got mine I was starting to worry about how insane I want to be and at the end of the day....I don't care that much. If you break it in with just normal shit (I let a bunch of game demo screens run for long periods of time that don't have static images) that's going to get you past that early part safely. It may not age the plasmas perfectly like the DVDs...but I didn't want to wait 200 hours to use my TV after finally getting rid of my shitty DLP.
End story it's not really required but still may be a good idea, but don't obsess about it unless you're that kind of guy that wants perfect AV.
PSN: TheScrublet