Blank Canvas :- What should I get for the best home cinema experience?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I've just got a new pad and aspire to a fantastic cinematic experience:

Budget is anywhere from 2K up to perhaps 8K if the system is right.

My requirements are relatively simple i think -

- Good sized tv - perhaps 50" +/-

- Blue ray

- Full cinematic quality sound experience

My room is empty! and measures 17' x 18' (5.2m x 5.5m) with nice high ceilings

TV will be placed in the corner of this large squarish room (where the TV point is) adjacent to a bay window)

All advice greatly appreciated, for a novice to the technology. I've done a wee bit of research but cant easily find an answer to what I think should a fairly basic question.

Thanks

Pete

 

[Messiah]

peteys1969@hotmail.co.uk:
TV will be placed in the corner of this large squarish room (where the TV point is) adjacent to a bay window)

This worries me!

I would aim to have the TV in the middle of one of your walls. Much better placement to organise speakers around, especially for surround. If you are gonna spend maybe 8K you don't want to compromise with a TV in a corner. Is it possible to move it?

I would also certainly go for a projector with that kind of budget...

 

[d4v3pum4]

Have you checked the reviews and did anything and in particular speakers catch your eye? Do you want full sized or compact speakers? I concur with the above re. the projector, it isn't proper home cinema unless it's on the big screen. You could always get a budget flat panel for daytime viewing as well. I would also recommend visiting a dealer as you are buying a fair bit, you should be able to negotiate a healthy discount. Sites such as tlc-broadcast, creative-audio, royjowethomecinema, hifix and petertyson would be a good place to start and can offer good prices and advice.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. I must admit I hadn't considered projectors. Speakers: I have been advised that the central speaker is most importand as that provides 60% of the sound, but other than that they all seem much of a muchness depending on spend. I would probably want the speakers on stands to the side and at the rear, as no furniture to place them on, (or can they/should they be wall mounted at the rear?) Are the blue rays systems in a box ok, or rubbish?

As for positioning, the builder, in their wisdom, put a radiator on the centre of the wall slap bang where the screen would go, so that is why resigned to the corner - (I suppose i could look at moving radiator but that sounds expensive) or i could put a TV in front of the radiator hiding it (but that is probably unwise and definitelt will look untidy).

Visiting a dealer would be what i would like to do, but looking for ideas/recommendations before i go (otherwise i fear i will get sold their slow moving stock!) been into 7oaks as a reccy and got some useful tips but without narrowing down what i want they suggested i do some research - hence this post!!

Any speakers/TV/Projector recommendations? (still not sure about projectors - would i have to have a pull down screen, or a fixed blank whiteboard fixed to wall?) and why is a prjector better - I've seen advice that the screen should not be too big - although big sound good to me!

 

[VoodooDoctor]

That corner comment was the first thing I picked up on too! Will recommend the Sony BDP-5000ES as a fine Blu-ray source and a PJ to show what it can do. How important is music compared to the cinema experience?

Have you got any other radiators in the room? You could always switch the problem one off and put your kit in front of it. AV stuff kicks out a fair amount of heat anyway! ;-)

 

[Messiah]

I get the sense that you are not really sure what you want. You have listed a budget from 2K to 8K but then mention a Blu-Ray in-a-box system - which are budget in comparison. It would be a good idea to try and establish what you really want. To that end I would recommend you try a couple of dealers without mentioning such a large budget (as you will probably get shown the more expensive stuff straight away). That way you can audition various set ups at various price points and you may find that one of the cheaper options is perfect for you.

As for the TV could you place it on one of the other walls?? As for Projectors - the bigger picture certainly enhances the experience!

 

[Anonymous]

I have a jpeg layout of room - is there anyway to paste it in this post?

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Dave_]

peteys1969@hotmail.co.uk:I have a jpeg layout of room - is there anyway to paste it in this post?You cant upload/post it directly to the site.You need to upload the image to a hosting site such as photobucket or flickr,.

Then to post on here,on the toolbar above the box where you write your text,is an "insert/edit image" button(looks like a tree),if you click on that a pop up box will appear, you then copy/paste the image url(from hosting site) into the "image url" box and press the insert button at the bottom of the pop-up box,the imagewill then appear in your post.

make sure the image is no more than 400 pixels wide as it upsets the mod's,you can resize the image if need be by adjusting them in the same pop-up box as above.

Hope that makes sense

 

[Anonymous]

thanx - managed it - but may be a wee bit too big! What layout for furniture / speakers/ screen is recommended - and what systems!! Thanx

 

[simonlewis]

Can't you relocate the tv point on the opposite side of the room & have your radiator behind the sofa.

EDIT. or remove the radiator.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Your room is similar to mine in terms of layout, but bigger.

To me you have two choices:

1) Place TV in bay window and sofa on other side wall. Easy to get to wall socket, and the front speakers can be placed either side of the bay, with rears on back wall (depending on what you decide to buy).

2) Opposite way round, assuming sofa fits in bay window (although it could got just in front of it). Only drawback is getting tv socket to wall, but I have wired mine like this using tubing on the skirting board.

Hope that helps......

 

[Anonymous]

that's a thought, but would i get a lot of reflection if screen was on back wall?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I close the curtains for serious tv watching (if needed), although the sun doesn't get on my window much anyway....

It faces north, and to be honest, I don't watch much tv in the daytime anyway....

 

[professorhat]

Agree with the sentiments of others - if you're serious about spending £8k on a system, putting the TV in the corner just doesn't make sense. For me, TV in the bay window makes the most sense, but with some proper blackout curtains or blinds, it could be placed on the opposite wall - I have this setup at the moment and the curtains remove all light so reflections is no issue.

I echo Messiah's post though - do you want the home cinema system to actually be the main function of this room, or are you looking for a system which will fit into the room subtly? If the former, I would really recommend just going to a Sevenoaks / other dealer and asking them to demonstrate you a system for the lower region of your budget - this will get you a decent TV, Blu-Ray player, AV amp and surround system and will give you an idea of what is possible. If they want suggestions from you, you can't go far wrong from listing the Best Buys listed on this site and they can steer you from there. Then work your way from here - you can get some advice here on the systems they showed you, what you liked, what you didn't like and what to try from there. One big input on this is if the system is expected to handle a lot of music duties as well, or just mainly for home cinema.

If you're looking for a system to fit round other uses of the room (and thus why the TV needs to go in the corner), then you can still get a great system, but in my opinion, spending more than £2.5k - £3k wouldn't be worth it as you wouldn't be making the most of your investment.

Hope this helps!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, yes that is a great help. Much appreciated. The room will be my main living room, however will be minimalist in look (i hope). It came fitted with a carpet but in due course was considering putting in laminate flooring instead - which i suspect is not so good for sound quality!. The room will be used mainly for sitting watching TV, with the odd HD cinema block buster in between, so i really want to get close to, and get the full effects of the prog/film. Music will be played only on rare occasions so as far as audio requirements go, it is to be set up for AV surround sound full stop. Not sure if blackout curtains will fit a minimalist/clean look but i guess that is necessary if i want no light interfence - even if tv ends up in bay - but i also need to look at projectors options too as per the first posts. I'll get myself down to a dealer next week as you recommend to continue my adventure... Thanks

 

[Sorreltiger]

Just a thought - if you're investing that kind of money, I'd want to go for Sky+HD or Freesat, in which case the existing TV point becomes redundant anyway and the engineer will run a cable to your TV/set-top box.

 

[The_Lhc]

If you put the TV in the bay you then also have the option of a projector screen built into the ceiling that drops down just in front of the bay, for when you want to watch a movie properly, that'll have the added advatnage of hiding the TV at the same time. Then when you've finished the film, press a button and the screen disappears back into the ceiling.

AWESOME!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Blank canvas a perfect situation to be in

If you are really serious about home cinema then demo a projector

I would recommend you demo a Panasonic AE3000 ( £2095.00) projector if it rocks your boat buy a 6' or 8' electric screen and get blackout blinds for the bay window, this will leave plenty budget for the rest of your kit.

I am sure you will get plenty recommendations for player ,amp and speakers in due course.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for all the advice - tv: going for the new 55" samsung led (and will place in front of rad to hide it, and cause it's the place to put it i think). seen the smaller screen version today and it looked v good!

As for the rest of the system - going to go and do some listenin'

 

[Anonymous]

hi there glad to see someone new has caughtbthe av bug. as a heating enginner it would not cost much to move the rad and as you are spending that amount than why compromise, come winter it will not be good for your new equipment. as for the tv point you could lift the floor board and run the cable under their, sorry just remembered that you have carpet so run it under there, if you change to a wood floor than use a fibre board as a under lay and job done. as for av gear same as above really visit a couple of shops see waht you like and have a chat, most will give good advice just be patient, have a good look about.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with smmee,

Move the rad to site the new av kit - won't cost much (I had one moved as it was in the way) and it would be better out of the way as at the moment it appears to be a focal point when entering your room. I certainly know what I would sooner see when walking into a room - a nice big TV.

I am a great believer of doing a job once and doing it right - my kit stuck out too far below my screen so I have cut through the studd wall and sunk it half way through into the next room and then have storage cupbords which hide it, but also at the same time allow easy and instant access to cables and better ventilation.

In your case I would wall mount the screen at a sensible height where the rad is currently, and then place all the kit on a stand in one of the alcoves which would look very minimal and clean.

Cheers Si.