Buying a new system

peddie44

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Apr 19, 2010
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Hi all

As a novice and not really knowing what to buy in terms of setup - im going to buy a full home cinema setup.

Is the best bet to go for the award winners from the year - 50" Panasonic V20, Sony STRDH810, Q Acousitcs, Sony BDP 370, or is there some compatibility issues with this sort of setup? DO I need to be more careful in selection of what im getting? And is a similar priced 1-box system ever a decent alternative to buying the separates?

Thanks
 
A

Anonymous

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my suggestion would be to do each piece one at a time. go in to stores and talk to a few salespeople. don't be afraid to tell them you don't agree with what they're asking you to see/hear. the more feedback you can give a good salesperson the better the product you will end up with.

the whole idea of the awards, the way i see it, is to find the best possible product relative to value.

I'll give you a starting point though.. the 50v20 plasma is great but if you have a bright room you will find it alot duller against an LCD or LED. Keep in mind you don't want to go to big either, try to be atleast 2.5x the width of the tv away.

at the end of the day you may prefer the look of an LCD in general. they tend to be a more brilliantly, albeit unnaturally, coloured picture. but if it looks good to u then whos to argue. if LCD or LED are appealing to u though make sure you get the salesperson to show you something with some quick motion in it. sports the easiest way to demonstrate motion issues i find.

good luck!! let us know how you go
 

kinda

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Agree wouldn't just go for award winners. Many 4 star products are better than the 5 star for some people, and especially where sound is concerned a lot seems down to personal taste.

It'a also about how the components interact, and if you find somewhere where you can demo lots of equipment together, then it may be better to buy at leasdt some of the compionents together, like the amp and speakers.
 

micks_address

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Aug 31, 2010
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i'd try and demo everything if you can.. i know its not easy.. but its worth it (and can be fun) bring along a couple of your favourite blu-rays or dvds.. and check them out.. just keep in mind showrooms are often very bright and lcds always look better in bright lights than plasmas..demo some SD as well as HD broadcasts.. .. also i had the 40V20 and its not without its issues.. i changed it for a 42VT20 which is nearly perfect but suffers from problems with broadcast material especially SD stuff.. that said blu-ray is stunning... For sound - there's a world of options out there.. whats your budget like? that will be the main driver.. you can start small... and upgrade later.. or put the money in now and avoid upgrading for a while..

as for all in one systems.. they usually dont offer the flexibility of seperates.. and your usually tied if you want to upgrade components down the line.. i have read some positive reviews to the Onkyo all on one systems though

also be aware that some receivers sound better with different types of speakers.. e.g Sony Receivers are usually said to be too 'bright' for my speakers (Monitor Audios) but they sound great with a Denon.. there's lots of adivce out there.. - check the home cinema forums for other aspects apart from the tv.. Also try and figure out where you will be placing speakers in your room.. some speakers need to be out from the wall if they are rear ported.. others can be mounted close to the wall.. all will depend on how flexible your room layout is and dont forget to think about where you can run speaker cable..

Re Blu-Ray player... virtually all offer the same quality blu-ray picture quality.. main differentiating factors (in no particular order) are

1) Blu-Ray loading speed (varies quite a lot actually... Fox titles with BD Java and BD+ encryption are usually slowest to load in any player)

2) DVD upscaling Quality

3) Connectivety.. 1.3/1.4 HDMI/Analogue outs of sound etc.

Anyway hope thats some food for thought.

Cheers,

Mick
 
Your setup looks fine on paper, but deinitely demo it before making a purchase. There are two camps of people: those who prefer LCDs / LEDs & those who prefer plasmas. Check them both out yourself & see which one you prefer. The 50V20 is an excellent TV.

I personally prefer plasmas for their deep blacks, natural rendition of colours and superior motion handling inherently.

Your choice of home cinema system looks very good. It will give you a superior performance over 1-box solutions.
 

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