Buying decisions for a cinema and music combined system - help & advice required

[admin_exported]

Hi guys

I'll get right to the point :roll:

I am new to all this and just want to set-up a good cinema system on a modest budget. :?
I have listed some of the items I am considering but may have to wait for certain items to drop in price to be able to get it into my overall budget.
Took me four years to save so don't want to mess up so your advice is most welcome.

I require a system that will replace my old Panasonic stereo, Sony CRT TV with inbuilt surround sound and Tvonics budget PVR. This kit ranging in age from the late 90’s up to 2006.
As you can guess I am out of date to say the least.

Vision
From what I have researched I did lean towards LED at first but have now fallen back after some considerable trepidation about the 50htz bug etc to the Panasonic plasma solution.
Smart TV and 3D seem to be handled well with this series so starting to think about this as part of my consideration - taking into account PVR and console capabilities now out there with 3D and internet services etc...

Sound
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I want a good sound system which can handle SD/HD pictures and DVD/BLU RAY 5.1 sound well plus music in replacement of a good mid-range stereo system.

Question 1: Is sticking with 5.1 the best solution for a living room being only 16' by 12' feet in dimensions?

Question 2: What kind of AMP do I need in relation to the above needs and what are the best ways of streaming music from a Macbook Pro laptop via iTunes? Are there alternatives for the integrated Airplay solution?

Question 4: Are cinema sound systems sufficient enough to replace dedicated music solutions?

Recording
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The PVR’s seem to provide a lot of functionality including up-scaling SD, importing other content and streaming music etc.
Question 5: Will this replace the happily replace some of the AMP functionalities?

Gaming and BLU RAY player
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The PS3 seems adequate for my needs as a BLU RAY DVD player and gaming that includes future 3D capabilities from what I have read.

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My current solution therefore is as follows (on the extreme side of my budget) :shifty:
Tell me if I have gone over kill on certain aspects and if needing to scale back.
Any alternative recommendations would be most welcome.
Let me know what will work well, override other kits functionailities, and if any bottle necks created such as too complicated a set-up etc?

1. Plasma 50” TV

Panasonic TX-P50GT30

2. Cinema Amplifier (5.1)

ONKYO TX-NR609
(is this beyond my needs for the size of the room as I won't be ever playing anything too loud as a semi-detached house?)

3. Surround Sound Speaker package (5.1)

Q Acoustics Q7000
(is this beyond my needs for the size of the room?)

4. PVR

Humax HDR-FOX T2
(Is the SD upscaling poor with this system? - I am NOT going to be subscribing to Sky)

Or

Samsung BD-DT7800
(only 1 tuner for recording at a time but is the SD picture better?)

5. Game Console

PS3 game console - now bought!!!

6. HDMI cables

AudioQuest Pearl HDMI High Speed with Ethernet, Audio Return & 3D 1 Metre - now bought

Hope this makes sense to you guys.

Cheers

P.S. apologies for the extensive use of emoticons 😛ray: :help:

 

[duaplex]

1. Excellent choice in TV

2. The onkyo would be perfect in your room, if it helps im running my setup in a similar size room with full sanding speakers, no problems there.

3. perfect, any speaker in your budget would work a treat

4. Can't advise on the Humax, but im sure other members will have some advice

5. excellent, make sure its a slim so you can have the processing done by the AV, important for blurays etc. The FAT PS3, although capable of bitstream will still send PCM, to some thats no issue, to others like me it bugs me to death!

6. Sensible, dont buy into the fad of HDMI cables.

As for streaming music, you have bluetooth connectivity thso no issue there.

 

[Anonymous]

Much appreciated Duaplex.

I feel much more confident now that I am on the right track.

Cheers for your time on posting your opinuion on the above.

Have a good Christmas :dance: :cheers: