How to build my first HC

[TB303]

Hi People,
I'm building my first HC set up my budget is around £2,000 ideally no more than £3,000 (or the misses will divorce me! ;-)

I want a 46" screen and don't care about 3D at the moment so I'm thinking about the Sony KDL-46EX503 - which got great reviews and can be found for around £850

My problem start with the next bits of kit - i'm not sure which could be replaced/combined by an HTPC and what would be better value/performance:

I need:

PVR - ideally one that supports HD freeview and has twin receivers to watch and record at the same time - I currently have an HUmax 9200 - it doesn't have an HDMI output so will probably need to be replaced? The TV has build in Freeview HD bit no record to USB functionality maybe another model has that?

I won't have SKY

Blue ray drive - not sure if I need a dedicated one or could just use a drive on the HTPC - teh stand alone ones claim to have better visual quality and up sampling of DVDs than a generic PC one, is that the case? Also what bout audio output? How do those compare?

Audio receiver - I need a standalone one for proper surround as an HTPC on board audio won't cut it? I saw that good ones start at £300 - not sure if this is still in my budget?

Speaker package - I'm considering just getting an all-in-1 perhaps the Panasonic SC-BTT755 - it's about £450 - is this the better option?

I also have a problem with the room configuration, the 'back' speaker can only really be positioned in line with the sofa (so more sideways than back) and the right one will be about 3 times the distance from teh viewer than the left one - is that a problem? can I calliberate the system to compensate for that? I saw some systems that come with a calibration mic?

Playstation 3 - I'd like one and if I could use it to replace the blue ray drive and the PVR in one go it could be an attractive bonus (the games) - can I add an external HDD to it to increase storage capacity as a PVR?

Lastly the HTPC option: I'm not afraid of building a system but was hoping to use something small and cheap like the Acer Revo 3700 + XBMC - but to use it as a PVR I'll need to add crads, could they even fit?

I know that the TV, the Blue ray drive and the receivers sometime have USB connections so in theory I could just plug a hard drive but from friends experience they are never able to play just about any format so a PC is the ultimate solution

I know it's many questions but I'd really appreciate your feedback,

Many thanks!

 

[professorhat]

Hi there! I can't really help on the HTPC front I'm afraid - since I work in IT, this means I've never really wanted to go down the route of an HTPC (who wants to play with PCs on their day off). Also, because an HTPC needs to be a jack of all trades, you will inevitably lose performance using one compared with a device specialised for the job. However, I can help with some of your questions when looked at from the non-HTPC route. I've mixed and matched your questions so I can answer a bit more logically!

TB303:PVR - ideally one that supports HD freeview and has twin receivers to watch and record at the same time - I currently have an HUmax 9200 - it doesn't have an HDMI output so will probably need to be replaced? The TV has build in Freeview HD bit no record to USB functionality maybe another model has that?

The only two mainstream Freeview HD PVRs on the market at the moment that I'd recommend are either the Humax HDR-FOX T2 (about £300) or the Digital Stream DHR8205 (£199 from John Lewis). The main benefits the Humax has over the DS are DLNA streaming, an IP TV portal for the likes of Sky Player, YouTube etc. (though the DS will have access to iPlayer soon through the red button), auto-padding recordings (rather than relying on the Accurate Recording method) and the ability to record the buffer (i.e. rewind something you've been watching, then set it to record). I personally have the Digital Stream - see my review here.

You could get a TV which allows recording to a USB disk, but you won't find any mainstream ones which have twin tuners i.e. so you could record two channels at once or watch one channel while recording another.

TB303:Blue ray drive - not sure if I need a dedicated one or could just use a drive on the HTPC - teh stand alone ones claim to have better visual quality and up sampling of DVDs than a generic PC one, is that the case? Also what bout audio output? How do those compare?

You could get one in your HTPC or get a dedicated player. IMO, the dedicated player is always going to give you better performance. The no-brainer purchase for this at the moment is probably still the Sony BDP-S370 which can be had for under £100.

TB303:Playstation 3 - I'd like one and if I could use it to replace the blue ray drive and the PVR in one go it could be an attractive bonus (the games) - can I add an external HDD to it to increase storage capacity as a PVR?

You could definitely replace the Blu-ray player with the PS3 - it won't be quite as good as a dedicated player, but it's a decent enough performer, especially if this is your first foray into Blu-ray. The PlayTV unit will allow you to use the PS3 as a PVR (I have one of these as well), but it doesn't have Freeview HD capability at this stage (rumours abound of a new one which will, but nothing concrete as yet). Also, it only has one tuner, so again, you couldn't record two channels at once or watch one and record another. You can easily replace the internal hard drive in the PS3 for a larger one though - see the guide in my signature.

TB303:Audio receiver - I need a standalone one for proper surround as an HTPC on board audio won't cut it? I saw that good ones start at £300 - not sure if this is still in my budget?

Should be - you'll want one if you're going the separates route. According to my calculations, we've spent roughly £1,270 so far (TV, Digital Stream PVR, and PS3) so something like the Sony STR-DH810 fits the bill at £270 from Richer Sounds. If you decide to up the budget, you can always get something like the Onkyo TX-SR608. It's worth going somewhere to have a demo of two amps in these price categories to see what your extra money is getting you.

TB303:Speaker package - I'm considering just getting an all-in-1 perhaps the Panasonic SC-BTT755 - it's about £450 - is this the better option?

If you're going down the separates route (as I've alluded so far), you're going to want a separate speaker package. I estimate we've got just under £500 to spend on this, so something like the Boston Acoustics Soundware XS (£300 thereabouts) gives you some extra money for cables / Blu-rays. Alternatively, you could spend your full budget and get something like the Q Acoustics 2000 package (available for under £500) or even the Tannoy Mercury F1 package which is available for under £400 these days! Again, auditioning is key to decide on this sort of thing and could be combined when auditioning for the AV receiver as you'll likely get a better deal if purchased together.

As you've mentioned though, you could go the all-in-one option like the Panasonic SC-BTT755, and this way you won't need a separate Blu-ray player or AV receiver. If you did this, you'd essentially have about £1,000 to play with (assuming you didn't get the PS3) so there's plenty of choice. Just beware - all in one systems generally have limited connectivity (very few have HDMI inputs for example) so you'd need to make sure anything you buy has enough inputs to plug in anything wanted to run through this for sound (e.g. a PVR, the PS3, the TV etc.).

TB303:I also have a problem with the room configuration, the 'back' speaker can only really be positioned in line with the sofa (so more sideways than back) and the right one will be about 3 times the distance from teh viewer than the left one - is that a problem? can I calliberate the system to compensate for that? I saw some systems that come with a calibration mic?

Shouldn't be a problem - my current lounge layout means that my speakers are also in line with the sofa - it's not ideal but you still get a very convincing surround sound field with them in this position. Setting the speaker distances will mean the main listening position will get sound at the correct time even if one is much closer than the other. As you say, many systems come with microphones to set these, but it's usually worth getting the tape measure out to check them as they're often not particularly accurate, especially in the budget end of the market.

 

[TB303]

Thanks mate!

I basically decided to go with What Hifi's recomended entry level set up:

Q Acoustics 2000 Series

Sony STR-DH810

but:

Sony BDP-S570 (with Wifi and 3D)

Sony KDL-46EX503

It comes to about £1,810 from what I could find online.

I'll probably go with this set up (but will go hear the speakers in person).

I have a few quetsion:

If I have both a Sony TV, Receiver and Blue ray drive (with Wifi) can the tv and receiver share the internet? can I connect them with network cables form one to another or do I need to plug each one to a separate network cable?

Also about the TV, your review said it dealt with Standard definition fine, but I saw others who said that wasn't the case... who wins? SD is most that I'll be watching.

Many thanks!

 

[professorhat]

TB303:If I have both a Sony TV, Receiver and Blue ray drive (with Wifi) can the tv and receiver share the internet? can I connect them with network cables form one to another or do I need to plug each one to a separate network cable?

They couldn't share an internet connection, each would need a separate network cable into your router, or you could purchase the USB wireless dongle for the TV. Quite expensive for what it does and a standard wireless bridge (like this) would do the same job, but sticks out a bit looks wise compared to the dongle.

TB303:Also about the TV, your review said it dealt with Standard definition fine, but I saw others who said that wasn't the case... who wins? SD is most that I'll be watching.

I don't work for WHF I'm afraid! I also haven't any experience with this TV so I can't really comment - perhaps someone else can help you with this.