New Home Cinema set up and connections

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I am moving home soon and want to set up a new home cinema in the living room. The room is 21ft x 13ft and has a wooden floor so ideally would want rear wireless speakers. My set up at the moment is:-

Samsung LE40F86BD which has 3 HDMI inputs
Sky plus connect to my Samsung DVD-135 recorder which is then connected to the TV via HDMI and also connected to my Sony surround system via audio/video cable
Sony surround sound sytem connected to TV via scart

What I want in my new system:-

Samsung LE40F86BD
Sky HD
Blueray player
Surround sound system

Can anyone suggest a home cinema system that includes either blueray or as a seperates system. I want to put the TV on the wall and connect everything up and hide the cables, so anyone with any ideas on the best way to set this up would be most appreciated.

My budget is around £800. I have looked at the Samsung HT-BD2 home cinema system but it is not wireless ready but has blueray and also at Panasonic BMP-BD30 blue ray player. I guess I am trying to get the best set up and best sound for my money.

Steve

 

[professorhat]

There are a few wireless all in one systems around for your budget from the likes of Panasonic and Samsung - the issue is you're paying quite a lot for the wireless systems in them meaning sound is generally compromised unless you look at something a bit more expensive. None of them will play Blu-Ray at the moment - you could add the Panasonic BD30 Blu-Ray player to them, but you wouldn't be getting the superior HD audio from your system as they would only support Dolby Digital / DTS.
KEF do something called their Wireless System which turns any separate speaker system's rears into wireless rears meaning you're not compromising on the performance - the only issue being it costs £400, so it's half your budget!
Are you sure you wouldn't be able to run thin cable like the QED Micro to the rears? This is what I do and I also have a wooden floor. It's white so can be tacked down along the skirting board.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I would be happy to go with QED Micro cables to the rear speakers. Any preference on systems - all in one blue ray like the Samsung BD-2 or a seperate blue ray system like the Panasonic one with a seperate surround sound system?

Any suggestions on set up with my Samsung TV appreciated. Is it best to go for Samsung to use the anylink technology?

I have taken a look at the Samsung BD-P1400 blue ray player that has had some top reviews against the Panasonic BD30. Do you think it would be worth buying the Samsung player that and an all in one surround sound system? If so which one?

Cheers

Steve

 

[professorhat]

Interesting, I've seen the opposite i.e. the Panasonic BD30 getting more praise than the Samsung BD-1400. I haven't seen the Samsung but I can vouch for the BD30 on Blu-Ray performance at least. I'm also pretty sure the Samsung is unable to cope with DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks, meaning you would only get standard DTS sound from these. It is cheaper though of course.
Overall, your choice is going to need to be made on what sort of system you (and any others in your household) can live with and if you can afford to spend a little more in the future. If it were up to me, I would get the BD30 (or even a PS3 if you're a gamer), probably the Onkyo 605 / 606 amp and then a couple of stereo speakers (like the Tannoy Mercury F1s) and then save up to build the rest of the Tannoy 5.1 system. This relies on being able to litter your front room with big boxy speakers of course!
However, I can understand a lot of other people aren't like me (fortunately!) and the Samsung HT-BD2 would certainly be your easiest option to get everything you want within budget and a good performance too (from what I've read in WHF anyway).