I'm going to need a bunch of AV equipment for my house, 1 TV, 2 Receivers, 2-3 Universal Remotes, 2 Subwoofers and some Networking stuff, Plus my budget has been increased by a bit

TV Needs:
1. 1080P
2. VGA or DVI input
3. HDMI inputs
4. HD Compositive Video Inputs (atleast 2)
5. Regular Video Inputs (2-3)
6. Must be 50 Inches or above (55+ prefered)
7. Energy efficent, so no plasmas

I don't care about brand, just want the best picture quality from my equipment. THe viewing distance is going to be 15.5 feet. A media center PC will be hooked up to the TV so VGA or DVI is necessary for best Picture Quality. I will be watching sports, playing games and watching alot of 1080P HD content, so I need a TV that can handle all of these needs and won't crap out when playing halo 3 or Test Drive Unlimited by lagging.

Receiver Needs
1. Must have HDMI Input and Outputs
2. Must have 1080P handling capibilities for Blu-ray or HD-DVD
3. Less than 1500 dollars, each
4. 5.1 or more
5. Dolby stuff or THX stuff prefered but not necessary
6. On Screen Guide preferred, but not necessary
7. Don't care for Satelitte radio, but prefered
8. Upconversion is a plus, but not at the expense of downscaling 1080P to 720P.
9. Easy to setup
10. Energy Efficent
11. Reliable, along with good picture quality output
12. No video Delay (for video Games)

Universal Remote Needs:
1. Must be able to control the following items:
1. TV
2. Dish Networks receiver
3. Time Warner/Cox/Bright House Cable Box
4. DVD player
5. HD Player
6. Surround Sound System Receiver
7. Prefered if it fully customizable such as the following:
1. Cable, TV ONLY
2. Cable, TV and Surround Sound
3. Satellite, TV ONLY
4. Satellite, TV and Surround Sound
5. DVD (HD As well) Player and TV
6. DVD (HD as well) Player, TV and Surround Sound
2. Must be easy to use for parents and guests
3. Backlit remote is prefered.

Subwoofer Needs:
1. Sub must be able to give good sound quality, not muddy, etc.
2. Sub must be able to fill up room 20X18 an 16 X 14 with good sound
3. No more than 550 each

Networkings stuff (switch/Router):
1. House Has 24 Network Jacks
2. Must be able to control Speeds of each Jack
3. Directly can connect to Modem, No router needed inbetween modem and switch.
4. High Quality product that will provide flawless service

Networking Stuff (Wireless Router/Acess Points)
1. House will need 1 high power wireless router or 2 Medium Power wireless routers. (2 story house)
2. Must be able to handle alot of data transfer and not crap out after a year
3. It will connect after Switch/Router.

This is a bunch of stuff, so I need a bunch of advice. Also for the TV, it really doesn't matter weather its a DLP or LCD, it just has to provide good quality picture that won't lag during gaming or sports, also if it is wall-mountable doesn't matter.

 

can i come over when its done?

 

TV= Sony Bravia XBR5

 

buy yourself a ticket first or pay for the gas...

 

After spending a bit of time researching, I came up with these TV's, how are they? Any better ones?

LCD's
HDTV52" BRAVIA® XBR® series LCD Flat Panel

Samsung 57" LCD

DLP/etc.
HLT6189S Samsung 61" DLP 1080p

60" Class Grand WEGA™ XBR™ series SXRD™ Rear Projection Television (59.5" diagonal)


TV's are similar, LCD's have the 120hz refresh rate, all tv's are in good pricing range (sony's quite a bit higher) and have necessary inputs such as the PC and the 1.3 HDMI. Are these any good? Also please chime in with any other suggestions plus the ones in the orignal post

 

As far as receivers, this is what i got:

Onkyo
Denon
Sony
Yamaha

the products are like, though I am leaning towards the onkyo as it is cheaper than the rest, but like I said before, as long as it is under 1600 (yes 1600, mistyped in orignal post., i'm good. How are these recivers, good, bad, alright, how is the up conversion chips? Any flaws in any of them? Have better suggestions, post em here, I need them!

 

http://us.marantz.com/Products/2205.asp

 

My $.02 on some of your requirements:

Forget all of the inputs on the TV -- what you need to worry about is the inputs to the receiver. If you get a receiver that does 1080P upconversion (and the Onkyo you are looking at fits the bill), then all you will run between the receiver and the TV is an HDMI cable. Then you need to make sure the receiver has enough inputs of the right type for your components, and leave you room to grow the system.

On your candidates:

The Onkyo receiver you are looking at will probably fit your bill, as will the Denon. I haven't done much research on the Yamaha. I swore off of Sony many years ago after one too many product failures just outside of warranty.

The Samsung TV you are looking at is the bomb. I have the 52" version of it.

A Logitech Harmony 880 should fit the bill for your universal remote.

For a sub, take a look at Paradigm.

No comment on the networking stuff but a question -- why do you want to control the speed of each port? Wouldn't you rather have a network that is capable of 10/100/1000 Mbps and auto-sense the highest speed and duplexing at each port?

 

Get your subs from these guys SVSound

 

+1 for the Samsung 5781

+1 for the simple HDMI from receiver to TV

 

as for that TV, uh no, just looked at the price, 8K.... I rather pay 4K and update the TV later. BUt for the HDMI, that was my orignal plan just to lead it from the receiver to the TV. As for the networking, I have 2 IP phones, 4+ computers and alot of other network stuff, so the phones need as much bandwith available and so forth.

 

I think I might be just getting the Samsung DLP TV, but there are 2 of them, they are almost the same and need your help. They are the HL-T6187S and HL-T 6189S, the both have the same features, but the 89 has HDMI 1.3a, is it worth the extra 800 dollars to get the 89S over the 87S? Remember I will have an upconverting reciever so does it matter? Planing to buy tommorow or today, need help ASAP

 

buy your speakers and subs from these guys, http://www.axiomaudio.com/products.html
These speakers are insanely clear through the whole spectrum. My roomate had a these http://www.axiomaudio.com/epic60_main.html and they were the best sound i've ever heard.

 

In MY opinion, your budget for a subwoofer is a little low. Take a look at "Definitive Technologies " subs and speakers for that matter. Their subs are some of the very best I've ever experienced. There's a guy on that popular auction site that sells them under retail. Search for SUPERCUBE 1 , SUPERCUBE 2, SUPERCUBE 3....The Supercube one has a 1500 watt amp and it really does the trick. It used to be their top model until they came out with an 1800 watt called the "Reference" I'll PM you a link !

 

Supercube 1 Specs :


Dimensions: 14-1/4" W x 14-1/4" D x 14-1/10" H
Frequency Response: 13 Hz — 200Hz
Driver Complement: One 10" long-throw polymer subwoofer coupled to two 10" sub-bass radiators
Built-in Amplifier: 1500 watts Digitally-Coupled Class D Amplifier
Low Pass Crossover: 24 dB/octave continuously adjustable variable (40 —150 Hz) plus Unfiltered LFE direct coupled input
High Pass Crossover: Low level Inputs: 12 dB/octave continuously variable (40 — 150 Hz)
Speaker level: 6 dB octave (80 Hz)
Finish: Piano gloss black or golden cherry
Weight: 63 lbs.
Suggested Retail: $1199 ea.

 

Goignt go with the SVS sub, fits the budget and bill. For TV still debating between the 97S and the 89S, the difference, HDMI 1.3A, is it worth the price difference? Now I need a universal remote, hows the 890 PRO? Networking stuff is on hold due to a few complications with the CAN. Also need good advice between the Onkyo, Sony, Denon and Yahmaha Receviers... I appreaciate the help that has been given so far, thanks acurazine members

 

I don't think you need the 1.3a. Right now it will do nothing for you over 1.1 for anything other than HD-DVD. It carries the ability to process the newest Dolby better than lesser HDMI iterations (so it claims) for HD DVD. That's it. So to even take advantage of 1.3a in the future you would need to run your HD DVD direct to the TV and bypass your receiver.

 

^^^ I agree.

1.3a would be a future-proofing move, but you're not future proofing the TV since you've moved downmarket with a plan to upgrade later. But if you pay anywhere near 4K for a DLP then I'd like to go out and buy one and sell it to you. Make sure the viewing angle on the DLP will match what you need.

I spent $5K on my TV because I figure that I don't want to upgrade it constantly; I'd rather have the great picture right off the bat rather than compromise and be jonesing for another TV in a couple of years.

Onkyo vs. Denon -- if you can afford the Denon, I'd go with that. The one knock I have on my Onkyo is it uses fans to cool and runs pretty hot. I believe the Denon is passively cooled. Either one should sound fantastic once the levels and delays are set up right.

 

Found a great deal on the HLT 6189S, 2650 for the TV shipped and 1400 for the receiver shipped, no intrest or payments for 18 months. Perfect. Thanks guys, appreciate the help so far

 

-Your router doesnt have to control the speed on each port. What you need to do is to setup the nic to 10, 100, or 1000.

- The Denon 3808CI is the bomb. Although you dont need the CI because CI = Custom Installer. It takes a lot of work to properly configure a Denon.

- Projection TV

-HDMI 1.3a is marketing crap. By the time you actually use it, you will most likely get a new tv/receiver.

Hope you enjoy your setup.

 

got the tx-sr875 today, damn that box is huge, it took 2 ups guys to deliver it, must weight over 20 lbs. Either is wrapped with a mix of concrete and paper or its pretty damn big.

 

Great choice!! I recommend it to my co-worker when we were @ Fry's looking for a receiver. It's big because of the receiver is very heavy. Someone told me that a good receiver must weigh A LOT! How much did you get it for? $999?

 

nope, its the SR-TX875 got it for around 1400 shipped from crutchfield.

 

My mistake, I realize he has the TX-SR805B. One thing I found annoying about the receiver is the way they place the speaker connection. While I was showing him how to hook up all the cables, I noticed that all L side are on the left and all R are on the right!

 

well right now the receiver is still sitting in the living room in the orignal packing waiting for KB home to get their asses together and fix the last issues with teh new cardboard box. also guys, a little of topic but in contractors terms, does a 100 percent complete home mean that there are chunks of ripped carpet, reversed switches, No gutters, Scratches on granite and nicks all over the place? F!@#$%* KB home, delayed my closing... Idiots can even paint in a straight line... Oh well. sorry for the

 

890 pro will allow you to program multiple rooms, as well as lighting with z-wave and is RF. Is there any other difference between the 890 and the 890 pro?
Any recommendations as to where i can get an 890 pro?