home theatre suggestions

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bubble_boy

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hey guys

I'll finally be able to afford a nice home theatre system this year. Now I have a few questions(i know the basics but the more technical things elude me) and am hoping the wonderfull techies here can help me, as well as suggest the components i need to buy.

I understand I need the following:
*plasma/lcd or whatever tv
*a 5.1 receiver (able to accept the digital from xbox)
*speakers
*hd dvd player, if not able to use xbox.
*hd-upscaler (Will get to that now)

The main reason for doing this is so I can play xbox and watch dvd's in all its hd and 5.1 glory!

Can i watch true hd content on the xbox with out anything else?

What is an hd-upscaler? Can it be used to make tv shows and dvd`s play in hd? My big concern is watching tv and dvd's and getting lots of artefact cause of the lower resolution. will a upscaler solve this, and what will be suggested?

Budget for tv is R20 000 or less, has to be at least 42". Should i wait for laser tv to come out? I read that it might be available at chritsmas 2007. thus far i am looking at sony lcd projector tv, a warfedale 42" 720 lcd at hi fi for R14999. a lg 42px4 (not real hd but 1080 looks awesome on it!)

Budget for sound system R10000 or less incl reciever and dvd player , that has to be able to play divx/xvid

And then the infamous hd upscaler. I have no idea what they cost.

My main concern is integration with xbox.

Are there any other setups i need to consider? What am i missing? all suggestion welcome , even if it is over budget. If it is really worthwhile i will consider it.

Le the games begin and thanks in advance.
 
You're gonna have to throw out a ball park for your budget mate :)

'Cos we can give you advice on anything from a few K to a couple 100 K
 
Im planning to get the Pioneer Hifi with DVD and divx player, 7500W!!:)
Not sure if thats up your alley or if you going bigger!
 
well i did give a few figures at the end of the post
but lets say +- R30000 depending on hd upscaler. :)
 
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JK8 said:
Im planning to get the Pioneer Hifi with DVD and divx player, 7500W!!:)
Not sure if thats up your alley or if you going bigger!
Click to expand...

have no idea, i dont need the loudest system (i dont live on a plaas :D ) i will gladly spend more on visuals than sound. but the sound should be nice none the less, just not those cheap jobbies you get with dvd player. :p
 
With your mass budget, I think you should just go to Audiovision and get the top of the range of what they have 42' Sony LCD and a B&W 7.1 Surround sound system.With that kind of budget,talk is not cheap.I wish I had that kind of budget man.
 
Thanks for the replies people. Does no one know about the hd-upscaler thing, and when laser tv technology will be here or if I should wait for it?

arf9999, that does seem to be a viable solution. I will definitely have a look at that as well. I remember now looking at that a wile ago. will it be able to handle hd? I know the tv can but the rest?

GTi, i think i will go make a stop at audiovision, and ask their advice as well. As for the budget , i actually think it is not that much if you take in consideration what more top of the line components cost. I have always wanted a decent home theatre system and only this year is the first chance that i will be bale to go for it. it seems things are at last starting to look forward :)
 
bubble_boy said:
Thanks for the replies people. Does no one know about the hd-upscaler thing, and when laser tv technology will be here or if I should wait for it?

arf9999, that does seem to be a viable solution. I will definitely have a look at that as well. I remember now looking at that a wile ago. will it be able to handle hd? I know the tv can but the rest?

GTi, i think i will go make a stop at audiovision, and ask their advice as well. As for the budget , i actually think it is not that much if you take in consideration what more top of the line components cost. I have always wanted a decent home theatre system and only this year is the first chance that i will be bale to go for it. it seems things are at last starting to look forward :)
Click to expand...

The amp has hdmi switching...so yes. You don't need an HD upscaler, as the TV has it built-in. I suggest that rather than Audiovision, you go see Tafelberg. Price and service is better!

edit: the amp doesn't seem to decode HDMI audio, I think it only handles video signals through HDMI. But it has optical and co-ax digital audio input.
 
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Why do you want an upscaler if you get a TV that can support 1080i/p HD?

10K is enough to get a real nice mid ranged audio system from any good Audio Visual appliance store - have a look at Yamaha for sound - I recommend going Yamaha whenever you can.

For visual I'd take the Sony Bravia 40" LCD (http://www.sony.co.za/prod.asp?DTID=1&CID=49&SID=268&PID=2138). It is an excellent HD LCD - shop around, you can get one for around R20k at some places.
 
BobbyMac said:
Why do you want an upscaler if you get a TV that can support 1080i/p HD?
Click to expand...

Well, I have no idea really what an upscaler is, i just read about it and it seems to me that it makes your normal dvd play at hd, therefore making it look much better. But what I understand now is that the tv has an upscaler allready installed? i will probably only go for a tv that has true 720 and not 1080 as i will be using it as a normal tv aswell, plus it cheaper to go that route.
 
I am going to Sandton City at lunch to look at some options, any place you would suggest?
 
bubble_boy said:
I am going to Sandton City at lunch to look at some options, any place you would suggest?
Click to expand...

B&H and the shop next to Timberland.

Why dont you get a Grand Wega?
 
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okay i see its the lcd with projection. yes i am looking at them as well at the moment, but i think the one i am looking at is the SONY BRAVIA 50" PROJECTION,3LCD TV HDMI ,1920X1080
 
Why not try Marantz on the amplifier side? I find they've got price, value and quality perfect. How about the SR5001? It's R6300.00 right now, but is increasing in a few weeks. Some feature are ...

Innovative 32-bit Digital Signal Processing with DTS-ES and DPL IIx
Wide range full discrete 7 channel Current Feedback amplifiers
High quality video conversion
HDMI(1.1) switching
Sound delay function (LipSync)
Adjustable crossover
Multiroom with multi source
Dolby Headphone
Marantz D-Bus and RS232c connection
Pre-programmed system remote control
 
Dolby said:
Why not try Marantz on the amplifier side? I find they've got price, value and quality perfect. How about the SR5001? It's R6300.00 right now, but is increasing in a few weeks. Some feature are ...

Innovative 32-bit Digital Signal Processing with DTS-ES and DPL IIx
Wide range full discrete 7 channel Current Feedback amplifiers
High quality video conversion
HDMI(1.1) switching
Sound delay function (LipSync)
Adjustable crossover
Multiroom with multi source
Dolby Headphone
Marantz D-Bus and RS232c connection
Pre-programmed system remote control
Click to expand...

that sounds pretty awesome! is an amplifier the same as a reciever thing? in other words all i need to get now is the speakers and tv, i can use the xbox as dvd player right?
 
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