Home Theatre - advice, please.

[portyporty]

Hi all. I'm a computer tech but I'm no hi-fi\video guru, so I'm hoping that some kind person can advise me about what I should buy to improve my current set-up.

Basically, I want to set up a modest home theater system, based on my existing 32" CRT TV, DVD player, SVHS VCR and 5xdisc CD player.

This will mean scrapping my 20-yr old amp and speakers, and replacing them with some newer, gruntier and more versatile components.

I'm not a real audiophile - all I want is to get better and more reliable sound from my TV, DVDs and CDs, so I don't necessarily need top-end gear.

Any advice will be really helpful.

Thanks and Merry Xmas to you all :-)

[eracdave]

Hi,

I have recently took the plunge and bought a Panasonic SC-PTX7 Home Theatre 2.1 kit for a few reasons:-

1. wanted to beef up my samsung lcd which has great picture but poor sound in comparison to my old Philips CRT
2. upscale dvd's to HD quality
3. give myself some more options on using the kit as a stereo (got a small living room and the system has a 80gb hard drive)
4. can get one through work £50-60 quid cheaper than on kelkoo!

Have to say I am really pleased so far - I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend, how much space you have and most importantly if you have an understanding better half

Good luck!

[Welsh Whirlwind]

Porty for amps and speaker set reccomendations you may be better off posting in the 'seperates' section of these forums.

As an entry level AV package the Yamaha AV-4101 system HERE comes highly reccomended on these forums and seems to have what your looking for.

[portyporty]

Thanks, eracdave and Welsh Whirlwind. Unfortunately neither of these rigs are available in NZ.

However, as always, just asking the question forced me to closer examine my requirements, so I now have a better appreciation of what I don't know :-)

Seems to me that my priorities are 1) 'receiver' and 2) new speakers (nice but less important than 1). I don't need a built-in DVD player, as I have a reasonable Pioneer, plus an old HiTeker (with no macrovision or region zoning)

At first I thought I needed a receiver with SVideo in and out (to handle my JVC SVHS VCR), but this facility only appears in the dearer machines. However, the JVC outputs direct to the TV in my current setup, so I can do without that receiver function.

After that, I guess it's just brand and price. There's quite a nice 5.1 Onkyo available (HT-S590) with 5 speakers, that I think will do the job, price $799NZ (about 307 pounds?)

If I spend a bit more on just the receiver, I can get a Pioneer or Sony unit, so either I put up with my current speakers or go looking for a speaker kit. We only have a small lounge so maybe 5.1 speakers would be overkill anyway? Maybe a 2.1 pack would be sufficient? Comments would be appreciated.

Edit: Just realized I left out one maybe important factor - 'HDMI' (which only the fancier receivers have)

I understand that this function will enable me to play HD DVDs (?) And receive HD TV (?). We currently don't have HDTV in NZ, but I guess we'll get it eventually..........

[eracdave]

Hi again,

Is the Onkyo HTR508 available? Looks like it would tick the boxes.....

2.1 works for me - living room is 17ft x 12ft so not very big (even smaller with all the kids stuff littered all over the place!)

Good luck deciding!

[portyporty]

Thanks again. I agree that the Onkyo HTR508 would probably suit me, but I'm not sure if it's available here.

The aussie site shows an HT-SR800 but I can't find any info about prices that are relevant to NZ.

Anyway, I'll keep looking.

Re HDMI - I could use a little clarification as to what I should be looking for. The terminology is confusing, with add-ons like 'switching' and 'upscaling' and 'pass-thru', so I'm likely to buy something with HDMI in the specs and then find that it was only some kind of marketing hype :-)

Ah well - we mightn't have a lot of choice in New Zealand but it looks like Xmas Day is going to be pretty choice with clear blue skies and warm temperatures already at 9.30 am. Merry Christmas, Eid Mubarak, and have a nice holiday break to all you AV folk :-)

EDIT: OK, I've had a big read and I now see that HDMI is just a spec for Digital Rights Management, so I guess if a device has HDMI, it'll allow more control over you and me, the end users.

So what I need to understand ain't HDMI but HD, and to what extent devices are capable of employing this facility.

[portyporty]

OK, after sifting the mega-alternatives, here's what I finally settled on.

Everything is Sony. It was ordered online, so there was no freight charge. All prices in $NZ.
Receiver: STRDA1200ESS 7.1 - $1299
Speakers: SSFCR5000B - 5x speaker kit $499
Woofer: SAW2500B $299
Total: $2100NZ or 812 UK pounds

After years of using power tools without protection, my hearing isn't wonderful, so I added the Sony MDR7506 headphones at about $250.

It's Xmas, so I haven't got the gear yet and can't report, but I think the price was reasonable for what I'm getting. Online raps seem to be positive.

I'll follow-up when it's all up and running.

Cheers :-)!