Help with new setup

[Bashyman]

Hi guys,

I have a Sony KDL-W40A12U 40 inch LCD TV which I am completely happy with and have had it for about a year.
I have been using it on a stand for the last year (the stand that was sold with it) but now I'm completely doing out my living room am now looking at mounting the TV onto the chimney breast. I've just had installed a new limestone fireplace with Gas fire and was looking at installing the TV above the fireplace.
My first question is... Would there be a problem in doing this, I've asked a few pepole and they seem to think not, but you guys sound like the experts.

The problem is that the Sony wall mount for this TV (the SU-PW3M) is dicontinued. The main hassle is the subwoofer on the rear of the TV.
It is included with the stand and have been told a universal stand can be fitted but I would lose the subwoofer.
This leads onto my next question. I am now looking at getting a normal mount and removing the sub woofer. Then purchasing a home theatre system. I have been researching the HTSS1000 and the HTSF1000.
Are these any good.

I will not be chasing the cables through the wall of the chimney breast because there are too many, and I'm worried if I ever want to move, it would be a pain.
I plan to tidy up the cables as best I can, run them to the right of the TV (underneath, out of sight) and round the chimney breast to a cabinet which would hold my DVD recorder (RDR-HXD910), Sky + (no HD Yet!!), Xbox and Xbox 360. Also, maybe teh future home sound system.
Another question. My TV only has one HDMI connector which has my DVD player plugged into, then my 360 is in the component sockets, sky and normal xbox in scart.
How would I setup the HTSS1000???

Does anyone have any tips on setting up all these messy cables and keeping them as tidy as possible.
I don't really mind spending a bit of extra cash on things i needed. but really don't want to go down the chasing the cables through the wall. although I have seen some of the pics on this section and they look amazing.
Plus can anyone suggest a good home cinema system (preferably sony) for around £300. I've read that a few people think the HTSS1000 is low sound.
Also any recommendations on a good universal wall bracket which will hold this TV. Preferably with a tilt function that will not make the TV stick out too far from the wall. It's wuite thick as it is.

Sorry for that long ramble, I hope some of it made sense, I just had sooo many questions rattling around in my head, they probably all come out in the wrong order.

Any help would be appreciated.


Regards



Bashyman

[Morb]

You can install your plasma above your fire but if you plan to use the fire often i wouldn't really advise it, unless you could get something to direct the heat away from the screen.

You can get universal wall mounts so that isn't a problem atall. And losing the sub in the tv isn't a huge issue if you plan to get a surround setup, i doubt it does much anyway just adds a slightly fuller sound but nothing amazing. If you don't want to chase cables through walls you can hide them with covers, pipes or other trunking, you could also redo your skirting board and bring it out and create a cavity to chase speaker cables etc through.

For surround all-in-one setups are a good way to start for a limited budget, but they will have limits to them ofc. Seperates are a far better choice and add a lot more flexability. If funds are tight you could start with just getting a AV amp and just the fronts than add the rest as you can afford it, a bonus to this route is you can use the amp to route you video signals aswell as audio and run just one HDMI cable to your tv if the amp has the right features.

Whatever you do though don't be loyal to any brand, go and look/listen to equippment.

Sorry my answers are a bit vague and i have no recommendations on any wall mounts or surround systems, but hopefully i have given you somethings to think about.

One last thing regarding surround if you don't mind going 2nd hand you can get alot of bang for you money. Things like amps are great 2nd hand for example as they have no moving parts as such, and most people take good care of their equippment.

[Bashyman]

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this one??

[beasty54]

Originally Posted by Bashyman

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this one??

Hi, i posted in another thread about the Sony HTSS-1000 but i'll share my thoughts here as well.
I picked the htss-1000 up a couple of days ago from my local sony centre for £220 and i was amazed at how bad this system was. Firstly i was told it had an active sub but when i opened it up i saw straight away that it was passive and this is a big NO for a home cinema setup. I thought i'd give the system a try anyway so i got it out and set it up. The first thing i noticed was how cheap and nasty the amp actually looked, the display was like one of those speak and spells that was around in the 80s so i wasn't impressed at all. I hooked the 360 up via optical cable, stuck in a dvd and cranked up the volume and straight away the speakers clearly showed they couldn't handle much at all. I let the dvd play for a while and had a play around with the settings but after 30 minutes i had to turn it off because the sound was simply awfull no matter what i did, so dull and lifeless.

I wouldn't advise anyone to get the sony system because the Yamaha AV59 pack can be picked up for £200 and i'd personally say its a crime to even compare the 2, the yamaha is leagues above

[Bashyman]

Thanks Beasty, but I was looking at the HSF1000 (the floor speaker version)
I've just looked at the yamaha and It does look good.
Do you know if Yamaha do a similar system with floor speakers?

Can you tell me where you've seen the av59 for £200?
The lowest I can find is £229

Cheers


Bashyman

[beasty54]

Hi m8, I'm pretty sure that the HTFS-1000 is almost identical to the HTSS-1000 but just with the tall boy speakers. Yamaha dont do a system with floor standing speakers, not at around £200 anyway.

I cant find the system for £200 anymore, the cheapest ive found is £220 but if you cant quite afford it, wait and save a little as its not worth getting the Sony, i wouldn't use it if it was given to me for free.

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz...mahaav59.shtml

[Bashyman]

Shame. Can anyone suggest a decent home cinema sound system (DVD not needed) that comes with floor speakers (silver preferably). Price range less than £350. Ideally 4 floor speakers.
It also needs to have HDMI compat.
I don't think the AV59 yam has that anyway.
I need to be able to connect:
Sony KDL-W40A12U 40 inch LCD TV
Sony RDR-HXD910 DVD recorder
Sky +
Xbox 360
Xbox
Nintendo Wii


Any recommendations??

Cheers


Bashyman

[beasty54]

Originally Posted by Bashyman

Shame. Can anyone suggest a decent home cinema sound system (DVD not needed) that comes with floor speakers (silver preferably). Price range less than £350. Ideally 4 floor speakers.
It also needs to have HDMI compat.
I don't think the AV59 yam has that anyway.
I need to be able to connect:
Sony KDL-W40A12U 40 inch LCD TV
Sony RDR-HXD910 DVD recorder
Sky +
Xbox 360
Xbox
Nintendo Wii


Any recommendations??

Cheers


Bashyman

You say you would like HDMI inputs on the amp? You do realise that most (if not all) amps with HDMI dont actually accept sound on these imputs, its simply an inbuilt video switcher.

Personally i wouldn't go for an all in 1 system anymore, its worth spending that bit extra and buying seperates.
I would recommend the Denon AVR-1507 for £200, it really is a fantastic 7.1 amp. For the speakers i would recommend the Tannoy EFX 5.1 but they aren't floorstanders and it would take you over budget by £50 so if you can find some floorstanders for £150 i really would say take a look at the denon amp.

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by Bashyman

Shame. Can anyone suggest a decent home cinema sound system (DVD not needed) that comes with floor speakers (silver preferably). Price range less than £350. Ideally 4 floor speakers.
It also needs to have HDMI compat.
I don't think the AV59 yam has that anyway.
I need to be able to connect:
Sony KDL-W40A12U 40 inch LCD TV
Sony RDR-HXD910 DVD recorder
Sky +
Xbox 360
Xbox
Nintendo Wii


Any recommendations??

Cheers


Bashyman

Hi, you would be best asking that question in the All in one forums section