this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

GO TAKE IT BACK! PRICE DROP COMING SOON ON THE HDTV BECAUSE OF THE NEW TECNOLOGY COMING OUT WITHIN THE NEXT 6 months!!

But its such an awesome TV. I have one myself. OMG I also have the sony surround sound, LORDY!

Are you into that lord of the rings stuff? I'm not. Its a little too...fake for me. Elves and stuff. But...I DID watch the entire extended edition probably 3 or 4 times, just because I wanted to watch it on my tv. Let me give you some advice. Make sure you splurge on the cables. I'm not sure the best cable to get anymore, but the cables can make a huge difference.

Good luck with it, but watch for the price drop in the next 30 days so you can get a price match, and booya!

Originally posted by cumpressor4u2nv
GO TAKE IT BACK! PRICE DROP COMING SOON ON THE HDTV BECAUSE OF THE NEW TECNOLOGY COMING OUT WITHIN THE NEXT 6 months!!

But its such an awesome TV. I have one myself. OMG I also have the sony surround sound, LORDY!

Are you into that lord of the rings stuff? I'm not. Its a little too...fake for me. Elves and stuff. But...I DID watch the entire extended edition probably 3 or 4 times, just because I wanted to watch it on my tv. Let me give you some advice. Make sure you splurge on the cables. I'm not sure the best cable to get anymore, but the cables can make a huge difference.

Good luck with it, but watch for the price drop in the next 30 days so you can get a price match, and booya!

thanks. i think my tv is capable of the new technology when it comes out. no i'm not into the lord of the rings stuff. never read the books so really cant get into it but like you i would like to see the beautiful graphics of those movies. i got expensive component cables for the dvd to tv hookup and also a fiber optic cable for the audio. tomorrow the fun really begins with the surround sound.

Make sure you dvd player supports DVI. If it doesn't take it back or buy a new one. Component cables are crap compared to DVI cables.

Originally posted by Goldenhue22
Make sure you dvd player supports DVI. If it doesn't take it back or buy a new one. Component cables are crap compared to DVI cables.

well you know what? the tv of course supports DVI but the APEX dvd player is several years old and is progressive scan but may not support DVI. so may have to buy a new one.

In our apt we have a 56 inch Samsung DLP, w/ 7.1 JBL studio series, and a Denon receiver with the touch screen remote...model on the denon is Avr 4802. Estimated 15k worth of equipment right there, to go w/ the xbox, ps2, gamecube. Oh, and the cable alone was 1 grand...But Monster Cable is the best...

With the speakers, Klipsch might have been a better choice, but the JBL's are pretty damn good enough.

Edit: Oh yeah, and Brighthouse dig cable...every channel except the encore's

Originally posted by strong bad
the cable alone was 1 grand...But Monster Cable is the best...

What's Monster Cable? $1000 for a wire? I know, I'm ignorant about this stuff....:confused:

Monster (http://www.monstercable.com/)

It was $1000 for ALL the cable for the speakers, the component videos and opticals, etc...

RX-GR8, What HDTV cable are you getting? And does your tv have a built in HD tuner? That will allow you to pick up all the local stations that broadcast in HD. Like I said, we have dig cable. And since it's an HD tv, we got the HD cable box receiver, which acts as an HD tuner, so on top of couple hundred channels, we also get to watch the HDs. My only beef with Brighthouse right now? They don't offer ESPN HD (GRRRR....).

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

Awesome! Congrats, man. That sounds very sweet! :)

I have put a few $$ and components into my home theater:

1) Pioneer PDP50HD 50" Plasma display :D interfaced to:
- Dish Network satellite with 30GB integrated video recorder
- RCA DTC-100 High Definition decoder for off-air HDTV
- Sony STR-DE9xx receiver
- Panasonic DVD player/burner for recording native DVDs
- PlayStation II
- Sony VCR

and

2) My home theater PC which displays 1536x768 native video on the plasma display. This is a custom built PC using an AMD athlon processor and dual-monitor nVidia display. Wireless keyboard and mouse let me play 3D games on the big display, or use it for surfing the web.


3) Audio out goes to a mitsubishi powered sub, Bose acoustamass cubes for 5.1, with 2 of their associated passive subs.


I use a Sony universal remote which will let me control everything from one remote. It's still a bit cumbersome for the non-experts in the family (like my wife) to use.

Originally posted by strong bad
RX-GR8, What HDTV cable are you getting? And does your tv have a built in HD tuner? That will allow you to pick up all the local stations that broadcast in HD. Like I said, we have dig cable. And since it's an HD tv, we got the HD cable box receiver, which acts as an HD tuner, so on top of couple hundred channels, we also get to watch the HDs. My only beef with Brighthouse right now? They don't offer ESPN HD (GRRRR....).

i am getting Comcast HD. my tv is HD capable so does not have the HD tuner built in. i will be getting a HD cable box like you have. Comcast has ESPN HD.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

I would suggest you go to www.avsforum.com

You can get good video advice/background there. To adjust it properly, you probably want to get Video Essentials or Avia DVD (which contain test patterns and setup information).

I have a 106" front projector setup, with DVD and HDTV. I love it!

Originally posted by cumpressor4u2nv
GO TAKE IT BACK! PRICE DROP COMING SOON ON THE HDTV BECAUSE OF THE NEW TECNOLOGY COMING OUT WITHIN THE NEXT 6 months!!

So whats coming out?

Originally posted by RX-GR8
tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system.

Can you post pics when you have it set up?

Originally posted by strong bad
Can you post pics when you have it set up?

yes but the install will be delayed until next sunday. the guy thats helping me couldnt make it today.

Originally posted by mdmaclean
I would suggest you go to www.avsforum.com

You can get good video advice/background there. To adjust it properly, you probably want to get Video Essentials or Avia DVD (which contain test patterns and setup information).

I have a 106" front projector setup, with DVD and HDTV. I love it!

mac thanks for the link.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now. Please don't say you got a great TV and then are using a 'home theater in a box' system. Heavens sakes man - get a decent receiver and some good speakers. For $800 you can get a Denon AVR-3803 (not good but adequate for the family room) and my B&W 602 series 5.1 speaker setup was about $2000 (again not good but adequate - remember you need matched drivers and the center is the most important). Finally a decent progressive scan DVD player - Sony makes some fairly good ones from $300 -$2000. However this is just brand name stuff you can easily shop for via the internet. For quality stuff you need to really know what you are doing and definitely create a long term relationship with a good dealer.

If you want to spend some serious money then get the Linn Unidisk (DVD/CD/SACD etc player) for $11k and the Linn Kisto processor and several Klimax power amps and Akurate speaker system - I have it on good authority from my AV advisors that this is as good as it gets today for under $100k for multi-channel movie sound and music reproduction (i.e. excluding video).

My medium priced dream system for my dedicated media room (soundproofed with tiered floor for stadium seating and specific dimensions and angled ceiling for near perfect sound etc) would have had Runco DLP projector (HD2 chip) and scaler on Stewart Firehawk 120" deluxe fixed screen with B&K or Theta electronics into Magneplanar speakers (pair of MG1.6, CC3 center and four MGMC1 surounds) and Vandersteen 2Wq subs (giving audiophile quality 7.1 sound) - sadly lack of funds means this room lies empty for yet another year (although it is already wired up with interconnects to the ceiling and speaker cable inside the walls and on a separate mains electrical circuit etc). If I ever complete it I will happily spend the extra $500 to get a ISF certified technician to calibrate everything perfectly. Such are dreams...

Oh - and back in the real world please go and buy Digital Video Essentials or the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up setup DVDs - best $25 upgrade you will ever make for ANY system as it gets the most out of what you already have (even a HTIB like the Onkyo or the Sony HTIB in my bedroom). I also subscribe to Perfect Vision, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, Sound and Vision, Home Theater Magazine etc to keep tabs on tips, news and new equipment. Internet forums like avsforum are good but it helps to have some background knowledge first (i.e. find a good dealer to experience how good it can really get, then weep at the prices).

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

I have a 50 samsung DLP myself...wait till you see hD football!!

Comcast cable covers our area, and offers the following in HD: ABC,NBC,HBO,SHOWTIME, FOX, COMECAST STATOION(34), and two all HD stations, and a demo station. You need a new HD box, they give you the HD service for free, and set up is only $14.00

Remember, even if its a HD channel, the cameras may not be HD, so signal my not be what you expect.

For example, FOX is HD but the afternoon football games use regular camaras. ESPN night game is HD, and is great. So is monday night football.

comcasts sixers and flyers games are HD....Flyers games are wonderful!!!

Now, If your TV has a DVI input, look for a DVI dvd player. I know of two, the bravo D1 and the samsung 931. The bravo is about $200, and I hear that the PQ is wonderful.

Also, for my set up. I need to change between my sources to see HD channels....My regular coax in is my input one, while my HD component in is input three(I put the xbox on componant two, while my DVD player is componant one.)

I did not know about the source switch at first, and was unhappy till I found out about swithing for the HD feed.

Finally remeber that a big screen shows every flaw in its signal...so crap in = crap out..SCIFI channel is a good example, horrid signal thats just looks worse big.

The attack of the clones DVD is a real good weay to show off your system....as is the new xman movie, the second matrix, saving private ryan, the lotr and the two towers...I have heard that the super bit version of the 5th element rules, but god what a bad movie.

If you like this sort of thing,(and I do) akira, spirited away and vampire hunter D (the sequal, not the oruginal) are really nice on a big screen.

PM me if you need any help, I did a lot of research brfore I jumped in.

A good place for info is the AVS forum, Really nice people there, very helpful. A real good way to look into the DVI players..

Originally posted by pelucidor
Oh - and back in the real world please go and buy Digital Video Essentials or the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up setup DVDs - best $25 upgrade you will ever make for ANY system as it gets the most out of what you already have (even a HTIB like the Onkyo or the Sony HTIB in my bedroom). I also subscribe to Perfect Vision, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, Sound and Vision, Home Theater Magazine etc to keep tabs on tips, news and new equipment. Internet forums like avsforum are good but it helps to have some background knowledge first (i.e. find a good dealer to experience how good it can really get, then weep at the prices).

Actually You can get good performance for movies from a box set, but for music I agree with you. I use my 901s for music and a RCA system for movies.

I used avia for my set up, but I have heard good reviews of DVE...I think you can order them both from amazon.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

We just reviewed the Kenwood 6.1 theater in a box: http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review692.html

I think the Onkyo is better, great choice.

Originally posted by Ioman
We just reviewed the Kenwood 6.1 theater in a box: http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review692.html

I think the Onkyo is better, great choice.

I have the 5.1 version in my bedroom, It does the job but would not be well suited to a main room.

by the way, Good website and fair review.

Originally posted by klegg
I have the 5.1 version in my bedroom, It does the job but would not be well suited to a main room.

by the way, Good website and fair review.

Thanks Klegg, this is what I do for a living and I pride myself on our staff's fairness in our reviews. If anyone has a consumer electronics question, I would be more than happy to help answer it for you. :)

If anybody is curious, I sell all that neat-o computer gear that post houses and TV stations use for the editing/broadcasting. Well, I dont sell so much as support, and educate on, :D so any heavy q's I can probably handle.

BTW, this new tech stuff I hear bandied about, I have been hearing it for the past year from a lot of people so take it with a grain of sand. Lasy time I heard it was in august and ironically enough, I had just attended a trade show that dealt with the fact that HD is pretty much standarized and finally moving forward.

RX-GR8, I was wondering if we may share pictures of our own set ups...I ask for your permission, cuz i dont want to hijack... If you rather me start a new thread w/ that, let me know...

Originally posted by klegg
I have a 50 samsung DLP myself...wait till you see hD football!!


No Joke! MNF is HEAVENLY. But I think it's because they're broadcasting like 1080p or something. Also, the PBS demo channel as well as Discovery HD are AWESOME.

Doesn't it suck that CBS rarely offers true HD for football games? The picture has slightly more clarity, but it isn't offerend in widescreen, so there are still the annoying borders. While Fox NFL does a better job (it's got widescreen), nothing compares to MNF HD.

Originally posted by klegg
Actually You can get good performance for movies from a box set, but for music I agree with you. I use my 901s for music and a RCA system for movies.

I used avia for my set up, but I have heard good reviews of DVE...I think you can order them both from amazon.

im not using the Onkyo HTIB for music although i may throw a cd in from time to time. to listen to music i have a yamaha RX 900u receiver, sony 5 disc changer, nakamichi BX-100 cassette deck, sony MDP600 laser disc player and a sony turntable to play that vinyl. for speakers i have a pair of cerwin vega at15's and a pair of polk sda-2b's. this stuff is somewhat dated but still powerful.

Originally posted by noahprtlnd
What's Monster Cable? $1000 for a wire? I know, I'm ignorant about this stuff....:confused:

Nah, that's nothing.
I attended a HI-FI exhibition with my father, who is a real audiophile, and saw a pair of speaker cables that were £25,000 a metre. Cannot remember the manufacturer, but I will look.

Originally posted by Ioman
We just reviewed the Kenwood 6.1 theater in a box: http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review692.html

I think the Onkyo is better, great choice.

model HTS760.

Originally posted by strong bad
RX-GR8, I was wondering if we may share pictures of our own set ups...I ask for your permission, cuz i dont want to hijack... If you rather me start a new thread w/ that, let me know...

thats a good idea. post pics of your setup in this thread. i wont have any until this sunday at the earliest.

Originally posted by Goldenhue22
Make sure you dvd player supports DVI. If it doesn't take it back or buy a new one. Component cables are crap compared to DVI cables.

Actually, from what I've heard, there are only one or two DVD players that support DVI, and from the reports I've read, the component cables look better.

He's right though. DVI SHOULD be the best quality. I just don't think anyone's done the HD DVD correctly yet. Give it a little time.

I have the 57" Sony and a progressive scan Pioneer DVD player that also plays DVDA and SACD music CD's. Love it!

Go with DirecTV for your HD, the high definition looks a lot better than most HD cable boxes. Most HD DirecTV boxes support over the air HD also. There are only a few DVD palyers out with DVI. I have seen the Samsung and it looks great but has trouble playing older 4:3 DVD movies

Originally posted by Goldenhue22
Make sure you dvd player supports DVI. If it doesn't take it back or buy a new one. Component cables are crap compared to DVI cables.

WRONG! Good component cables will still give a higher quality signal than DVI. Everyone is just pushing DVI because it will give the ability to copy protect ...

Originally posted by Superfan
So whats coming out?

He's talking out his ass ...

If you don't mind the space, you can get great deals on RPTV's right now. Everybody wants Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCoS or whatever. And when properly calibrated, some RPTV's will give the best picture you've ever seen. But, calibration is more important on a RPTV because it's easy for those big guns to be mis-alligned.

Rambling ... sorry

Surprised there aren't more Audio/HT nuts on here.

Actually, DVI is a real digital signal, while compenent cables are analog. DVI will be capable of much higher quality down the line, but that wont be really usable until true HD-DVD makes it out. Right now side by side component has more than enough bandwidth for any kind of large TV on the market with the compressed signals we are seeing.

Also like Boostd said, calibration of a big screan is very important. Have yours done properly if you really care about that sort of thing. but if your not that detail oriented, just get yourself a nice calibration DVD and do the basic stuff on your set. Always check your convergence once a week for the first few months as well to see how the TV behaves. My Toshiba was a pain the first 3 months, but eventually settled down and I havent had to do any convergence adjustment in the past 6 months.

Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
WRONG! Good component cables will still give a higher quality signal than DVI. Everyone is just pushing DVI because it will give the ability to copy protect ...

Well, I have seen DVI signals that do look better than componant, and it just makes sense because there is no digital /analog conversion with DVI, it is all digital..

What are you using for your DVI source? If it is a HTPC, is the video card set for your TV native resolution?

The bravo d1 dvd player is not copy protected (yet), which makes it a strong $200 buy, but I hear it is finicky..

And I think the momatsu(spelled wrong) also does not have it, and has the bonus of being region free....

By the way, pirates of the carrabian is a GREAT dvd transfer.....wonderful quality and a good flick to boot..

Originally posted by Genom
Actually, DVI is a real digital signal, while compenent cables are analog. DVI will be capable of much higher quality down the line, but that wont be really usable until true HD-DVD makes it out. Right now side by side component has more than enough bandwidth for any kind of large TV on the market with the compressed signals we are seeing.

Also like Boostd said, calibration of a big screan is very important. Have yours done properly if you really care about that sort of thing. but if your not that detail oriented, just get yourself a nice calibration DVD and do the basic stuff on your set. Always check your convergence once a week for the first few months as well to see how the TV behaves. My Toshiba was a pain the first 3 months, but eventually settled down and I havent had to do any convergence adjustment in the past 6 months.

That was one of the strong points that led to my DLP purchase...no convergence problems...and it is so light!

Originally posted by RX-GR8
this thing is awesome. tomorrow i'm installing the onkyo theater in a box surround sound 6:1 system. rented identity(good) and anger management(ok) dvd's tonight. this tv is amazing. anybody have any tips or tricks? do you have cable, hdtv cable, dish, etc? i have cable but am upgrading to HDTV cable for now.

here's a tip:
hook your computer to the TV and use it as a monitor :) That would be cool as hell...but then again, I play PC games.

right out of the box my 65" sony was crisp and clear. the colors near perfect. no cailbration problems that i can see. i did an auto convergence when i first got it. this is a great tv. KP65WS510.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
right out of the box my 65" sony was crisp and clear. the colors near perfect. no cailbration problems that i can see. i did an auto convergence when i first got it. this is a great tv. KP65WS510.

Just a word of warning. You may have already changed these, but most TV's come from the factory with the Picture, Sharpness, and Brightness set WAY to high. They do this so if the TV ends up being a display model, it will look good on a store floor. If you leave your TV at these high setting, it will wear out MUCH faster, and you will be greatly increasing the chances of burn in.

After using a set up DVD on my Sony, all my setting are half to a little lower than a half. This is much lower than what they were when I first turned the TV on.

As far as being an audio/HT nuts...

Martin Logan CLS Loudspeakers
Pass Labs Aleph 2 Amps
Pass Labs X2.5 Pre-amp
Pass Labs XVR1 Crossover
REL Stadium III Subwoofer
Mitsubishi 65" HDTV
Etc!

Vince

Originally posted by IwantONE2
Just a word of warning. You may have already changed these, but most TV's come from the factory with the Picture, Sharpness, and Brightness set WAY to high. They do this so if the TV ends up being a display model, it will look good on a store floor. If you leave your TV at these high setting, it will wear out MUCH faster, and you will be greatly increasing the chances of burn in.

After using a set up DVD on my Sony, all my setting are half to a little lower than a half. This is much lower than what they were when I first turned the TV on.

thanks. i think they are all half way but i'll double check.

Welp, since it seems there are a few here, in case anybody didnt have it, this is a GREAT resource for RPTV and HDTV

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/

Originally posted by Genom
Welp, since it seems there are a few here, in case anybody didnt have it, this is a GREAT resource for RPTV and HDTV

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/

Nice site...and they have a review of the momitsu dvi dvd player...

Just because a cable is pure digital doesn't make it higher quality. If that were the case, Toslink cables would have long since replaced co-ax cables ... but they haven't, because many still prefer co-ax.

Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
Just because a cable is pure digital doesn't make it higher quality. If that were the case, Toslink cables would have long since replaced co-ax cables ... but they haven't, because many still prefer co-ax.

I agree with that, original signal quality is everything, BUT the DVI from a dvd or htpc is pure, so no chance of the signal being corrupted ..

Originally posted by RX-GR8
thanks. i think they are all half way but i'll double check.

Pick up a copy of Digital Video Essentials (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005PJ70/102-2265585-7201768?v=glance) or Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005TRZA/ref=pd_sim_dv_2/102-2265585-7201768?v=glance&s=dvd).
They cost $18 each and tune the TV properly. I got a small Sony 57" (KP-57WV700) 6 months ago and the contrast and brightness were way off - the DVD also helped to properly calibrate and balance sound for my 5.1 system.

Originally posted by pelucidor
Pick up a copy of Digital Video Essentials (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005PJ70/102-2265585-7201768?v=glance) or Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune-Up (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005TRZA/ref=pd_sim_dv_2/102-2265585-7201768?v=glance&s=dvd).
They cost $18 each and tune the TV properly. I got a small Sony 57" (KP-57WV700) 6 months ago and the contrast and brightness were way off - the DVD also helped to properly calibrate and balance sound for my 5.1 system.

Santa is bringing me the DVE dvd.

Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
If you don't mind the space, you can get great deals on RPTV's right now. Everybody wants Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCoS or whatever.


Technically, the DLP in my living room is a rear projection tv... Did you mean CRT?

It's no question some CRTs can look better. The technology has been around forever, whereas the newer plasma/lcd/dlp/etc are still being developed.

As far as I know, burn in isn't an issue with the DLP. And because it's essentially a light bulb hitting several fancy mirrors, even the constant turning on and off will not lead to monitor failure. I think that's what gets CRTs. Also, according to comparison tests with LCD projections, picture degradation was not detected after several thousand hours of use with the DLP. Same could not be said for the LCD.

Yeah...it's safe to say that I'm strongly biased towards DLP technology right now. And while there are trade offs to each, I'd suggest to anyone that's in the market for an HD monitor, to check em out.

Nice setup!!! I've always like ML's.
As far as I'm concerned, Mitsu is the only way to go...


Originally posted by compaddict
As far as being an audio/HT nuts...

Martin Logan CLS Loudspeakers
Pass Labs Aleph 2 Amps
Pass Labs X2.5 Pre-amp
Pass Labs XVR1 Crossover
REL Stadium III Subwoofer
Mitsubishi 65" HDTV
Etc!

Vince

One more thing... If you guys are looking for great prices on audiophile gear, check out http://www.unclestereo.com/ You have to call them to find out the deals on the good stuff you can't find except through licensed dealers (many are not listed on their website so you need to call).

Heh.

I didn't end up paying a ton for my system, probably the whole thing cost me $4000... but I'm quite happy with it.

Paradigm Monitor 7s for front
Paradigm CC350 center
Paradigm ADP350 rears
Marantz SR 7000 receiver

And the crown jewel for us: a SVSubwoofers SVS 25-31 unpowered subwoofer and amp. Okay, okay so amp and sub were only $800. We like 'em a lot.

www.svsubwoofers.com -- they are great.

A good action movie shakes the room, on decent volume. I may get another -- the amp can take two and the company often suggest dual subwoofers -- although the wife is worried that I'll blow out the windows....


Toshiba 27" Cinema Series TV (yeah, I know that's tiny compared to some of y'all... but it works for us)... a new, big TV is on the horizon, but will only come after a bunch of other things... we just bought our first house in April of this year.

Oh, and I don't use Monster cable, although some people swear by it.

Most people can't tell a difference... or so seemed to be the consensus when I was looking at audio seriously a few years ago.

good thing i bought the big screen because now my 27" sony in the living room looks like someone put a magnet near it and all the colors are wrong. i tried to use a soldering gun in front of it to demagnetize it but it only works as long as you hold it there then the colors go wrong again. i think it might be the degausse circuit inside the unit not working. had it 14 years and never had 1 problem. im wondering whether its worth it to fix it or buy another one. any tv repairmen out there?

I have paradigm's as well. I have the Monitor 9 v2's (I was the first person in AZ to get them), CC350, and Mini-monitor's for the rear. No sub yet... :( My wife doesn't want me to get one until we have a home theater room.

Rx-GR8... do you have unshielded speakers next to it? Or on top of it? Most center channel speakers will be shielded from electromagnetic interference...

... although if that's not it, then yeah, I'd say probably buy another one. They're pretty cheap nowadays.

.

..

...

....

these were the pics i was talking about posting a few months ago... i also just accidentally posted these in the wrong thread, due to a sloppy search...i typed in theater and looked for RXgr8, without reading the content... oops. but i fixed it.

The Fifth Element Superbit edition is almost HD-like. It's a beautiful transfer. I bought it just cause it looks amazing on an HDTV.

And don't spend $1000 on cables! The "high end" cable business is one of the biggest rackets out there. As long as you get shielded cables with decent snug connectors, you'll be set. Monster or any other major brand name is fine, but there's NO need to splurge on their highest priced version of a particular cable. They all produce the same output.

strong bad i wondered where those pics were.

the rear speakers

Originally posted by loco4rx8
The Fifth Element Superbit edition is almost HD-like. It's a beautiful transfer. I bought it just cause it looks amazing on an HDTV.

And don't spend $1000 on cables! The "high end" cable business is one of the biggest rackets out there. As long as you get shielded cables with decent snug connectors, you'll be set. Monster or any other major brand name is fine, but there's NO need to splurge on their highest priced version of a particular cable. They all produce the same output.

I agree. Unless you have multi thousands of dolars invested in your Theater System you aren't going to notice a big difference what so ever.

My profession has a lot to do with sound, projection and video. I actually run a 35 MM professional film projector once weekly as one of the duties of my job as is also maintenance and installation of such equipment and digital equipment. This system is only a year old and rivals any movie theater system in the professional world. The projector is a top of the line Kenon 35MM film projector with a Dolby Surround System optical auido head. It cost 35K to have it installed. The sound system is a Dolby Digital Surround with 5.1 surround. There are 3 large 15" JBL studio monitor speakers with wide dispersion horns for left center and right and the surround speakers are all JBLs which are typical of what is installed in a lot of other theaters. The Sub is also a JBL and has 2 15" drivers. The sound is awsome and I can tell you that there's not a monster cable on the premise. This sound system alone was 25K to have it installed.

My suggestions are that you use heavy duty cable, it doesn't have to be monster or above, it just has to carry a signal with little resistance. Don't get the cheap 99 cent RCA Stereo cables either. There is no difference in the signal of a DVI or a Component. Both use the same amount of wires, 6. The signals for video are the minimum 2 wires, second is S video and uses 4 wires and component as mentioned above, 6. This all involves control of the main signals of a picture, red, green, blue, black and white.

Get what you can afford, and what sounds good to you, not what you can brag about having by dropping names and values. Yes, some sound better than others but that is subjective to what you like to hear.

My system for home? (here is the bragging part...:))

I have:

an inexpensive Kenwood THX Select THX Surround EX receiver amplifier. Sounds great for under $400

Sony DVD with Precision Cinema Progressive Playback model DVP-NS725P which cost $225 at the time.

Klipsch RC3-II center channell speaker - $350

Klipsch Herresey three way speakers for left and right - I got lucky, I got them for nothing, they were being thrown out at a former place of emplyment.

Klipsch RW-12 300 watt powered sub woofer - $600 (This thing vibrates the concrete floor in my home theater which is ideally located in my basement. It is what I consider one of the most improtant parts of a dynamic sounding surround sound system)

Polk Audio bi-polar/di-polar surround speakers - got them for a steal at $90 each.

Bose 601 loud speaker for center rear, there aren't too many movies that utilize this feature. I got it for nothing, my wife brought it into the marriage.

My projector is an IPAQ which puts out 1K lumen, native resolution of 1024 X 768, DVI, VGA component, S-Video and composite video inputs. The DVI Serves as the Component in with the adapter cable. It cost me on a closeout $899.

My screen I built myself, we were throwing out a screen at work that had perfect screening material, it just didn't roll down any more so I bult my own custom frame and stretched it across and built my own masking system for the three different aspects of film and video.

I do not even have a TV tuning device hooked up to this system, it is intended for watching movies and an occasional video or computer game.

Here is a pic I took of the picture a few months ago. The image is 65" X 27.5" when in 16:9 Cinemascope. The effective full screen 5:4 is 80" diagonal. For a small 7 seat Home Theater, it suits me just fine.

Bragging session over. :D

You need to add a large rear wing spoiler to that set. You'll get more horsepower :)

For those interested in the DVI debate....

Its not the cable and not really the fact that its digital that makes it "better". What CAN make it better is less conversions from one format to another. This is its primary benefit. Less chance for the signal to be degraded or changed. Good component combined with good scalers looks very good on current players. ( In fact I am still using component on my DVD until better DVI solutions come out.)

Currently, since DVD's are at best 480p, you still get a conversion to the higher res format of your HDTV. This can be performed at the DVD player itself, or the TV. The scaler makes all the diff here.
Note: most dvd's aren't great quality anyways and the condition is worsened by the 3:2 pulldown from film to tv and then the mpeg compression.

But .... in the near future there will be better quality DVDs (higher res, better compression, and/or filmed with HDTV in mind) that will run via DVI much better than Component. I have seen some of the new "tests" of this stuff and its sweet. For those of you who have HTPCs check out the Terminator2 redux using WM10. Its just awesome looking and its not up to par with the "test" stuff i saw.

Current DVI players are not up to par yet IMHO. Many ppl have the Samsung 931 ... about half love it (usually own a Sammy DLP as well), the other half don't (due to 3:2 problems, and black crush).
I'd wait till at least the next round of players come out (late spring).

Check out avsforum for the details. Its the equivalent forum to rx8club (only prolly more technical).