Buying a new TV? Surround Speakers? Remote?

[lurch]

I hope he concurs, but buy your HDMI cables from Monoprice.com.

HOLT CRIPES!!!

How the hell can Best Buy charge those outrageous prices on cable and get away with it? If these cables are the same quality as the rest then I'll be redoing my entire set-up's wiring. Thanks for the site!!

Where do you think they make their money when having such good prices on the TV's. They say, "You also need this $100 cable to connect the TV, so it will work...." Customer thinks they are already spending $2K on a TV financed over 3 years same as cash.....no big deal.

Exactly why I refuse to finance big ticket electronics. I'm not giving them anymore money than I already am...

 

[selfevident]

Great thread! :thumbs:

I'm thinking along the lines of a Sharp Aquos 52" LCD (at $12-1400) and a Sony Bravia surround system with wireless rear speakers (about $400) to replace my current setup when my tax refund comes back . . . are there better choices in the same price range?

~Boar

The Sharp Aqous LCD's are nice units. Good call on those televisions. I have to admit I dont know much about the Sony Bravia surround system but I ALWAYS get a bit weary when I hear about wireless speakers. I know its a pain in the ass, and I know its more work at the start, but the failure rate of wired speakers has got to be 1000 times less than wireless speakers. Technology does kick ass but I'm not sold on the wireless speakers yet. Also you might be able to piece together your own surround system with a higher quality speaker for about the same price. Try looking around a bit and let me know if you want some assistance looking for speakers.

 

[selfevident]

First off, great thread and thanks for offering up your experience.

Secondly, I've got a 60" Mitsubishi WD-60735. I'm trying to figure out the best quality HDMI cables to go with. I know this TV is not the best when it comes to picture quality but it was well worth the Black Friday sale I got on it. I'm just trying to squeeze the best picture possible out of my Verizon Media HD DVR and my 360.

TIA for the response.

HDMI cables have got to be the biggest scam game out there. People charge TONS of money for them (Linky) and it is NOT worth it.

Some people go the way cheap route, some people go the way expensive route. Honestly the data being sent over these cables is all 1's and 0's so what you are usually paying for is the jacket and fancy brand name, not the actual cable.
What you want to be sure of is getting an HDMI 1.3 cable (thats the latest "standard" of HDMI). Do NOT be fooled by all this junk about the high end HDMI cables. Its not true. But be weary of the ultra-cheap HDMI cables as well. Like anything sometimes they are not made with the highest of quality, and have a higher failure rate. I usually go middle of the road, and have NEVER had any issues.

Another important thing to remember is that right now there are very very few things in actual 1080p. Your blu-ray player is 1080p, Your PS3 is 1080p, your ESPN, ABC, FOX all broadcast in 720p, the others in 1080i. The Display technology is out in front of the Bandwidth issues that are arising with 1080p. Cable companies and Sat Companies simply cannot cram this much data down their pipes right now. Although they are working on it I dont expect to have everything in 1080p anytime soon.

Lemme know if you have any other questions.

 

[Jonesy]

ok, I'll bite. I've been looking at LCD's for a month or so now and found this one. I can get another 7% off with my EPP through Dell. Let me know what you think.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Great thread! :thumbs:

I'm thinking along the lines of a Sharp Aquos 52" LCD (at $12-1400) and a Sony Bravia surround system with wireless rear speakers . . .

The Sharp Aqous LCD's are nice units. Good call on those televisions. I have to admit I dont know much about the Sony Bravia surround system but I ALWAYS get a bit weary when I hear about wireless speakers. I know its a pain in the ass, and I know its more work at the start, but the failure rate of wired speakers has got to be 1000 times less than wireless speakers. Technology does kick ass but I'm not sold on the wireless speakers yet.

I've always had Sharp televisions---my current TV is a conventional tube one---and always liked the brand. The deals they're throwing out there on the Aquos right now make it easy to stay "brand loyal." :thumbs:

The Sony Bravia's just the one that came up in the right price range with all the features I wanted---5-disc carousel, 1080 upconvert, iPod dock, and yes . . . wireless rear speakers. I hear you on the failure rate, believe me. But I've got an elevated tray ceiling in the living room and a slab on grade foundation . . . there's just no place to run the wires for anything else.

My current theater system (Walmart cheapie I've had for years now), I just put the rear speakers wide and to the side on the same wall as everything else. So . . . hopefully this will be better.

I'll keep looking around, though. Individual components, if they don't run too much more, might give me more options and would certainly make future upgrades easier.

Thanks for the help!

~Boar

 

[selfevident]

ok, I'll bite. I've been looking at LCD's for a month or so now and found this one. I can get another 7% off with my EPP through Dell. Let me know what you think.

Vizio is a sweet company. Honestly they make some great products. Im down with this one because it has a PC input as well, so you can display your computer as well as play your blu-ray. And it only weighs 40 pounds. Good call.

 

[selfevident]

I've always had Sharp televisions---my current TV is a conventional tube one---and always liked the brand. The deals they're throwing out there on the Aquos right now make it easy to stay "brand loyal." :thumbs:

The Sony Bravia's just the one that came up in the right price range with all the features I wanted---5-disc carousel, 1080 upconvert, iPod dock, and yes . . . wireless rear speakers. I hear you on the failure rate, believe me. But I've got an elevated tray ceiling in the living room and a slab on grade foundation . . . there's just no place to run the wires for anything else.

My current theater system (Walmart cheapie I've had for years now), I just put the rear speakers wide and to the side on the same wall as everything else. So . . . hopefully this will be better.

I'll keep looking around, though. Individual components, if they don't run too much more, might give me more options and would certainly make future upgrades easier.

Thanks for the help!

~Boar

The one suggestion I have to anyone starting off doing an entertainment center is get a good Receiver.
If you have a good receiver you can always add or even upgrade the speakers. Ive always been a big fan of Denon (Linky). They have a wide range of prices that really do a wide range of things. My favorite are the ones that have an additional "zone" that is completely independent of the surround speakers you have. This enables you to put speakers on your deck/kitchen/walk in humidor and use all of the components you already have.
Its a really cool feature that is worth checking into.

but Boar it looks like you are on your way. Lemme know if any questions come up.

 

[bfisher88]

Pretty solid deal if anyone is interested.


http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-...?tag=slickdeals

 

[dlow]

HDMI cables have got to be the biggest scam game out there. People charge TONS of money for them (Linky) and it is NOT worth it.

Some people go the way cheap route, some people go the way expensive route. Honestly the data being sent over these cables is all 1's and 0's so what you are usually paying for is the jacket and fancy brand name, not the actual cable.
What you want to be sure of is getting an HDMI 1.3 cable (thats the latest "standard" of HDMI). Do NOT be fooled by all this junk about the high end HDMI cables. Its not true. But be weary of the ultra-cheap HDMI cables as well. Like anything sometimes they are not made with the highest of quality, and have a higher failure rate. I usually go middle of the road, and have NEVER had any issues.

Another important thing to remember is that right now there are very very few things in actual 1080p. Your blu-ray player is 1080p, Your PS3 is 1080p, your ESPN, ABC, FOX all broadcast in 720p, the others in 1080i. The Display technology is out in front of the Bandwidth issues that are arising with 1080p. Cable companies and Sat Companies simply cannot cram this much data down their pipes right now. Although they are working on it I dont expect to have everything in 1080p anytime soon.

Lemme know if you have any other questions.

+1

When it comes to digital signals, the cable is much less of a factor. This goes for HDMI cables, SATA cables, USB, etc... etc... Digital pretty much works or it doesn't. It doesn't really degrade with cheaper cables. The only that that can be an issue with cheap cables is that the connectors can be poor and wear out or not connect well, but the ones from monoprice don't have this issue. Ohh, just beware that the shipping time from monoprice can be quite long. It took my brother in law 3 weeks to get his order (2 weeks to get shipped).