New Home Theater

[Helevitia]

I was one of the early adopters of HD. I bought a first gen RP HDTV with a Toshiba set top box to get DirecTV HD channels. Along with that, I added an OTA antenna to get local channels.

I definitely don't miss that original setup

On the bright side, I also bought a Harman Kardon AVR210 Receiver, Velodyne satellite speakers, and a 12" Velodyne sub.

Well, as luck would have it, my front left channel stopped working on my HK receiver and Warner just announced their jump to Blu-Ray, so I decided it was time to upgrade.

What I bought:

Toshiba 52" LCD TV - 52LX177 - Has tons of features and IMHO, the best 52" LCD TV out on the market(2007 models). Mounted on the wall with all cables hidden. Gave me back some space in the living room.
Yamaha RX-V1800 - What a kick ass receiver! I love this thing. I was going to go HK again, but I had read about so many problems, it scared me away. Everyone still says they have the best sound, but the problems were a showstopper for me.
Linksys DMA-2200 - Media Center Extender. Works very well and has an 1080P unconverted DVD player. On a side note, it also inspired me to start ripping my DVD collection to the NAS. Very cool to be able to browse your collection with your remote and just press enter to start it.
PS3 - By far the best bang for the buck Blu-Ray player. I watched Spiderman3 the other night with Dolby TrueHD and I was blown away by sight and sound. The PS3 is also a DLNA client so it picks up my NAS as well. It's a little slow and featureless, but still cool. the PS3 is turning out to be one of the best things I have purchased in a really long time. You can tell the extra year it took Sony to get out the PS3 really paid off. teh interface is nice and everything feels complete and done. Unlike the XBOX 360 which is loud(fan and DVD drive), hot and everyone I know that owns one has had the RROD.
Harmony One - Logitech's newest harmony remote. Everything I hated about the 880, they fixed with this remote.

I kept the speakers. They are from 2001, but they still sound awesome. I love Velodyne subs. Oh, and I mounted the rears near the ceiling and ran all of the wires in the attic. I have room for the 7.1 setup. I may add two speakers.

I painted the interior of my house as well. This also makes a huge difference to the whole setup.

Will post pictures in a few minutes...

[Mehen]

"best sound" is relative to your budget.

Anyways, I'll be in the market for a smaller tv for my room (32") and Toshiba is definitely on my short list. That 52" must be killer
Those Harmony One remotes looks awesome!!!

pictures!!!

[Helevitia]

Here's the link to some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/helevitia/HomeTheater

To Mehen: the Harmony One is really nice. They did a really good job on it. The online software to update it is mostly good but has its quirks.

[Mehen]

I have a 520, I really like it, but it would be nicer if some of the buttons were easier to press (I am OK with it, but my parents have a tougher time).

How does the Wii look on that big of a screen?

[Helevitia]

I have to be honest. After using the PS3 interface and playing games on it and watching movies, it looks like crap on the Wii. The jaggies kill me. the gameplay is still fun, but those jaggies are an eye sore.

It's funny how time and perspective will change your point of view. I truly believe the PS3 is the best bang for the buck out of the 3 consoles for 2008. The Wii was the way to go early last year.

Seriously, the PS3 is built so well. It is so quiet. Still ugly. Looks amazing in 1080P and I mean the interface, I'm not even talking about movies yet.

[Mehen]

For me, for the most part, I'd rather stick to the PC for gaming - but the Wii actually brings something new to the table - which is why I got a Wii and not a PS3 or 360. BUT, if I were to buy a nice big HDtv - I would probably get a PS3, 90% for the BluRay player. Right now the 3 TVs in my house are all 480i CRTs.

How are the load times on the PS3 (as a BluRay) player; booting up the PS3, loading the disc, etc. ?

[Helevitia]

The load times are a tad slow I believe it is a 2x Blu-ray drive. And you are right, the Wii brings something new to the table which is why I own one. I actually bought the PS3 90% for the Blu-ray drive thinking I might get an occasional game, but there is so much to it that I am impressed. Can you tell

Oh, and the noisiest part of the PS3 is when it is accessing data on a disc. It sounds slow and clunky. Not the speed of the disc spinning, but the movement of what I am guessing is the laser mechanism.

[Marshmallowman]

Well not much you can do about the Wii, have you tried a component cable.. 540P is an improvement.

I am trying to last just a little bit longer before buying a PS3, hoping they have a new model with larger hardrive and the next die shrink... or until a couple particular movies I am waiting on get released in Australia on Blu-ray

[Mehen]

Yeah I think there's a 45nm 120gb model in the works.

I've heard that regular bluray/HD players have terrible load/start times (like up to a minute).

[Helevitia]

Well not much you can do about the Wii, have you tried a component cable.. 540P is an improvement.

I am trying to last just a little bit longer before buying a PS3, hoping they have a new model with larger hardrive and the next die shrink... or until a couple particular movies I am waiting on get released in Australia on Blu-ray

Yep, I have it hooked up via component cable and then output via HDMI. I believe it is 480P, not 540P.

The rumor is that the release of a redesigned, smaller, sleeker PS3 is on its way. I considered waiting as well, but ultimately said **** it!

[Jammrock]

Very nice! I love the child gates blocking everything. When my kids are older and I have a dedicated room for HT I'll move by big speakers out of my office. As they are I can't have speakers heavier then my kids that can be easily tipped over that are easily accessible.

I think when I finally build a new HT I'll got with a HTPC of some sort. By then SDD will be out and my only fan will be the PSU, which you can get quiet fans for.

[Mehen]

I don't let my friends or my parents touch my speakers. They are an absolutely gorgeous piano black finish, but they get finger prints on em very easily. They came with white gloves to handle them with.

Quad 12L

[Helevitia]

Hehe, funny you new what the child gate was I really don't want to put it back up because it is so ugly so I have been testing to see how my daughter is around everything. She listens pretty good when I tell her not to touch anything over there, but I'm sure the day will come when she pulls something off the top or pushes every button, or my favorite, turns the volume up really loud and scares the crap out of everyone while I rush over to turn it down lol.

Mehen: What kind of speakers do you have?

[Jammrock]

I have three kids, I notice that kind of stuff. My speakers weigh 65 lbs. a piece, my oldest is still under 40 lbs., so my big speakers stay hidden for another 4-5 years.

[Byock]

Congrats! That's awesome! I wanted to go HD, but hate Sony (several dead Playstations do that to you) so I broke down and bought a Pioneer drive for my HTPC.

Have to agree, night and day difference!