New Home Setup

[Craig02]

Ok first i apologize if this is the wrong place to post this.

So in the near future i am thinking of re-kiting my whole living room, now i know quite abit about the whole high def situation but i wanted to ask for anyone else opinions on it.

So if im starting afresh what is the best TV for me, I'm thinking either a Sony, Panasonic or Samsung TV. Which would you recommend bearing in mind it needs to be 1080P.

Blu-Ray Players: I guess this depends on the TV make. Also i take it best to have the same brands ie a Sony TV with a Sony Blu-Ray player?

Surround Sound: I would like to stick with the good old 5.1 Surround sound, whats the best kit out the now? And yet again i guess the brands would have to match

Looking forward to your opinions on this.

Thank You
Craig

[Johnny Vinyl]

I can't comment on LCD as I'm a Plasma fan, but Pioneer, Panasonic and IMO Samsung make the best Plasmas.

Regarding a Blu-ray player (PS3 or standalone) you can easily mix brand names and aren't confined to a same brand strategy.

With reference to a 5.1 speaker setup I would highly recommend staying with same brand and (if possible) model. If this can't be done, make sure that at least your FRONTS and CENTRE channel are properly matched.

What's your budget by the way for the componants you are considering? And are you going Plasma or LCD or DLP?

[kpkelley]

We can give you what we all think are the best, but they will mean nothing if they don't fit your budget. If you give us an idea of how much you were planning on investing in this new venture and we may be able to provide more insightful suggestions as for how you could proceed.

As for displays I would suggest Pioneer Kuro Plasmas as the best monitor, but if you truly want a home theatre experience you'll need to consider a front projector.

[Craig02]

Sorry that completely slipped my mind, Well for the TV i was thinking around £1500, for the blu-ray player around £250 and the surround sound about £450

Also i prefer LCD TV's

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

We can give you what we all think are the best, but they will mean nothing if they don't fit your budget. If you give us an idea of how much you were planning on investing in this new venture and we may be able to provide more insightful suggestions as for how you could proceed.

As for displays I would suggest Pioneer Kuro Plasmas as the best monitor, but if you truly want a home theatre experience you'll need to consider a front projector.

If I only had the space to consider a Front Projector I'd be buying one today! A good friend of mine just picked up a top-of-the-line Sony and its freakin' amazing!

[Craig02]

Ok iv just noticed something, I was looking at the Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu Ray player, if i wanted surround sound would i need to buy a receiver such as the Panasonic SA-BX500?

Thanks

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Ok iv just noticed something, I was looking at the Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu Ray player, if i wanted surround sound would i need to buy a receiver such as the Panasonic SA-BX500?

Thanks

Yes & No, you would want a receiver like that yes, no because from the reviews that I have read the panasonic you listed is good sounding and all, but not a very good reciever as it lacks what many other ones have for features and such. If you are in the $400-500 range for a receiver I suggest the Sony 920 or Pioneer 1018, those were my favorites when I was shopping. But you will want to hear them for yourself. Of course, If you are buying a Home Theatre in a Box, then make sure it accepts HDMI for your BDP. I don't think there are a lot of HTiB's that give you HD audio though, a seperate receiver is usually better for HD audio, IMO. You will need speakers for your AVR too. if you don't have them already.

LCD, Stay with Samsung or Sony, either way you will be getting a great TV. I think most give Samsung a slight nod, but its slight.

BDP, the Panasonic player is great, prolly getting the best reviews of all the standalone players out right now in the $200-400 range. Although the Sonys are real nice too, just on the 350 you lose internal decoding of DTS-HD MA. But your new receiver will take care of all that anyways.

An all Sony setup would be look something like Sony 46W4100 1080p LCD, Sony 920 A/V Receiver, Sony S350 BDP. (if I am converting pound correctly)

But you can definetly intermix them I use a Samsung LCD, Sony 920 Receiver and Panasonic BD-35 Blu-ray player. So you can do that too, mix and match.

Best thing is find out information and then go spend time looking and listening to see what you like in the stores. Ask for remotes so you can adjust settings or volumes and test things. If you're buying speakers you will most definetly want to sit and listen to them and see what sounds good to you, and try to listen on the receiver you plan on purchasing. That is a big help.

Good luck.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Just remember this Craig.. you CAN mix and match different componants, so don`t fret (or get your knickers in a knot) about whether to pair a Panasonic TV with a Samsung BD player or any other brand name product.

DO however make sure your speakers are properly matched. Stick with one brand.

When it comes to a subwoofer....matching isn`t critical.

John

[BIGMERF]

Originally Posted by John72953

Just remember this Craig.. you CAN mix and match different componants, so don`t fret (or get your knickers in a knot) about whether to pair a Panasonic TV with a Samsung BD player or any other brand name product.

DO however make sure your speakers are properly matched. Stick with one brand.

When it comes to a subwoofer....matching isn`t critical.

John

I agree.I have a sony tv , panasonic blu-ray player, and a pioneer 5.1. It all works fine together. The panasonic bd35 is a great blu-ray player, i love mines. Stick with that choice. Cnets editors choice award, first given to a bluray player

[Craig02]

Sorry for not replying sooner, So i decided to purchase the Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player and its very nice just as good as my PS3 imo. Anyway as a temporary setup before i go looking for recievers is there anyway i can plug an optical cable through my blu ray player to my existing Panasonic PT860 home cinema kit and make use of its speakers? I have tried messing around with it but not figured out how to do it, even if it is possible

Thanks

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Sorry for not replying sooner, So i decided to purchase the Sony BDP-S550 Blu Ray player and its very nice just as good as my PS3 imo. Anyway as a temporary setup before i go looking for recievers is there anyway i can plug an optical cable through my blu ray player to my existing Panasonic PT860 home cinema kit and make use of its speakers? I have tried messing around with it but not figured out how to do it, even if it is possible

Thanks

you should be able to.

[Craig02]

I thought so but there is alot of sound settings maby i just dont have one right, I have the Panasonic set to AUX which i believe is the right setting :/

[callas01]

I am not too familiar with the sony 550 bdp, there should be in the setup menu an audio section that allows you to output the audio in different ways. ie, analog, hdmi, optical etc. the thing is that you will need to set it up for outputing the audio optical and the video via hdmi

post this question in the blu-ray players forum, I am sure you will get a quick answer to you question.

[Craig02]

Thanks man will do and yeah i have set the audio output to Coxal/Optical

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Craig02

I thought so but there is alot of sound settings maby i just dont have one right, I have the Panasonic set to AUX which i believe is the right setting :/

I responded to your post in this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=77311

[brettallica]

Mixing and matching brands is OK to do, as others have said. My Blu-ray player syncs up nicely with my Samsung plasma via HDMI, allowing me to use my Samsung TV remote with the player without doing anything special. Kind of a cool feature.

If I had it my way, I'd have a Sony plasma and all my pieces would match. (BDP-S550 Blu-ray, Sony receiver, Sony DVD recorder, Sony speakers). As we all know, Sony plasmas don't exist. I wish I knew why Sony doesn't play plasmaball, but I really wish they made plasmas. I love Sony equipment for its bang for the buck appeal; I also like how they have high-end options on most of their stuff, too. Sony has always done me well.

It's hard to argue against Panasonic and Pioneer, though. Both of those brands have also done me quite well in the past.