What Do You Need to have a COMPLETE Home Theater System/Setup

[damonous]

Originally Posted by CassilineKnight

I'm a supporter of Bluray and I want to make sure that I'm experiencing it in a way that gives the most value for my money.

Now of course I know I need an HDTV and a Bluray Player.

However all this stuff regarding Receivers and Audio is confusing me. Are these things necessary.

I'm surprised that no one's mentioned it yet, but before you plunk down your cash on a NEW receiver....you should really consider the "HDMI" aspect.

Yes, you will get a lot of "value" with a receiver or HTIB that gives you plain-Jane DTS & Dolby processing ... but just like buying Blu-ray and then watching it on only an EDTV or a 720p 'HD'TV, ---you'll be missing out on all the format has to offer.

Onkyo probably makes the most-affordable well-equipped HDMI 7.1 channel AV receiver (for $500; or if you act quick you can still get last year's just-as-good model for $400 like I did). Although, I believe that even the $300-400 newest Sony receivers will accept an HDMI input AND process audio. The $300 model only does 5.1, I believe ...while the $400 model does 7.1. If you have lots of existing AV components, the Onkyo is much better. But, if you're just 'getting in to the game', then the Sony is probably the best value currently on the market.

Be careful, though: not all "HDMI" receivers process audio. Some are ONLY "pass-through" (basically, they're capable of being an HDMI video-switcher: an infernal designation that the manufacturers should spend a day or two in H#$@ for, because of how misleading it is). Yamaha receivers are pretty much pass-through only until you spend about $900. Same for Denon. And Pioneer. And LAST year's models of Sony.


...So, what do you get with HDMI? The ability to not only SEE in High Definition, but also to HEAR in high definition. If you've heard of DVD-Audio or SACD, then HDMI decoding for audio is like that level of quality (above that of regular DTS & Dolby) along with your movie. To me, it's noticeable AND worth it. (I have some old 6 1/2" bookshelf speakers, and some Infinity HTIB speakers for the rest of channels that I got on a deal a few years back. Nothing extraordinary; but still enough to appreciate the difference lossless HDMI audio can make.)

My suggestion (if on a budget): get the $300 Sony AV receiver, as long as it does HDMI audio like I think, and spend $300 or so on a set of '6-in-one+sub' speakers. I think BestBuy or CircuitCity have a sale on a Polk speaker-only set for around that price.

Also, make sure that your BD player can internally decode and send out the audio as PCM to the receiver. (PS3 can do this for both DTS & Dolby lossless formats.) If the player would only send bitstream lossless audio on HDMI, then you'd have to start with the Onkyo (which is a safe bet that can basically 'handle any audio format' on the market today).


(Oh, and I've already blathered-on long enough; but a 5.1 or 6.1 setup is probably ideal. There are some real quirks in how 7.1 is recorded vs how people traditionally place 7.1 speakers that make it more trouble than it's worth.)