New flat new home cinema!

demon8991 · 28 Apr 2010 at 15:50

I am buying a flat which is brand new so want to kit it out with some good electronics the lounge wall has sockets for a wall mounted tv and I am already eyeing up one of those tiny dual core acer computers to run as a media centre.

With the release of 3d tv's I am undecided what to go for (a good led or 3d) I'd like no less than 46" screen and will probably have a budget of around £2000 for the whole let but needs to include blu ray and speakers etc. Obviously if I don't need to spend that much then I'd rather not.

Just thought I'd see what you guys have all gone for and what you recommend?

Pug · 28 Apr 2010 at 16:15

if 3D is a consideration, it is my understanding (could be wrong) that the Panasonic Plasmas are not only some of the best panels available, but also do 3D (newer models, obv). Prolly not <£2000 on their own though.

Mr Latte · 29 Apr 2010 at 00:58

A shop in Glasgow (well known) is advertising Samsungs new 3DTV models.
They have both LED and the cheaper Slim Plasma models arriving.

You will be surprised to hear that 40" is approx under a grand, 50" under £1300 and 63" under £2400 in the Plasma range.

See a thread on AVF but some people already have ordered so reviews opinons will be coming soon.

TheDean · 29 Apr 2010 at 09:44

I would stay away from 3D initially mate...Go for a good plasma panel, panasonic G20 or better imo

demon8991 · 29 Apr 2010 at 09:59

TheDean said:
I would stay away from 3D initially mate...Go for a good plasma panel, panasonic G20 or better imo

How come you wouldn't recommend 3D? I am buying this setup to last me like 5 years so I don't want to be behind in technology before I even start.

Firestar_3x · 29 Apr 2010 at 10:01

I've just added an AsRock 330HT to my home cinema system, really happy with it, i was going to buy a Cape 7 or Revo but wanted something i could stick another HDD in and also use a DVD drive. I've stuck a solid state drive for the OS (windows 7) and it runs great.

GinG · 29 Apr 2010 at 10:27

Firestar_3x said:
I've just added an AsRock 330HT to my home cinema system, really happy with it, i was going to buy a Cape 7 or Revo but wanted something i could stick another HDD in and also use a DVD drive. I've stuck a solid state drive for the OS (windows 7) and it runs great.

The AsRock looks like a very capable machine for the home cinema. Is this big enough to fit the LG Bluray drive in? I believe it is slightly longer than your normal dvd drive.

Firestar_3x · 29 Apr 2010 at 10:31

It only takes slimline laptop DVD / Bluray drives, you can buy the 330HT BD which already has a Bluray drive it in, costs £360ish, £280ish without the Bluray.

Only thing that lets the stock unit down is the 320gb drive is 5400rpm, which imho makes windows 7 chug a little, stick a faster drive in and this issue is solved, don't know if readyboost would fix the slow reading stock hdd.

demon8991 · 29 Apr 2010 at 10:35

Firestar_3x said:
It only takes slimline laptop DVD / Bluray drives, you can buy the 330HT BD which already has a Bluray drive it in, costs £360ish, £280ish without the Bluray.

Only thing that lets the stock unit down is the 320gb drive is 5400rpm, which imho makes windows 7 chug a little, stick a faster drive in and this issue is solved, don't know if readyboost would also fix the slow reading stock hdd.

Can it fit a larger drive than 2.5"? Does it have two internal drive bays?

Firestar_3x · 29 Apr 2010 at 10:38

2.5" drives only, it has 2x 2.5" internal bays and supports upto 1TB 2.5" drives (per SATA connector), it has 6x usb sockets on the back + one eSATA so i'm going to stick a couple of 1TB external drives in the back and hide them under my AV Cab.