help with a movie set up ?

[Rosco127]

Hello all, I'm on the verge of buying my first LCD TV, as well as various components to make DVD movies sound superb! Problem is, I don't know where to start.

All I can say is that I'm liking the look and specs pf the Sony BRAVIA KDLV32A12U 32", which costs around £1400.

I have no need of integrated freeview or anything, as I have ntl cable. Obviously if it has to come with a tv then thats fine.

Obviously if there is a better lcd out there below £1500, at 32" then I'm all ears, also as I stated above, I need all the components needed to make movies look and sound great (no 7.1 systems) as well as future proof...which is why I am posting here, from DVD Recorders, Home Cinema Systems, HDMI inputs, etc etc, I have no idea as to what I should buy.

Any help would be great!

 

[Rosco127]

Sorry, totally forgot all of that

Right, the room is 11.5 feet by 11.5 feet, I'm ruling out 7.1 because my room is an awkward shape, and I can't see how I could fit in 2 more speakers.
The reason for this is that I plan to mount the TV on to a wall, which has to be a strong load bearing wall. I have no problem with this, but I would be hard to find where to put the 2 side speakers as I have a large window to my left, which has no space above or below for speaker placement (ideally I want to rule out floor standing speakers too, trying to save space seeing as I have a bed and desk in this same room).

TV Budget no more then £1500, I like the slimlined approach, where the majority of the TV is screen rather then big chunky panels (ie I like the Sony Bravia, and Samsung models).

The reason I havn't really specified a price for the rest is because I dont know what bits I need.

As a guestimate, I reckon I could spend up to £1000 on the extra bits (speakers, dvd players, hdmi or something, trying to future proof as I stated above).

Obviously if this isn't enough, then just suggest various items and I'll see about the price coming up a notch. Obviously I'll have to pay a little extra for future proofing which I don't mind at all.

Oh yeah, one more thing, I have neighbours living behind one of my walls, so I'm not looking for that type of sound that comes into it's own at the loudest point, I dont mind loud, just not window pumping loud

Overall, style would be nice, but it's not too important.

 

[Rosco127]

all this is getting way above my head

I'm not keen on the Stero or anything other then the 5.1 option, as I will be playing the majority of my music through my PC, the only proper music aside from film soundtracks etc that I will be using the home cinema system for would be the odd concert DVD that I have.

I've read all the details and arguments for various things, but can anyone actually name some products that I could look in to ?

Thanks

 

[Rosco127]

Rosco127, is this a buy and forget system, or are you interested in building over time to something along the lines the others are suggesting ?

I think I'd prefer the 'Buy and forget' type at the moment, this is my first venture into lcd & cinematic experiances, so although I don't want to skimp on certain things (I've always been on the opinion that for the majority, you get what you pay for...ie no dvd + speakers for £100 if you see what I mean) I'm not at the stage where I will be on the lookout for upgrades for some time.

Not only that, but I should have mentioned that the room I will be having this stuff in is only 11.5 feet by 11.5 feet, so I'm guessing there is no need for 1000 watt speakers etc (yes, exageration, but I don't know much about what wattage sounds great in x sized room) but saying that, I want to be able to have the option of having medium sound and get great quality from the speakers

I've been reading various places like mad, discussions about certain dvd players, certain speakers, and I can honestly say that I'm even more confused then before.


To start with I was wanting to find a home cinema system with HDMI dvd player, so that it would boost the quality of my DVDs that I plan to watch, but after searching and reading, there doesn't seem to be too many available.

After this I started looking at Samsung DVD players and similar models that have HDMI for only say £90ish and do the DVDs justice, so I could then pick a nice speaker set to match (5.1 of course ).

From my rambling I reckon you can all see that I'm confused as heck, which I understand is making it harder for people to suggest certain things.

If I was to put a cap on the spending to say £1500 (roughly the same budget as the LCD TV) so that 50% is spent on picture, and the other 50% spent on sound/dvd.

I've just been watching the Eric Clapton, "Mr Johnson sessions" the DTS DVD sounds better than the CD that accompanies the DVD, and can be very enjoyable.

You sir, have great tase in music I've got that DVD/CD combo and can't wait to watch it on something other then a 17" PC screen. Got loads of these types of concerts, ranging from AC/DC, Led Zep, The Who, Queen, Stones...I could go on all night.

 

[Rosco127]

Anyway As I said the guy WANTS a 5.1 , he doesnt want stereo

Thanks

After reading and reading about the LCDs, I think I'm pretty much set to buy the KDL V32A12U, just need to go to a Sony centre today and check it out. The 1 HDMI socket doesn't really bother me, as I'm more then likely not going to buy a PS3 (I'm not a console person), and I don't have Sky. I Read a very good point from someone, and he stated something along the lines of "If you are trying to buy something future proof, then you wouldn't actually ever buy anything, as technology can change in an instant".

The Denon 1950 hdmi seems to be a popular choice for a fair few people, so I'll have a look in to that too.

As for 5.1 speakers, I'm still not sure. I loved the look and fair price tag imo of the Samsung HT_P1200 (DVD + speakers), but the one thing that turned me against this is that all the speakers are floor standing. The main idea for me to get an LCD tv was to save space by mounting it on the wall. If only the HT_P1200 came with mountable speakers, then I would have given that a lot of conideration.

Thanks for the input so far

 

[Rosco127]

ok ok ok, I visited a Sony Centre today, and I can say that I'm without a doubt buying the KDL-32A12U 32" LCD, along with this I am planning on buying the NS92V DVD player (HDMI), BUT I also noticed a set of speakers called HTSF1000, anyone heard anything about these ?