Home Theater Help

[Kenshiin]

So my dad wants to update his home theater and he got a quote from Best Buy to get it installed. When he showed me this quote I felt like it was way over priced. He currently has a 2 TV setup, one on top of the other and he wants to replace them both. The 2nd TV is just used for my mom and for the grandkids to watch TV or play Wii.

He also has 2 different surround sound setups. One for in the TV room and then one outside by the pool. I'm pretty sure he has 2 different receivers setup to accomplish this.

Here is the quote:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_UrzvGjFiZ40/TF...uote%20001.jpg

The TV in the quote is not the one he wants. He wants to get this one instead.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+Inf...2055&cp=1&lp=5

Here is what he wants to do. Help me configure a system for him.

TVs:
He wants that LG for the top TV because it's the biggest TV he can get to fit into the space available for it. The reviews I've read seems like it's a pretty nice TV. It's in a brightly lit room that so I do think he's better going with a LED over a plasma. For the 2nd TV I feel like he should just run up to Costco and grabbing an $800 42" TV and not waste the money on anything really nice.

Surround Sound:
Does he really need 2 different receivers to accomplish the setup he has? Can 1 receiver handle 2 different areas? I know they make ones that support 2 different TVs and I think he should get one that can do that too.

Bluray:
They're trying to sell him some high tech bluray player. I told him he should just get a PS3 because instead of being able to play bluray movies, he can also stream netflix and the kids can enjoy using it for games as well. Though I wanted to check first because I'm not sure the PS3 can play 3D bluray movies yet. Options and Opinions?

Universal Remote:
$1,500 for a universal remote??? Wow, is all I could say. Is this how much they run for a decent one? I need suggestions for something to run all of his new toys.

I think that's everything. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[SephYuyX]

lol geeksquad, for starters do all the installation yourself.

lol 4k for a 55" tv, scrap that 3d bs, and lol240/480mhz, go to walmart and get a 60" lcd 60mhz for 1.2k

a good reciever will cost around that, much, could probably save 100 or so to step down a notch, dont need two.

dont buy your cables from bestbuy, buy from www.monoprice.com

buy a ps3 for bluray

buy a remote from amazon for 10$


but yeah, most importantly, dont buy cables from best buy, and dont let them do installations or delivery

[Norellicus]

Without knowing the physical setup some of these questions aren't as easily answered.

I can tell you for sure that you are correct about the PS3, it functions just fine as a blu-ray player and I'm sure they can add the 3d support with a firmware update if it can't do that already (I'm unclear what exactly is needed for that, I refuse to care about the tech since it's a fad that I'm sure will phase out within 24~36 months).

You are going to be robbed blind on cabling with that quote. You don't need platinum coated cables, and optical audio isn't super necessary at 15' (but can't hurt, especially in a high EMF area like a home theater setup...you just don't have to pay $80 for it). The universal remote is also pretty crazy, but the device is fairly impressive; if you want to pay a premium to be able to press one button and have every device switch to whatever it should switch to for an activity, go for it, but it doesn't take much effort to keep it straight between multiple remotes. Check out the Logitech harmony remotes if you want a slightly cheaper option, it won't be completely sci-fi with a touch screen and all but you will be able to program all your devices into it and set up 'macros' that allow you to do one-button-switch between activities.

[Isiolia]

While I would still suggest going with the PS3, do keep in mind that many stand-alone Blu-ray players have an assortment of streaming media capabilities. Netflix isn't uncommon. Heck, the TV he wants will stream Netflix.

Speaking of which, all that and no mention of networking hardware, which if you've got next-gen consoles n' ethernet capable Blu-ray players or TVs or whatever you may want to work into the setup.

The TV setup seems odd to me, but to each their own I guess. Is it a matter of simultaneous use, or he just doesn't want the rest of the family messing with his TV?

There are plenty of receivers that do "dual zone" audio setups, but usually the second zone is more limited. It's more like, so you could be watching a movie in one room, and still run music to another. What they tend to do is take a 7.1 or greater receiver, and then let it run 5.1 in one area and use the amps for the other channels to run a different source...or just have a pre-out so you can run an amp, but can use the sources running to the receiver.

Either way, those are more going to be mid/high range features, so it probably wouldn't save money to just try and run it all from one piece of gear. Those features are more for not needing multiple sources. IE, you have a $2000 CD player, and don't want to have to buy another one for the next room.

The remote is a higher end piece of gear, and though you can easily find it cheaper, it's still rather expensive. As mentioned, Logitech's Harmony remotes would likely suffice for a lot less money...if he's even set on a universal remote in the first place.

[Yabby]

Do not ever use bestbuy geek shit..... This stuff is easy to setup, and like the above said get a PS3 instead of a blueray player.

[Darus Grey]

What...no one wanted to comment on $800~ for HDMI cables? lol.

[Isiolia]

What...no one wanted to comment on $800~ for HDMI cables? lol.

Two people did.

[Mojo]

Buy any HDMI cables you need on the internet. Best Buy (or any other retailer for that matter) charge you an absurd markup for them. It's really the dumbest shit ever. They'll tell you something about gold plating or better shielding. I can tell you that they're full of shit and that any generic cable will yield the same performance (with the added benefit of not looking retarded.)

http://cheaphdmicables.org/

That'll save him $750 right there.

There are a lot of things to consider about what kind of TV to get. To begin with, there is a point (right around 46") where you literally start to pay $100 per inch. It sounds like your dad is intent on getting something nice though, but sometimes people get carried away with the "bigger is better" mentality. The size you want depends on how far away you're sitting really. I don't really know the dimensions of the room, but it's something you should consider.

There are also a lot of features listed on TVs. Some of them are desirable, others are hyped up garbage. I'll do my best to go over some and perhaps educate you or your dad.

Contrast Ratio - This is supposed to be a measure of the difference in intensity that the TV is capable of displaying just a pixel apart. Ignore anything you ever read about contrast ratio up until this point. There is no uniform way that manufacturers test this so it's mostly just a buzz word. Often it's completely theoretical and something like watching TV with the light on can essentially render this number completely invalid. TV manufacturers do absolutely nothing directly as far as designing the TV goes solely to improve this (any 'improvements' stem from modifications that address other issues.) It's just a number that gets slapped on there.

Refresh Rate - This is the rate that the screen will be refreshed per second. Bigger isn't always better for this if you consider the rates at which images are naturally displayed. Film is recorded at 24 hz (30 hz if you're in Europe), videogame consoles run at 30 hz or 60 hz and computers hooked up to TVs run at 60 hz. You should be able to see that 60 hz will run most applications fine, but if you want ideal movie playback, you should get at least 120 hz (as 60 doesn't divide into 24 perfectly.) Any TV with a refresh rate at or above 120 hz will usually have a feature that will 'make frames up' to attempt to improve image quality (as opposed to just displaying the same image for longer.) This is done by some hardware in the TV that more or less merges the next key frame with the last (blends them together, more or less.) Personally, I hate it. It makes most video games look blurry and removes the 'film' feel you get while watching a movie. I think most people actually end up turning it off. You should go into Best Buy and actually watch a 240 hz TV (they usually have them set up) to see what you think.

LED/LCD - This is all about how the backlighting is done. LED TVs have LED lights on the sides of the TV that illuminate it while LCD has like a halogen plate or some weird shit. LEDs look much better, the colors are much less washed out than LCD. There are also some LED TVs that have the LED lights on the back (as opposed to the sides.) These are the best as the backlighting is displayed more evenly. However, they usually charge a fucking shitload just for that and you'll almost never be able to tell, so I wouldn't really consider trying to find one of those.

There are other features that are important. However, any TV 120hz + will have what you want, so I guess it's not really worth writing about all of them.

The TVs that I would recommend - Any SAMSUNG LED TV 6300 or above will get you 120 hz. The 6800 will get you the LED backlighting (as opposed to side lit, but again you might not even know the difference.) 7000 or above will get you 240 hz, and out of those the 8000 (the one your dad selected) has the LED backlighting. Look around for better prices (found the same TV online for $2300) and don't be afraid to compromise if you find a good deal.

I'm not as knowledgeable about sound systems, although 7.1 channel is currently 'the best' (5.1 will cover 99% of what you'd do with it, but the price difference is small anyways.) Make sure it has lots of HDMI inputs. Some people really like BOSE (BOSE systems produce the sound in a weird way.) I don't have a preference. Get good speakers. Maybe someone else can help you better on this.

The PS3 will play Blu Rays fine, although not everybody likes to play movies on a PS3. Upside is games and netflix. You can find decent Blu Ray players for like half of what they're asking (will you ever use that internet connectable crap?)

The universal remote looks like a toy, but some people like toys. Found the same thing for $950 online.

Also, learn how to install this shit yourself. They're asking for retarded amounts of money for installation. Even if you bought the same shit (after looking for the best deals) and just did it yourself, you could get it all for handily under half of what they're asking for.

[Mojo]

Also, forgot, but TV calibration is a good thing. $300 is pretty expensive considering that it's actually not that much work, but it makes a big difference and it's not really worth learning the skill/buying the equipment to do it yourself. You can have them do it or maybe find a professional in your area.

[Kenshiin]

Thanks for the replies so far. I guess I should have put that I did know about monoprice before thanks to BG and have already saved a ton of money on my own setup.

I got some more information on the 2 room speaker setup. There are only 4 speakers out by the pool so I doubt he needs anything substantial to cover that area. If he did get just 1 receiver to handle both zones would he still be able to listen to music outside while having the surround sound on playing a movie inside? Or should he just look into getting a cheap 2nd receiver? Can anyone recommend some for me?

For the remote should he even get a Harmony or can I count on the new receiver's remote to be able to handle all the different devices. Can the Harmony remotes handle operation of Direct TV and PS3?

[SephYuyX]

I got some more information on the 2 room speaker setup. There are only 4 speakers out by the pool so I doubt he needs anything substantial to cover that area. If he did get just 1 receiver to handle both zones would he still be able to listen to music outside while having the surround sound on playing a movie inside? Or should he just look into getting a cheap 2nd receiver? Can anyone recommend some for me?

When doing a real simple install for a two room or in/out, I just buy two double pull double throw switches for 5$ and rig it so you flip the switch you can have one set one, the other set on, or both sets. Obviously if you want slightly better quality you can just buy a speaker selecter http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PSS4-4-Ch...0596172&sr=8-3 No need to have two recievers.

[Darus Grey]

Most mid-high end recievers do multi-zone as well, so you can listen to different things in different areas of the home at the same time, just look for it as one of the features.

A DPDT switch can do the same job, but not via remote(well, then you're talking programmable logic boards), so if you go that route, make sure you install it near the outside door or something so it's convenient.

[kareface]

Huge post

Kenshiin, they are robbing your dad blind.

Also, forgot, but TV calibration is a good thing. $300 is pretty expensive considering that it's actually not that much work, but it makes a big difference and it's not really worth learning the skill/buying the equipment to do it yourself. You can have them do it or maybe find a professional in your area.

300 is pretty standard, but best buy has terrible calibrators. He'd be better off seeing if there was a local calibrator that's ISF certified that has good hardware for calibration. If he's near Seattle I can help him out.

I wish I had a little more time to make this post. Long story short, don't deal with best buy.