Home Theatre setup, 2009

[Santilli]

Hi all

OK
I'm trying to figure out what LCD monitor to buy to upgrade from my Panasonic 32" tv, with S video in.

Now, I'm looking for an LCD, a bit bigger, with HDMI and Svideo input.
Any suggestions?
Which Samsung, or panasonic?

 

[Mercutio]

The Samsung LNxA650s start at 32" and include 40", 47" and 52" models. They have astonishing color contrast and very deep blacks. They're well-suited to movie viewing as well as use as a computer displays.

 

[Stereodude]

The Samsung LNxA650s start at 32" and include 40", 47" and 52" models. They have astonishing color contrast and very deep blacks. They're well-suited to movie viewing as well as use as a computer displays.

Except there's no 47". There's a 46". If you don't like the glossy screen the Samsung LNxxA630 may be what you're looking for.

 

[MaxBurn]

A feature to look out for would be 120hz display, usually only available in the 40+ range. Could be important if you go blueray and gives a much more fluid motion image.

 

[Stereodude]

A feature to look out for would be 120hz display, usually only available in the 40+ range. Could be important if you go blueray and gives a much more fluid motion image.

Which is on both the Samsung A650 and A630 series TVs that Merc and I suggested.

 

[Pradeep]

If direct sunlight on your panel isn't a problem then also consider a plasma, LCD can't touch the picture quality. You would have to go to 42" tho.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Viera-TH-42PZ85U-42-Inch-Plasma/dp/B00142JKRW/

 

[Pradeep]

Oops, that doesn't do 24fps, you would need an 800U or 850U series.

 

[Stereodude]

Oops, that doesn't do 24fps, you would need an 800U or 850U series.

There are a lot of reports of them flickering badly when doing 24Hz video on AVSforum.

 

[Santilli]

I was looking at this Panasonic in particular. Liked the price break:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889187081

Thoughts?

 

[LunarMist]

Newegg has a zero return policy on displays, correct?

 

[Santilli]

HMMM.

Looks like I better start looking at Costco...
What's Panasonics warranty?

 

[Mercutio]

Greg, you misspelled Samsung.

 

[Santilli]

Panasonic=Samsung?
Owned by now?

 

[Stereodude]

No, they're two totally separate companies.

 

[LunarMist]

Panasonic=Matsushita, not Samsung.

 

[LunarMist]

Greg,

Panasonic is ~100 billion dollar group of Japanese companies and Samsung is ~174 billion dollar Korean company. Neither are likely to go out of business before your warranty expires.

 

[udaman]

Greg, you misspelled Samsung.

Merc, you misspelled Sony

Sony LCD HDTV's @CostCo

Panasonic=Samsung?
Owned by now?

Panasonic=Matsushita, not Samsung.

Matsushita is no more, it's all Panny now

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic

Greg,

Panasonic is ~100 billion dollar group of Japanese companies and Samsung is ~174 billion dollar Korean company. Neither are likely to go out of business before your warranty expires.

Well considering Apple Computer Inc. (Panasonic has 10x the employee's as Apple, yet Apple is more profitable)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer

was at the brink of the abyss before reality distortion, master salesman Steve-O Jobs came back as the prodigal son (RIP "Steve notes" "One last thing" MacWorld San Fransciso ) and now Apple is as big (move over M$) as all but Samsung

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung


...anything is possible in these volatile times. Look at AIG:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aig


Sony used to be top dog in Japan, no more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony


*edit* Steve-O Jobs = master salesman (visionary/marketing genius )

 

[Handruin]

Uda, wtf is with referencing apple with everything. We could be talking about underwear or spatulas and you'll find some way to associate them.

 

[Santilli]

Panasonic had stuff in Hawaii in the 90's in Japan that was only a wetdream over here.

The advantage of the Japanese business model is they tend to look at profits on a decade basis, not a 1/4 year.

Steve Jobs resurrection of Apple means he manages to snake oil people into thinking his products are worth it, while they mark them up a LOT. How do you think companies make such profits, providing value to customers?

Sony had a top line reputation over here, NOT in Japan.
You notice a pattern of these companies doing well, then creating a garbage product, going down, and then going up again?

Panasonic hasn't yet made that fall, yet.

David:
WHY would I want to run Windows 7?

 

[ddrueding]

David:
WHY would I want to run Windows 7?

Because you don't want to run Vista, and by the end of the Windows 7 cycle, there might be something that requires Vista/7. Vista only lasted 2 years, but I suspect that 7 will be around for at least 4. Will all the programs you use still support a 10-year-old OS (XP) then?

 

[LunarMist]

Uda, wtf is with referencing apple with everything. We could be talking about underwear or spatulas and you'll find some way to associate them.

Ignore list is a wonderful thing.

 

[LunarMist]

Because you don't want to run Vista, and by the end of the Windows 7 cycle, there might be something that requires Vista/7. Vista only lasted 2 years, but I suspect that 7 will be around for at least 4. Will all the programs you use still support a 10-year-old OS (XP) then?

I have that concern as well. I am hoping XP will be usable for another 2 years. I am noticing that Win2K support is gone for almost everything new now.

 

[Handruin]

Ignore list is a wonderful thing.

I know...but someone should keep an eye on him.

 

[ddrueding]

I have that concern as well. I am hoping XP will be usable for another 2 years. I am noticing that Win2K support is gone for almost everything new now.

Indeed, and the only reason support for XP is holding this long is because Vista is such a dog. If 7 is actually any good (there is some hope), then vendors won't stick around much longer.

 

[Handruin]

Indeed, and the only reason support for XP is holding this long is because Vista is such a dog. If 7 is actually any good (there is some hope), then vendors won't stick around much longer.

I've read a couple more positive reviews related to windows 7 here and here. Seems to be shaping up in both regards to XP and Vista.

 

[Santilli]

"Greg,

Panasonic is ~100 billion dollar group of Japanese companies and Samsung is ~174 billion dollar Korean company. Neither are likely to go out of business before your warranty expires.


Are you talking about my personal warranty on life, or a computer OS?

 

[Handruin]

"Greg,

Panasonic is ~100 billion dollar group of Japanese companies and Samsung is ~174 billion dollar Korean company. Neither are likely to go out of business before your warranty expires.


Are you talking about my personal warranty on life, or a computer OS?

I believe yes, your personal warranty on life.

 

[LunarMist]

Probably both.

 

[Santilli]

What component combinations would you consider for a Home Theatre computer, ONLY a home theatre computer????

 

[Stereodude]

A motherboard with an nVidia 9300/9400 IGP with some Intel processor. Then spend a lot of time at http://www.silentpcreview.com/ to find out how to make it all super quiet.

 

[udaman]

A motherboard with an nVidia 9300/9400 IGP with some Intel processor. Then spend a lot of time at http://www.silentpcreview.com/ to find out how to make it all super quiet.

^^^Hmm, tomorrow Apple is rumored to update the aging Mac Mini with just those specs , don't need to spend any time at silent PC review

 

[Stereodude]

^^^Hmm, tomorrow Apple is rumored to update the aging Mac Mini with just those specs , don't need to spend any time at silent PC review

Assuming you don't want to play HD-DVD, Blu-Ray and be stuck with whatever Apple deems suitable for capability, it might just be.

 

[Santilli]

Now, on a serious note:

I'm not really thinking onboard video, or audio are a great thing. Learned that lesson when my current onboard sound out got bent by my 14 pound cat wrenching on the wires a bit. Now, the speaker jacks have to be inserted just right, or, I loose two speakers, and, the onboard output is bent. How do you replace that? Send it back to Hypermicro? That would be cost efficient..

Also, cooling on board chipsets, in particular a gpu, doesn't sound like a great idea. I can easily replace PCI-X cards, or PCI cards. Replacing a motherboard, for me, can take two or three hours, or more likely, David an hour.

So, motherboard should NOT include GPU, and, considering the quality avaliable on sound out, I'd be looking for an excellent video card as well.

Video out must be HDMI and S-video capable. Wouldn't be a bad idea if it was capable of powering a 50" Panasonic Plasma.

I imagine being able to play games on it might be kind of cool as well.

Yes, one day I might play BluRay on it, and, it might be really cool if it was capable of taking stock DVD's and upping them to 1080.

Udaman:
Sure. I want to double my costs, end up with the Mac OS upgrade for 129 dollars every 6 months, and be hardware limited;-( I love mini-monopolies limiting my hardware/software choices, like Apple.
Some of us started as Apple fanatics, and, we were seduced by the dark side: read Supermicro and Xeons. Also, try running a Hypermicro multiple drive setup on your latest mac, with a raid 0 boot setup, using two 15k cheetahs, and get back to me on how much it costs.

 

[LunarMist]

I can easily replace PCI-X cards, or PCI cards. Replacing a motherboard, for me, can take two or three hours, or more likely, David an hour.

It usually takes me about 2 hours, i.e., 30 minutes for the board and 90 minutes to stop the bleeding and bandage my cut hand.

 

[LunarMist]

I can easily replace PCI-X cards, or PCI cards. Replacing a motherboard, for me, can take two or three hours, or more likely, David an hour.

It usually takes me about 2 hours, i.e., 30 minutes for the board and 90 minutes to stop the bleeding and bandage my cut hand.

 

[ddrueding]

Meh, I'm really happy with my new workbench. The whole table is angled towards me, is prewired for network, power, and KVM, and has a 2 gallon air compressor mounted underneath. If I can't do a motherboard in 5 minutes (power tools) something is wrong.

 

[Stereodude]

Now, on a serious note:

I'm not really thinking onboard video, or audio are a great thing. Learned that lesson when my current onboard sound out got bent by my 14 pound cat wrenching on the wires a bit. Now, the speaker jacks have to be inserted just right, or, I loose two speakers, and, the onboard output is bent. How do you replace that? Send it back to Hypermicro? That would be cost efficient..

Also, cooling on board chipsets, in particular a gpu, doesn't sound like a great idea. I can easily replace PCI-X cards, or PCI cards. Replacing a motherboard, for me, can take two or three hours, or more likely, David an hour.

So, motherboard should NOT include GPU, and, considering the quality avaliable on sound out, I'd be looking for an excellent video card as well.

Video out must be HDMI and S-video capable. Wouldn't be a bad idea if it was capable of powering a 50" Panasonic Plasma.

Well, there's a problem... ATI's HDMI implementation in their stand alone video cards sucks (IMHO). It can't do 1080p24 correctly, and they have issues with HDMI audio due to the ATI drivers inability to properly part EDID from a receiver. On the other hand, nVidia doesn't have a stand alone video card with a HDMI implementation capable of 7.1PCM audio. The 9300/9400 IGP and 8200/8300 IGP (for AMD) are the only nVidia options. It does 1080p24 smoothly and has all the video processing features of their best video cards (or ATI's best video cards). Also, boards with the 9300/9400 IGP still have a PCI Express slot, so you can still put a video card in later if you want.

You asked for the best HTPC solution, and I gave it to you. It's low power, relative low cost, and fully featured. You can't get better video playback from any other solution. You can't get any better audio capability aside from the $200 ASUS HDMI sound card. Sometimes the best solution does not require the most expensive hardware or most powerful hardware. What's the problem?

You could also go with the 8200/8300 IGP for AMD, but they need a Phenom to have the full video processing feature set, and I don't see any compelling reason to go AMD these days.

 

[Santilli]

Thank you for the information. Didn't realize the chipset worked so well for HTsystems.

How do you take standard stereo speakers and wire them to a computer, and, if you do, is the output enough to power the speakers? I've got a couple Yamaha speakers sitting around, and, they have the standard screw down for speaker wires on the back, and that's it.

Thanks

GS

 

[ddrueding]

The output from a soundcard will be signal level only; you will need an amplifier of some kind to drive speakers. Honestly, you will be much happier with one of these. Surround sound is a nice thing.

 

[Santilli]

That's kind of what I thought. I have a home theatre setup already, all Klipsch, and it rocks. That said, that setup, for the money, looks pretty amazing.

I've got a nice set of Yamaha speakers that I had been using for my SO's radio, but, she never used it, since for some reason, I've never been able to get the reception we've needed on anything but cheap little radios around here.

I was thinking of using the speakers for her computer, using the on board sound out. She's got some fairly chessy ones on it right now.

David: Do you know anyway to get talk radio, KSFO, over the net?

Thanks

GS