ForceOfOne

I've never bought a TV or DVD player. The two TV's I've owned were hand-me-downs.

Well... my TV died the other day. And I'm tired of VHS. So...

I'm going to Best Buy to buy myself a setup. I've browsed the boards quite a few times, but never really found info that nailed things down for me. So just have a few n00b questions.

I have < $1000 to burn, but want to get stuffs worth getting. Need a new TV, a DVD player, and *maybe* a sound system. I live in an apartment and have no idea when I'll be moving into a house or a place with a large living room so the TV isn't going to be large, and the sound system is very optional.

TV's are pretty general, but I've seen talk about analog sets being near obsolete. Do I need to worry about this in looking for a standard set something close to 27"? If so what do I look for?

What inputs for the TV are essential? What about desirable but not essential?

What do you all think of the DVD players that integrate the sound system into the unit? Only worth getting if you're on the cheap???

What DVD players are known to be very robust? I want to put any freakin disk in this thing and have it play it, preferrably (top of the list) without lags, skips, burps, pauses, etc. that I've seen on many DVD players. Hoping for one or two specific model recommendations that are sold at Best Buy .

Thanks all.

Wolf Husky

Well, if you want to get the most you can for as little $ as you can, don't buy at Best Buy. Best Buy would be good for something like a large tube TV, which would cost a fortune to ship, but for DVD players and "theatre in a box" sets, I'd suggest eBay or Yahoo Shopping.

If you want to spend just under $1000, I will suggest the following setup. Well, I add it up and it's just over $1000, but I would just about guarantee that you can get them all for under $1000 by asking for better prices.

TV:

Toshiba 32A42 32" (or equivalent). Has component inputs and quite a few other features. $500 at Best Buy.

DVD:

Sony DVP-NC655P: You can EASILY get one on eBay with Buy It Now for $200 or less, shipped. It is a progressive scan, 5-disc changer, with CDR/W capability. No MP3 playback that I know of, but CDR/W is good enough, right?

Stereo:

Sony HT-DDW840: It has DTS decoder, 5.1 Dolby, 5 speakers + sub, 600 watts. It's more than enough for a small, inexpensive theatre system, and will perform beyond expectations for a $400 item. You can get these on eBay for $370ish, shipped.

You can often contact retailers (specialized, not Best Buys) and ask them to offer a better price. I have never paid retail for any piece of equipment. (I saved $1000 when I bought my Sony 55" RP HDTV just by asking them for a lower price. It took all of 5 minutes, OVER THE PHONE! I have had this work with eBay sellers too. Contact them and ask for a "direct sale" price. Many will give you a $30+ break on a DVD or HT purchase.

Personally, I'd go all Sony. I know this board is full of nuts who think they can see 0.01% differences in picture quality between brands say don't be "brand loyal." It's not about loyalty. It's about having a remote that easily works every piece of equipment without buying a 3rd party remote. Remember, these are the same nuts that think $20,000 on a home theatre is no biggie, so don't listen to them. They are in a different world.

Wolf Husky

Well, I was going to shoot you an email but you have it turned off.

Johnny Zhivago

Nuts? Don't bother with eBay and Yahoo!

Just go down to your local Best Buy and buy the Toshiba tele that Wolf Husky recommended, it's a fine set for a n00b... For a player I personally recommend Panasonics but Sonys are fine - even though they have the chroma upsampling error - just stay away from the cheap no name Wal-Mart type $70 players... For your surround system, I would recommend buying it a piece at a time... Receiver, front speakers, center channel, surrounds, and so on... A "home theater in a box" is a waste of money... Build yourself a nice component system as you can afford it, this will last you many years and provide a much better sound quality... You're not going to live in that apartment forever are ya?

Wolf Husky

I didn't suggest it at first because I don't like silver components, but the Sony DAV-C770 looks like a decent theatre in a box, complete with DVD player. I just saw it for as little as $400 + shipping. I don't know how the Sony fares with layer changes, but nearly every DVD player has a pause at the LC. My old Sony C660 DVD player pauses about 1.2 secs on a LC. Not terrible.

Shoot me an email at [email protected]. I might be able to help you out further.






For everyone out there, I don't open any mail that even looks like SPAM, so don't waste your time. I'd rather delete an email from my parents than open up SPAM. Your SPAM WILL NOT BE RECEIVED.

Wolf Husky

When I bought my Sony C660 DVD player, I paid $315, shipped. I then bought the Sony HT-something, DTS receiver, etc... and paid $380 shipped.

At Best Buy, the DVD player was $350 + 7.75% tax, and the receiver and speakers was $480 + tax.

I saved over $150 by using eBay. I would even buy toilet paper and Ramen noodles on eBay... hehehe

Basically, up to you. But if you buy the two components I suggested on eBay, you will save yourself more than $100 instead of buying at BB.

---------------------------------------------------

How do you buy your stereo one piece at a time? If I'm going to buy a TV, DVD player, and HT system, I want an HT system. I wouldn't want to buy the decoder, then the fronts 6 months later, then the center next Christmas, then the rears in 2006. Hahahah. Are you serious?

He wants to spend under $1000 for an entire system including a TV. There are only two ways to do it. Walmart... or theatre in a box.

ForceOfOne

I was a bit hasty and went out and bought some shiz last night. Had meant to post on the forums here asking for some advice a while ago, but never got to it.

I bought:

• Sharp 27" Flat Panel TV
• Sony Home Theater in-a-box (HT-5500D)

I don't feel bad about it cause they have a 30-day return policy. I may take them up on it cause they didn't have the Sony DAV-C770 Home Theater system in the store, and it looks to be better than the HT-5500D that I bought. The one I got doesn't have progressive scan (not that my TV can use it) or quite as high quality speakers as the DAV model seems to have.

Anybody have any opinion on the comparison between these various Sony packages:

• DVD Dream™ System DAV-C770
• Home Theater In A Box System HT-6500D
• Home Theater In A Box System HT-5500D (this is the one I bought)

They're all the same price so I may trade for whichever one is the best (BestBuy carries them all). Remember, I don't *need* progressive scan, and I would imagine the DVD players are pretty comparable otherwise (don't know really, just talking out my arse so correct me if I'm wrong) so the bigger point would be the quality of the respective sound system for each package.

Thanks guys.

Wolf Husky

I'm not sure you'd notice a difference with the progressive scan on a 27"... and in my opinion, don't bother with the Monster Cables on a 27" either.

Excellent purchases. I hope you are happy! I just got my new Sony DVP-CX875P (300+1 disc Progressive DVD player) today. AWESOME! There's someone sleeping on the couch right now. Otherwise, I'd be messing with it all night.

Let us toast to our new toys. <ting>