Advice on HD gaming and movies

shivshan · 4th January 2010, 17:02

Hi
I am planning to setup a basic home theatre in my present rented apartment till i move into my own where i do plan to invest in a full blown home theatre ( maybe in 2 years).

My Setup:
I have a new Sony Bravia LCD tv and it is Full HD. I have a Xbox 360 Pro (2006) that i purchased in Europe.

1. The Xbox only plays region 2 DVDs. And it does not do upscaling on the HD component cable that i am using now. No HDMI on the Xbox and i couldnt find a VGA cable on which upscaling is supported (afaik)
2. I can go for a region free DVD based home theatre like the Sony DAV-DX290 which does do upscaling but i wont get the best audio experience when i do play games on the Xbox
3. Though expensive right now, i feel that Blu ray will take off in 2010 with the increasing sales of HD ready flat screens. Would the DVD be a dead investment?
4. PS3 looks like a good deal at 20k considering that i get Blu ray with it. But two gaming consoles plus additional money for the receiver+speakers would probably cost me a lot.

Option 1: Sell the Xbox 360, buy PS3 and invest in a A/V receiver+amplifier plus speakers

Option 2: Mod the Xbox to play Region 5, buy the A/V receivers +amplifier plus speakers. Upgrade to blu ray only when setting up the full blown home theatre

Option 3: Keep the Xbox, buy a basic home theatre audio system like Sony DAV-DZ290

I plan to spend about 20L - 30 K max. I am confused so would appreciate your help.
Thanks

quickdraw · 4th January 2010, 18:51

For starters I would never recommend sony home theaters, they are crap. Seriously. And just mod your xbox if you dont want to invest in a PS3.

Buy a PS3 later when youre buying the good setup. it will cost cheaper then as well. Get some decent speakers + amp combo now. Dont buy the big brands packaged home theaters.

klassics45 · 4th January 2010, 19:58

i would say option 2 is good. there is always an argument about which is better (Xbox or PS3) so rather than investing money on it, you should spend on amp and speakers.

shivshan · 5th January 2010, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickdraw

For starters I would never recommend sony home theaters, they are crap. Seriously. And just mod your xbox if you dont want to invest in a PS3.

Buy a PS3 later when youre buying the good setup. it will cost cheaper then as well. Get some decent speakers + amp combo now. Dont buy the big brands packaged home theaters.

Thanks. How reliable is the Xbox mod scene in India, specifically Bangalore? I do not want to run pirated games, i just want to play region 5 DVDs.
Also, any suggestion on a AV receiver and speakers that cost around 20 - 30K?
Thanks

ajayr · 5th January 2010, 16:03

Alternately, you can buy a HD media player like WDTV, Xtreamer etc. and download HD movies from the internet. You would get to watch Full HD 1080p movies in your TV then.

it_inspector · 5th January 2010, 22:48

I am not sure if you will like this but this is not exactly the normal solution but it works so i am going to provide it.

1. Sell xbox360
2. Buy PS3
3. Buy Logitech Z5500 Thx as your Home Theatre setup (dont forget Optical Cable)

This way you have the benefit of full HD playback from Bluray and Decent sound quality at a reasonable price and speakers are small enough to hide in the corners. I know this isnt the perfect solution but remember Logitech Z5500THX are one of the best set of speakers you can buy and they do pack a punch.

I am no way saying that PS3 is better than xbox360, i believe both got there own places. But In this particular scenario PS3 is better as one of the requirement is Bluray.

This whole setup should not cost you more than 20K (plus whatever you get from your xbox360 sale).

When you finally get your own House just move the speakers to your computer and get a VAF + Yamaha setup for your lounge room.

Cheers

kaushik_s · 6th January 2010, 18:14

First things first, your interest is more on gaming or movies? If gaming and if there is any games on Xbox which you can't live without and if that game is not available on PS3 then keep the Xbox.
Otherwise, PS3 is anyday better than Xbox for DVD playback (it's got one of the best upscalars) and Blu-Ray. Once you start watching Blu-rays then there is no turning back. DVD's look pale in comparison to BD.

So in case of you want to keep the Xbox then get a Blu-ray player (preferably from US). I'm not sure but some panasonic models are region free for DVD's. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Why from US, cheaper price and you also get BD's in US for much cheaper price and if they are region locked for US then with a US player you won't have any problem. And almost all Blu-rays that you get in India are region free.

shivshan · 6th January 2010, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

First things first, your interest is more on gaming or movies? If gaming and if there is any games on Xbox which you can't live without and if that game is not available on PS3 then keep the Xbox.
Otherwise, PS3 is anyday better than Xbox for DVD playback (it's got one of the best upscalars) and Blu-Ray. Once you start watching Blu-rays then there is no turning back. DVD's look pale in comparison to BD.

So in case of you want to keep the Xbox then get a Blu-ray player (preferably from US). I'm not sure but some panasonic models are region free for DVD's. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Why from US, cheaper price and you also get BD's in US for much cheaper price and if they are region locked for US then with a US player you won't have any problem. And almost all Blu-rays that you get in India are region free.

Good points.
1. I would use this more for watching movies (80% of the time) than for games (20%). So yeah PS3 looks like a better bet. I can keep it for the full blown home theatre too, since it is almost at par with the dedicated BD players and could be for sometime
2. Being a beginner level gamer, I do not have strong affinity for platform specific games so i do not need to hang on to the Xbox
3. I am against the 220 - 110 step down transformers. Though most BDs are region free, there are many that are not so it might be worth paying the premium rates in India

Regarding the cost, PS3 120 GB + Onkyo 3100 HTIB = 42 K approx, so if i can sell the Xbox, i do not need to stretch the budget too much. This is what i am leaning towards at this point.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Couldn't have done this without help.

4th January 2010, 17:02	#1
shivshan Newbie Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3 Thanked: 0 Times	Advice on HD gaming and movies Hi I am planning to setup a basic home theatre in my present rented apartment till i move into my own where i do plan to invest in a full blown home theatre ( maybe in 2 years). My Setup: I have a new Sony Bravia LCD tv and it is Full HD. I have a Xbox 360 Pro (2006) that i purchased in Europe. 1. The Xbox only plays region 2 DVDs. And it does not do upscaling on the HD component cable that i am using now. No HDMI on the Xbox and i couldnt find a VGA cable on which upscaling is supported (afaik) 2. I can go for a region free DVD based home theatre like the Sony DAV-DX290 which does do upscaling but i wont get the best audio experience when i do play games on the Xbox 3. Though expensive right now, i feel that Blu ray will take off in 2010 with the increasing sales of HD ready flat screens. Would the DVD be a dead investment? 4. PS3 looks like a good deal at 20k considering that i get Blu ray with it. But two gaming consoles plus additional money for the receiver+speakers would probably cost me a lot. Option 1: Sell the Xbox 360, buy PS3 and invest in a A/V receiver+amplifier plus speakers Option 2: Mod the Xbox to play Region 5, buy the A/V receivers +amplifier plus speakers. Upgrade to blu ray only when setting up the full blown home theatre Option 3: Keep the Xbox, buy a basic home theatre audio system like Sony DAV-DZ290 I plan to spend about 20L - 30 K max. I am confused so would appreciate your help. Thanks
	() Thanks

4th January 2010, 18:51	#2
quickdraw Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,285 Thanked: 2,693 Times View My Garage	For starters I would never recommend sony home theaters, they are crap. Seriously. And just mod your xbox if you dont want to invest in a PS3. Buy a PS3 later when youre buying the good setup. it will cost cheaper then as well. Get some decent speakers + amp combo now. Dont buy the big brands packaged home theaters.
	() Thanks

4th January 2010, 19:58	#3
klassics45 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 305 Thanked: 277 Times View My Garage	i would say option 2 is good. there is always an argument about which is better (Xbox or PS3) so rather than investing money on it, you should spend on amp and speakers.
	() Thanks

5th January 2010, 16:03	#5
ajayr BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 94 Thanked: 19 Times	Alternately, you can buy a HD media player like WDTV, Xtreamer etc. and download HD movies from the internet. You would get to watch Full HD 1080p movies in your TV then.
	() Thanks

5th January 2010, 22:48	#6
it_inspector BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Melbourne Posts: 27 Thanked: 0 Times	I am not sure if you will like this but this is not exactly the normal solution but it works so i am going to provide it. 1. Sell xbox360 2. Buy PS3 3. Buy Logitech Z5500 Thx as your Home Theatre setup (dont forget Optical Cable) This way you have the benefit of full HD playback from Bluray and Decent sound quality at a reasonable price and speakers are small enough to hide in the corners. I know this isnt the perfect solution but remember Logitech Z5500THX are one of the best set of speakers you can buy and they do pack a punch. I am no way saying that PS3 is better than xbox360, i believe both got there own places. But In this particular scenario PS3 is better as one of the requirement is Bluray. This whole setup should not cost you more than 20K (plus whatever you get from your xbox360 sale). When you finally get your own House just move the speakers to your computer and get a VAF + Yamaha setup for your lounge room. Cheers
	() Thanks

6th January 2010, 18:14	#7
kaushik_s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 164 Times View My Garage	First things first, your interest is more on gaming or movies? If gaming and if there is any games on Xbox which you can't live without and if that game is not available on PS3 then keep the Xbox. Otherwise, PS3 is anyday better than Xbox for DVD playback (it's got one of the best upscalars) and Blu-Ray. Once you start watching Blu-rays then there is no turning back. DVD's look pale in comparison to BD. So in case of you want to keep the Xbox then get a Blu-ray player (preferably from US). I'm not sure but some panasonic models are region free for DVD's. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Why from US, cheaper price and you also get BD's in US for much cheaper price and if they are region locked for US then with a US player you won't have any problem. And almost all Blu-rays that you get in India are region free.
	() Thanks