[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by amitk26

HDMI pass through means HDMI for Video , Still Audio will be processed by AV receiver so it is not useless.
Also HDMI-CEC ensure a single remote for all systems.

Secondly if whever you will invest in a Blue ray player ( 2 year down the line prices will be same as DVD today) you can still use this setup with HDMI.

For Audio I'll still need a digital optical/co-axial cable even with 5105, that's what I was told. So that's why I said that HDMI will be useless as I can directly connect the HDMI to the TV.
For Blue-ray also it'll be the same case, right? I mean I can directly connect the Blue-ray player to the TV itself. Or am I missing something? BTW, my budget I can't stretch more than 30k.

Originally Posted by amitk26

As far as picture quality of Plasma vs LCD is concerend the best thing you can do is to go to some showroom and check side by side that is it worth investing in a Plasma which does not give you any connectivity features.

What connectivity features are you talking about? Is there something that is available in LCD is not available in the plasmas?

[jassi]

Originally Posted by amitk26

HDMI pass through means HDMI for Video , Still Audio will be processed by AV receiver so it is not useless.
Also HDMI-CEC ensure a single remote for all systems.

Secondly if whever you will invest in a Blue ray player ( 2 year down the line prices will be same as DVD today) you can still use this setup with HDMI.



Think of TV with DLNA , It is a big plus becuase you can use your home PC to stram Video , A DLNA server running on PC ( UPnP on WiFi) and a bittorrent client with unlimited net ( 256K from BSNL) open up a lot of possibilites for you.

As far as picture quality of Plasma vs LCD is concerend the best thing you can do is to go to some showroom and check side by side that is it worth investing in a Plasma which does not give you any connectivity features.

I have some difference of opinion

HDMI vs optical for audio - audio quality remains the same, as long as we are in the dolby digital 5.1 era. I am not sure about trueHD or other audio standards though. A good bluray player or PS3 offers both HDMI and optical, so an HT with optical and co-ax would do just fine for quite sometime.
HDMI-CEC for a single remote - I am not sure if many people use this. Theres plenty of good universal remotes out there which have made things difficult for hdmi-cec i guess (eg. the logitech 1000 http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/re...s/373&cl=US,EN which i use).
TV with DLNA - a PS3 or XBOX can also do this and you don't necesarily need to splurge on a tv which does DLNA, as you can stream HD media to the PS3 using software like Tversity on your PC.
Plasma vs LCD - lets take an example of 42" - unless we are comparing 1.8L 42" LCDs with 42" Plasmas, I don't think most LCDs hold a candle to plasmas in terms of PQ, not to mention the immense value for money a mere 60k plasma can give you. Any good articles on cnet or google will indicate the same. Not to mention our tbhp thread on buying an LCD http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ng-lcd-tv.html which is now a buying a plasma thread The only thing comparable would be the new LED technology (no not current samsung LED but upcoming sony LED displays), however its too expensive to compare to plasmas.
Most mid/low end LCDs equal plasmas in HD PQ but are bad with SD PQ. So a 1+ lac can barely compare to 45-60k plasma!
In terms of connectivity, I am not quite sure what specifically you are hinting - hdmi ports, composite, s-video, optical out?? didn't quite get you

cheers!

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by jassi

I have some difference of opinion

HDMI vs optical for audio - audio quality remains the same, as long as we are in the dolby digital 5.1 era. I am not sure about trueHD or other audio standards though. A good bluray player or PS3 offers both HDMI and optical, so an HT with optical and co-ax would do just fine for quite sometime.

This is exactly what I wrote IMHO that 'quite sometime" is 2 years at the max for Indian market and 1 year for USA. BlueRay is not common today with TrueHD or DTS MA but wait till 2Q 2010 to see how many titles come out. It is about preserving the investment and not accumulating e-waste.

Originally Posted by jassi

HDMI-CEC for a single remote - I am not sure if many people use this. Theres plenty of good universal remotes out there which have made things difficult for hdmi-cec i guess (eg. the logitech 1000 http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/re...s/373&cl=US,EN which i use).

Experience is not same , Controlling multiple devices with uniform interface vs assigning keys in universal remote Anyway it is an extra + not core point for buying HDMI device

Originally Posted by jassi

TV with DLNA - a PS3 or XBOX can also do this and you don't necesarily need to splurge on a tv which does DLNA, as you can stream HD media to the PS3 using software like Tversity on your PC.

Person is question is buying a TV and home theatre why he need to buy PS3 or XBOX ? If in a similar budget a TV with DLNA can fullfill the requirement. On other hand if you have PS3 you can install Linux and use it in place of PC as well but core question is why one need to put in a PS3 if not in to the gaming.

Originally Posted by jassi

Plasma vs LCD - lets take an example of 42" - unless we are comparing 1.8L 42" LCDs with 42" Plasmas, I don't think most LCDs hold a candle to plasmas in terms of PQ, not to mention the immense value for money a mere 60k plasma can give you. Any good articles on cnet or google will indicate the same. Not to mention our tbhp thread on buying an LCD http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ng-lcd-tv.html which is now a buying a plasma thread The only thing comparable would be the new LED technology (no not current samsung LED but upcoming sony LED displays),

On one hand you do not see a high quality source ( BlueRay ) as a near term possibility and on the other hand so much worry about PQ.
What good is 60K plasma if it can not play back high quality source ?
I need not google my personal exp is that this PQ thing is overrated my be some term like videophil exists .
Both Sony and Samsung are using LCD backlit byt LED in 1.2 + lakh range as or today when you talk of upcoming sony LED I think you are talking of OLED display , largest commercial display size of OLED is 11 inch as of today by 4Q09 Samsung is going to release 21 inch OLED in comercial device. I am not so sure about what is upcoming from Sony but they are way behind.

Originally Posted by jassi

however its too expensive to compare to plasmas.
Most mid/low end LCDs equal plasmas in HD PQ but are bad with SD PQ. So a 1+ lac can barely compare to 45-60k plasma!

I really do not understand how something good in HD PQ can be bad in SD PQ care to explain ? Do you mean to say higher resolution and noninterlaced is good but somehow lower resolution is not good ?

Originally Posted by jassi

In terms of connectivity, I am not quite sure what specifically you are hinting - hdmi ports, composite, s-video, optical out?? didn't quite get you

cheers!

I am specifically hinting of saving the investment today down the line ( 2 years max for Indian market).
Also when HDMI comes in to picture then it is obvious that I am talking of
using a PC ( HTPC to be specific ) as a source device for Audio Video in neartems for HD or a blueray player down the line
DLNA TV offers additional flexibility of setting up homenetwork.
usecase think of 2 user accounts on a mythbuntu box with one user logged in from TV interface and another from your PC desk using 2 user accounts.
Or PC gaming on TV and e-mail / browsing / office work on PC moniter from same CPU with no additional investment in XBOX/PS3/Blueray player / DiVx /DVD/MP4/MP3/ACD/WMA /... and thousands of other devices.

Essentially you just need a PC + Amplifier + TV + Speakers and no need for BR , DVD player or PS3.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

For Audio I'll still need a digital optical/co-axial cable even with 5105, that's what I was told. So that's why I said that HDMI will be useless as I can directly connect the HDMI to the TV.
For Blue-ray also it'll be the same case, right? I mean I can directly connect the Blue-ray player to the TV itself. Or am I missing something? BTW, my budget I can't stretch more than 30k.

Please check again by searching 5105 user manual online pass through generally means Video pass through. If this is true then I would say 5105 is a stupid design.

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

What connectivity features are you talking about? Is there something that is available in LCD is not available in the plasmas?

Panasonic plasma models with 1080P FullHD and HDMI connectivity are very expensive , The models available in approx 50K budget are 720P and with out HDMI /DVI / D-Sub connectivity , So either you should spend 1+ lakh for a feature rich panasonic and in that case it is quite close to Samsung / Sony LCD-LED ( LCD backlit with LED advertised as LED by Samsung) and advantage of picture quality fades away.
If you spend around 50-60K then investment goes down the drain once cable TV channels shift to HD ( HBO etc is already HD in USA) or blueRay becomes mass market.
So one need to check if the picture quality is a deciding factor to overlook the connectivity and resolution in a sub 1 lakh device.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Please check again by searching 5105 user manual online pass through generally means Video pass through. If this is true then I would say 5105 is a stupid design.

Yup, pass-through for Onkyo means just pass through and for audio you need a extra cable (optical or co-axial), and yup that's really stupid.

Originally Posted by amitk26

Panasonic plasma models with 1080P FullHD and HDMI connectivity are very expensive , The models available in approx 50K budget are 720P and with out HDMI /DVI / D-Sub connectivity , So either you should spend 1+ lakh for a feature rich panasonic and in that case it is quite close to Samsung / Sony LCD-LED ( LCD backlit with LED advertised as LED by Samsung) and advantage of picture quality fades away.
If you spend around 50-60K then investment goes down the drain once cable TV channels shift to HD ( HBO etc is already HD in USA) or blueRay becomes mass market.
So one need to check if the picture quality is a deciding factor to overlook the connectivity and resolution in a sub 1 lakh device.

I really really doubt that if full HD(1080p) gonna make any difference in picture quality than HD ready (720p/1080i) on a 42 inch screen, please do note the "42 inch" here. The TV I'm talking about, i.e. Panasonic 42PV80D already have 3 HDMI inputs and 2 component inputs so connectivity is not of concern for my use. It actually can take even 1080p input and downscales it to it's native resolution of 720p. So I really doubt that if HD channels comes to india or I shift to Blue-ray(which I'll probably once the BR discs becomes cheaper) that the TV will become obsolete, it won't. Hope I'm not wrong here.

Anyway, I think we are veering off too much towards TV instead of HTIB.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by amitk26

a similar budget a TV with DLNA can

(snip)

On one hand you do not see a high quality source ( BlueRay ) as a
using a PC ( HTPC to be specific ) as a source device for Audio Video in neartems for HD or a blueray player down the line
DLNA TV offers additional flexibility of setting up homenetwork.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is DLNA?

And does anybody here use a computer monitor (big size) in place of a normal TV?

[jassi]

Originally Posted by amitk26

This is exactly what I wrote IMHO that 'quite sometime" is 2 years at the max for Indian market and 1 year for USA. BlueRay is not common today with TrueHD or DTS MA but wait till 2Q 2010 to see how many titles come out. It is about preserving the investment and not accumulating e-waste.

agreed - maybe 2-3 years and we will have media with trueHD - as of now its 5.1 and not even 7.1.

Experience is not same , Controlling multiple devices with uniform interface vs assigning keys in universal remote Anyway it is an extra + not core point for buying HDMI device

experience is way way better if you have used any of the logitech universal remotes. The touch screen harmony 1000/1100s are excellent! Not to mention the fact that atleast for logitechs, you don't need to program/assign keys- all I did was mention what devices I own and what activities i use them for and the keys are programmed. One button powers on the required components and puts them in the respective modes and gives me a custom screen to manage specific bits of that activity. ANyways i agree this is not a core point for buying an hdmi device, but just was bringing forth the advantages of true universal touchscreens vs hdmi cec

Person is question is buying a TV and home theatre why he need to buy PS3 or XBOX ? If in a similar budget a TV with DLNA can fullfill the requirement. On other hand if you have PS3 you can install Linux and use it in place of PC as well but core question is why one need to put in a PS3 if not in to the gaming.

i think kaushik_s has already bought a panny pv80d and I doubt if any 42" LCD within 50k can give the PQ of the panny plasma - maybe at twice the price LCDs may match the PQ
PS3 is something he may plan to upgrade to down the line and hence i mentioned the same.As
PS3 does a fairly decent job of a media player and all my plans of getting any HTPC have been put to rest with the PS3. Actually I have a 2ndary PS3 running linux but I barely power it on, so good is the PS3 OS as a HD video file (h.264, avi, mp4 etc) player, plus the fact that it can play all my blurays and dvds. So the PS3 is an excellent bluray/media player and frankly i game on it only 20% of the time.

On one hand you do not see a high quality source ( BlueRay ) as a near term possibility and on the other hand so much worry about PQ.
What good is 60K plasma if it can not play back high quality source ?
I need not google my personal exp is that this PQ thing is overrated my be some term like videophil exists .
Both Sony and Samsung are using LCD backlit byt LED in 1.2 + lakh range as or today when you talk of upcoming sony LED I think you are talking of OLED display , largest commercial display size of OLED is 11 inch as of today by 4Q09 Samsung is going to release 21 inch OLED in comercial device. I am not so sure about what is upcoming from Sony but they are way behind.

i was referring to edge lit vs local dimming LEDs (sony xbr8). Edge lit LEDS are as good as LCDs in terms of contrast ratios, its the local dimming ones which rival plasmas in contrast ratios and PQ. If we are looking at the long term usage, a 720p plasma is fairly good and yes PQ is important for long term especially when bluray gets common. 1080p is overrated, you don't really need it at 42" or if you are sitting closer than 3-4 feet to the display. Any greater distance and the human eye cannot percieve resolution differences. At 48k or lower for the panny 42" plasma, i doubt if anything is going to come closer in terms of PQ and long term value.

I really do not understand how something good in HD PQ can be bad in SD PQ care to explain ? Do you mean to say higher resolution and noninterlaced is good but somehow lower resolution is not good ?

this has to do with the great job at upscaling that most plasmas do with SD. I have a Sony Bravia LCD and Panny Plasma and side to side panny does a better job with hathway (mostly at the stores they mess the settings to downsell plasmas over LCDs, more incentives as LCDs are more expensive and more marketing behind LCDs as most players abandoned plasma, only to realised LCDs has some serious limits). This is the same experience of various folks on the tbhp lcd thread as well as cnet, etc

I am specifically hinting of saving the investment today down the line ( 2 years max for Indian market).
Also when HDMI comes in to picture then it is obvious that I am talking of
using a PC ( HTPC to be specific ) as a source device for Audio Video in neartems for HD or a blueray player down the line
DLNA TV offers additional flexibility of setting up homenetwork.
usecase think of 2 user accounts on a mythbuntu box with one user logged in from TV interface and another from your PC desk using 2 user accounts.
Or PC gaming on TV and e-mail / browsing / office work on PC moniter from same CPU with no additional investment in XBOX/PS3/Blueray player / DiVx /DVD/MP4/MP3/ACD/WMA /... and thousands of other devices.

i used to be an HTPC enthusiast (owned a slim acer with hdmi et al), however with the PS3, I haven't felt the need for one. I think with the amount of intelligence going into gaming devices, I can do most of the things I would on an HTPC. Worse case i can install linux on the PS3, but don't really see the need for an HTPC. Besides gaming consoles last longer than PCs, as PCs make you feel obsoleted sooner

Essentially you just need a PC + Amplifier + TV + Speakers and no need for BR , DVD player or PS3.

one could replace PC with PS3 up there - its the same - i don't need the gunk of microsoft windows and patching and antivirus and blue screens. PS3s are always going to be much lesser targetted by malware, as windoze PCs are best targets to harvest money (botnets, etc)
Hope you can take this as a healthy argument to your points and not get offended. cheers!

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

And does anybody here use a computer monitor (big size) in place of a normal TV?

I use my 42" plasma as a computer monitor many a times - primarily when I am working from home and need to do video conferences or attend webex sessions or online trainings, less often if i have a movie on my laptop and I am too lazy to copy/stream it to the PS3

[bheem]

Hi,

Am planning to buy an AVR and a pair of Floorstanders.

My Requirements: (75% Music, 25% Movies)

1. A Basic AVR (will use for 5.1 later, but now only stereo). I dont care abt HDMI, will directly route them to the TV in the future.
2. A pair of floorstanders as of now, which can handle bass pretty well. I will use this set up occassionaly to test my compositions.
3. My budget is around 30-32k including speaker cables and stuff.
4. As of now, the source will be my computer (Analog stereo output). I have a professional sound card (basic one only), which I use for recording and stuff, Novation Nio 2|4.
5. I may upgrade it to 2.1 or 5.1 setup in the future, so skeptical about stereo amplifiers.

So, based on readings from this site and my constraints, I have considered Yamaha RX-V363 reciever and Mission M34i floorstanders.

I am based in Chennai.

Please confirm the prices and advice on the same, I have not started taking demos. I have 2 to 3 months to make this purchase. So have ample time to decide. But my budget is stricly 35k for a basic reciever and good floorstanders which can handle bass(tight, not boomy) pretty well.

PS: Sorry for such a long post. Am expecting your valid inputs.

[amitk26]

Casting no doubts on your rational for buying a Panasonic Plasma , Logitect Universal remote and PS3 there is some additional information which can help individual buyers.
You have catered to your tastes and needs but everyone need not do the same

Originally Posted by jassi

PS3 does a fairly decent job of a media player and all my plans of getting any HTPC have been put to rest with the PS3. Actually I have a 2ndary PS3 running linux but I barely power it

SecondaryPS3 what for ? PS3 provides a virtualization software to install another OS and you do not install it actually on Cell processor and hardware so there is no need for a second PS3 , It is just like running another OS on PC using VMWare or Virtualbox you really do not need a second PS3
PS3 does fairly decent job but not the best quality.

Originally Posted by jassi

i was referring to edge lit vs local dimming LEDs (sony xbr8). Edge lit LEDS are as good as LCDs in terms of contrast ratios, its the local dimming ones which rival plasmas in contrast ratios and PQ.

Sirjee I hope this is not a story sold by Sony salesman. The Samsung 9 Series is actually Local dimming do not take my words see the CNET review.

Samsung's 2009 LED-based LCDs with local dimming get detailed | Crave - CNET

,So there is nothing new in local dimming LED lit LCD TV , Both XBR8 by Sony and tag LED by Samsung are marketing exercise for same technology.

The true LED based technology is OLED which is bing pushed in to mobile phone market and you will see mobiles with OLED in 1Q2010 (that is how I know about it in detail from spec sheets I have) True LED TVs are still away till 4Q2010 atleast and for larger then 21 inch please wait till 4Q2011 at least as per my estimate.

Originally Posted by jassi

If we are looking at the long term usage, a 720p plasma is fairly good and yes PQ is important for long term especially when bluray gets common. 1080p is overrated,

No Sir not to disparage the investment you made but the available Blueray disks are already 1080p content , Downscaling pixel detoriate quality more then upscale probably you can do one experiment on your existing 720P TV.
Connect a laptop or PC with 1080 X 800 resolution this is beyond the highest resolution on 720P so Your OS will ask you to change the display and you will see the content little blurredi compared to before. And on 42 Inch screen it looks even uglier.

Actually in our office we have some meeting rooms with big couple of years old 720 P TVs as moniters and others with newer high resolutions one and projecters , No one wants to use the older 720 P display for same reason.
Problem of projector is that you need to switch off the lights so not conductive for taking notes or discusssion etc.

Originally Posted by jassi

you don't really need it at 42" or if you are sitting closer than 3-4 feet to the display. Any greater distance and the human eye cannot percieve resolution differences.

Repeat the experiment quoted above back to back and difference in downscaling is quite perceptible , Else why Panasonic adopted 1080P resolution on expensive models.

Originally Posted by jassi

At 48k or lower for the panny 42" plasma, i doubt if anything is going to come closer in terms of PQ and long term value.

Picture Quality may be ( I could not notice it anyway ) but long term value a big no.

Originally Posted by jassi

this has to do with the great job at upscaling that most plasmas do with SD. I have a Sony Bravia LCD and Panny Plasma and side to side panny does a better job with hathway (mostly at the stores they mess the settings to downsell plasmas over LCDs, more incentives as LCDs are more expensive and more marketing behind LCDs as most players abandoned plasma, only to realised LCDs has some serious limits). This is the same experience of various folks on the tbhp lcd thread as well as cnet, etc

Sony is expensive and overrated agreed I never visit thier showroom despite being stones throw from my home but I would urge all buyers to go to some multibrand store like e-zone of Chroma and compare LCD-LED or LCD with plasma using same source ( If you are skeptical that they are downselling plasma check cables yourself)

Originally Posted by jassi

i used to be an HTPC enthusiast (owned a slim acer with hdmi et al), however with the PS3, I haven't felt the need for one. I think with the amount of intelligence going into gaming devices, I can do most of the things I would on an HTPC. Worse case i can install linux on the PS3, but don't really see the need for an HTPC. Besides gaming consoles last longer than PCs, as PCs make you feel obsoleted sooner

one could replace PC with PS3 up there - its the same - i don't need the gunk of microsoft windows and patching and antivirus and blue screens. PS3s are always going to be much lesser targetted by malware, as windoze PCs are best targets to harvest money (botnets, etc)
Hope you can take this as a healthy argument to your points and not get offended. cheers!

I can only say buying a slim acer is not exactly a good choice for HTPC may be one need to look at lowpower fanless with good GPU and soundcard and get the job done at less then half the price of a PS3 or 30 -40% lower then slim acer.
Also Microsoft windows is not the only OS on earth , nudge - nudge anyone heard of MythTV on Ubuntu or Mythbuntu ?

Originally Posted by jassi

I use my 42" plasma as a computer monitor many a times - primarily when I am working from home and need to do video conferences or attend webex sessions or online trainings, less often if i have a movie on my laptop and I am too lazy to copy/stream it to the PS3

So what resolution do you use ?
With the clutter on my desktop and number of open documents / spreadhseets I anything below 1080 X800 defeats purpose of a big screen.

Anyway we had good discussion but this is all about additional features I would not say anything more on it.

[kaushik_s]

Guys, can we talk about Home Theater please??? I'm still looking for an answer to my post (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ml#post1350891). Have anyone used those systems before and which will be my best bet? Is there any significant sound quality difference between 5105 and 3100/3105? If I go for separate stereo speakers and connect to the B channel will this sound good for music in any of these systems? Please help.

[jassi]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Casting no doubts on your rational for buying a Panasonic Plasma , Logitect Universal remote and PS3 there is some additional information which can help individual buyers.
You have catered to your tastes and needs but everyone need not do the same

agreed- i was just talking based on my experiences, i am sure there are hundreds of other opinions and information - thats why this is a forum

SecondaryPS3 what for ? PS3 provides a virtualization software to install another OS and you do not install it actually on Cell processor and hardware so there is no need for a second PS3 , It is just like running another OS on PC using VMWare or Virtualbox you really do not need a second PS3
PS3 does fairly decent job but not the best quality.

The answer to why I have 2 PS3s is here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...recovered.html - one was bought from US and stolen, another bought in india and then the US one recovered - so i use both and have split my needs across 2 PS3s. i am not advocating usage of 2 PS3s in my previous post and I completely understand virtualization as its part of my job.

Sirjee I hope this is not a story sold by Sony salesman. The Samsung 9 Series is actually Local dimming do not take my words see the CNET review.

Samsung's 2009 LED-based LCDs with local dimming get detailed | Crave - CNET

,So there is nothing new in local dimming LED lit LCD TV , Both XBR8 by Sony and tag LED by Samsung are marketing exercise for same technology.

The true LED based technology is OLED which is bing pushed in to mobile phone market and you will see mobiles with OLED in 1Q2010 (that is how I know about it in detail from spec sheets I have) True LED TVs are still away till 4Q2010 atleast and for larger then 21 inch please wait till 4Q2011 at least as per my estimate.

it was from a link posted on the tbhp lcd thread on edge-lit vs local dimming LEDs. Local dimming LEDs maybe out by sony and samsung and compare well to plasma PQ. Edge-lit LEDs are equivalent to LCDs. OLEDs are anyway not in our reach as of now, hopefully a few more months.

No Sir not to disparage the investment you made but the available Blueray disks are already 1080p content , Downscaling pixel detoriate quality more then upscale probably you can do one experiment on your existing 720P TV.
Connect a laptop or PC with 1080 X 800 resolution this is beyond the highest resolution on 720P so Your OS will ask you to change the display and you will see the content little blurredi compared to before. And on 42 Inch screen it looks even uglier.

i know PS3 is 1080p and it looks amazing on my 720p panny plasma vs 1080p sony LCD. Pioneer Plasmas also do an amazing job. I would still say 1080p is overrated for gaming and HD video watching. However yes i agree, it is relevant when using the TV as a computer monitor. Fortunately, I use my TV as computer monitor only for webex presentations, video conferences and not for regular PC use like browsing or reading books. the 720p 42" does a good job for me but may not be the case for people using it primarily as a computer monitor vs gaming, hi-def movies. There is no blurring or ugly stuff.

Actually in our office we have some meeting rooms with big couple of years old 720 P TVs as moniters and others with newer high resolutions one and projecters , No one wants to use the older 720 P display for same reason.
Problem of projector is that you need to switch off the lights so not conductive for taking notes or discusssion etc.

agreed 1080p is important here especially if its a lot of text, icons, prezo material

Repeat the experiment quoted above back to back and difference in downscaling is quite perceptible , Else why Panasonic adopted 1080P resolution on expensive models.

i was talking about vfm and 720p is quite decent - ofcourse i want the latest greatest too and will get it someday - however there is something called as balancing with needs and right now 720p is sufficient for most people. As for the experiement I wont need to do it, as I stated my usage above. Also one of the things the company i work for, does is video conferencing rooms and 1080p is much needed in such applications, so I am no way against 1080p for conference rooms with multiple people.

Picture Quality may be ( I could not notice it anyway ) but long term value a big no.

i think we are going a little off topic, but i suggest you bring some of your views to the tbhp lcd thread and we may get some good discussions

Sony is expensive and overrated agreed I never visit thier showroom despite being stones throw from my home but I would urge all buyers to go to some multibrand store like e-zone of Chroma and compare LCD-LED or LCD with plasma using same source ( If you are skeptical that they are downselling plasma check cables yourself)

i visit brand showrooms, ezones and whatever means available for research before making a decision. However i normally dont buy from ezones, because of various reasons like used showroom pieces being sold there and high rates. For research purpose they are a good option though.

I can only say buying a slim acer is not exactly a good choice for HTPC may be one need to look at lowpower fanless with good GPU and soundcard and get the job done at less then half the price of a PS3 or 30 -40% lower then slim acer.
Also Microsoft windows is not the only OS on earth , nudge - nudge anyone heard of MythTV on Ubuntu or Mythbuntu ?

yep I have used all sorts of HTPCs (assembled my own) and the acer was quite good for its times. This was a time when gpu's were no where close to PS3 GPU, but still the nvidia ones were really really good.
As for OS, I know Linux exists and so does MAC OSX (and i use both extensively for work and play), but if you are into gaming MS is the choice. I use ubuntu on my PS3 and I am fairly happy with it. Linux and mac and PS3 maybe as vulnerable as MS, but MS OS gets most targetted. Security by obscurity, its sad but true.

So what resolution do you use ?
With the clutter on my desktop and number of open documents / spreadhseets I anything below 1080 X800 defeats purpose of a big screen.

Anyway we had good discussion but this is all about additional features I would not say anything more on it.

i don'tthink its beyong 1080x800, but i am not doing regular PC stuff like editing spreadsheets when using my plasma as computer monitor. I am seated at a distance of 5+ feet and don't intend to do hardcore computer work using the plasma.

Originally Posted by bheem

Hi,

Am planning to buy an AVR and a pair of Floorstanders.

My Requirements: (75% Music, 25% Movies)


2. A pair of floorstanders as of now, which can handle bass pretty well. I will use this set up occassionaly to test my compositions.
3. My budget is around 30-32k including speaker cables and stuff.

try the Jamos, in MY experience (although there maybe other usefull info on other brands here ) they handle bass very well. I use the Jamo S606 floor standers (S 606 Floorstanding Speaker - Description) and they cost me 25k for the pair (price as of 1 year ago). Based on your budget you can later upgrade to the 5.1 setup (S 606 HCS 6 Home Cinema Systems - Description)

[cyclops]

Hi All,

One of my relatives is building a dedicated Home Theater, for which they have received 3 quotations. All the quotations are enclosed in the attached word document. Budget is fixed at 5 lacs, including projector, HT and installation.

They have asked my suggestions on these quotes, but his being a high budget install, my knowledge about the best brands is limited. I would request all you experts to advice on the options which can be suggested.

There is no listening preference as such, the system would be mostly used for watching movies and listening music (though I am sure majority of the time, kids@home would occupy this room). Even this the first high end install for them as well, so no clear preference. We would purely rely on the experts opinion and advice.

Comments on the pricing of the equipments would be also be appreciated. I hope being first timers, we are not taken for a ride..!

This setup has to be finalized in a week as the construction work is on hold for getting the exact dimensions and wiring specs.

Thanks in anticipation.

[bigron]

cyclops: Thats a healthy Ht budget you got there. Let me start with the av reciever. The denon 3808 reciever is an updated version of the very sucessfull denon 3805 and is a very nice reciver.Alternatively you could look at the yamaha rx-v2700. Both are great recievers.And at this price level you cant really go wrong with either of the 2. I prefer a denon.
Coming to the blue ray i suggest the samsung BD-P3600 .Should be around 400$.As a standalone dvd player I suggest a denon dvd 1940 for about 30k.
Now the speaker system set up is highly subjective.Also i am of the opinion that we should stick to one set of speaker set up with variation if any to the sub alone.I would suggest you have a look at he mordaunt short avant series.They offer truly amazing sound quality.Mezzo series is also good. But i suggest you give both the series a try and then decide which sound better to your ears.
For the sub , i seriously recommend a svs sub.PB12 plus or the PB13 ultra. its a killer sub.
For cables dac is good.I am not to well acquainted with the projectors but if you looking for a big inch plasma you cant go wrong with a pioneer elite kuro series.They come in sizes upto 60 inches.
Make sure you buy a power commander/surge compressor to protect all this expensive equipment.Bhurjee is a company known to make very good products in this regard.

[cyclops]

Thanks for the advice bigron.

Going by the post, your recommendation would be as follows,

Receiver: Denon
Player: Samsung
Speakers: Mordaunt
Sub: PB 12/13

Can you please elaborate on the sub part? Which brand are these?

Any other recommendations guys?

[bigron]

I am talking about svsound or svs. They are known for their speakers and subs but their most killer product is the pb12-plus/2 sub.900 watt amp.14 ohms impedance , 165 pounds of earth shattering bass.I like my bass and have used varied products from jbl , klipsch , aperion , infinity and have also heard outlaw extensively. but in my opinion nothing beats svs if we take the price bracket into consideration.The only draw back is that its huge.and i mean huge with very little spouse acceptability.In case this particular model is not made any more you could look at their other subs which are equally good.