[ShabazKillaX]

Long, drawn out thread brought on by sleep deprivation - consider yourselves warned.

Pics will be posted tommorow - the camera needs to charge and I need to sleep.

Well, as I mentioned in a few other posts, I finally made the plunge into the world of HDTV. Let me just say - WOW! Such a huge difference. I also picked up a new DVD player, an HD-DVR box from my cable company and a couple hundred bucks worth of cables, surge protecters, etc.

Heres the run down:

Samsung HL-4667W 46" DLP HDTV $2,184


Centrios 60" TV stand $300


Sony DVP-NS70H DVD Player $142


Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD - HDTV Digital Video Recorder ~$7 a month through Bright House


I also picked up a Monster HT700HP surge protector, a set of Monster component cables, an Acoustic Research HDMI cable, and couple of Acoustic Research audio cables. Figure about $250 for the misc. accessories.

It took a while to find a TV stand my wife and I both liked. Most of the stands we saw just look cheap IMO. The one we bought is rock solid and assembling it was easier than most of the furniture we've bought recently.

I don't have a stereo receiver or surround sound speakers hooked up, so for the time being this is the wiring setup:

DVD player connected to the TV via HDMI cable
DVR box connected via component cables

The Explorer 8300HD replaces my old non-HD DVR box. I was surprised to find it has a port on the back for hooking up an external SATA drive for additional storage. The box supports 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. You can set it to pass-through mode, or it can upscale the picture. This seems to make a good difference on standard tv programs (480i) where it upscales to 480p. I'll post some screen shots later.

I get a bunch of HD channels included with my digital cable package. I also have a trial month of some other HD channels, INHD, HDNetm HDNet movies. Let me just say this - Korean Sumo wrestling in HD is the shit!

The Sony DVD player can also upscale quality. I popped in Star Wars Episode 3 and upscaled the picture to 1080i and 720p. Both look a lot better than 480p.

The setup for everything hasn't been too bad, although I'm sure I'll be making minor adjustments for a while as I experiment with different settings. So far I think it was 3k well spent.


What do you guys think?

please skip the Monster cables bashing. Yes, I know they are over-priced. My main concern was buying everything and getting it hooked up today. My choices for cables were Monster, Acoustic Research or generic. In some casses I went with Acoustic Research, in others I went with Monster. It depended on what store I was at. As for the surge protector, my choices were Belkin, Monster or generic. I generally distrust Belkin so the choice was easy.

[Torx]

yea, who gives a shit what others say about monster cables..
at least you got the self assurance of reliable best quality!

nice setup!
i was told you have to replace the "bulbs" in DLP tvs similar to projectors every couple months.... is this true? Maybe it was the dumbass bestbuy employee bullshittn me.

[Miller]

nice, check out denon's surrround soud systemss, i love mine

[djsoulriot]

I haven't really done a whole lot of research on HDTV's, but I always figured they were much more expensive than that.


Anyways, very nice setup you have now.

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by Torx

i was told you have to replace the "bulbs" in DLP tvs similar to projectors every couple months.... is this true? Maybe it was the dumbass bestbuy employee bullshittn me.

You do have to replace the bulb, but it should last about 2 years.

[Stevv]

You went all out I see.

Good choice on the DLP, those things are amazing.

I understand the Monster Cable thing, thats all they give you at Best Buy and who wants to wait for some cables to be delivered when you have that huge TV sitting in your living room?

[MSP]

NICE setup. The only thing that I personally would have done differently was skipped the DVD player in favor of a modded Xbox, and I probably would have gone with the cable companies DVR solution. And of course I would have to have an amp and surround sound speakers. I really like the looks of this guy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1126591860446

[ninefivezero]

Look into this for a speaker system:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs.cfm



It is probably going to be hard to get because of the demand created mostly by forum buzz, but it looks to have amazing preformance.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=597107
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=607450

[Torx]

i believe alot of car audio enthusiasts use the SVS subs in their SQ sound systems in their cars..

ive heard alot of good things about them.

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by MSP

NICE setup. The only thing that I personally would have done differently was skipped the DVD player in favor of a modded Xbox, and I probably would have gone with the cable companies DVR solution. And of course I would have to have an amp and surround sound speakers. I really like the looks of this guy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1126591860446

I have a modded Xbox, but as far as I know XBox Media Center can't upscale DVDs. And the DVR is through my cable company - Bright House.

Receiver and speakers will come in time. I like what I have read about that Yamaha speaker.

[super_Chris]

Originally Posted by ShabazKillaX

I have a modded Xbox, but as far as I know XBox Media Center can't upscale DVDs. And the DVR is through my cable company - Bright House.

Receiver and speakers will come in time. I like what I have read about that Yamaha speaker.

That is correct. The Xbox is incapable of true HD.

[ivwshane]

What's the viewing angle on that dlp? Is it a single chip or 3 chip design?

What did you have before?

[ShabazKillaX]

It's a single chip. My previous tv was a 25" Daewoo.

[Chris]

Nice, get an Xbox 360 to go with it.

[ShabazKillaX]

Ok, pics

56k = suck



HD Football


Thin



These shots were taken from a standard broadcast of tge movie Blast From The Past on TNT.

480i


Upscaled to 480p

[Cr@cKpiPe tE@sEr noOb!]

awww man, i missed "Blast from the Past" on tv? i have failed myself.

[thadood]

Be sure that you stretch the image out whenever you can, it's not a good idea to leave the black edges around the image.

[ShabazKillaX]

Originally Posted by thadood

Be sure that you stretch the image out whenever you can, it's not a good idea to leave the black edges around the image.

If your refering to burn-in, DLP's don't suffer from burn-in at all. Another reason why I went the DLP route.

[ninefivezero]

Nice, amazing how small the thing is.

[MSP]

Yeah, I guess I'm a little late to the HD party. I'm still using a 32' Sony Trinatron, praying for it to die...