Setting up a "Discount" Home Theater...looking for advice

[theawddone]

I'm definitely new in this area of home theater type stuff, but I am moving into apartment next year and my friend and I are looking to invest some money into an HD flatscreen. We mainly plan to use it for my friend's 360, and also hopefully connect to one of my old PCs to play downloaded movies/television eps. I also want to get a DVD player, I've heard a little bit about upconverters, but don't know much about them either. Are there any good websites where I can read about this stuff and/or compare prices? I tried cnet, but they don't have many items listed with reviews...

edit: price range is around $1000 for the whole setup, dont need anything massive, just want something with good picture quality

[Ugh]

No input for you, but here is a pretty popular home theatre forum, lots of reading material:

AVS Forum

[Zeste]

Me and a few friends have all ended up with 5.1 surround systems from Best Buy. We all spent 300-380, and we all got Yahama systems, without knowing. They have all been very nice and a really good deal. I think mine is the cheapest one (my subwoofer has a wall-cord, theirs dont) but it's still awesome for movies and games.

I would NEVER build a movie/game station without a 5.1 system. Even if you go cheap cheap, it it such a crucial part.

[elderec]

Originally Posted by theawddone

hopefully connect to one of my old PCs to play downloaded movies/television eps.

XBMC - Xbox Media Center

XBMC won't play the new x264 rips due to lack of juice, but that's about the only downside.

[Bristlebane]

I bought Athena brand speakers last year.

OneCall.com

Search them on AVSforum. They're very highly recommended. A lot of people on that forum say they're as good as speakers that cost twice as much.

[Lusiphur]

Use the X360 to stream the vid from the PC using TVersity (over the wireless no less). It's what I use (I also have the Yamaha 5:1 speakers and they are great).

[Mr.Domino]

Originally Posted by Bristlebane

I bought Athena brand speakers last year.

OneCall.com

Search them on AVSforum. They're very highly recommended. A lot of people on that forum say they're as good as speakers that cost twice as much.

I have Athena speakers in my home theater -- I also recommend them.

Mr.Domino Gallery - AVS Forum Members Theaters

That was a $4000 job, mostly DIY stuff. That was two years ago, and in the meantime I've done some cosmetic stuff (black carpet, finished trim, black kegerator replaces that white fridge). That 4k includes seats, components, paint, bass shakers installed in the seats. Very budget minded, but it shows you what you can do if you're willing to be creative and apply some elbow grease.

I also have a Magnavox 42" LCD I picked up from the latest "Christmas Sale Extraganza" for just over $700. I don't say this to be an asshole, but to just to prove some experience from what I'm about to say.

The truth is, if you really care about picutre quality and don't want to spend over $1000, get a HD-CRT. They're big and heavy, but they are the only things that have decent picture quality for that price range. You could go for a front projection setup like I have above for under $1000, but you will have other concerns (light control, proper space and seating setup, you need a speaker setup and can't get by with the speaker on the unit itself).

For a flat panel, under 1k you're looking at LCD. If you go to best buy and look at your price range and you think they look good, go for it. It sounds like an asshole thing to say but if they look good to you, you really don't care about picture quality (which honestly is fine, everyone wants to be a connoisseur but not everyone is). People tell me my 42" Magnavox looks great and I chuckle a little on the inside. It looks like shit and I bought it to make my wife happy and to play my Wii. Non high end Plasma's have crippling issues, and you need LCOS or a high speed DLP to get something that looks good. That means projection (front or rear).

A fantsastic buy right now in your price range (search around for a price under $1k):
Optoma - DLP HD Home Theater Projector - HD70

A couple of window shades and a DIY screen, you'll have a system better than anyone you know. And yes, you can do this in an apartment. Before I bought my home, I had almost the same setup in a second bedroom in a Boston apartment in a 8x12 room which doubled as our computer room. The room you are looking at in those pictures is 12x13, not big by any stretch of the imagination.

Good luck.

[theawddone]

Thanks a lot for the writeup, I'll definitely put that into consideration. I'm not 100% sure if I'll be able to set up a projection screen, but if I can, that sounds like a great idea...