[stinkyboy]

Finally took the plunge and scored a 46" Sony Bravia with matching Home Theater in a Box as it will prolly save me money on Superbowl Sunday by not going to a bar, getting drunk and making random bets on almost every play.

First question: Is some sort of surge protector really important?

 

[CdaleTony]

Probably a good idea. Can it hurt?
Do you have kids? My neighbor lost his LCD to his 3 year old via hockey stick.
LUCKILY Best Buy didnt even bother to check the contents when he returned it (4 weeks old!).
He bought this : CLICK

It doesnt look too bad, its a sheet of acrylic with a bend over the top. Secured with straps. Might look better if it was the full width of the set, not minus one inch each side.
CDT

 

[stinkyboy]

Probably a good idea. Can it hurt?
Do you have kids? My neighbor lost his LCD to his 3 year old via hockey stick.
LUCKILY Best Buy didnt even bother to check the contents when he returned it (4 weeks old!).
He bought this : CLICK

It doesnt look too bad, its a sheet of acrylic with a bend over the top. Secured with straps. Might look better if it was the full width of the set, not minus one inch each side.
CDT

No kids (as proofed by the leather furniture and glass tables) but sadly the bolts that secure the TV to the pedestal were not included, so it's a little wobbly (so I took all of my heavy books off of my rack as it even started to lean) Sony's phone support was very weak, but supposedly they're sending them, so I have held off on setting the system up.

Any other knowledge would be helpful as I intend to have a serious setup in time like this guys with solid components:

 

[jonKranked]

and actual walls too?

 

[chicodude]

Finally took the plunge and scored a 46" Sony Bravia with matching Home Theater in a Box as it will prolly save me money on Superbowl Sunday by not going to a bar, getting drunk and making random bets on almost every play.

First question: Is some sort of surge protector really important?

Yeah. Moreso if you live in a house with old wiring. think of it as 15 insurance for a very expensive TV

 

[IH8Rice]

surge protectors are a definite must. stay away from the high priced Monster branded units. they arent necessary, and the filtering that they do wont make a difference. if you must buy a Monster branded product, look online for it. stores charge ridiculous amount for wiring and surge protectors....its where they make their money.
buy HDMI cables online for $3-10max
make sure you dont plug the tv into the cable box as well.

lemme know if you have any more questions.

 

[proglife]

answer to question 1: as I understand it, no. What I've heard is if you actually get a direct hit from lightning, a surge protector isn't going to stop it. That's just what I've heard.

You didn't ask, but if you were up to it, you could take bake that home theater in a box and get an inexpensive two-channel amp and some used speakers and you'll be sounding WAY better. Add a PS3 to the mix as a cd player and blu-ray player and you're done.

 

[S.n.a.k.e.]

Stinky,

I went the component route from the start. Surge suppressors are good things if your power source is flaky, otherwise... I set mine for wattage display, and watch it spike during hockey games. It'll run the tv, ps3 and amp for around 4 minutes, allowing for 'graceful' shutdown.

 

[proglife]

ha...i was just watching AFV on a Panasonic plasma a little bit ago.

i don't recognize the speakers. what are they?

 

[S.n.a.k.e.]

ha...i was just watching AFV on a Panasonic plasma a little bit ago.

i don't recognize the speakers. what are they?

Onix x-mtm Front, x-cs center, x-ls rear surround from AV123. The company is a CS joy, and their prices are reasonable. All cables from monoprice.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

For a better picture, you want a power conditioner. Panamax makes some nice ones.

 

[jimmydean]

My wife hasn't been able to figure out the whole TV/DVD/AMP/Wii/Cable box thing, so I picked up a Logitech Harmony 720 remote on ebay for $75. You can set up "activities" that powers things on/off and switches the amp around so the correct inputs are switched. One button for "watch tv" and BAM! "Play Games" and BAM! "Watch DVD" and BAM!

It also has a recharging dock so I can train everyone to PUT THE REMOTE HERE WHEN NOT IN USE.

 

[IH8Rice]

as a manufacturer, we wont not honor your warranty if you dont use a surge protector, but itll just take longer for the local service center to get to your claim. a surge protector never hurts, especially where areas suffer from brown outs.
if you really want to protect your equipment, get a UPS. tv's with fans built into them to cool them down, could have their life span shortened if they dont cool down properly. a UPS will solve that problem when the power goes it, giving you a few minutes to properly shut your equipment down.

 

[Arkayne]

My wife hasn't been able to figure out the whole TV/DVD/AMP/Wii/Cable box thing, so I picked up a Logitech Harmony 720

I'll see your 720 and raise you my 1000

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I'll see your 720 and raise you my 1000

Why play games with those kids toys? Go big or go home! Go RTI

 

[Polandspring88]

No comment on your TV or home theater set up, but I approve of the reading material.

 

[jimmydean]

I'll see your 720 and raise you my 1000

The 3 main features that sold me on the 720:
Size (it's not any bigger than the cable remote)
PC configuring (no more code hunting)
Recharging doc station

The fact that it lights up when you pick it up off the couch, all the buttons are back lit, and it only took about 10 minutes to run through the config are just huge bonus points. For $75, I am damn happy with it.

If I had a bachelor lair, I would have the pimp remote that controls the whole pad.

<edit> and a touch screen no longer looks cool with jelly finger print on it.

 

[IH8Rice]

i have the logitech harmony 890 and it works okay.

logitech's products could use some refreshing in their design and with their docking station design on all their products.
i have their mice/keyboard combo's and their harmony remotes and they all suffer from a crappy charging base.
they did send me a new remote and charging base 2 years after the warranty at no charge and didnt ask for the old one back.
awesome

 

[jimmydean]

i have the logitech harmony 890 and it works okay.

logitech's products could use some refreshing in their design and with their docking station design on all their products.
i have their mice/keyboard combo's and their harmony remotes and they all suffer from a crappy charging base.
they did send me a new remote and charging base 2 years after the warranty at no charge and didnt ask for the old one back.
awesome

I went through 3 of the "One for all" $30 specials that never did all the functions of any of my components over the last 2 years. The cheesy soft buttons suck. So if this remote (that seems to actually do every function of everything) lasts me 2 years, it's a success.

 

[IH8Rice]

itll no doubt last that long....just make sure its actually charging when its on the base.

when i did custom home theaters, we primarily used Home Theater Master remotes because of its ease of use for the customer, rugged design......and we got to charge the customer for programming.
the Harmony remotes are great for do-it-yourselfers who know how to use a basic computer program.

 

[Arkayne]

<edit> and a touch screen no longer looks cool with jelly finger print on it.

I'm guilty, I had to wipe it down with a wet paper towel before I took the pic.

 

[Prettym1k3]

Got me a 50" Samsung Plasma 1080p a few months ago.

Watching Iron Man in BlueRay gives me a boner every time.

 

[I Are Baboon]

No comment on your TV or home theater set up, but I approve of the reading material.

LOL @ Playboy sitting out on the coffee table

 

[jimmydean]

LOL @ Playboy sitting out on the coffee table

Oh to be thrice divorced...

 

[Arkayne]

 

[IH8Rice]

that must be the original.


i woulda went with something hanging from the bike...those cranks look too easy

 

[stinkyboy]

Oh to be thrice divorced...

I watch a guy leaving work walking fast today: "I'm leaving right now honey! I'm on my way!"

 

[jimmydean]

I was going to get a theater in a box, but I opted for the Onkyo that does upconversion and HDMI audio (TX-SR606). So I will slowly piece together my Polk Audio 7.1 speaker system as funds allow.

Since I have a good 2 months before we move, I'm cool with the basic 2 towers right now.

 

[eric strt6]

well seiing as I live 1 mile from the San Andreas Fault and 15 miles from the epicenter of the last 7.1 earthquake we went with a wall mount secured into the studs with bolts and a seperate surge protector for the TV

 

[Serial Midget]

I bought a Vizio from Costco - it didn't come with any Playboys.

 

[DirtyMike]

Stinky, best surge protector you can buy is actually a battery backup. I see you have your PC hooked up to the tv, so that makes it an even better idea, a decent one is about a bill, I have two in my place

 

[IH8Rice]

Stinky, best surge protector you can buy is actually a battery backup. I see you have your PC hooked up to the tv, so that makes it an even better idea, a decent one is about a bill, I have two in my place

yup. they'll allow you to properly shut down your equipment. and youd want to do that with a computer or tv with a fan.

 

[stinkyboy]

Finally hooked it up and can give it a cool to meh rating.

The upconvert just seems to oversharpen or is that everything?

I watched a Dresdon Dolls vid and it gave me the Menu option of listening 5:1 which was nice, but everything else just plays through the front speakers. Do I need another cable?

Shops for BluRay player...

 

[IH8Rice]

you need to make sure that the HTIB is set to Dolby ProLogic or Dolby Digital(with a Dolby Digital source). ProLogic will turn a 2 channel signal into a 5.1 signal.
you also need to make sure that you have a optical or coax cable hooked from the cable/sat box to the HTIB's receiver.

the upconverting players that typically come in HTIB's are pretty cheap. if you want to see a dramatic improvement, get a decent BluRay player (they start at $149...which isnt a great unit, but will be better than the player in your HTIB)
the only downside with getting a secondary dvd player is that you will more than likely run out of digital audio inputs on your system. you need 1 for the cable/sat and another one for the bluray player...and possibly another for a video game system. most HTIB's typically only have 2 digital audio inputs. what model HTIB did you get?

also you want to put your sub on the ground and lower your left and right speakers to the same height as the center channel.

 

[narlus]

For a better picture, you want a power conditioner. Panamax makes some nice ones.

for $700 that better be quite an improvement.

 

[IH8Rice]

for $700 that better be quite an improvement.

its not

 

[AlmostHeaven]

well seiing as I live 1 mile from the San Andreas Fault and 15 miles from the epicenter of the last 7.1 earthquake we went with a wall mount secured into the studs with bolts and a seperate surge protector for the TV

for some reason, i have a feeling all of your preparation will end up being entirely futile and pointless. enjoy.

 

[stinkyboy]

what model HTIB did you get?

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665361519

 

[IH8Rice]

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665361519

you only have two digital audio inputs, so you are limited on what you can use for external video sources(audio wise at least).

what other pieces of equipment are you going to use?
ps3/xbox? bluray? cable/sat?

if youre looking for a bluray player, get the ps3 cause itll cover the video game portion and a blurray all in one, leaving you with a digital audio input for the cable/sat box.

 

[Arkayne]

for some reason, i have a feeling all of your preparation will end up being entirely futile and pointless. enjoy.