Home Theater Stuff Of Dan Claude

For a Home Theater

You need at least a Projector

1080p preffered 720p is ok

You need a 7.1 system with a great receiver or pre-amp+ Amp combo.

You need great speakers. and a Great sub.

You will in most cases want a good high gain fixed frame screen.

For a good 7.1 system I suggest you look at Kef iq7s for the front speakers a Kef iq6 for the center

Then get 4 Kef 2001.2 speakers for the surrounds.

For the projector

I suggest a Sanyo. Best buy has a great deal on a 1080p one right now.

You will also want some comfy furniture. Nothing sucks more than great sound and bad seating.

You will want 2 12 inch DIY kit subs from Dayton Express Preferably the Titanic Series.

You will also need to do some acoustical treatments.

Of course this list is exhuastive, but I don’t know your budget.

You will want to spend half your budget on a good display, half on your sound system and a another half on furniture(Hey I’m cheating on math)

Make sure you get the display calibrated using a Digital Video Essentials Disc.

On the sound system 80 percent goes to speakers 20 percent to the receiver.

of the speaker budget 40 percent should go to a subwoofer(DIY is preferred)

The other 60 percent of the speaker budget should comprise of 2/3rds going to the fronts and the center and 1/3rd to the surrounds.

You will want to match fronts and a center together from the same brand.

For a blu-ray player look at a ps3

I know there is more, but this is a start.
References :

James gave a great answer. I will give yet another alternative set of equipment:

Onkyo TX-SR receiver
SVS Subwoofer
Set of 5 monitor-style speakers from Energy, Paradigm, or even SVS (Which just made the Editors Choice list in Sound and Vision)

PS3 for the BluRay player
TV would be a Sony XBR LCD or if you have the money a Pioneer Kuro Plasma (Best picture ever)

Cheaper alternative would be a Sharp or Samsung LCD.

Buy your cables from http://www.bluejeanscables.com
Harmony Logitech Remote
References :

It is best to work with your space, the list this guy gave you is all good stuff, however, if you dont have room for it, what can you do?

I would shop around for a decent sized TV first, 1080p LCD’s are choice for what I think you’re going for. From there I’d get a good idea of how big the room is that you’re planning on doing this in, this is very important because it will help you choose the best speakers for the space. The common misconception when it comes to speakers is the bigger the better, or the more the better, but it is possible to "kill" a room (as they say in the industry). After you know how big the space is, I would talk to a specialist at Paradyme or Magnolia if you have either store near you, they are the most helpful and can really work with your budget and space to get the most out of what you’re looking for, especially if you’re a first time buyer. As for the 5.1 or 7.1 surround, let the specialist tell you what will work better in the room, unless you have an acoustically sound room you probably wont see the difference in 7.1.

Good luck!!
References :
Integrated Circuits and Electronics major/Studio Audio Recording major

I put together a list on Amazon for just such a purpose:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Hi-Def-Home-Theater-on-a-Budget/lm/R1M8CM8FMVSKF5/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full

I call it the "Best Hi-Def Home Theater on a Budget" because it’s a list of what are in my opinion the highest value products for what you’ll need for HD audio and video.

Note: The Panasonic DMP-BD35 is currently listed at a stupidly high $900. You can get this player from Costco for $280-$50 coupon=$230. (The deal runs from January 5th-25th.) The Rocketfish Wireless device is listed at $200 on Amazon, but goes for about $105 at Best Buy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=0NKEA4AUYDO45KC4D3FVAHI?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=rocketfish+wireless&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

All said and done it’ll cost you about $1,000 to go full HD audio and video. That includes a Blu-ray player, a receiver, a set of 5.1 speakers, wireless rear speaker kit, 3 HDMI cables, speaker cables and a surge protector. The TV is another story.

For a good HDTV there are a lot of factors to consider. First is size. I have a 32" and really wish I had gone bigger. I have a one bedroom apartment, so this isn’t even a large room I’m talking about. I would start at 40" and consider going larger. The second thing to consider is whether you want an LCD or a plasma. All things considered they should be evaluated as equals. Features you’ll want to consider are resolution (1080p is a must), refresh rate (go with 120Hz), and contrast ratio (ideally at least 50,000:1). Lastly, you need to consider brand name. Sony is overpriced in my opinion, so if I were going with an LCD I’d look at Samsung. Panasonic makes some great plasmas. The ideal TV ranges from about $1,000-$2,500 but you should be able to get a good one for no more than $1,500. Good luck.
References :

You have some interesting guidelines for how to monitor your budget when looking at a home theater. Thanks