thudabot Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Hi all I'm hoping to get some input from you guys about my plans to upgrade the whole living room area, though I'd post in here as it covers multiple bits of equipment. I have a 6 week old bub now so I don't have as much time anymore for viewing in-store and even read a lot on here. FYI the living area is very roomy (open plan with dining and kitchen, the wall where all this is going is 3.6m wide and the sitting position will be 3.5m away from the wall). I'm planning on wall mounting the plasma. I want to stick to all Pioneer brand for receiver and Plasma. I have speakers lined up. I have done a bit of research and this is my plan and I also have some questions and open to ideas/comments: Pioneer Kuro 508XDA 50" - worried that 720p is not enough as I'm planning on keeping this gear for 10 years +. I am aware that at that distance there is negligible quality difference but I don't know. What about Blue Ray and HD - will 1080p still look the same or better??? Budget is going to get out of hand if I have to go to the 1080P Pioneer VSX-LX50 receiver, because of HDMI upconverting, doesn't do upscaling though?? Can't find info on this. Topfield 7000PVR, know of a few FW issues but appears to be best on market, although Beyonwiz Is also looking good but is it worth looking at or just stick with the toppy? Have the LG 160gb PVR at the moment and hasn't missed a beat. PS3 - will used as a blue ray, cd and DVD player. Goind to run HDMI from Kuro to receiver then everything else off component - is this ok? If I want to just watch TV, without turning on the PVR I'm assuming I need a double adapter for the antenna (have wall socket) one for the tv STB and one for PVR, then can I also plug the radio in somewhere (I know it can plug into the antenna socket in the wall), that's like 3 connections for antenna?? recommendations??? Surge protector board recommendations? Sorry for long post but I want to get this sorted out in the next few days and as I said I don't have much time, thought it'd be easier for the info to be in one area. Cheers in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spero D. Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) Looks like you will have a nice setup. I would go with a Belkin PureAV surge power board or rack mountable unit. The only glaring obvious thing I see that you are missing is a HD-DVD player (unless you are not supporting HD-DVD). Besides that looks good. Edited December 10, 2007 by Spero D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50mxe20 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Pioneer Kuro 508XDA 50" - worried that 720p is not enough as I'm planning on keeping this gear for 10 years +. I am aware that at that distance there is negligible quality difference but I don't know. What about Blue Ray and HD - will 1080p still look the same or better??? Budget is going to get out of hand if I have to go to the 1080PI've got a pio 50MXE20 at about 3.5 metre and when I feed/use the HD-DVD player as a source it is awesome. I find it hard to reconcile the need to go to a 1080 display. Pioneer VSX-LX50 receiver, because of HDMI upconverting, doesn't do upscaling though?? Can't find info on this. I'm not a big fan of upscaling in the receiver. Either let the plasma do it or do it at the source (DVD player) Topfield 7000PVR, know of a few FW issues but appears to be best on market, although Beyonwiz Is also looking good but is it worth looking at or just stick with the toppy? Have the LG 160gb PVR at the moment and hasn't missed a beat. I think this is pretty stable these days. Oct 15 f/w. I like mine although I wish it had a larger HDD. I have an external HDD I attach to it when needed. I've also got heaps of high bit rate MP3's stored on it. Pretty reasonable quality playing. PS3 - will used as a blue ray, cd and DVD player. A reasonable option I guess. Don't have one (yet), think I prefer a BD player. Goind to run HDMI from Kuro to receiver then everything else off component - is this ok? Lucky you. I don't uet have a receiver with HDMI. If I want to just watch TV, without turning on the PVR I'm assuming I need a double adapter for the antenna (have wall socket) one for the tv STB and one for PVR, then can I also plug the radio in somewhere (I know it can plug into the antenna socket in the wall), that's like 3 connections for antenna?? recommendations??? Surge protector board recommendations? Yes. Agree with the other poster. An HD-DVD Toshiba XE-1 is awesome and region free. Does an excellent job of playing normal SD DVDs as well and is also very good for playing music CDs. Save the money on the 1080 plasma and put it towards one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 sweet probably just gonna stick with Blueray rather than HD DVD i may have upconverting and upscaling mixed up (remember i have baby brain) but I thought the advantage of this would be that I can have all video coming out of HDMI Lyle are you talking about the toppy? can attach an external HDD to it? Belkin sounds good for surge thanx Spero any ideas what to do with the aerial situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50mxe20 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 sweetprobably just gonna stick with Blueray rather than HD DVD i may have upconverting and upscaling mixed up (remember i have baby brain) but I thought the advantage of this would be that I can have all video coming out of HDMI Lyle are you talking about the toppy? can attach an external HDD to it? Belkin sounds good for surge thanx Spero any ideas what to do with the aerial situation? My plan is to have both. HD-DVD and BD.Can't believe it I just put everything into a spreadsheet. When my orders all get here, I'll have 41 HD-DVDs. Yes to upconverting. I will get there too. Just waiting for AVRs to sort themselves out and to get past the silly season (Xmas). Yes, Toppy 7000HDPVRt. I currently am using a Matrox external to store extra files and to get things from the PVR to the PC. Not sure what my surge protector is. I just went along with the installer. Whatever he recommended. I also have the whole house on a Clipsal cut-out. Re: Antennae. I'm just using what was in the house when I bought it. For expert advice I'd call an antennae guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 thanks lyle i guess what i want to know with the antenae - i want to be able to watch tv without turning on the avr and set top box, so i will need to plug in the tv's tuner into the socket, but i need the toppy to be plugged in also - so double adapter plugged into wall socket should be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 thanks lylei guess what i want to know with the antenae - i want to be able to watch tv without turning on the avr and set top box, so i will need to plug in the tv's tuner into the socket, but i need the toppy to be plugged in also - so double adapter plugged into wall socket should be right. thud, I had to get a kinray 4 way splitter ampifier. take the amplifier input to it and runs one signal to the tv for its tuner, two to the toppy for its tuners and one to my am fm radio. if you get an antena guy in he'll sort you out on all that. lyle the discs soon add up dotn they. I've been making sure I flog off any discs I reckon I may not want to watch again and thats with both dvd and hi-def. keeping in mind could always borrow from quikflix too which is a great option. as a dvd player the xe1 thudabot is really worth considering if getting a nice tv and watching dvds and plus its great as will open the door for you to hd dvd as well. re a surge board I got the $55 one from jaycar myself. been through brown outs and power flicks and what not since and nothings died on me yet ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salamagd1503559711 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 thanks lylei guess what i want to know with the antenae - i want to be able to watch tv without turning on the avr and set top box, so i will need to plug in the tv's tuner into the socket, but i need the toppy to be plugged in also - so double adapter plugged into wall socket should be right. The Topfield has RF in and out, so just go from the wall to your Toppy then from there to the TV, no need for a double adapter. I'd second some of the other posters about optical drives... unless you rarely listen to CDs, you'll find it a pain to have to fire up the PS3 every time and navigate through the on-screen menus every time you want to hear a CD. Either consider a dedicated Bluray or HD-DVD player that can also play CDs, or just pick up a cheap <$100 DVD player for CD duty. Oh yeah and also you should run HDMI from the PS3 to the receiver (wasn't clear on whether you were planning to do this already). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix.. Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) thudabot The PS3 is probably still the best all round Blu-ray player out there at the moment. It's also potentially the most future proof. It may not appeal to those who prefer the aesthetic of a standalone but for sheer value it can't be beat right at the minute. If you're a movie buyer you should definitely consider importing a region A model as many on this forum have succesfully done. Region locking of BD titles appears if anything to be on the increase and the range of titles available from the US and pricing is substantially superior to the Oz market at the present time, as a general rule. However if you envisage yourself to be more of a BD renter, say through Quickflix, then a local PS3 would likely be the preferred option. Obviously you know better than us your own budgets and preferences but you probably at the very least keep HD DVD on the radar and plan for it as a potential upgrade even if it is not on the immediate buy list. I still personally prefer it slightly to Blu-ray in terms of being region free as well as providing the best looking images on my Pioner LX608A plasma although admittedly Blu-ray has narrowed that gap significantly in the past 6 months with some of its fine recent releases. The cost of the players are also dropping rapidly and you could pick up a second hand one for under $250 on these forums. With regards to the Beyonwiz v Toppy decision I say go with the 7000PVRt unless you have specific needs that only the Wiz can satisfy. As a Beyonwiz owner I can only claim to be reasonably satisfied with this acquisition. Whilst far from my worst purchase I've ever made it nonetheless does have its "issues" and I still think there is a decent price difference in favour of the Toppy. Hope some of this helps. You'll just adore the Kuro 508XDA btw! Felix. Edited December 10, 2007 by Felix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50mxe20 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 The Topfield has RF in and out, so just go from the wall to your Toppy then from there to the TV, no need for a double adapter. Yes, that is correct. I misunderstood the question. Most PVR's and STB's have this capability. The splitter that Al talks about is not a bad thing to have if you have a weak signal. I added one to my system to overcome a problem and it may or may not have helped. It's hard to know if it wasn't just crap Channel 7 transmissions at the time. Anyway I've left it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 (edited) some excelent ideas guys, thanks heaps, the HD DVD sounds good for CD playing but i think i'll be out of cash well before this excercise is over, i think you are right felix the ps3 will do everything i need. it's decided then - the toppy and the 508XDA it is. salamagd - i read that in the PDF manual about the rf out but you explained it much clearer Ale - looked at jaycar website, can't seem to find their power surge boards, any more detail on the $55 one? Any money I can save will be good. Might get some banana plugs from them while I'm there. btw what colour cabinet do you reckon would look good considering all the gear is black? i thought black cabinet and black equipment might be too much black and i saw a white cabinet.....but not sure i think it may look ok with the contrast of white cabinet and black everything else, dunno. Edited December 10, 2007 by thudabot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Thudabot; the LX50 only deinterlaces interlaced signals to progressive ; it doesnt scale. For that you must go to the LX60 which has a faroudja chip. Ime with Lyle but ; even the faroudja isnt the latest. With the cabinet ; ebony and ivory go together in perfect harmony... sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 haha so do you think the LX50 is overkill then? maybe get something a few models down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50mxe20 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Jarrah looks nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOAZ Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 [Ale - looked at jaycar website, can't seem to find their power surge boards, any more detail on the $55 one? Any money I can save will be good. Might get some banana plugs from them while I'm there. refer below: Home Theatre Powerboard with Mains Filter, Telephone, Video and TV Protection: CAT. NO. MS4024 http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?I...=&SUBCATID= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 hahaso do you think the LX50 is overkill then? maybe get something a few models down? Depends on whether you want dolby truehd/dts hd decoding on board thudabot.If you want dts hdma decoding now its ready to take it from say the lx70a. If not there are some nice models lower down the range that can decode the lossless codecs as pcm - kamma sold one recently. As allways let your ears decide; atm no players can decode dts hdma to output pcm ;but that could change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 cool, might look at the lx60 thanks for the jaycar link koaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 is it worth e getting the LX60 which upconverts to 1080p on a 768p panel - the 508XDA? Also are banana plugs off ebay any good, any one know ? In particular these http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...=tab%3DWatching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho! Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 is it worth e getting the LX60 which upconverts to 1080p on a 768p panel - the 508XDA?Also are banana plugs off ebay any good, any one know ? In particular these http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...=tab%3DWatching I can vouch for Selby gear and their fantastic service. I bought a lot of Banana plugs form them recently the all metal ones. Re the PVR have you checked out the Aussie made Digitaview PVR. I recently had a quick showinf of one of these hooked up to the Piooneer you are considering ( I am after the 60" myself) and the Digital View was very impressive indeeed. Here is a quote from a DTV forum member recently about the Digitview. I've owned one of these (DigitalView PVR-810) for about 6 weeks. I bought it in Perth from Westcoast Hi Fi for $1200 with the standard 320Gb harddrive. Most retailers quoted me the standard RRP of $1399, several said they were on sale at $1299, finally I squeezed them down to $1200.After having owned and returned (for refund) both a Sony HD900 and Topfield TF7000PVRt for various issues both companies could not resolve, may I say if you want a Twin HD PVR then this is it. If you want a media centre why are you even looking at PVR's. Cut to the chase and get a laptop with HD tuners. However, if you simply want to record HD TV and avoid ads by the excellent skip and editing functions, then you can't go past the PVR-810. I haven't watched commercial free-to-air TV for years as I can't stand watching ads. Anyway, don't believe me, go to DigitalView's website and you can download a review by Audio & Video Lifestyle magazine that frankly, says it all. I can only give DigitalView accolades for producing an excellent product that is backed by excellent support. To answer several questions from other posts: Yes, the Tv stations will be transmitting 7 days of EPG from Jan 01; see Free TV and go to the PDF document under 'FREE TV NETWORKS TO BROADCAST INDUSTRY ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE', Yes, you can view the HDD temperature at anytime. I've never seen it past 54 deg C., Yes, DigitalView are working on a firmware release to allow up to 1Tb harddrive, Yes, it doesn't constantly run the harddrive and record a buffer of the current channel as this reduces the harddrive's life. Hope this helps anyone considering buying one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 (edited) thanks for the headsup and the feedback on the selby gear, they do look proffesional can't see any of those features being of benefit for me regarding the Digitalview though What about the receiver question? Edited December 19, 2007 by thudabot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 anyone, any feedback on the receiver option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 allright guys with the prices drop on the Kuros i'm getting the 50" LX508 and the LX60 receiver i will have the toppy, PS3 run into the receiver via HDMI was wandering if anyone here would also run component cables from the toppy and PS3 directly to the TV for instances when you want to just use the PS3 or toppy for eg. and the TV without switching on the receiver. i know i'm getting picky but just trying to cover all angles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 allreight it's been a while since this post but i have my gear. wanted to thank everyone who contributed and helped me decide on the gear. i have ended up with the following: Pioneer 50" Kuro LX508 LX60 receiver PS3 Topfield 7000TF 250GB PVR My first impression were - WOW unbelivable picture quality, best I have seen and looked much better than anything in the shops I have seen on display. Loving all the gear so far. Just getting used to the slow tuner now ! I have a few other issues which I'm going to post in the HDTV forum. Check out my sig for pics and equipment. Thanks again to you guys this forum rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix.. Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Nice pics Yeah it's a mighty fine TV aint it! Are you getting any buzz from the LX508A? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thudabot Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 yeah i've only heard it coz i put my ear to the panel though. i'm 4m away so cant hear it. i tell you what though, how hot does the panel get, i could feel the heat coming off it from 1/2m away !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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