Are these A/V items good ones?

[Stiganator]

..

 

[krotchy]

Verygood choice for TV, PS3 is a Solid console. I don't use Dish so I can't vouch for that DVR in particular, but any HD capable DVR is a must have IMO.

 

[s44]

Make sure your receiver does multichannel PCM over HDMI (basically, if it can take audio over HDMI you're fine).

 

[JackBurton]

The Samsung 7 series is a great TV and the PS3 is a fantastic Blu-ray player. Great choices. The only thing I'd change is, get a 52" 7 series instead.

 

[kalrith]

There's a very large thread on the TR-50 (now termed DTVPal DVR) at avsforum. It seems like it should be a solid device. I was thinking about getting one but am changing my mind for a couple of reasons. One of the biggies is the way recordings will be made. Right now I can go to Survivor: Gabon, choose record all, and it will record everything on every channel at any time titled Survivor: Gabon. With the TR-50, you'll have a guide like that, but the recordings will be set for a specific time slot on a specific channel. For example, during March Madness when Survivor moves to Wednesday night instead of Thursday night, the TR-50 would still record whatever's on from 7-8 on Thursday night. It also doesn't distinguish between new and old episodes, so it won't skip any old episodes.

The real kicker for me is that I can build a much better setup for the same price with Linux. I have enough spare parts for a Linux computer. All I need is a 1TB hdd and a dual-ATSC tuner (HD Homerun). I'll have the Linux computer do all the recordings with MythTV, which will do all of the things I mentioned above that the TR-50 won't. The best part is that I'll install Linux on my PS3, and it will sync with the Linux DVR box and function just like a DVR should with a live-TV buffer, the ability to set show recordings, etc. I'll also have 4 times as much room as the TR-50. I was concerned about electricity usage, so I used my Kill-A-Watt to check, and it should cost less than $30 per year to run the Linux box 24/7.

I know my setup isn't for everyone, but it'll work well for me. I mainly wanting to point out the shortcomings of the TR-50. It's a great device for the price, but it's not for everyone.

Edit: I'll add two possible negatives about the PS3. It can't transmit the HD audio formats over analog, so the only way to get those formats is with an HDMI reciever that can take the audio (i.e. it's not just HDMI passthrough). If you don't know what I'm talking about, some receivers, such as my Panasonic XR55, have a separate analog input for each of the speaker channels. Many BD players can be connected to those inputs and transmit the HD audio formats. The PS3 cannot.

The second negative is the lack of an IR remote. This isn't a big deal if you don't mind juggling remotes, but it is a big deal if you want to use a universal remote for everything. Basically there are two options for integrating a universal IR remote. The cheap way (~$20) is to buy a Nyko Blu-wave remote (I'll probably be selling mine soon) and use the USB IR receiver from that. It has limited capabilities (I think it has less than half of the PS3 bluetooth remote's buttons), most notably the inability to turn the console on and off. The more-expensive way (~$100) is to get an IR-to-BT transmitter, 4 of which are mentioned in this thread on avsforum. I'll be getting one of them in the near future.