Looking for a TV and... something.

[MotF Bane]

Budget is $700-1000. Looking for an LCD HDTV, 1080p, probably 120hz. Couch to TV about 7', recliner to TV about 12'. Planning to just go to Best Buy, find something we like, and then find a cheap price. We currently have the most basic cable service possible, I'm trying to get parents to move up to FiOS Essentials for this.

The part I don't understand - getting everything to work together. We have a circa-2000 Aiwa 5.1 surround sound, with a busted receiver (intact speakers though); plus a Sylvania DVD/VHS player. My Windows Home Server is well-stocked with .avi and .mkv videos in SD, 720, and 1080. I'm even open to putting the WHS next to the TV physically, it's new stuff (E5200 CPU, etc), if that would work.

Thanks.

 

[Raduque]

Can't recommend using the WHS as a playback machine. It's not meant to be used day-in-day-out from the windows UI. It's meant to be used from the network console. Installing playback stuff could very well mess with the WHS services - they're pretty finicky, IME.

What are you trying to accomplish with your setup? Creating a Home theater-ish experience, or just improving watching TV/movies at home?

If you're going for a Home Theater setup, the Aiwa speakers aren't likely to be good enough, so you might as well dump them and get good speakers along with a new reciever. If you're going this route, have you thought about building a full-out HTPC to play the remote content from the WHS? You can use it to upscale DVDs using FFdshow, and if you get the right video card and pair it with a BRD drive you can watch retail discs(Windows 7 and Arcsoft Total Media Theater 3 Ultra recommended). It can even do PVR double-duty if you get a roomy HD and a good PCIE capture card to input the signal from the cable box.

If you're just looking to improve watching TV/Movies at home, the TV's speakers are good enough so you won't even need the Aiwa speakers, and the Sylvania DVD player will probably be adequate, if it has at least an S-Video connection.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Raduque
If you're going for a Home Theater setup, the Aiwa speakers aren't likely to be good enough, so you might as well dump them and get good speakers along with a new reciever.

At this budget, it may not be an option... Getting a cheap used/refurb receiver to go with the speakers isn't a bad stopgap.

If you're going this route, have you thought about building a full-out HTPC to play the remote content from the WHS? You can use it to upscale DVDs using FFdshow, and if you get the right video card and pair it with a BRD drive you can watch retail discs(Windows 7 and Arcsoft Total Media Theater 3 Ultra recommended).

PS3 + PlayOn is a much better solution.