26"/27" TV recommendations, and dvd players

[dean_martin]

Now I need to decide whether to keep my audio side 2 channel, and or go with a few more channels. .

I started a home theater w/an integrated amp, dvd player and 2 speakers. I was on my way to a 5.1 system but stopped after I got a subwoofer. Saved myself the expense of a receiver and 3 additional speakers. The subwoofer adds more to movies than I expected. Consider keeping your Roksan gear and going 2.1 especially if space is limited.

[IRG]

I started a home theater w/an integrated amp, dvd player and 2 speakers. I was on my way to a 5.1 system but stopped after I got a subwoofer. Saved myself the expense of a receiver and 3 additional speakers. The subwoofer adds more to movies than I expected. Consider keeping your Roksan gear and going 2.1 especially if space is limited.

..with your thoughts here. This room really doesn't lend itself to mulitple speakers everywhere. I may though, as you suggested, add a sub. That would help with the lowest octaves. And no HT receivers are going to sound as good as what I have now, as I have one already in my other system and can attest to that. Thanks for your comments.

[pwh03]

I;d keep the votes going for all toshiba, reading a post here toshiba got the best budget dvd player. I think its in the news and rumors section, and there tvs seem to be one of the most reliable according to woodman (local tv expert) and consumer report (you can take that for what you like). I think you would be happpy with that. However widescreen would be nice but I don't know much about phillips.

don;t see a big need for HD especially if your going to have a bigger setup somewhere else in the house save your money for that.

Same thing goes for the 5.1 setup 2.1 would be plenty especially if the room is smaller and akward, its not worth the hassle if your going to have a bigger setup down stairs.

Good luck
hope this helps
PH

[IRG]

I;d keep the votes going for all toshiba, reading a post here toshiba got the best budget dvd player. I think its in the news and rumors section, and there tvs seem to be one of the most reliable according to woodman (local tv expert) and consumer report (you can take that for what you like). I think you would be happpy with that. However widescreen would be nice but I don't know much about phillips.

don;t see a big need for HD especially if your going to have a bigger setup somewhere else in the house save your money for that.

Same thing goes for the 5.1 setup 2.1 would be plenty especially if the room is smaller and akward, its not worth the hassle if your going to have a bigger setup down stairs.

Good luck
hope this helps
PH

Well, it wasn't the Toshiba, for 2 reasons. One, Sears didn't have it in stock, and 2 I liked the overall look of the Sony better. Screen wise, both were very good. Hard to reallay tell until you take them home, and set them up. But at the store the Toshiba seemed a little warmer, the Sony a little sharper, but both really good. I liked the actual construction of the Sony better though, and with a kid in the house that likes buttons, the Toshiba was a little bit more exposed to this. I liked the case of the Sony better. It actually looks like a bigger TV. Plus at Sears, since the Sony cost a little more, it qualified for 0% interest with my card, where the Toshiba wouldn't.

I also got the matching Sony dvd player, and so far I am very impressed. The one problem I have, is with my cable box, it isn't working yet. I am going home at lunch to see if they have reset it, as I called their office this morning. So for now, I get nothing as far as channels go.

For a stand, I found a bargain silver unit at Target for $50, but this may be short lived. It is supposed to be for 36" TVs, but my 27" almost fills up the entire top. The Sony is so heavy though, that I can already tell it is starting to sag a little bit. It needs a center support, which it doesn't have. So this may go back to Target, and then I will look at Sears for something more substantial, but more $.

I am glad I didn't go any bigger than 27" in this room, as it is, it is almost too big. A small lcd display would have been cool, but too much $. Seems funny that a TV as big as I got, weighing 100 lbs, with a huge 2" glass flat panel display, case, shipping etc., should cost less (and a lot less) than much smaller flat panel lcd display. I know the technology is different, but materials and shipping should have to account for quite a bit too I would suspect.

For now, I am going to stay with the 2 channel audio, though I may add a sub at some point. Thanks to everyone who wrote.

[dean_martin]

The Wegas are heavy. I have a 20" in my bedroom. I went with a discontinued Salamander audio rack at a pretty good discount from www.audioadvisor.com The Sony sits atop it nicely. For the size and weight of your TV you may have to look at some of the more expensive a/v furniture brands like Salamander, Sanus, Standdesign, Target (not the chain store), etc. Most are well-built with solid materials. I still think they're overpriced in general, but if you can find a demo rack or a sale on an older model you might get more quality per $$$. I've also used a nightstand and an end table for tvs (hand-me-down furniture from my bachelor days).

[IRG]

The Wegas are heavy. I have a 20" in my bedroom. I went with a discontinued Salamander audio rack at a pretty good discount from www.audioadvisor.com The Sony sits atop it nicely. For the size and weight of your TV you may have to look at some of the more expensive a/v furniture brands like Salamander, Sanus, Standdesign, Target (not the chain store), etc. Most are well-built with solid materials. I still think they're overpriced in general, but if you can find a demo rack or a sale on an older model you might get more quality per $$$. I've also used a nightstand and an end table for tvs (hand-me-down furniture from my bachelor days).

Most AV furniture is very overpriced. It seems like the simpler the design, the more it costs. I have a very nice audio rack I spent almost $300 on, and now it sits unused. It was too small for this TV, overwise I would use it. I look at AA now and then, but usually their products are more than I want to spend. I'll keep looking around.

I did fix my cable problem today. It seems the previous owner of my home had tried to splice together a broken part of the cable, and didn't do a good job. I have a temporary fix, that for now is fine. I will probably go to RS or BB to get a better part for this. But all is well. Now I can start tweaking with the TV set and dvd player. Oh what fun!