I have extensive experience with computers and wiring, some with electronics, and plenty with consumer electronic, but very (very) little with home theater.
This is for my own place.
I visited a friend yesterday who has a Panasonic 58" Plasma, a Denon rcvr and a Control4 controller and was blown away.
I'm ready to scrap what I have now.
What I want is a big (58" or 65") plasma (maybe the TH-65PZ750U or the TH58PZ700U), with a receiver, CD, DVD player that also plays my many thousands of MP3's.
The MP3's are already on a network accessible NAS drive.
The location for the system is already wired for power, ethernet and speakers.
Can I simply get away with a Panasonic Plasma, a Denon AVR-3808CI receiver, and a DVD-2930CI DVD player?
Will this setup allow me to play my NAS-residing audio files well?
Will it display and let me browse/select the file/song info on screen?
Will the DVD-2930CI play both commercial movie DVD's as well as commercial music CDs? Is it Blu-ray?
Can I use my existing speakers (front set: Bic DV62si; rear set: Polk model S4; no front/center speaker to speak of; subwoofer)?
Will a drywall on metal studs wall hold the nearly 200lb TV?
I'm using RCN cable now (digital, HD), but will hopefully be switching to Verizon FIOS when available. Does this play a role?
WOW, there are a lot of questions here but by the look of it all the answers are generally yes except that the DVD player you have spec'ed is not Blu-Ray. For the cost of it I might suggest looking into something like the DVD-2500BTCI unless there was something you really liked about the 2930CI.
Regarding the Control4 you would have to be a bit more specific. Control4 makes a lot of home automation equipment. IF it simply the remote control I would suggest a Harmon remote.
This doesn't cover everything but hopefully it is a start. I get confused when dealing with too many things all at once
I should have been specific -- it's the control4 HC300. I'm really not sure what it would add to the system if I get a network-ready receiver. Is my thinking right on this?
One of the things that is important is being able to browse and sort the list of MP3 on the TV (and then play them on the system, of course).
The DVD-2500BTCI looks very nice. DO you think a substantially less expensive unit, like the Samsung BDP1400 is good too?
Joe the first thing I want to point out is that the TVs and the samsung Blu-ray 1400 are all older devices than what is available today. TH-65PZ850U and the TH-65PZ850U have replaced the units you mentioned. "The Panasonic VIERA® HDTV PZ850 Series introduces an exciting new feature called VIERA Cast. VIERA Cast is a web menu that's built into the television, letting you enjoy great online entertainment like YouTube videos and your digital photos on Picasa Web Albums, all with just a click of a button - - no PCs or external boxes are required. You can also get instant weather updates as well as the latest financial information from Bloomberg Television." A possible better buy than the Panasonics may be the Pioneer Elite PRO-151 60 " plasma. "Set your sites on a flat panel so technologically advanced that it can connect to an existing home network to go beyond just a television. Our exclusive Home Media Gallery allows you to enjoy HD movies, digital photos and music all in the comfort of your living room." (description are copied from there web sites).
The Pro-151 looks great, but $5,000 is out of my budget.
The TH58PZ700U is available for as low as $2,200.
Is the Pro-151 really that much better?
I just want to double check on the receiver -- will a network connected receiver display a list of my MP3 files on the TV, allowing me to select/search files and play them on the system?
I was not comparing the TH58PZ700U to the PRO-151 but the newer TH-65PZ850U. $2,200 sound like a nice price make sure you buy from an authorized dealer. I have never hooked up a TV to a network so I really don't have any answers on that.
