Family Room
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 56 Registered: May-06 | I'd really like to own a house with a basement someday, so I can do this up right, but for a family room, I'm very pleased: Electronics Sony KDS-60A2000 60" SXRD Rear Projection TV Pioneer VSX-D912K Receiver Sony DVP-NS400D DVD Sony CDP-CX300 CD (x2) Toshiba D-RW2 DVD Recorder Pioneer DV-563A DVD-V/DVD-A/SACD player Technics SA-GX390 Stereo Receiver DLO HomeDock Deluxe iPod Dock One for All URC-9910 Universal Remote Speakers Boston Acoustics VR940 (front) Boston Acoustics VR910 (center) Boston Acoustics CR65 (rear) Boston Acoustics PV700 powered subwoofer Klipsch KHO-7 outdoor speakers  We previously had a floorstanding 52" GE TV that did not require a stand. Rather than buying a new entertainment stand when we got the Sony, we bought the center piece that the TV sits on. I think it would look better if the TV stand were wide enough to fill the gaps. Obviously, this entertainment stand is not made for 60" TVs.  A picture of the seating area, our rear speakers and our 3-year-old.  A shot of our outdoor speakers, powered by a second receiver. |
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Silver Member Username: Bill984Post Number: 247 Registered: Oct-05 | COOL. |
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Silver Member Username: TunasaladCalifornia US Post Number: 105 Registered: Dec-05 | Nice. I have the KDS60A2000 as well and I love it. I do have to add that the most satisfiying purchase I ever made was buying a PS3 to go with it. I would highly recommend it, even if you aren't really into games because the Blu-Ray is great. Nice speakers to go with it. I like the center placement, although when I placed my center there, it annoyed me that the front inputs were blocked. Stefan |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 61 Registered: May-06 | Thank you, Stefan. I love the new Sony TV as well. It's quite a step up from the 52" GE I had before. Thank you for the Blu-Ray suggestion. I've noticed that standalone Blu-Ray players are coming down in price ($700). Maybe if I were to see a demo of a Blu-Ray movie, I would be more motivated to seriously consider buying a player. I'm sure the experience is spectacular. As for my center channel placement, I had originally planned on putting the speaker in the TV stand, but it is about 1/4" too wide for the enclosure! I didn't even think to measure it, but it's probably better where it is, closer to the height of my main speakers. Not having access to the front inputs doesn't bother me too much; I just use the front audio/video inputs of my receiver when I want to hook up a video game, video camera, etc. --Nathan |
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Silver Member Username: TunasaladCalifornia US Post Number: 107 Registered: Dec-05 | Blu-Ray Players are not completely out of reach. I wasn't prepared to shell out $650 or so for a PS3, so naturally I went to craigslist.com where I bought a new-in-box PS3 for $480 with no tax. Also, do you get hd cable programming from the Sony's tuner? Stefan |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 62 Registered: May-06 | The only time I've used the built-in tuner was when our satellite was out and I needed to rig something up so we could watch the Oscars. I have not done a direct comparison, but I have heard that the Sony's HD tuner outperforms the ones in most cable/satellite receivers, but it's nice to be able to have the over-the-air stations integrated in the on-screen guide and not have to switch between the HDMI input and the HDTV antenna. --Nathan |
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Silver Member Username: TunasaladCalifornia US Post Number: 108 Registered: Dec-05 | The quality that you get from the good hd broadcasts, usually cbs in my opinion, is almost comparable to Blu-Ray. The sharpness and colors aren't as good on the hd cable and the motion artifacts are very evident, but the overall quality is similar. Stefan |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 63 Registered: May-06 | Unfortunately, CBS is the one local channel I cannot tune over the air. We are switching from DirecTV to DishNetwork this weekend. I have heard that Dish has somewhat better HD quality than DirecTV, but I'm sure there are people who would say the opposite. I don't know if you watch much basketball, but do you notice any kind of graininess with your Sony when looking at the basketball court? That's the only time I ever notice this effect. Since NBA games are sometimes on NBC, I should see how it looks via the antenna to see if there's a difference. |
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Silver Member Username: TunasaladCalifornia US Post Number: 109 Registered: Dec-05 | The only bsaketball that I watched was the All-Star weekend on TNT. For me, TNT is standard definition and average. I have never even heard of basketball on NBC. Mostly I watch CSI and Law and Order, which generally looks very good. How many HD channels do you get? I wasn't willing to shell out the extra $20 per month for digital and then have to shell out an extra $5 per month for HD cable, and the $10 per month for a DVR. The analog service from Comcast ($45 or so per month) also has many hd channels built in, (if you have the right tuner, hehehe).I realized that the only extra hd programming that would be available for the extra $35 per month would be Discovery, TNT, and A&E, plus like 5 hd movies on ON DEMAND. The quality is great and I would highly recommend that service as opposed to satellite. Stefan |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 64 Registered: May-06 | According to the DishNetwork website, the HD channels available are: A&E HD Animania HD Discovery HD Theater DISH Network PPV in HD Equator HD ESPN HD ESPN2 HD Family Room HD Film Fest HD Food Network HD GamePlay HD Gallery HD HBO HD* HDNet HDNet Movies HDNews HGTV HD Kung Fu HD Monsters HD National Geographic Channel HD* NFL Network HD Rave HD Rush HD Showtime HD* Starz HDTV* TNT HD Treasure HD Ultra HD Universal HD World Cinema HD WorldSport HD Granted, a few of those are premium channels and some of those I would probably never watch... Our monthly bill for Dish, phone and internet (AT&T) will be $104/month for the first year, and then it goes up to $130 or something. The Dish part is actually only about $20/month for the first year after all the rebates, etc., and that includes HD, 200 channels, etc. That seems too good to be true, but that's why my wife tells me (she made all the calls to cancel DirecTV and sign up with Dish). She also talked to Comcast, but we decided Dish had the best deal. If Dish starts raising their rates, taking away channels, etc. like DirecTV did, then who knows, we may be subscribing to Comcast in a couple years. We'll be using 1 HD DVR (for the Sony TV) and an SD DVR (split between two other TVs). |
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Silver Member Username: TunasaladCalifornia US Post Number: 111 Registered: Dec-05 | How does the HD DVR look? Also, did it come from the dish company or is it a Tivo or something? Lastly, is it expensive to buy and then have monthy fees? Stefan |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 65 Registered: May-06 | I don't have the HD DVR yet, but I believe it's the VIP622 if you want to look it up. It's not TiVo-based, but supposedly the DVR is pretty good and has something analogous to Season Pass, etc. Ok, I was a little off on the prices, but here's the breakdown, according to my wife (rounded up to the nearest dollar): $48.00 for America's Top 200 5.00 for local channels 20.00 for the HD package 6.00 for the HD/DVR (DVR fee) 6.00 for the SD/DVR (DVR fee) - 4.00 for AT&T Discount -10.00 HD rebate for the first 10 months -35.00 new customer rebate for first year ------ $36.00 for the first 10 months $46.00 for months 11 and 12 $81.00 after that That's still less than what we're paying for DirecTV, plus we get a lot more channels (regular and HD) and free HBO for three months. We also would've had to pay DirecTV $300 for an HD-DVR, and I have not heard good things about the HR-20. By the way, we didn't have to pay for any Dish equipment, so I assume we don't own it. --Nathan |
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Silver Member Username: WestcottLeague City, Texas Post Number: 163 Registered: Oct-05 | Congratulations. That is a beautiful display and the stand looks just fine. I also like the color choice for the room. It was the same color to coordinate we were considering before we got a call saying the fabric for the couches we chose originally was discontinued. Have you considered a better OTA antenna. Placing one on the roof or in the attic is not too difficult and will pay for itself in no time. I prefer the OTA signal for local channels, even over the ones provided by Dishnetwork. Far less compression and OTA is free! PBS's National Geographic looks awesome! Congratulations and I am sure you will enjoy your system for years to come. |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 66 Registered: May-06 | Thank you for the compliments, Westcott. I'm hoping to enjoy this TV for a long time, but who knows what new technology will come around in the next 5-10 years (I've been hearing something about laser technology). Actually, the antenna is a cheap $10 UHF/VHF antenna I bought for FM reception. I use the VHF antenna for my FM tuner and the UHF antenna is connected to my satellite box. Surprisingly, the cheap UHF antenna does a good job of pulling in NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, WGN (local Chicago station which is not available in HD from DirecTV) and a few non-HD stations. Not bad, considering I am probably 40 miles from downtown Chicago. |
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Silver Member Username: GamerdudeOntario Canada Post Number: 434 Registered: Apr-06 | Nice stuff |
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Gold Member Username: Arande2Extreme SQ FTW Post Number: 1922 Registered: Dec-06 | Could use the punch of some 18" subs! |
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New member Username: Fred333Post Number: 10 Registered: Oct-07 | Nice setup there. I am jealous, wish the wife would let me have some outdoor speakers. www.soundonusa.com |
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Bronze Member Username: Floyd_1977Plainfield, IL USA Post Number: 87 Registered: May-06 | Thank you, Fred. We just sold that house last month though, so I get to do it all over again when our new house is done in December. This time, I think I'll do a brick patio and rock speakers. The new house will have a basement, so I want to build a dedicated home theater down there. I will post pictures when it's done (hopefully sometime next year). |