starting a home theater?

[gschimma]

Been looking to start a home theater for some time but not sure where to start. Currently I have an older Panasonic HDTV that I'm happy with for now. My only other equipment is a PS3 that just bit the dust. It was used to stream Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, etc. as well as DVDs/ Bluray and movies on my computer via wifi.

I've considered a PS4 pro mainly because it seems the easiest and I'm most familiar but frankly don't have time for games. Would be best served starting with a receiver with wifi capabilities (I'd need speakers)? Or a blu ray? or a Roku or other streaming device? I've also considered a 'home theater in a box' but they don't seem upgradeable.

Thoughts on what to get first? Brands/ models?
Thanks in advance.

 

[getochkn]

Stay away from a home theater in a box. There is a million threads a week on here with people trying to get them working with all their new TV's and devices, and ugg, they don't always understand why a 8 year old $150 speaker system can't work with a new $1000 4K TV and there 5 other devices perfectly.

The base of any good home theater, and something that if you get a good one, will last you years and years, is the receiver, or in the case of home theater audio, they are known as a AVR.

They will usually have multiple HDMI inputs and then an output, so they work as a switchbox that strips the audio from any input and then does it's surround thing to it, and passes the video to the TV. This is by far the best way for any home theater to work. In addition, HDMI audio is not limited like SPDIF audio and you can get full true surround uncompressed audio.

Now the biggest question to start on all this, is how much money do you want to spend. lol.

You can build a good system on a budget, and go stupid.

For a device, if you want a simple streaming platform, Roku's are good at that, work with HD Netflix, etc. Keep in mind that your HDTV could go at any time, and then you'll more than likely be buying a new 4K smart TV, as that's the majority of newer TV's, and they all have Netflix, Amazon, etc built in.

 

[gschimma]

Thanks for your reply. I meant to include the budget. I'd like to stay below the $1000-1500 range to start...AVR, bluray, speakers. The Panasonic HDTV is 9 years old but have never had any problems. The Roku seems like the best immediate replacement for the PS3 utilities. Are the wifi/ streaming abilities of the AVR useful for that task? What about the blu ray players?

 

[getochkn]

Most blueray players will have at least netflix in them, sometimes more. the roku has a pretty big support base for sling, amazon, directtv's streaming sevice and i think like TWC, and the others depending on if you plan on using it with a subscription service. if you plan on watching more bluray discs and not a zillion streaming sites, keeping it to like netflix, than a blueray is usually good for that.

the AVR usually only allows audio streaming with it's wifi capabilities, pandora, spotify, etc.

Do you want to future proof yourself for 4K HDMI 2.0 60FPS HDR, or cross that bridge in the future. lol.

 

[getochkn]

https/www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-S720W-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B01FIKHL94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492901963&sr=8-1&keywords=avr+speaker+package

Something like that would be a good start.

AVSForum is an awesome place with lots of audio geeks who live and breath this stuff and could probably put together the ultimate best-bang-for-buck.

Just be prepared for some "this AVR is better because..." debates from people, but you'll get some really good suggestions and in most cases all recommendations would be good.

 

[USAFRet]

As above, an AVR (receiver) and some good 5.1 or 7.1 speakers.

Currently, I have a Denon. Previous was an Onkyo that died an early death..
~$300 for the receiver.

Speakers.
I have a 5.1 set of EnergyTake (minus the .1). Now owned by Klipsch.
A PolkAudio 10" sub to go with that.
My new Denon has capability for 2 subs, so I'll probably add a matching 10" Polk to the mix.

Media.
This can come from anywhere.
A Roku, HTPC, bluray device, the TV's smart app thingies...

Currently my 'media comes from either the FiOS DVR box, or through/from the HTPC.
Soon, my NAS box will take over HTPC duties completely.

 

[gschimma]

Thanks. Actually was looking at that and newer denon receivers. Also looking at the sony ubp x800 blubray player. Seems like good choices for my beginner needs. Any reason to stay within a brand? Speakers? By the way, i posted on avs forum but havent received any replies.

 

[robert600]

For me sound is a HUGE part of the home theater experience. That Denon receiver/speaker package 'getochkn' pointed to looks very good indeed. I might be tempted to add a second sub (but that could always be done later as your budget permits). Whichever receiver you decide on - do get 7.1 or 7.2 - the extra 'depth' to the sound is soooo good!

Thinking of the sony blu ray .... the 4 k part seems a bit of a waste given your current tv but when you upgrade your tv it would really come into its own. A couple of things I really like about it is that the built in media player will play 1080p, 2160p HEVC 10-bit files (in a mkv container) loaded in the usb port and ... the usb port can read NTFS formatted hard drives ... not just FAT32. I have a huge collection of movies in 1080p 10 bit HEVC format so that would be great for me. I may be wrong about this but ....I don't think a ps4 can decode HEVC files ... I know a ps3 can't even deal with a mkv container - how sad is that!

Oh .... and buy good speaker wire lol.

 

[jsmithepa]

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