Getting Bell Sat with HDTV, could use some input on TV & sound system

[RW99]

I was considering to post this in the Digital Home forum, but as pricing is my main concern, I'll try here first :cheesygri

First, I'm a home theatre newbie again, having not keeping up to date in the last six years. When I get my Bell system, I assume it will be their new 9200 HDTV PRV receiver that has DVI and Digital Audio out connections on the back. In regards to video, will the Viewsonic deals at Costco work well for this set up 27" (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139343) & 32" (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315800)? 1k is my range limit, so hopefully they can gel nicely.

In regards to audio, the receiver says 5.1. So I'm looking at the home theatre systems, with DVD players included being a definite option. Can anyone please recommend to me a system in this category that will yeild a lower price (under $400, more the better)? I assume I want to use the Digital Audio out on the receiver. 5.1 is fine, I can use that both for the HDTV sat as well as DVD. *EDIT* if there's one that plays DIVX and does the upscalling thing too, that would be a great bonus :D

If anyone can provide some insight, I would be very grateful.

[Paolo]

make sure your satellite receiver is hd ready, ie it must have an hdemi (hdmi) and/or a dvi cable, also if it has py/pb/pr component cables it could support hd modes, check usermanual to be sure.

[RW99]

make sure your satellite receiver is hd ready, ie it must have an hdemi (hdmi) and/or a dvi cable, also if it has py/pb/pr component cables it could support hd modes, check usermanual to be sure.

Thanks for the info. I was researching it and the 9200 HDTV PVR is the flagship of receivers for Bell and it has it covered. Now to get the right tv/speak setup...

[WalnutCrunch]

I have the 9200. It's not exactly "new" anymore, but it's still the best HD PVR available today, IMHO. I have it running in dual mode which acts as 2 independent PVRs for 2 TVs.

For video, the Viewsonics at Costco are a good choice. They are rumoured to go down in price in the next couple of months and perhaps a 37" will be available for $999. Not sure how true those are, but if you're buying from Costco, you'll have your bases covered. They all have HDMI in, I believe, which is all you need to connect it to the 9200.

For audio, you'll be using an optical cable to connect the 9200 to whatever AV receiver / HTIB you will be getting. If you are getting a HTIB, make sure that it has an optical input. There are some cheaper ones that only has a Dolby and DTS decoder for the built-in DVD player, but it has no optical input to connect other digital sources to it (therefore no 5.1 sound from the PVR). I would recommend you take a look at what Costco has (since you're there anyway). I know I saw 2 HTIB sets there for a reasonable price. I don't remember exactly though, as I am not in a market for one. They're possibly around $400?? It probably won't have upconversion or DIVX but you probably won't find any that do that for this price.

Keep us posted on what you find.

[WalnutCrunch]

Just stopped by Costco. There are a couple of HTIB systems. There's a Panasonic 5-disc changer that is an upconverting DVD player for $450. I couldn't quite look behind there but it looks like there's no optical-in jack. It also uses HDMI, I believe, so you'd need a TV with 2 HDMI inputs or you'd have to connect the 9200 on the component in.

There's also a Pioneer one for $400 that doesn't include DVD player, but appears to have optical in. It's not ideal though because you'd need 2 digital inputs if you are going to connect your 9200 and a DVD player.

Neither units look like they're great quality but that's about what you'd expect for the price range. You might want to look elsewhere to see if there's anything better.

[RW99]

Just stopped by Costco. There are a couple of HTIB systems. There's a Panasonic 5-disc changer that is an upconverting DVD player for $450. I couldn't quite look behind there but it looks like there's no optical-in jack. It also uses HDMI, I believe, so you'd need a TV with 2 HDMI inputs or you'd have to connect the 9200 on the component in.

There's also a Pioneer one for $400 that doesn't include DVD player, but appears to have optical in. It's not ideal though because you'd need 2 digital inputs if you are going to connect your 9200 and a DVD player.

Neither units look like they're great quality but that's about what you'd expect for the price range. You might want to look elsewhere to see if there's anything better.

Wow, thank you for the info. Definitely some food for thought. I've also been taking a gander at the ones at Best Buy in that range. (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?catid=20311&mfr=&logon=&langid=EN&list=&page=0&sort=3) Seems like I'll have to compromise somewhere :|

[RW99]

In the end, I've decided to go with a Viewsonic at 27" at $699 and get a Samsung TQ85 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10073553&catid=) , hopefully on sale sometime soon under $699. Combine these with Bell HDTV, I think I'll be happy :D

http://www.samsung.com/ca/products/hometheatres/hometheatres/images/ht-tq85t_m.jpg