building a cinema / movie room

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
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London Town
not posted here in a while but i need some advice.

I'm in the process of buying a new flat and its got 2 beds, and since we only have guests round every now and then i want to turn the spare room into a comfy TV room with a sofa bed for the guests:

I have about £1500 to spend on speakers and panel, and I already have a very nice Yamaha AV amp (forget model but it's huge!) and Sony sCD/DVD unit.

I plan on getting Sky HD at the same time so the panel needs to be fully HD compliant and i want to be able to play my Xbox 360 at max resolution as well.

Regarding speakers they can't be floor standers, and they will be wall mounted in the 4 corners.

With Sky HD, I assume there is an optical / coaxial output, will I be able to watch normal TV in Dolby 5 channel (when transmitted)?

thanks for the help :)
 
Suspended
Joined
17 Mar 2006
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9,055
I would recommend you visit a local home theatre shop. £1500 isn't a lot, considering a decent screen could be anywhere from £700 to £1500 or even higher.

If L/R pair is £100
Centre is £100
Rears is £100
Subwoofer is £400
£700 for speaker system, plus £50 or so on cables.

A 32" panel will be around £800 (LCD) so just within budget. If you put £1200 on a screen the sound system won't be that great.

Do you want LCD or Plasma? HD capability- 730p, or 1080p?
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Jan 2003
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17,542
Location
Bristol, UK
Sky HD and Sky+ boxes have optical outputs. Only certain channels and programs are in DD5.1.

Also, the HD box is £300.

When you move will you be staying within London?
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
3,980
Location
London Town
thanks guys. I forgot to mention i already have a decent centre speaker from my existing 5ch setup, so i don't need that. Would I not be able to buy x4 decent Misson speakers from RS and a good quality sub woofer?

I bought a good pair of Mission bookshelf speakers for £50 and there are really fantastic

how about Wharfedale SW150 £250 and x4 Kef CRESTA 10 £220

That gives me £1000 for the panel - i can add an additional £300 for the Shy box I guess as i don't want to scrimp on the TV. Can I get 40" HD panel for £1000?
 
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Soldato
Joined
29 Oct 2005
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3,298
i'd use a media centre pc with a big lcd. the reason for this is that if the HD format changes you could be stuck with an uncompliant monitor. also the pc would give you more options and you can upgrade it if you need better quality components later on.
 
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