Preinstalling a pipe for wiring is a great idea. If possible go with a wider pipe; it makes it a lot easier to thread cables (especially when you consider the width of some connectors). You can also use a fish tape.

~ Rick

Step 2 update: We Have Fire!

Figured I'd toss in what I just bought for my new place in Austin in case it helps someone looking for similar stuff later.

Samsung Samsung HL67A750 67" 1080p LED-based Rear Projection DLP HDTV



$1800 from 6ave.com


Init®-TV Stand for Most Flat-Panel TVs Up to 65"-Black-NT-C1201



$346 from Best Buy


Marantz - SR5002 receiver 90w x 7ch HDMI home theater surround (Factory Refurb)



$327 from Accessories4less


4 x Energy C-100 Bookshelf Speakers



$200 from Vanns


Energy C-C100 Center Speaker



$114 from Buy.com


Energy ESW-8 Powered Subwoofer (Factory Refurb)



$112 from Audio Advisor


4 x StudioTech SP-36 Speaker Stand



$217 from TheNerds


And then 150ft of 12 guage speaker wire & 5 pairs of banana plugs for the receiver from MonoPrice for $54. Also building a Home Theater PC for x264 1080p video files, FLAC audio files, and retro gaming purposes. Cost was $691 for that with 2 wireless Xbox360 controllers from NewEgg.

The total for everything came to $3,861 which isn't terribly bad. The TV is the best price for a quality (Samsung >>>>> Mistubishi for DLP) big screen that I could get. The LED is going to be nice for not having to replace bulbs realistically ever. The stand was just my personal preference. For the receiver/speakers I got a great deal on all of that stuff. The receiver is a 2007 model and a refurb but the equivalent 2008 version is $600+ wtithout anything I need added. The speakers are on fire sale with a ton of Energy products in closeout. Just 6 months ago the same stuff would cost you twice as much or more. I really got a $1500+ audio set up for half that and this will be way better than any HTIB I could've bought. If I find a good price on them I can upgrade the L/R speakers to C-300s/C-500s and make it a 7.1 setup (for a future place, no space here for 7.1). The HTPC will also be really awesome and I recommend them to everyone as I won't be paying for a cable bill anymore. Storage of the TBs of data I'll soon have will be a fun problem though.

I'll post pictures once I get everything set up in about a week or so.

well we've just moved into a new place and decided that we need a new home theater system.

we're considering:

http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products...00A/index.html

for a tv (or maybe the 50")

then we've been recommended this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Onkyo-TX-SR8.../dp/B001J8O7X8

i had some speakers recommended to me, but just browsing their sites im totally lost http://www.wilson-benesch.com/index.html and http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/ and i really have no idea what to think and exactly how many speakers need to be bought. budgetwise, maybe whatever correlates to the quality of the tv

any suggestions would be muchly appreciated

You can go a lot of ways. Bowers and Wilkins is a popular brand, and they offer cheaper stuff all the way up to really really expensive stuff. It depends on how much you want to spend and how much you like sound coming from every direction.

If you're getting that Onkyo, then,

You could get two of these for the front:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/disp...fid=1153&sc=hf

And two of these for the back:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/disp...fid=2301&sc=hf

And a sub (if you think that's important).

I think those fronts are ~ 1500usd a piece. The backs are a lot cheaper.

Does anyone have a soundbar system like the HT-CT100?

Sony is coming out with the HT-CT500 in July.



I'm thinking of buying this 52 Sony Bravia W Series in June:



I am looking into the HT-CT500 because it can be attached to the W series for a nice seamless look.




I'm not a huge audiophile and I will be living in an apartment. This goes in the living room, couch will be like 8-10 feet from the TV. Rear speakers are not an option. I know this won't give me true surround, but will it sound better than a standard front speaker setup?

Rest of my setup will likely be a PS3 for blu ray/dvd/gaming, and this mount behind just a standard Ikea Expedit bookcase laid horizontally

There is no way a 'soundbar' of those proportions is going to sound decent. And it will definitely sound worse than a normal 'front speaker' setup. It's just design trying to defy physics.

You sound so pessimistic about its chances of working.

skier,

personally what i'm putting together is the B&W 683 theater. i've got a couple generations ago's bookshelves, and am going to add a pair of the 683s for fronts, before eventually adding a center + sub. i wouldn't advise buying anything in the 800 series before listening to them next to some other lower end stuff. you should be able to walk in to a shop and listen to a variety of stuff/watch a dvd or whatever, and see what you like. obviously your budget and tastes might be totally different than mine (683s are about $1500 for a pair).

So where I have the TV set up in my bedroom there is no wall outlet near. The power strip I have, does not have a long enough cord. How ineffective/dangerous would it be to run the power strip through another power strip.

Spend $2 on an extension cord.

There should be nothing inherently dangerous about running a power board off a power board, as long as you do not overload the wall socket - ie, if the other sockets on your "intermediary" power board are empty, then that should be fine.

Just wanted to say thanks for your guys' help on this thing. Finally have everything built and up on the wall. I agree, any wire would have killed the whole thing...lol

Here's the finished product

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/16.html

lol.

You're not suggesting that running a powerboard in that situation is safer than an extension cord, are you?

I posted the link as a consideration of extensions in general, especially permanent ones. But to answer anyway - presuming that you're referring to a power strip or surge protector - yes, I think that class of product would rate to be safer in general than the $2 extension cord you suggested. I also think it's very incorrect to assume that any kind of extension can safely handle the same load as a direct wall socket:



I have no idea what kind of TV the guy asking has, but they can draw a lot of power and I don't know what else he's plugging in over there. You can lol at this all you want, but I'll still reserve the right to be cheap for times when it doesn't, say, threaten the personal safety of every member of my household - not to mention their belongings

i have a pioneer 50" kuro and i am in love with it.
my receiver is a pioneer elite and i love it too.
it upconverts and also there is one HDMI output so all my components (blu-ray, direct tv box, vudu, and roku) plug into the receiver using one HDMI cable and then only one HDMI cable goes from receiver to TV.

makes setting everything super easy, and to top it all off get a harmony 1 remote which can control all the components (super easy to set up and update, i highly recommend it).

for speakers i have two martin logan elctrostat speakers (amazing and look great)

http://www.us.martinlogan.com/gallery/source

i am going to add a martin logan center channel to complete the system ( don't have much need for rear speakers as my current system is amazing).

quick question regarding center channel.
is it imperative that i get a martin logan center channel?
i read somewhere that its important to have the same brand for front speakers and center channel so the levels match.

is this correct or could i get away with a good but less expensive center channel from another manufacturer?

and if i can does anyone have some recommendations as to good quality center channel that will work well with my system?

thanks.

Good chance you can alter the level from your receiver. So that leaves tonality, which is why people generally go for the same stuff; but it doesn't have to be.

If you go for a lower quality center speaker then you're basically ****ing up your setup though because voices are very important. If you're sitting in front of your setup by yourself, then a center cannot help. If you're spread out just a little then a center doesn't do much either and can potentially make it worse.

thanks for the advice guys.

we bought the tv today (kr600a)
along with http://www2.kef.com/GB/SurroundSound/KHT/3000 for speakers
a 500 pound onkyo receiver (not sure which model off the top of my head)
a panasonic blueray player
and some cables that we probably way overpaid for

also i just ordered the harmony 1 off amazon when i read this.

Any thoughts on this TV?

Samsung LN52B750 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV with Charcoal Grey Touch of Color



Currently on sale through Amazon for $2065.

Will likely get a PS3 and will definitely get some sort of speaker setup once I move.

kr600a is the 60" Pioneer right? If it is congrats, a pretty sick TV. I'd try and have it professionally calibrated if possible.

I have a question about cable boxes/cable cards.

We have a small tv in our kitchen, which we've been meaning to replace. The tv is "cable-ready" and we've been using it without a cable box. But in the last few weeks, cablevision has caused a bunch of additional channels to require the use of a cable box or cablecard.

We could get a tv that uses cablecards, and in that manner again watch the basic channels on that tv to which we are accustomed. Alternatively, I can pay the additional monthly fee for another cable box. Aside from cost, the main reason not to do this is space: the cable boxes used by cablevision are somewhat big for a kitchen.

So, here's my question: is there an alternative I am overlooking? I understand there is some technology out there that permits the wireless transmission of HD channels to tvs without a box. But that sounds expensive and may not be any less space-consuming (if the receiver is also large).

Is it possible for me to buy a smaller cable box that is not supplied by my cable company?

Any other choices?

i need to start posting here (and i need to read this thread). i've been into home theater geekiness for almost 10 years

at the moment, i've converted one of my rooms into a pitch black (all walls/ceilings painted black, no sunlight) HT room.
i use a 1080p projector and a 100 inch screen with removable velvet masking for 2.35:1 films.
a 15 inch sub that goes almost flat to 15 hz, a 12 inch midbass sub behind the seats for midbass, 3 identical front speakers, 2 surrounds, and receiver/ps3.
also acoustical treatments (for reflections, not standing waves, since my room is actually decent acoustically).

i used Room Eq Wizard (free) to map my room response with regard to sound (graphs everything on the computer).
using the Room EQ Wizard has improved my sound quality tremendously because it allowed to find where best to place the subs/seats, and so forth.
the Audyssey features in my receiver are helpful too.
seats are Berkline leather with powered recline (chicks dig the powered recline - well, the few chicks who have actually stepped in to the room).

i have amassed a huge # of links, how-to guides, FAQs over the years and will post them when i get a chance.

not to gloat, but there really is nothing like a projector for the movie experience (if you do it right).
when i first saw the Universal Studios beginning logo on a 100 inch screen in my room, i almost jizzed my pants.
it was breathtaking. not tv can give you that feeling. but projectors - and the requirement for a room with little light - can be a hassle for a lot of people.

That's pretty sick derosnec, congrats.

Which projector, which screen, which speakers.