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Chemmy posted:Aww shucks. The PX50U is from the generation before the 60U and 600U.  Here's my setup... (click for larger pictures)  Below is a close up of the Panasonic TH-42PX50U and Yamaha YSP-800. I don't care about 7.1 surround sound and being "in the movie" which might be a negative for most people about this setup. The Yamaha soundbar provides simulated 5.1 surround sound / DTS. It sounds amazing and looks really clean (which is what I care more about)  I only run HDMI and optical (digital out) to the TV and YSP. I ran the line up into the attic into the closet of my office which you can see here:  I couldn't find a much better component rack than this at IKEA, but it works good enough. Here's what I have in the closet.. -DIRECTV HR20-700 HD DVR -XBox 360 -Custom HTPC (Silverstone component case) with Windows Media Center edition 2005 -VDSL modem + router All of the video and audio is run though the Denon AVR-2307 Receiver for HDMI upconversion. The HDMI out and digital out (optical) are what runs to the TV and speaker bar. Right now, the gang box (the blue box) is just hanging out. I do have optical audio keystone jacks coming in and I'm going to run more network lines. I have a decora for those and the 4 port decora plate as well (so it will eventually look clean). It's actually very easy to run your own lines and even install your own electrical outlets (scary though, i hate cutting the drywall and here in Arizona they fill the attic with these nasty chunks of unknown poo poo. You definitely need to wear goggles/mask and cover up or else you feel like you will die) With all of the components in the closet, obviously I have to do something about remotes... So I got the Logitech Harmony 890 which sends RF to an extender in the closet which translates that signal to infared and flashes a diode in front of the device. I still have a few issues to work out with the remote, but so far so good joe87653 fucked around with this message at Mar 22, 2007 around 01:51 |
| # ? Mar 22, 2007 00:16 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 03:28 |
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That's a pretty sweet setup. I wish I had a house instead of a crummy apartment.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 00:29 |
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Chaucer posted:Everything is here now. How do those Axioms sound?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 01:08 |
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Minto Took posted:How do those Axioms sound?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 01:13 |
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Minto Took posted:How do those Axioms sound? I like my M3tis. I'll be using them as rear channels when I build up a surround sound setup.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 01:19 |
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Mr_PK posted:
A setup with energy take FPS would look a lot cleaner than a long bread box sitting underneath your tv. http://www.genesisaudio.com/html/pr...gy_take_pg1.htm
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 03:18 |
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Omegaslast posted:A setup with energy take FPS would look a lot cleaner than a long bread box sitting underneath your tv. Sweet he can take his current speaker and throw it in the trash.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 03:46 |
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Chemmy posted:Sweet he can take his current speaker and throw it in the trash. Well with the way i view the yamaha this actually isnt a bad idea. 
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 04:34 |
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^^^ go poo poo somewhere else,  ^^^Edit: sorry (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST) poopzilla fucked around with this message at Mar 24, 2007 around 15:04 |
| # ? Mar 22, 2007 05:47 |
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This was my setup for about a year. (I know, I know, huge anime enjoyable human being). Most ghetto rig ever. I managed to squeeze a simple HTPC out of a 3 year old Emachines, a cheap Infocus X1a, a used 700W Dolby Digital DTS 5.1 (it produced incredible sound though) I bought off craigslist for $50, and a pull down screen I dug out of the school dumpster. Not loving bad for a starving college student.    This is me now. Nice setup, if I do say so myself  . 2 CPUs run through a USB-VGA KVM to a 17in LCD, G15 keyboard, and MXRevolution (yea, its that $100 mouse). The Westinghouse LTV- 19w3(1440x900) HDTV is running the gaming box on the desk @ DVI and the poo poo dell on the floor @ VGA, so I use the remote to switch between those. I manually switch the headphones between the system. I like this because it gives me nice flexibility by creating three independent selection loops between the sound, the monitor, and HDTV. The Xbox360 runs at 1080i (I've found that when forced between choosing 720 or 1080 on a 1440x900 native resolution, 1080 always yields better results). There's also a really ghetto patch through to a jerry-rigged bookshelf stereo system you can't see, but I'm using that for my impromptu speakers.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 08:41 |
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 Keep in mind this is my dorm room, so I am working with what I can in a 10'x13' room.  -Draper High Contrast grey 73" manual pulldown- hard to mount a motor drive in a dorm or apartment. -Sanyo z5 -Panasonic SA-XR57 -Toshiba 24" CRT, model I forget, Does vertical compression(yay anamorphic on an SD set) Plan on replacing it later this year with a 26" HD LCD. -Pair of JBL bookshelf speakers, model escapes me. Decent speakers. They will make great channels when I get more space and replace them with towers. -PS2 -Xbox -Xbox360 -Gamecube -Cheapo component Switch running to an Inday signal repeater. Good for up to 300ft! -My mediaPC, aka big black box on top. DVR, jukebox, retro gaming? Hell yes. The screen isn't actually that high up. The distortion of the camera lens and the format make it look that way. I built the furniture as an attractive stopgap while I get something more permanent. The blue is a fabric panel. I couldn't paint so I worked around it. Overall I like the setup, and it never fails to impress on some level.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 11:16 |
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Juriko posted:-Sanyo z5 Not only is the setup pretty incredible for a dorm room, but you picked a hell of a projector. I love that thing.  Sanyo really hit it out of the park this year, I think. Is it working out well for you?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 15:38 |
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Chemmy posted:I wish I had a house instead of a crummy apartment. 
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 17:23 |
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This is my current set-up, audio only. Some components missing, as I own all kinds of stuff. I live in an apartment so where my speakers are is also where my computer is. It's a lovely deal but that's how it is for now. Anyway, the specs: Speakers: Patos Lyric 402mk2. They ain't cheap, but really worth it. Electronics: - Cd player: Marantz CD63mk2-Signature. I just haven't had the heart to get rid of it. It's just a fantastic player with a great DAC to boot. - DAC: Oritek Zhaolu 2.0 with custom discrete output stage. It's somewhat brighter than the DAC in the Marantz but has a whole lot more detail. Maybe not as warm, I like different things to different moods. - Pre-amp: Denon avr-2106 (below desk) and Singlepower MPX3-SLAM (tube pre, I power my headphones with this baby). - Power amp: Meridian 556. A little on the weak side with it's 2x100w output, but it's very neutral and clear sounding, giving me the option of messing around in other parts of my audio chain. An upgrade to 557.2 is on the wish list. - Screen: Dell 2407 - Headphones: Grado HF-1, Sennheiser HD650, various others not in the picture. Closeup of the pre/power combo: 
Viivac fucked around with this message at Mar 22, 2007 around 17:30 |
| # ? Mar 22, 2007 17:24 |
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my A/V setup is more A than V, but whatever Speakers- 2 KEF Q-Series studio speakers, and two speakers of unknown origin that sound really, really good (until I wreck both the mid-range drivers with my thumb, but thats not important right now) Ampliphier/Reciever- Nakamichi T4-A4. * stereo Channels, one of which is phongraph specific. Equalizer- an Audio Control C-101 CD Player- Nakamichi CD Player 4 Turntable- Mission 775SM, Shure cartridge  
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 18:21 |
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Panasonic PT-AE700 projector Pros: A consistently good projector, popular for a reason Cons: Well, it's not HD (1080p that is) Pioneer VSX-1015 A/V receiver Pros: Plenty of inputs and functions Cons: No HDMI, no video conversion Pioneer DV-575 DVD player Pros: Good value player, especially when you change the firmware Cons: Bit noisy compared to my old player (an early Pioneer, can't remember exact model) Tannoy EFX 5.1 speaker set Pros: They get the job done and were a cheap way to get decent surround sound Cons: Tiny, not very powerful or clean-sounding... Should upgrade
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 18:33 |
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edit: removed.
Flewdefur fucked around with this message at Jan 28, 2012 around 00:31 |
| # ? Mar 22, 2007 19:21 |
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Primo posted:Panasonic PT-AE700 projector The AE700 is indeed HD. 1280x720 is High Definition. It irks me to no end that people are already thinking of 720p as "less-than." 1280x720 is excellent, and if you're feeding it standard def material, it won't matter anyhow. The AE700 has very good onboard scaling. quote:Pioneer VSX-1015 A/V receiver With the AE700 you really don't want to convert video anyhow. See above re: scaling. quote:Pioneer DV-575 DVD player You might want to look into the Oppo 971 or the Denon DVD-1910 (discontinued). Excellent players, not much money. I really don't know a thing about speakers so I won't comment on those, but all in all it sounds like a nice setup. What kind of screen are you projecting on?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 19:32 |
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King Hotpants posted:Not only is the setup pretty incredible for a dorm room, but you picked a hell of a projector. I love that thing. It is a great projector. I actually upgraded this year with a bit of luck from my z3(I managed to sell it for the cost of my z5). I originally got it because of its flexibility. I preferred that years panasonic in the price range, but I loved how flexible the z3 was. The z3 was a nice machine, but the z5 is just so much nicer. Better blacks, better contrast, less screendoor, better color. Really, it is just a great upgrade. I get rainbows like mad so DLP was never an option, and the z5 is about on par visually with the baseline DLP options. About the only downside was it had slightly less horizontal lens shift which meant I had to adjust my setup, and it is bigger. However it also runs much cooler and much quieter. The automatic lens cover was a surprise too. Really I like it a lot. For small apartment living it is just great. The JBL's have just enough range in the low end to not feel too flat, but they never disturb the neighbors. I have heard better speakers, but for the price and use they are perfect. When the time comes getting a pair of tower fronts and moving them to the back will serve me perfectly. They are decent fronts as far as shelves go, and will be overkill for surrounds. The projector is nice because its easy to move and flexible in its placement. I miss my apartment setup to be honest. This has some of the features, but not all of them. I also have a couple of 6 foot memory foam fill beanbag couches in storage (great for theater flopping,casual and fun) and IR controlled accent lighting(you can kind of see it in the speaker stand and wall light, but I have a better setup at home. I need to replace the component switch, if only because it was an ugly stopgap solution. Getting a gray screen was also the best thing I ever did. At this size with the lumen output I have the whites are still bright, but it really helps if I want some ambient light on, and in the dark things pop so much more.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:02 |
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King Hotpants posted:The AE700 is indeed HD. 1280x720 is High Definition. It irks me to no end that people are already thinking of 720p as "less-than." 1280x720 is excellent, and if you're feeding it standard def material, it won't matter anyhow. The AE700 has very good onboard scaling. Well, I had a hard time thinking up downsides to it 720p (from my XBox360) definitely looks stunning already.quote:With the AE700 you really don't want to convert video anyhow. See above re: scaling. I might have used to wrong word there... I meant that if I plug in my GameCube with the video cable that came with it (S-Video I think), the receiver - which is connected to the projector via component - doesn't show the picture. What would be the right term? I get mixed up... and my English, is not so good  quote:You might want to look into the Oppo 971 or the Denon DVD-1910 (discontinued). Excellent players, not much money. I've been thinking that I don't necessarily want to get another regular DVD player, but rather wait and see what comes of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thing and then get my next player based on that (or go for some kind of HTPC setup). quote:I really don't know a thing about speakers so I won't comment on those, but all in all it sounds like a nice setup. What kind of screen are you projecting on? I'm using a MDF screen, 92" or thereabouts I think, painted the appropriate grey for LCD projectors. I bought my projector used and the screen came with it.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:06 |
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Have you tried plugging in the gamecube directly? The projector should auto-switch sources for you when it starts up. I've heard bad things about using gray paint instead of a purpose-built gray screen. I did my own testing with a gray DIY screen versus a Stewart Grayhawk  and the gray DIY screen just sucked all the brightness out of the picture. What kind of paint did you use?
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:12 |
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King Hotpants posted:Have you tried plugging in the gamecube directly? The projector should auto-switch sources for you when it starts up. No, the projector is incoveniently placed and then I'd still have to figure out a way to solve the audio problem. Too much hassle considering I would only be using the GC to play some Def Jam: Fight For New York anyway  Maybe I'll just get a new receiver – or a Wii.As for the gray paint, personally I've seen a lot of people recommend the painted screens as an equal (and much cheaper) option to factory-made screens. As I mentioned, I got my screen with the projector, but I believe most people here in Finland use a specific tone of Tikkurila indoor latex matte paint (Tikkurila Harmony X073, in case anyone cares). The guy who sold me the projector had done the paint job with a good paint sprayer, which further improves the result. Haven't had the option to compare it with any other screens but it's A-OK by me.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:36 |
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Primo, if you get the chance, I'd love to see what it'd look like with a piece of white posterboard next to it, like a side-by-side shot. I know that taking a picture of a projected image doesn't really tell us poo poo, but it'd be educational to hear your observations. I'm always looking to help people who want a projector but can't quite afford a good screen. I'll keep rolling with Stewart though
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:38 |
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King Hotpants posted:Primo, if you get the chance, I'd love to see what it'd look like with a piece of white posterboard next to it, like a side-by-side shot. You can get a low end gray draper luma for under 200. As long as your pushing over 1000 lumens and are under 100inches it keeps strong.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:51 |
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Sonny, back in my day, we were lucky to get 300 ANSI out of a good HT projector, and we appreciated every drat lumen, too.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 20:52 |
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King Hotpants posted:Sonny, back in my day, we were lucky to get 300 ANSI out of a good HT projector, and we appreciated every drat lumen, too. Haha I'll see what I can do about the picture, maybe in the weekend!
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 21:10 |
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King Hotpants posted:Sonny, back in my day, we were lucky to get 300 ANSI out of a good HT projector, and we appreciated every drat lumen, too. I AM OLDER THAN YOU So why don't you go play with your HTiB AND and your 2002 30 inch plasma!
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 21:17 |
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I believe my painted screen is comprised of Behr SilverScreen and a Misty Evening but I can't recall who makes the misty evening. I used much of the ridiculous amount of testing people did with different paints on avsforums back when my X1 was new. Their were so many drat competing paint brands/colors and painting methods it was unreal and they kept getting better and better. I just rolled mine onto a piece of whiteboard from Home Depot and it really does look pretty good. I never really had much of anything to compare to other than the pure whiteboard and it was miles better than that. The whiteboard washed out the whites horribly and was all together too bright on all colors.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 21:45 |
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Juriko posted:I AM OLDER THAN YOU 30 inch plasmas are for sissies. Projectors on 100" screens are where it's at.
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 21:50 |
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King Hotpants posted:30 inch plasmas are for sissies. Projectors on 100" screens are where it's at. I prefer using the porn DPI measurement when trying to determine screen size (dicks per inch).
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| # ? Mar 22, 2007 22:18 |
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Flewdefur posted:I'm a college student without much free time but so far I've managed to put together a small system for my bedroom consisting of a 32' ViewSonic LCD, a home made HTPC running Meedio, and a Carver receiver with a pair of old JVC bookshelf speakers (meh). Currently I'm looking to upgrade my speakers and receiver to a better 2.1 set but haven't had much time to research/shop. I'd really like to get a pair that could be mounted on either side of the TV so if there are any suggestions... You should try getting some split conduit to run your wires through, it'll make your setup look a little cleaner.
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| # ? Mar 23, 2007 02:13 |
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Just finished this setup about a month ago, finally got the go ahead to order the chairs (click for huge):  Specs: Denon 3803 Xbox 360 Some cheapo Phillips upconverting DVD player Fluance SX-HTB+, plus 2 extra surround speakers PartsExpress 12" Dayton Sub Sanyo Z4 Screen is just Kilz primer on the wall and a fabric wrapped frame on top
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| # ? Mar 23, 2007 22:39 |
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30" LG HDTV 5 Disc, 5.1 surround Sony DVD PS3 w/ HDMI Wii, sadly no component yet If you can see it, there's a Dreamcast shoved back there somewhere, plus Christmas lights for added pizazz. 
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| # ? Mar 23, 2007 22:55 |
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JBark posted:Just finished this setup about a month ago, finally got the go ahead to order the chairs (click for huge): Wow I love your setup.
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| # ? Mar 23, 2007 23:33 |
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JBark posted:Just finished this setup about a month ago, finally got the go ahead to order the chairs (click for huge): You should really paint either the screens wall or the entire room in a darker tone. It will seriously help make your movies pop if you dump the white.
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| # ? Mar 23, 2007 23:42 |
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poopzilla posted:^^^ go poo poo somewhere else, Don't do this. Congratulations, you're my first probation. Enjoy your nap. EDIT: And for the record, Omegaslast, don't bash other people's gear in this thread. King Hotpants fucked around with this message at Mar 24, 2007 around 01:23 |
| # ? Mar 24, 2007 00:37 |
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Here is my current set up. Receiver is an old Sony, nothing special...in fact, it's still a pro-logic, but this does not matter to me as I do not care about surround sound. I like stereo, pure and simple. I'd love to have something better, a tube amp of some sorts, but just dont have the dough to buy what I really want, so therefore, I havent bothered. The speakers are Klipsch SP1 powered towers. For the money, they arent bad. However, they are for sale. Im looking to get a pair of 1994 series one CF4's.     
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| # ? Mar 24, 2007 01:31 |
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Juriko posted:You should really paint either the screens wall or the entire room in a darker tone. It will seriously help make your movies pop if you dump the white. I know, but it would also kill the resale on the house, since the room isn't a dedicated theater and only a true A/V nut would appreciate it. If the house was big enough to dedicate a room, you can bet it would have dark fabric walls. Even now it looks great, especially with the lights off and the light-blocking shade closed. And actually, the walls aren't quite white. I say it's pink, but my wife informs me it's "salmon". I thought I'd hate the color, but I've gotta admit it looks ok.
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| # ? Mar 24, 2007 01:45 |
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Finally got a HDTV, so ...  Samsung HL-S5087W 50" DLP Shuttle SN21G5 running Mediaportal Nintendo Wii Comcast HDTV/DVR box Sony PSTwo Crappy 10 year old Pioneer receiver Ikea TV stand The TV was $1550 from Circuit City and has an outstanding picture, and since I don't really care if it's mounted on the wall or not I'm glad I saved a grand. The Shuttle is sexy and I love it (it was great to replace the $20 crappy mid-tower case I used to have). I have all my DVDs stored on a 500gb drive (funny how quick that's dissapearing though), and control it all with a Windows Mediacenter remote. I can't wait to replace the speaker system, if only with the cheap $250 Onkyo HTIB. The TV is kind of in a tricky place though, with the wall set back, but I think with some decent speakers I could make it work.
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| # ? Mar 24, 2007 01:49 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 03:28 |
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 I work for a custom home theater install company so I get some really good discounts, hand-me-downs from customers, and almost broken stuff. My left and rights are Denon speaker cabinets with guts from some Boston Acoustics E-40's that had major damage to their cabinets. I bought them super cheap from my boss and frankensteined them together. My center channel is an Elan THP525W in-wall speaker that I built a box for. A coworker and I grabbed a pair of them that were being replaced by the homeowner. He said to take them free. So we each got a center channel. The rears are some generic little cubes that need to be replaced sometime. The speakers may not be the prettiest but they sound amazing. The tv is a 42" LCD by LG. The receiver is a JVC RX-D411S, nothing fancy but it drives the speakers very well. The sub is a Sony and I forget what model. Xbox 360, Gamecube and a PS2 (being borrowed by a friend)
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| # ? Mar 24, 2007 02:16 |
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