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A few years back I wrote an article on my ideal home cinema setup. Back then, Home Cinema was getting big and cinemas were worrying about the loss in trade. Well, things seem to have picked up for the cinemas now, but in the home there’s a whole new change happening that puts it beyond anything those multiplexes can offer.
My initial ideal setup (within reason) was a large widescreen TV, or a projector at a push, 5.1 system and decent DVD player. Even the basics behind this ideal are now changing. With HD TVs coming down in price all the time and so flat you can pin them to the wall, a choice of new higher definition video formats and ever more sophisticated sound systems, there’s now an even greater choice, and even more ways to spend the money you don’t have, for the best Home Cinema.
A good 42” HD TV will set you back between £1000 and £2000, depending on what options and connections you need. I recently had the chance to witness one of the Samsung range connected to an HD source at a friend’s house, it was pretty impressive and despite the cinema being that much bigger it could give those establishments a run for their money.
Add to this a PS3 for Blu-ray (still the cheapest, and really the only option for Blu-ray) or a dedicated HD-DVD player (or 360 HD Drive if you need to save costs) and you’ll really never need the cinema again, assuming you can wait for the movies on High Def formats.
Soundsystems haven’t really changed much in their capacity for audio. Though Japan tries to push 7.1, it hasn’t really taken off in the home beyond being used on PCs and there’s only so much difference you can hear. The only major enhancement worth thinking about is the wireless back speakers, which avoid all the mess of wires and allow you to place the speakers where you want.
It’s all well and good adding High Def TVs and players, but where things are really changing is with the way you play and store your media. With under the TV PC boxes becoming more common and affordable, and HD or Blu-ray drives available for them, is there really any need to have a separate drive?
Not only this, but with a wireless network, you can store your movies and music on the PC and play them anywhere in the house. So far there are a handful of devices allowing you to stream media, and they’re all limited in one way or another (usually by video formats supported), but this is still early days and sometime soon, within the year I bet, there will be several new wonder-boxes that can cope with everything, all in HD.
It may seem like a small change until you experience it or examine how it can affect how you watch and listen to your media. Sky was one of the first to realise that people don’t always have time to watch TV at the right time and created Sky +, you only have to look at the success of this to see that it’s a great idea and it’s a surprise that other companies have taken so long to catch up. But, despite now being able to buy freeview players with Hard Disc recorders, the PC setup is still the best way to get this working. You can even get your Sky + and PC linked up, or just use a freeview card for your PC. TV Schedules can be downloaded, Windows even integrates them into its media centre now and from these you can set recordings for your favourite shows.
What the Sky+ and Freeview recorders can’t do, though, is use the new services springing up on broadcasting sites. BBC, Channel 4 and a host of others let you see selected shows again whenever you want. They are also planning download services similar to Sky’s own, which uses Peer to Peer technology to let you download movies, sports and shows. Even BT has got in to the act with the (so far buggy and slightly unreliable) BT Vision. Having the PC option allows you freedom to have all of these and freeview as well in one box.
Of course, there is always the less legal option with PCs, which is always available from torrent sites, but with the other options available, this is really just for people who either can’t wait for media to become available or don’t want to pay.
So what’s my ideal setup now? Well, large HD TV on the wall, good matching 5.1 system with wireless back speakers, media PC with either of the High Definition drive formats and a large hard drive, Wifi network and media centre for any other TV or sound system in the house and lastly Sky HD for High Definition broadcasts. Comfy seats and good company are, of course, highly recommended.
Will I be getting this? Give it a year at the current fall in prices and I’ll probably have at least some of this. However, even in part it’s still an affordable ideal for anyone serious about their entertainment but without a lottery win to pay for it.
My initial ideal setup (within reason) was a large widescreen TV, or a projector at a push, 5.1 system and decent DVD player. Even the basics behind this ideal are now changing. With HD TVs coming down in price all the time and so flat you can pin them to the wall, a choice of new higher definition video formats and ever more sophisticated sound systems, there’s now an even greater choice, and even more ways to spend the money you don’t have, for the best Home Cinema.
A good 42” HD TV will set you back between £1000 and £2000, depending on what options and connections you need. I recently had the chance to witness one of the Samsung range connected to an HD source at a friend’s house, it was pretty impressive and despite the cinema being that much bigger it could give those establishments a run for their money.
Add to this a PS3 for Blu-ray (still the cheapest, and really the only option for Blu-ray) or a dedicated HD-DVD player (or 360 HD Drive if you need to save costs) and you’ll really never need the cinema again, assuming you can wait for the movies on High Def formats.
Soundsystems haven’t really changed much in their capacity for audio. Though Japan tries to push 7.1, it hasn’t really taken off in the home beyond being used on PCs and there’s only so much difference you can hear. The only major enhancement worth thinking about is the wireless back speakers, which avoid all the mess of wires and allow you to place the speakers where you want.
It’s all well and good adding High Def TVs and players, but where things are really changing is with the way you play and store your media. With under the TV PC boxes becoming more common and affordable, and HD or Blu-ray drives available for them, is there really any need to have a separate drive?
Not only this, but with a wireless network, you can store your movies and music on the PC and play them anywhere in the house. So far there are a handful of devices allowing you to stream media, and they’re all limited in one way or another (usually by video formats supported), but this is still early days and sometime soon, within the year I bet, there will be several new wonder-boxes that can cope with everything, all in HD.
It may seem like a small change until you experience it or examine how it can affect how you watch and listen to your media. Sky was one of the first to realise that people don’t always have time to watch TV at the right time and created Sky +, you only have to look at the success of this to see that it’s a great idea and it’s a surprise that other companies have taken so long to catch up. But, despite now being able to buy freeview players with Hard Disc recorders, the PC setup is still the best way to get this working. You can even get your Sky + and PC linked up, or just use a freeview card for your PC. TV Schedules can be downloaded, Windows even integrates them into its media centre now and from these you can set recordings for your favourite shows.
What the Sky+ and Freeview recorders can’t do, though, is use the new services springing up on broadcasting sites. BBC, Channel 4 and a host of others let you see selected shows again whenever you want. They are also planning download services similar to Sky’s own, which uses Peer to Peer technology to let you download movies, sports and shows. Even BT has got in to the act with the (so far buggy and slightly unreliable) BT Vision. Having the PC option allows you freedom to have all of these and freeview as well in one box.
Of course, there is always the less legal option with PCs, which is always available from torrent sites, but with the other options available, this is really just for people who either can’t wait for media to become available or don’t want to pay.
So what’s my ideal setup now? Well, large HD TV on the wall, good matching 5.1 system with wireless back speakers, media PC with either of the High Definition drive formats and a large hard drive, Wifi network and media centre for any other TV or sound system in the house and lastly Sky HD for High Definition broadcasts. Comfy seats and good company are, of course, highly recommended.
Will I be getting this? Give it a year at the current fall in prices and I’ll probably have at least some of this. However, even in part it’s still an affordable ideal for anyone serious about their entertainment but without a lottery win to pay for it.
As an update to this, really, I'm looking at HD TVs in the shops now. The different technologies involved are bewildering. So you're not just looking at a choice between Plasma and LCD or screen size, you've got 100mhz displays that provide a better moving picture, loads of different screen filtering options, extra bells and whistles, PC connections, a choice of 2 or 3 HDMI sockets...
My wife suprised me by being interested in the larger models (42" to 50") as they would look like mirrors when turned off (and if kept clean!), so I may be in luck there, as well. Now all I need to do is get the money together. I'd buy online, but Currys are offering a 0% for 9 months deal that sounds promising...
My wife suprised me by being interested in the larger models (42" to 50") as they would look like mirrors when turned off (and if kept clean!), so I may be in luck there, as well. Now all I need to do is get the money together. I'd buy online, but Currys are offering a 0% for 9 months deal that sounds promising...
Alfonse wrote:
> My option/Ghetto option <"20 inch screen, stolen dvd
> player, fake Sky, basic sound and an N64 hooked up to it. I sure
> know how to live huh?
Suppose it beats the 80's option; Wood surround colour telly, hi-fi turntable and state of the art tape deck linked to a Speccy 48k.
> My option/Ghetto option <"20 inch screen, stolen dvd
> player, fake Sky, basic sound and an N64 hooked up to it. I sure
> know how to live huh?
Suppose it beats the 80's option; Wood surround colour telly, hi-fi turntable and state of the art tape deck linked to a Speccy 48k.
My option/Ghetto option <"20 inch screen, stolen dvd player, fake Sky, basic sound and an N64 hooked up to it. I sure know how to live huh?
A few years back I wrote an article on my ideal home cinema setup. Back then, Home Cinema was getting big and cinemas were worrying about the loss in trade. Well, things seem to have picked up for the cinemas now, but in the home there’s a whole new change happening that puts it beyond anything those multiplexes can offer.
My initial ideal setup (within reason) was a large widescreen TV, or a projector at a push, 5.1 system and decent DVD player. Even the basics behind this ideal are now changing. With HD TVs coming down in price all the time and so flat you can pin them to the wall, a choice of new higher definition video formats and ever more sophisticated sound systems, there’s now an even greater choice, and even more ways to spend the money you don’t have, for the best Home Cinema.
A good 42” HD TV will set you back between £1000 and £2000, depending on what options and connections you need. I recently had the chance to witness one of the Samsung range connected to an HD source at a friend’s house, it was pretty impressive and despite the cinema being that much bigger it could give those establishments a run for their money.
Add to this a PS3 for Blu-ray (still the cheapest, and really the only option for Blu-ray) or a dedicated HD-DVD player (or 360 HD Drive if you need to save costs) and you’ll really never need the cinema again, assuming you can wait for the movies on High Def formats.
Soundsystems haven’t really changed much in their capacity for audio. Though Japan tries to push 7.1, it hasn’t really taken off in the home beyond being used on PCs and there’s only so much difference you can hear. The only major enhancement worth thinking about is the wireless back speakers, which avoid all the mess of wires and allow you to place the speakers where you want.
It’s all well and good adding High Def TVs and players, but where things are really changing is with the way you play and store your media. With under the TV PC boxes becoming more common and affordable, and HD or Blu-ray drives available for them, is there really any need to have a separate drive?
Not only this, but with a wireless network, you can store your movies and music on the PC and play them anywhere in the house. So far there are a handful of devices allowing you to stream media, and they’re all limited in one way or another (usually by video formats supported), but this is still early days and sometime soon, within the year I bet, there will be several new wonder-boxes that can cope with everything, all in HD.
It may seem like a small change until you experience it or examine how it can affect how you watch and listen to your media. Sky was one of the first to realise that people don’t always have time to watch TV at the right time and created Sky +, you only have to look at the success of this to see that it’s a great idea and it’s a surprise that other companies have taken so long to catch up. But, despite now being able to buy freeview players with Hard Disc recorders, the PC setup is still the best way to get this working. You can even get your Sky + and PC linked up, or just use a freeview card for your PC. TV Schedules can be downloaded, Windows even integrates them into its media centre now and from these you can set recordings for your favourite shows.
What the Sky+ and Freeview recorders can’t do, though, is use the new services springing up on broadcasting sites. BBC, Channel 4 and a host of others let you see selected shows again whenever you want. They are also planning download services similar to Sky’s own, which uses Peer to Peer technology to let you download movies, sports and shows. Even BT has got in to the act with the (so far buggy and slightly unreliable) BT Vision. Having the PC option allows you freedom to have all of these and freeview as well in one box.
Of course, there is always the less legal option with PCs, which is always available from torrent sites, but with the other options available, this is really just for people who either can’t wait for media to become available or don’t want to pay.
So what’s my ideal setup now? Well, large HD TV on the wall, good matching 5.1 system with wireless back speakers, media PC with either of the High Definition drive formats and a large hard drive, Wifi network and media centre for any other TV or sound system in the house and lastly Sky HD for High Definition broadcasts. Comfy seats and good company are, of course, highly recommended.
Will I be getting this? Give it a year at the current fall in prices and I’ll probably have at least some of this. However, even in part it’s still an affordable ideal for anyone serious about their entertainment but without a lottery win to pay for it.
My initial ideal setup (within reason) was a large widescreen TV, or a projector at a push, 5.1 system and decent DVD player. Even the basics behind this ideal are now changing. With HD TVs coming down in price all the time and so flat you can pin them to the wall, a choice of new higher definition video formats and ever more sophisticated sound systems, there’s now an even greater choice, and even more ways to spend the money you don’t have, for the best Home Cinema.
A good 42” HD TV will set you back between £1000 and £2000, depending on what options and connections you need. I recently had the chance to witness one of the Samsung range connected to an HD source at a friend’s house, it was pretty impressive and despite the cinema being that much bigger it could give those establishments a run for their money.
Add to this a PS3 for Blu-ray (still the cheapest, and really the only option for Blu-ray) or a dedicated HD-DVD player (or 360 HD Drive if you need to save costs) and you’ll really never need the cinema again, assuming you can wait for the movies on High Def formats.
Soundsystems haven’t really changed much in their capacity for audio. Though Japan tries to push 7.1, it hasn’t really taken off in the home beyond being used on PCs and there’s only so much difference you can hear. The only major enhancement worth thinking about is the wireless back speakers, which avoid all the mess of wires and allow you to place the speakers where you want.
It’s all well and good adding High Def TVs and players, but where things are really changing is with the way you play and store your media. With under the TV PC boxes becoming more common and affordable, and HD or Blu-ray drives available for them, is there really any need to have a separate drive?
Not only this, but with a wireless network, you can store your movies and music on the PC and play them anywhere in the house. So far there are a handful of devices allowing you to stream media, and they’re all limited in one way or another (usually by video formats supported), but this is still early days and sometime soon, within the year I bet, there will be several new wonder-boxes that can cope with everything, all in HD.
It may seem like a small change until you experience it or examine how it can affect how you watch and listen to your media. Sky was one of the first to realise that people don’t always have time to watch TV at the right time and created Sky +, you only have to look at the success of this to see that it’s a great idea and it’s a surprise that other companies have taken so long to catch up. But, despite now being able to buy freeview players with Hard Disc recorders, the PC setup is still the best way to get this working. You can even get your Sky + and PC linked up, or just use a freeview card for your PC. TV Schedules can be downloaded, Windows even integrates them into its media centre now and from these you can set recordings for your favourite shows.
What the Sky+ and Freeview recorders can’t do, though, is use the new services springing up on broadcasting sites. BBC, Channel 4 and a host of others let you see selected shows again whenever you want. They are also planning download services similar to Sky’s own, which uses Peer to Peer technology to let you download movies, sports and shows. Even BT has got in to the act with the (so far buggy and slightly unreliable) BT Vision. Having the PC option allows you freedom to have all of these and freeview as well in one box.
Of course, there is always the less legal option with PCs, which is always available from torrent sites, but with the other options available, this is really just for people who either can’t wait for media to become available or don’t want to pay.
So what’s my ideal setup now? Well, large HD TV on the wall, good matching 5.1 system with wireless back speakers, media PC with either of the High Definition drive formats and a large hard drive, Wifi network and media centre for any other TV or sound system in the house and lastly Sky HD for High Definition broadcasts. Comfy seats and good company are, of course, highly recommended.
Will I be getting this? Give it a year at the current fall in prices and I’ll probably have at least some of this. However, even in part it’s still an affordable ideal for anyone serious about their entertainment but without a lottery win to pay for it.