Totally blow out the big game! Part III: Super Bowl XLII
By Darren Murph 
posted Jan 30th 2008 5:00PM
posted Jan 30th 2008 5:00PM
The HDTV
Feeling a little restricted by the real estate provided by the aforementioned sets? Fret not, as there are a plethora of HD projectors out there just waiting for the lights to dim in your den. The recently released (and pictured above) Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB will certainly light up any screen / white wall you've got laying around for $2,799, and if you've managed to scoff at such a miniscule price tag, we're sure your guests would also love the $31,995 SIM2 C3X. Oh, and Panny's lovely 1080p PT-AE2000 should show off the greenest grass in the desert quite pleasantly, too.
The Signal
Contrary to popular belief, an HDTV will not magically convert all your SD programming into high-definition. Baffling, we know. So if you're still sitting around with nary an OTA antenna or HD set-top-box at your domicile, well, what are you waiting for? If you're within range (find out here) of your local FOX affiliate's tower, we'd highly recommend grabbing that OTA HD signal out of thin air for the most impressive (and free, to boot) picture. If you're not, feel free to ping your local cable provider -- be it Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, or any of the others -- and see if you can't get your locals in HD. Alternatively, there's always DISH and DirecTV, but once again, you'll need to clarify with a company representative whether or not HD locals are available in your neck of the woods. [Image courtesy of RayCeefBlog]
The HTPC
If you're fortunate enough to have a dedicated closet to hide your totally important (but totally unsightly) equipment in, Dell's XPS 420 (with CableCARD) may not be a bad choice for capturing the game along with almost anything else that dares take on the NFL's biggest game. For those taking aesthetics into account, it's hard to go wrong with Okoro Media Systems' OMS-CX100. If you've got a soft spot in your heart for glowing extraterrestrial beings, we hear Alienware's Hangar18 has your name written all over it.
The HD DVR
Assuming you're not already relying on one of those units doled out to you by the cable / satellite company, and you're not quite ready to plunk down for an entire Media PC, might we recommend Sony's DHG-HDD500. Yep, this is the same fellow that we suggested last year, but considering the dearth of alternatives out there right now, we still think it's your best option. Well, aside from the equally hard to find LG LST-3410A (pictured). Shame that Echostar TR-50 isn't out yet, eh?
The Audio
Had you given any level of thought to this upcoming day, you would've pieced together a harmonic assemblage of separates to create a masterful 7.1 surround setup. Granted, we suppose that is still an option with the nearly bundled Pinnacle QP 1530 system, but for the bulk of ya, we know what you want, and you want HTIB. If you've been scouting a new DVD player anyway (or don't mind auctioning off unused hardware), Harman Kardon's latest trio -- the CP 65, CP 60 and CP 55 -- is bound to hit a sweet spot. Looking for speakers only? Infinity's 5.1 TSS-800 should provide plenty of oomph without engulfing your living area, and for the real minimalists out there, the YAS-70 from Yamaha aims to dish out faux surround and plenty of lows with the included subbie.
The Seating
On any given Sunday, we wouldn't hesitate to suggest just about any home theater seating surface constructed by Berkline -- the 45013 Series, 45015 Series or the 090 Series, for instance -- but for this particular Sunday, why not go full tilt? That's right, we're recommending that you load your living room up with Giants / Patriots DreamSeats to really set the mood, but feel free to swap 'em out for your favorite team if necessary.
The Eats
Besides the obvious -- nachos, salsa, wings, burgers, ribs, chips and, if you're lucky, your grandmother's outrageously delicious Taco Dip -- you'll need a 'fridge full of seconds, thirds and a fine assortment of beverages. To be honest, we figure a household servant bot would be the best solution to not missing a moment of the action while never running out of grub, but if that's just not in the cards this year, why not wheel in LG's LSC27991? This refrigerator not only features 26.2 cubic feet of ultra-cool storage space, but it houses a 15-inch HD-ready LCD right on the door, ensuring that even your waterboy won't miss a tick.
The Pre-Game Game
No doubt about it, Electronic Arts has the NFL video game market completely locked down (for better or worse, if you catch our drift), but at least this year you can actually have a little more control of your Pats - Giants simulation match. That's right -- this go 'round, you and three others can wield Wiimotes and get into the action like never before, but please, considering all the dough you just dropped, enforce the Tight Armband Policy. Don't say we didn't warn you.
The Payback
Who are we kidding? We know good and well that a-many coveted gadgets (and maybe a few dinners, vacation days, etc.) will be riding on the outcome of this game, but we're here to put a special twist on the traditional wager. For starters, we'd make the loser(s) hang around until they hit 999 on Konami's push-up counter. If that's not enough to truly get even, you can also remove all things open-source from a devout Linux user's home and force him / her to compute with Windows until Super Bowl XLIII. Just don't blame us when they absolutely refuse to speak to you ever again (or skin Vista to look just like Ubuntu). [Image courtesy of ESPN]
Obviously, we wouldn't be shocked to find that your favorite wares weren't listed here, so be our guest and shout our your recommendations in comments below!
See just how far we've come:
The Signal
The HTPC
The HD DVR
The Audio
The Seating
The Eats
The Pre-Game Game
The Payback
Obviously, we wouldn't be shocked to find that your favorite wares weren't listed here, so be our guest and shout our your recommendations in comments below!
See just how far we've come:
lol "the New York Football Giants"...
stick to the geeky yet cheeky descriptions guys, although I do appreciate the jock verbage, almost made me do a double take with that at the top.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or what your point is), so if I'm missing it then forgive me, but the Giants are actually technically the NY Football Giants so I don't think Engadget is wrong in saying that.
Actually that's still their legal corporate name.
Because the Giants baseball team used to be in New York. SO to distinguish between them, they were called the New York Football Giants. I think when the Giants moved to San Fran in the 50s, they started referring to them as simply the New York Giants.
So... in short... PWNED!
yes anonymouspimp i stand corrected. And im sure you directed yourself to google immediately after reading so you can show off and be a turd. congrats.
Because you didn't know something about NYG history, no one that reads Engadget possibly could...?
Or I could just be a huge fan of football (although, admittedly not a Giants fan... GO BEARS!)
Also, they refer to them as the NY Football Giants all the time on TV on shows Sports Center.
Anyways... sorry to get you all worked up. You can go back to proof reading now.
Perhaps you should take a page from anon's book, UGN, and Google things beforehand so you don't make yourself look foolish. It's not his (her? I don't know) fault you were wrong, so shush.
Way to graciously admit you were wrong, UGN.
This isn't football, it's handball. :P
The only thing Eli has in common with Payton is being on a winning team. Eli's stats are still mediocre, he just somehow ended up in the SuperBowl.
I agree with torqueo :P. To us jolly foreigners across the pond, your game is completely alien (and a bit silly I'm sorry to say), but then again, I don't know anything about it!
Anyways, hope you yanks have fun with your... hand... not very round ball... game!
:D
I'll be at the game...HDTV will stay cold :)
What is the resolution of real life?
Depending how good your eyes are, hundreds of megapixels. :P
This system is a little lacking...
The only difference between the XBR4 and XBR5 is that the 5 comes in black. Just like the three before it. Considering the XBR4 is cheaper, why not go with it? Also, 120hertz technology is just artificial digital processing to make excuses for the TV's poor response time. All it does in actuality is cause color banding and a "computer monitor" like image finish. You know why Plasma or CRT never used 120 hertz? Because the real reason behind motion blur is slow pixel response times. Plasma and CRT have no issues with motion blur due to a response time in the nano seconds compared to LCD's milliseconds.
So go to your local HDTV store and watch a plasma right next to a 120hertz TV. Or a CRT next to LCD (remember, those had no image blur problems). Notice how the 120hertz TV seems to induce eye-strain and lots of blurring? Thats because its actually processing the image to give those effects, negating your perception of a clear-moving image. It looks faster, but its faster than reality and some of the image is distorted to give you that effect.
Instead of going with an XBR4 then, unless you need the Bravia Pro engine to upconvert tons of standard def sources, why not just get the W3000? It uses the same screen, and HDMI 1.3, and most of the same internal components. It just does not use 120hertz (note: it may actually be there, more on this later), and doesn't have Bravia Pro. Spend the money you save between the 52" W3000 and the 52" XBR4 and get a Blu-Ray player, HD signal and OTA antenna, and some cables from either Cables Unlimited or DVIgear.com. Another note on that, don't buy cables from Monster: those store salespeople will make them seem like the greatest invention since HD itself, but all HDMI cables have to be fully complaint with the HDMI associations specs in order to be called HDMI. So they can all perform to the same standards, regardless of whether or not they use gold contacts or silver alloy in the cable.
Second, a 46" is a little small. After all, the recommended viewing distance (going by CNET recommendations) is 1.5 times the diagonal measurement of the screen. 6.6 feet is common, so go with 52 inches of HD glory instead of 46.
Third, that sound system makes my inner audio-phile weep. Hardom Kardon is good, but they do not support HDMI 1.3.
Now about that 120hertz on the W3000. A lot of times to cut costs manufacturers will make only one motherboard to fill across a line of TVs. Samsung once did this on a CRT I know of: the difference between a two TVs on the shelves was supposed to be that one had picture and picture. But when a buddy I know at the Imaging Science foundation opened up his manufacturers service menu to set the set to 6500K, he found a little option that said "PIP: Off." He turned it to on and vadda-boom: the PIP was enabled on the "less-well equipped" model. Samsung did that because it would of doubled development costs to have two motherboards, one for each model. So before the MOBO's went into the TVs casings, they just had all the motherboards for the lower priced unit programmed with PIP set to off.
In the case of the W3000, I'm told the motherboard is the same as on the XBR4 and XBR5. If thats true and you are brave enough to access the manufacturers menu yourself (be careful, you can REALLY mess things up there if you do not know what you are doing), the 120hertz function may be activateable on the W3000.
Now, for my recommendations for Superbowl Glory (note: I in no way imply engadget has not done a good job with recommendations, I'd just like to say I think I have a better idea):
52" W3000 from Sony. XBR4 like specs minus the Bravia Pro engine and 120hertz shennanigans. And it can be had for much less than $3000.
Denon 2808 Surround Receiver or better. 7.1 Channel surround receiver with DTS HD and Dolby Digital TruHD support via the HDMI 1.3 jacks, and these receivers have up to 5 (5!) jacks in them. This allows you to connect...
Sony Playstation 3. Likelyhood is you will be keeping this stuff for some time, so get the best Blu-Ray player available. It has HDMI 1.3 (meaning it will do 7.1 Channel lossless surround sound via HDMI, simplying your cabling shennanigans)(twice I've used that word lets go for three), and its upgradeable via the ethernet port to Profile 2.0, which is what you will need in order to use the interactive features on a Blu-Ray disc.
Now get your HD Cable or satellite service. I recommend whats-ever cheaper in your area or the most channels. Choose which suits you, but make sure they give you a receiver with HDMI to connect to your surround receiver with only one chord.
And an OTA antenna: cable and satellite can both go out, so why be stuck without TV? Screw this right into your Coax jack on the TV, and if you want to use the surround system, connect a fiber-optic cable from the W3000 to the Denon receiver. Yah, it will pass surround like that.
And now the speakers, my favorite part. I like to do two things with speakers: hear every single note exactly as it was played and play them loud enough to piss off my hippy-ass neighbors (note: Reign of Blood does work for that). I recommend for most people though I recommend 4 RB-51 Bookshelves from Klipsch with the matching floor standing speakers (RF-52s), and a RC-52 Center Channel with RW-10d Subwoofer.
Ahhh, yes that'd be a good starter setup. But since most of you probably do not want to blow several thousand on "just" (I sucker punch the first man who actually makers that claim) speakers, here is another idea:
4 JBL Arena Speakers, 2 JBL Stage Speakers, a JBL SUB 12 Subwoofer, and a JBL Voice Center Channel. Thats oodles less than the Klipsch, they are not horn loaded so you do not get the high end distortion (note: the speakers I recommended do not get loud enough for that distortion to be apparent anyway), and still look good. That will put you right at a cool $1300 for those speakers. Not shabby at all.
Speaker wire should be twelve gauge no name brand, HDMI cables need be no name brand at all either. In fact, I will make the claim that cheaper HDMI cables are better HDMI cables. As for fiber optic, TOSlink it and don't pay more than $20.
Well, I think that about does it.
Come again?
Several Thousand, Sh*& I just blew 275 grand on the system put into my Custom built home by the Good people at Audio Design Associates. Now if your going to go big, the only thing I can say is the Omega CB Flagship. I will be streaming HD 7.1 from my DirectTV System to 8 televisions, and the Theatre Room. And Nay, not for the Game.. The Commercials.
ya know, every year i watch the superbowl and have a party with my friends in hopes that they will return the favor and watch the world cup and have a party with me. alas, i live in a america.
Ok Master, come World Cup time, and you find yourself in Colorado, You swing on by my place and we do the Cup.
why spend thousands to watch a tv show?! buy a refidgerator for a show if your not rich why?
Damn,.. that Alienware PVR looks sweet!
thanks engadget, once again everyone in the world bar the united states feels left out.
So, unless everyone is invited to the party, there can be no party?
I get my sports news from engadget. Does that make me a "casual sports fan?"
Yes, yes it does.
Pretty nice write up Engadget.
However, those speaker selections are a joke. Seriously, you suggest a $6000+ tv and pair it with Wal-Mart speakers?
What is wrong with recommending a simple AVR from Denon or Onkyo paired with some decent speakers from Energy, Mirage, or PSB, which can all be had for around 1k or less.
Home theater is picture PLUS sound. Someday people will figure that out.
I love how the whole article is talking about HD and then a Wii graphic is thrown in, haha.