Poll: What part of your home theater is getting upgraded this holiday season?
By Richard Lawler 
posted October 11th 2009 3:15PM
posted October 11th 2009 3:15PM
posted October 11th 2009 3:15PM
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3D plasmas from Panasonic and compatible (shutter glasses) LCDs from Sony will JUST be coming out in 2010. 3D Blu-ray players might come out in 2010, but more likely, 2011. After that, it's going to be at least a couple of years before there is any sort of sizable library of 3D Blu-ray titles. And it will be a couple of years after THAT before we even hear a hint about broadcast 3D television shows.
Not only that, by the Blu-ray Group hasn't even come to an agreement on what 3D technology should be the standard. And there's no guarantee that what the Blu-ray Group chooses will also be chosen by television broadcasters. Panny and Sony are pushing hard for shutter glasses - and it will probably go that way. But it isn't for sure yet.
My point is that I don't expect there to be a good reason to buy a 3D display until about 5 years from now, 4 at the earliest. And the whole thing might collapse before then if 3D movies start making less money in the theatres and people don't adopt 3D at home.
So if you want a new display now, I'd say go ahead and get a nice, new display. Check back in 4 years to see where 3D is at. You'll probably be ready to buy a new display by then anyway ;)
My something else is mounting my plasma above the fireplace and running component cables to my computer for media. Its funny, the 2 things that convinced my wife to let us mount is we have a baby on the way, and she wants to put the Christmas tree where the TV is now. Its all about showing her how she will benefit guys!
I am going to add some little media box like the WD TV, QNAP, or roll my own. I love some XBMC, but the simplicity of the little boxes is pulling me towards them.
Nothing, I've just finished building my HT room! =D
I'll be upgrading my HTPC box from VMC to Windows 7 sometime in November, and if the Ceton cablecard tuner becomes available before 2010, I'll probably get one of those, budget permitting.
I have nothing that needs upgrading at the moment, after getting an XBR8 earlier this year. Best. LCD. EVAR.
Adding an SSD
We just bought our first home a week ago, and I think it's time to start upgrading everything. Current setup is as follows:
30" LG 30FS4D SuperSlim CRT HDTV
Sony HT-CT100 Sound Bar/Subwoofer with 3 HDMI in / 1 out
Samsung SMT-H3090 HD DVR STB (Time Warner)
Sony PS3 40GB (upgraded to 500GB)
Philips BDP-7200 Blu-ray Player
The first thing that needs to be upgraded is the TV. Previous viewing distance at our apartment was only 9 ft, now between 10-15 ft at the house(depending on where you're sitting). I've had my eyes on a 50" Panasonic plasma for quite some time, specifically the TC-P50S1 or TC-P50G10, not sure if the G10 is worth the extra $200-300 over the S1 though.
When the new TV is purchased I will need a new stand to accomodate it, and it needs to be a corner with enough space and ventilation for my previously listed components (the PS3 is quiet with enough ventilation, but may as well be a 360 if it's in a confined space when considering noise).
A new receiver and speakers will follow, but I am in a tough spot in regards to surround speakers at the new home since the TV is located in a corner and the couch and love seat are in completely different viewing angles/locations in relation. Placing rear speakers that will immerse both seating positions will be extremely difficult and/or look weird. Oh well, I will tackle that problem after I replace the TV.
I really feel getting a bigger, higher quality TV is my top priority this Black Friday, although I may not have to wait until then (or I could wait til after) since the Panasonics are already very reasonably priced.
I voted nothing, I just got my projector and 2 rows of seating with 7.1 hooked up on a new Denon receiver. I am done for a while.
@slarity
Uh... Can I come over?
Our home theater is pretty much set. As it stands we've got a Pioneer 5020FD Plasma, Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K Receiver, Elemental Design and Polk Speakers, Elemental Design A2-300 sub, XBox 360, PS3 and U-Verse in our living room. Very happy with the setup for the budget we had.
We are considering upgrading our old 27" Panasonic tube TV in the bedroom to a 32" flat panel. I really wish you could still get a 32" plasma, but I don't know of a single model available in the US. So we'll probably just go with a sub-$400 LCD. We'd also get a new Blu-Ray player for the bedroom at the same time. Having a Netflix, etc. enabled player would be nice, but not a necessity. We're also considering a sounbar for the bedroom as well. Though, that may be overkill.