Affordable Blu-Ray Home Cinema System

On December 30, 2009 in Development, New Technology, Tutorials.
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You may have read that I recently installed a complete new system in my family house lounge? Well here is the kit I used:

  • Samsung 46″ 5 Series LCD (Comet – £599)
  • SkyHD+ box (Sky – £30)
  • PS3 Slimline 120GB (Asda – £180)
  • HDMI 10.2Gbps Monster Cable x2 (Amazon – £100)
  • Logitech Z5500 5.1 THX (Amazon – £298)

    • This setup falls in at £1207, with a budget of £1250 leaving a little room for extra remotes (for example the PS3 remote / Keyboard) and optical cables.

    It seems expensive until you consider what you get for the money: The Samsung 5 series has been reduced from £999 to £599 in the Christmas sale in Comet, and for that you get a HD ready TV with a huge screen, beautiful looks and built in Free view. It also has plenty of functionality and tons of additional features, not to mention the superb picture quality. The speakers have been reduced from £500 to £298, and trust me when I say that they pack a powerful punch! I have had the older Z5400 setup in my room for a number of years and they are more than adequate to wake up the neighbours!

    Now to my main point: A 5.1 blu-ray home cinema system will set you back at least £500 for a decent setup, which will only allow one input (if that) and will be used for one and only function. Using a PS3 and Z5500′s (for a total of £480/£500) you will get a top of the range Bluray player, as well as all the additional functionality that a PS3 brings (BBC iPlayer, Internet Browser, Gaming, Internet access etc) as well as having a brilliantly powerful 5.1 system which can take up to 6 inputs (including your TV, Sky box, PS3, PC, Laptop and room for one more too!).

    The cables make this system what it is, and are expensive. But when your spending this sort of money on a Home Cinema System it’s worth the extra few pounds to get the best cables around! You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes!

    More to come soon!

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    Movement to High Definition!

    On December 30, 2009 in Development, New Technology.
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    I’ve often slated SkyHD about how it’s not ‘true’ high definition. However, with the approach of the new year this seems like a good time to make amends. More to the point, Sky have offered a free SkyHD+ box, with 50% off the installation fee (I should think so too – I routed the additional wires from the LNB dish to the box itself with the Sky+ box last year!!).

    Anyway, I’ve had a PS3 connected to a Samsung 5 Series for a while now, but to be honest I was never particularly impressed. The HD seemed a little grainy in places, but I put it down to the TV. However, I’ve recently brought a full new setup for my lounge (including new LED TV, 5.1 speakers and PS3 for Blu-ray). Along with it I brought a 10.2Gbps HDMI monster cable. After an afternoon setting it all up, I must say that the resulting pictures are amazing. It does go to show that a signal is only as strong as its weakest cable. The HD picture from the PS3 is amazing! I’ve already ordered another monster cable (8.4Gbps) for my setup.

    I can’t wait to get the SkyHD box in place so I can connect some more monster cables to it and see if it really is as brilliant as it’s acclaimed! Check back soon for more, or read my post about the best, and most affordable blu-ray home cinema system here!

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