Home Media Setup

[MasterShrive 2,018]

I have a feeling that my HTPC and my sound system (both ten years old) could be on the fritz. I'm having some sound issues, which seem to disappear when I plug the HDMI into the TV directly (a ten year old plasma). And my HTPC couldn't find it's data drive last night, which might mean it's on the way out too (running an old Athlon processor and DDR2, it's had a good life). I'd like to point out that my HTPC machine was reformatted last year, so it was my freshest Windows 10 install (until my laptop crapped itself last week).

 

So I am curious to know what home theatre setups people have. Is anyone running proper receivers with 5.1 (or better)? And does anyone have any recommendations incase I need to replace it (I'd like to try and future-proof as much as possible)? What about TVs? As that is an upgrade I am also considering. 

 

It's also got me thinking as to whether I really need a HTPC any more. If I got a new TV, it would have apps for the likes of Netflix and be able to play anything I have on my NAS. I was also wondering if a Chromecast might suit my purposes too - does anyone run one of those?

 

The main reason I might want to keep a HTPC running is for 4K blu ray purposes - but I'm sure I could find a way around that if I cut out the HTPC completely. I've even considered retiring this work laptop to media player duties and then getting a new one for school.

 

So anyway, what do you use, what do you recommend, and does anyone have any experiences with a full home theatre setup?

 

~MS.

[bprc 1,441]

65" Smart TV and any flavor of soundbar/sub. Done.

 

Our TV has Netflix and Plex built in which is what we use 90% of the time.

 

We also have a DVD player, Foxtel, WiiU connected.

 

Also, reformat.

[MiniSanders 588]

I have a Steam Link which does the job pretty well.

Everything is done by my PC and transferred to the TV, but then again I don't have a fancy TV at all... 

[MasterShrive 2,018]

I hadn't heard of a Steam Link before. I can HDMI from my main PC at the moment, which would be another attraction of getting a 4K TV (for gaming with a controller).

 

BP, you run the sound directly out of the TV? And don't have a separate receiver?

 

As I also have the issue that anything sent to the TV downgrades to 2.0 sound wise, which is annoying, but something I'd hope a newer TV could fix.

 

Plex is also something I probably need to look into more, and that really might do the job on a smart TV. What OS does yours have BP?

[bprc 1,441]

Yeah, no receiver. Optical out from the TV to the Playbar.

 

Ummm.... it's a reasonably new Samsung TV. I guess it's some flavour of Android.

[PistolKnight 554]

We have a Samsung and a Sony - both android but the Sony has far more apps and is far easier to navigate imo. I usually stream via windows 10 to the output source. I like the idea of plaex though, something I will look into. This sort of setup means that a NAS is becoming more redundant and really only beneficial if you want to back up

[bprc 1,441]

You still need somewhere to store all of your Plex content.

[Decroxx 816]

Moving to Plex is no easy task in itself, the rabbit hole runs deep there. There's a lot of layers that can go on top of Plex to enhance the experience.

Personally I run a Chromebox underneath the TV itself, but it running Windows 10. Sound is just running through a set of Logitech desktop speakers that I had spare. It's certainly nothing fancy, but it gets the job done for the everyday sorta stuff that we watch.

There's also a Chromecast in the TV upstairs which works pretty reliably. I had nothing but issues with the old generation of Chromecast, but the new design seems a lot better.

[Duckz 474]

How much money do you want to spend, and how much room do you have? It might also be worth going to have a play with the different UI's.

 

I'm personally eyeing off the Hisense N7 series. Excellent unit for the price. I've seen them recently for around $1600 for the 65N7. As for apps, I use the Apple TV 4 (They have a 4K version out now), and it has every app that I want. All the FTA catch up services, Netflix, Stan, YouTube, Plex and also Optus Sport (Premier League).

[PistolKnight 554]

For the main room I have a 7.1 with a Yamaha receiver and Paradigm speakers (front left, right and centre) I have Yamaha speakers in the ceiling for mid and rear with a Yamaha sub.  It is quite a large room 8m x 4m

 

I bought a 65" Sony at JB xmas sale 2 years ago - I did not bother with 4k as there is not that much content (FTA, streaming, etc)  and when I did some research everything I saw said skip 4k and go to HDR which was only just out in the US so I thought I would be happy to wait a few years and upgrade when prices come down to the ~ $3k mark

[MasterShrive 2,018]

The room size is quite minimal - maybe 3 x 3 in terms of useable space. But if I did get a new TV and/or sound system then I'd be wanting it to be future proof - so I wouldn't really care if it was far too big for this room.

 

Budget wise, maybe 3 to 4K - but I'm only in preliminary investigations so far.

 

That said, I did further tweaking with the current system last night and it appears the issue is with the HTPC, not the AV System. However, I'm not sure there's much point in spending money to replace the HTPC, as that could be money better spent going into a TV. I'm heading to Horsham tomorrow, so I'm hoping to try out a few TVs and look at sizes and AV systems.

[Duckz 474]

What do you actually use the HTPC for? IMO, they seem kind of redundant these days.

12 hours ago, Decroxx said:

Moving to Plex is no easy task in itself, the rabbit hole runs deep there. There's a lot of layers that can go on top of Plex to enhance the experience.

Not really. Install the server program, add a library and point it to a/multiple directory on your computer, and provided everything is named correctly, let it sit and download all the metadata.

 

I've had to fully rebuild my whole Plex library (3k+ movies and 260+ tv shows/18k+ episodes) about 3 times (my own stupid fault), and every time it's gone easy as, even with my awesome naming convention (I keep all the original "scene" names).

Edited November 7, 2017 by Duckz

[PistolKnight 554]

My perspective is that you are really not going to future proof very much the TV - HDR is still a while away (affordability) so I would not bother spending on 4k when there really is not alot of content still (even though 4k TVs have been out for sometime) this would be a little different if you were planning on 4k gaming quite a bit on it (but in my circumstances that would only really happen on the TV in the games/kids rumpus room). For that size room a 55" is pretty big.

 

Personally for that budget I would look at second hand receiver and some decent speakers - speakers are not component is not really going to change too much into the future (sure there will be some technology changes but the fundamentals will remain the same). Note that the second hand receiver probably will not have wifi and the other integrations you will probably want, so if that was a deal breaker then a new one onkyo or yamaha would be the go (decent quality for a reasonable price imo). Selby Acoutics actually has a sale on at the moment so you could pick up something like this for less than $1300 which is 7.1, and has everything built in - wifi, chromecast, spotify, airplay, 4k and HDR.

 

https://www.selby.com.au/brands/onkyo/onkyo-tx-nr676e-7-2-channel-network-av-receiver-txnr676e.html

 

Which if you added some good second hand speakers (which you could update/upgrade in the future) for ~ $500 (not would not be wireless) would leave you about $1k - $1.5k for the TV. You could get a Kogan 4k LED TV 55 inch for ~ $800 knowing that sometime in the future when you have a house etc it would be the second TV.

 

 

[MasterShrive 2,018]

The HTPC is mainly used to stream from the NAS, surf the web a bit, watch YouTube and of course play the likes of Netflix and Stan. It's also got a blu-ray player. However, with my recent upgrade to the 1080 Ti, I was also able to plug my main machine into the sound system, giving me the ability to play games from the couch in surround sound. So that would give me the ability to play blu-rays, and if I upgraded I could also do some 4K gaming.

 

Realistically though, probably all of the functions of the HTPC are now replicable by a smart TV and/or smart phone in combination with a NAS.

 

In regards to future proofing, you're right that it might be difficult to do PK. However, ten years ago I bought this 1080p Plasma which was top of the line back then, and it's served me admirably. So I would be wanting to do that same again, meaning a decent size, 4K and HDR. My concerns there, in some regards, are to do with HDMI and compatibility. I'd want to make sure that the HDMI standard is the latest for that reason.

 

That's a really good idea about a second hand receiver - I hadn't thought of that and something worth looking in to. Although I wouldn't mind having the back speakers wireless, but that's not to say something couldn't be found.

 

That a great receiver you've linked to - with something like that I could keep the current TV for now and effectively use the receiver to replace my HTPC. And then just use my current speakers for now (which are okay, but certainly not great). That's not an option I had considered.

 

In regards to HDR and 4K, we're not getting the NBN until June next year, so even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to stream using those features and would have to rely on Uncle Torrents for that kind of content. So maybe I don't want to jump the gun too much there either.

[bprc 1,441]

Just wanted to say that I know the guy who owns Selby!

[MasterShrive 2,018]

So you can get "off the back of a truck" discounts?

[bprc 1,441]

Yeah. Have you seen his prices? He gives everyone "off the back of a truck" prices.

[MasterShrive 2,018]

Haha - so you're telling me I should be wary?

[bprc 1,441]

Nah, he has decent prices because he sells huge amounts of stock and has no shop front.

 

Not sure on his cables though - they're definitely made in China.

[AussieNinja159 79]

I use netflix mostly and i use my a ps4 for that. I need to update my speakers badly though.

[MasterShrive 2,018]

A console wouldn't be a bad idea, although I don't think I need another list of games I haven't played yet, lol.

[fencer 175]

I still use my Pioneer 55" plasma and its still going great. I have it with a Pioneer LX60 amp that I bought at the same time with Paradigm fronts and centre speakers (shoutout PK), Niles rear speakers in the walls and a big Polk subwoofer. I watched Atomic Blonde last night in 1080p with Dolby HD audio and it still blows me away how good it looks and sounds. I have a Sony in another room with a soundbar and its caulk and cheese to the Pioneer setup.

 

We move to my our new place next May and i can't wait to setup a new tv room. I'm looking at upgrading the tv to a 60" LG OLED. Its smart tv functions look easy to use so I can retire the simplistic WD live box I have now. I mainly just want a good Youtube streamer for the tv as the WD one is pretty ordinary. Never really though about a Nas setup but I think I might in the new place as I expect its the last move I make until retirement  I might come and ask for help setting that up next year

 

Whatever you decide Shrive , enjoy the results mate.

 

 

 

 

[MasterShrive 2,018]

Well for now, my decision has been to do nothing. I did an inplace upgrade of Windows 10 on the HTPC and that seems to have fixed the sound issues coming from that. And as I don't really have the time to set up a whole bunch of new tech just yet, I think it best if I just wait and do my research properly. So I'll probably be reviewing this topic towards the end of the year or sometime next year I'd say.

[MasterShrive 2,018]

Next general question on this topic - is anyone running a setup involving 3D?

[bprc 1,441]

3D is dead.

 

I would argue it was never alive.