Home Theater Help

[zums]

Well, I have decided to take the plunge. I realize I will not have any of this in time for the Super Bowl, but honestly it’s not that big of a deal at this point. What has gotten me ready to give in to my urges is the fact that the TV I want is on sale and Best Buy is offering 0% financing for 36 months. However, this offer is only good until Saturday so I am either taking care of all of this on Wed. (my day off) or Sat. afternoon.

However, I could use some help/advice/encouragement on a few subjects. I have read a number of threads here, on the AVS forums, reviews on Crutchfield, Circuit City, CNet, etc… and every time I do I start to question what I want/need and what the best course of action is.

Let me start w/ the TV – this is the part that I have no doubts about.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149208956900

On sale to $1999. Circuit City has it for $1899 so will price match there. I have been set on this set for awhile due to the quality for the price and good reviews. However, it leads to some other questions.

I obviously want a nice surround system to go with the TV so I get everything out of it that I can. However, I just recently started looking into this and now need to make a decision. Originally I was looking at this system:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-QFmhKH2...0&i=158DAVFX9H

Really like the styling of this system and the rear wireless speakers. Has 5 disc DVD included w/ HDMI and upconversion. However it is a little pricey and reviews, while good, are not great. That led me to the DAV-FX500 which is basically the same system except the rear speakers are different. Much cheaper.

The more I looked into it and read, I started to think that maybe a different type of system would be better. I want to go w/ a home-theater-in-a-box for the simplicity and all-in-one, but are systems w/ an actual receiver and separate DVD player better? I have gravitated toward this:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-QFmhKH2...=580HTS894#Tab

The main reason is the HDMI switching included. The system also upconverts DVDs and likely is better sounding for music than the Sony system. I guess my question is this… is HDMI switching critical? I will likely have the TV, and DVD player, and a satellite box in my system (no 360 or ps3 as of yet). What are the advantages of switching vs. hooking straight to the TV? If I just go with the Sony, how do I then get the sound from DirecTV to go through the surround system? Is it inferior quality doing it that way? I’m sorry if these are noob questions but this is my first system ever.

I guess this leads to my next question with DirecTV. Will likely go with the DirecTV HD-DVR, despite so-so reviews and experiences. I live in the sticks so cable is not an option. Currently have standard DirecTV, do I need to just upgrade my receiver or do I need a whole new dish? Can I do all of this through Best Buy when I get the TV/Stereo?


I apologize for the ridiculous length of this post. This is a very big decision/commitment for me and I just want to make sure I get it right the first time since it will likely be the same for quite awhile. I would like to keep everything under $3000.00 if at all possible. A few more quick questions:

• How does the 0% financing work at Best Buy? Are you automatically approved for whatever amount you need? I have good credit, just wondering because I only want to do this if I can get this financing deal, otherwise I will wait.
  
• Is there wiggle room at Best Buy when making purchases like this? Getting something like a stand thrown in or any extras/discounts or is it all pretty standard?

Just looking for any sort of advice and/or answers to any of these questions or things to look out for. Also, any experiences you have w/ these systems or whatever setups you have in your homes would be great. I value the opinions of FOFC a ton, even though I do not post much I read daily. Thank you for any and all help!!!!!!!!

-zums

[stevew]

That SXRD is 1799 at sears, price match it to there at Bestbuy, or just buy it at sears. It's a sweet TV. Also if you buy a sony TV greater than 40", and a sony HTIB, you get a 300 dollar gift card back via the mail in 8-12 weeks. In it's class, that TV is probably the best one I've seen. The HTIB you like is probably orderable from sears as well(the 500 is not a normal item, but can be ordered). The 60" version is only $2,349.99 as well at BB, you might want to consider the bigger screen.

The rebate http://www.sears.com/sr/product/reba...id=05798115000

I dunno about Bestbuy credit, but if you can get approved for it at Sears, they do 24 months 0% right now. Only major thing to watch is that if you don't pay it off in full by 24 months, or default on it you get screwed on interest.

That is definitely a sweet tv though, and there is a matching stand available, I would suggest possibly getting it. I know it's 350, but it matches the colors of the TV perfectly.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...uctSKU=SURS11M

But it's not like you have to buy it the same day.

All i know, is if you are going to be buying electronics, you can save several hundred dollars usually by pricematching. And then on top of that, keep updated on price changes, since most places offer 30-45 day matches on sale prices.

No real wiggle room on getting something free, but if you work your ass off at pricematching, in the end you can get close to free stuff thrown in.