Advice for Panasonic 42PX75U Set up

[tc392]

hello all....we just bought a Panasonic 42PX75U and I am looking into getting a new dvd player and receiver to go with it. I am wondering about a few things...

I would like to get a new receiver in the 1000-1500 dollar range....
are there ones that will upscale the standard signal from dish network to where it will look good ?
We don't want to get the HD channels from them if we don't have too....they want a 18 month contract along with some other things I am not to pleased with. So I would like to avoid that if possible...and they are our only option right now

Also which dvd player would be best for the new TV...tosiba A2 or the oppo's
I have also seen some pretty cheap ones at Sams club...a Phillips and Samsung I believe that upscale.

We are gonna be using our set up for movies and TV, we hardly use it for music...the receiver purchase probably won't happen for a few more months, but I have an old Onkyo to use until then. ( we got that a few years ago a HTIB package )

Also does anyone have any setup tips or does the TV come pretty much ready to go out of the box...we should get it in a few days. We will be sitting about 10-12 ft away.


Thanks for the advice....first timer here

 

[avaserfi]

The first thing you should do is go out and buy Avia or another calibration disc and calibrate your display. This will give you the best colors/contrast and settings in general for viewing.

After that I would suggest getting the A2. Since your focus is movies it doesn't seem like you will be using the Oppos DVD-A or SACD abilities so the HD DVD player will be better for you as it will give you highdef content and upscales very well.

Lastly, there isn't anything that will make the SD look great, but you might make it look better by getting a receiver that can upscale a SD signal which can help the situation some, but will not get rid of it. For that I would look into getting an Onkyo TX-SR605 which can be had for about 500 bucks spend the rest of your HT budget on speakers.

For good speakers for movies I would look into a package from SVS as you will get a great sub and quality speakers for your application all at an affordable price and they will mate well with the Onkyo.

 

[GlocksRock]

As far as a receiver goes, you really can't beat the new Onkyo TX-SR805, it's a THX Ultra 2 certified receiver for just a little over $1000, nothing in it's price range can touch it. But I really don't think you need all the features that receiver offers, so save some money and steup down a notch or two and put that towards better speakers and sub. Even though it can upscale SD, it can't create HD from an SD source, so if you want optimal picture quality, you will have to go with an HD package from your sattelite provider.

And for a DVD player, the Oppos are about as good as it gets until you step up to either BluRay or HD-DVD, and I'm not buying either until the format war is over.

As for setting up your display, get a copy of Avia and run through it's video calibration section and you should be good to go.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

SD from a sat on a 42'' Panny should look pretty darn good. Get the Cal disk like Andrew said and get the thing set up. It will be set on "Brilliant" when you get it so turn it down before it burns a hole in your head.

No way I would spend 1-1.5k on a AVR for your needs.

 

[jake5717]

Get the HD package from Dish it’s worth it! You only need to sign the 18 month contract if you want the get the DVR at the discounted price and to receive the $20 a month rebate.

I have a Toshiba HD-DVD player connected to my Panny and it looks awesome, much better than my old upconverting DVD player. I’ve never seen an Oppo in action so I can’t really say the HD-DVD player looks (or doesn’t) a whole lot better than the Oppo.

 

[tc392]

Thanks for the feedback...I really appreciate it.
I thought I knew alittle about this until we started really looking into it and then I realized I didn't know much.

I know that I can't get True Hd from a upscaled signal but I would spend alittle extra on receiver if it would help the picture until we get some more choices for HD in our area.
Unfortunately our dealings with Dish Network have been dismal at best and I really don't want to give them any more of my business than I have to.

What are some good bookshelf speakers, we are after some smaller ones.
As mentioned we have a HTIB from Onkyo from a while back and those speakers are way to big for our new area....although it does the job for now if need be.

We plan on just adding to our system alittle at a time....with the way things go the longer I wait to get a receiver the cheaper they get...so if getting speakers first at this stage makes more sense then I can swich gears.

 

[GlocksRock]

If you dont' have a way to power a 5/6/7.1 set of speakers, then you will need a receiver to power them, but check out the bookshelf speakers from HSU and especially SVS.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...HD DVD player will be better for you as it will give you highdef content and upscales very well...I would look into getting an Onkyo TX-SR605 which can be had for about 500 bucks...

...Onkyo TX-SR805...Even though it can upscale SD, it can't create HD from an SD source...

I think both the Onkyo 605/805 will Upconvert, but NOT Upscale to 1080i.

For Upscaling to 1080p, you need the $1,300 Onkyo 875:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4192495

However, from personal experience, SD Satellite upscale to 1080i still looks very bad if the original source if bad. 480 crooked lines will be upscale to 1080 crooked lines. Upscaling will not improve picture quality unless the original source already looks good. So if it already looks very good, upscale to 1080p will look great. If it looks bad, upscale to 1080p will look even worse!!! The rich gets richer, and the poor gets poorer--kind of thing.

I think the best way to enjoy your HDTV experience is from HD DVD and Blu-ray. Satellite HDTV will look very good, but it won't look as good as the best blu-ray or hd dvd movie out there. I think all the blu-ray players ($500 least expensive) will also upscale to 1080. But only the $400+ HD DVD players will upscale to 1080. I think the $220 HD DVD player from Toshiba (Amazon.com) will not upscale to 1080.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For that I would look into getting an Onkyo TX-SR605 which can be had for about 500 bucks spend the rest of your HT budget on speakers.

Actually, the Onkyo 605 is $400 (Free S/H) from J&R Music World.

Yeah, if I were on a budget, I wouldn't spend the money on a AV Receiver that upscales to 1080p either. I think the Onkyo 605 is enough. Upscaling of anything will never look as good as a new HD DVD movie played back on a $220 HD DVD Toshiba player or a new Blu-ray movie played back on a $500 Sony BD player. Bare bones Hi-Def HT would be the Onkyo 605 ($400), Toshiba HD DVD ($220), and the rest on speakers. I'm not even going to recommend speakers because that just might generate too much laughter.