1. Speakers: thinking seriously about The Speaker Company (TSAT2132T1-HT). One question: for such a narrow wall, is a center channel necessary? They'll be mounted almost directly beside the TV, so it seems they should be able to image the voices directly in the middle of the TV w/o trouble. One other thought I had was the Magnepan MMGW's with tSC sub and rears.
2. TV: haven't put much thought into this. Planning on maybe a 42" 1080p for $800 or so.
3. Some Blueray player for $2-300 or so
4. Netflix streaming, possibly built into Blueray or Tivo
5. TiVo or DVR (any rec's on the DirecTV DVR vs TiVo?)
6. Receiver: I admit to being totally befulddled by the crop of AV receivers out now; I have no idea why they need to be so complicated. Seems almost like I should be able to put everything into the TV and use a block of amps to boost from line to signal level. Anyway, priority is simplicity, sound, then aesthetics (small and light would be nice!)
... so what do you think?
Firstly, I am the leader of the bigger-is-better-nooby camp. Secondly, the choice of display is by far the most important choice for a Home
Theater. So:
I think this is a good bang for buck, if you are sitting any further than 7'. $2k for a 58" 1080p plasma, and it's a step up from the 80/85u series, which I already think are great values.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11310781
I know, I know, I just killed 2/3 of the budget.
thanks to adk highlander, I just discovered this, which will please a lot of WAF heavy setups. Retail will be $600, but hopefully less at street. It's shorter than 5" and depth is less than 15". Now, I use a 52 lb receiver acting as prepro to a 68 lbs amp, but this is a good solution for those who have minimal space.
http://us.marantz.com/Products/2926.asp
I'd try a pair of Ascend Acoustics 170SE, whether, new or classifieds. The offaxis response seems to belie their price point, and speakers with good offaxis make for great "phantom" setups, even if only temporary.
And I already blew your budget. When you scrape up another $1k, get an individual 170SE as upright center speaker, a subwoofer, and room treatments, and maybe the first thing is to trap the corners at the front of the room, as it's so narrrow, and relatively small. My 2 cents. Room Acoustics are #2 priority after Display in an HT.
I hope I didn't scare or confuse you. I do think getting better speakers, even if buying less of them to begin with, is the WTG. If you don't mind a more "pro" look, w/o grilles, studio monitors will give you the best bang for buck, whether KRK, Yamaha, Behringer, and the like.
EDIT: forgot the BDP. Panasonic BD60, $200.