OK - I have been researching hard and I think I figured out a few things....
I like the Pioneer Elite 50" and the Panasonic Onyx 50" both because of quality and looks since the TV will be hanging in my living room - (if there is a better option that is less expensive but still quality picture and HD ready that I am missing I would love to hear about it).
I Like the POLK RM20 series speakers, but the RM10 seem OK too - (I also looked at the mirage nanosats which were good, but just a tiny bit lacking in the midrange).
It is the receiver and DVD that I am having trouble with. I looked at and liked the Denon 3805/3806 but the price seems steep. Do I need those options really? I also think the Yamaha 2500 sounds good, but again, I am getting stumped on what options I really need. I want expandability in the future, possibly a second zone, and digital capability. I also liked the self adjusting feature of the Denon since my speakers may asthetically look better "off center" and not at equal distances from the listener (livingroom thing again). I have a small 14' X 19' wood floored livingroom that will have a 13' viewing distance (short width set-up since I can't hang or put a TV down the long axis of my odd l-shaped room). The rear speakers will be high and even with the listener and the fronts will be directly in front, with sub wired to a corner and center under the TV. I am curious if I need such a big receiver (I don't think I need that level of power, but features and expandability in the future might be nice). Any receiver suggestions would be great. I do have an old ONKYO TX-SV70PRO, but I would like to upgrade that to more current formats.
The DVD player I want needs progressive scan and I think should be universal. I looked at the Pioneer elite one, and also read about the denon 2910. Not sure which I should look at, and again, I'm a little lost on whether I should spend the money for those or not.
I'll have HDTV coming in, no XM radio (yet), possibly routing a future computer into the system (or laptop), and I am getting exhausted at looking at all the options. It is hard to talk to any sales reps since they constantly tell me they don't know what the differences are between one brand or another (since they may not carry one of them) or they seem to just not know, and so they opt for the higher end device every time. I want to save money, and would like to keep this deal in perspective. Any help and reality checks would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Pete
