Dont overlook the HTIB !
For most, Seperates will work the best- however if the budget is really constrained, dont overlook how user friendly a HTIB can be home theater in a box like this one from Samsung ....
At CES Samsung announced two home theater in a box systems with Blu-ray (2.1 channel HT-BD7200 and 5.1 channel HT-BD1250) and the world’s first soundbar with Blu-ray. Samsung neglected to release any pricing or release information at that time. At a press event today though, they finally committed to pricing and release dates, along with a few more details. The systems will start at $549 and the first one is available today.
Samsung is doing the same thing Sony and others are doing, finally cutting the price of these systems to something more digestible. All of the new units are priced below their current market predecessors and aside from a few exceptions, the new systems are more full-featured.
Samsung HT-BD1250
The HT-BD1250 is a mainstream 5.1 channel system that will start shipping immediately for $549. ( 400 ish now )Quite an aggressive price point considering the system includes a Blu-ray player with Profile 2.0 (BD-Live), and iPod dock and 1000 watts of system power. This system along with the other two include an Ethernet port and support for an optional WiFi dongle ($79). The Internet connection allows the systems to grab content from online sources like Netflix and Pandora Internet radio.
Other highlights include smart volume, for consistent volume across inputs, FM tuner, support for optional wireless rear speakers, 1080p up-scaling, JPEG viewer and support for MP3, WMA, DivX and MPEG-4 audio and video files.
Otherwise - you could consider a decent Denon receiver and a pair of Paradigm atoms until you can slowly add the rest ! Hope this helps !
