mleroux
New member
OK, so here's a question that may have ignorance written all over it.
Disclaimers aside, here's my situation: I've always been an audiophile wannabe but have had to resign myself to an off-the-shelf, Sansui 5.1 home theatre system (ouch) with a 74 cm LG flat screen CRT (ouch again) for the past few years. My wife and I enjoy a good bit of music or a movie at home, but we also don't have buckets of cash. We're unsalaried volunteers helping out a non-profit organisation, so we're living off investment income and don't quite have all the financial legroom in the world.
The VCR part of the home theatre (HT) is finally packing up and I'm looking at getting an HDD/DVD recorder?and later, probably a 24" or 26" full HD LCD. Our studio/lounge area is small, about 4 x 5 metres and our system doesn't need to pack a punch, since our neighbours are in relatively close proximity.
I really would like a compact 5.1 system that can do the following: I basically would like to record TV to HDD without worrying about running out of disk space, play DVD's, CD's and MP3's (Blu-ray isn't too much of an issue due to current prices), plug in a USB flash drive, listen to FM radio... did I miss anything? Oh yes, and with as compact a set-up as possible. The current HT is obviously just the unit, the 5 speakers and the sub. That's nice for our living space. Of course I would love to move up to better equipment without breaking the bank?I have great appreciation for good sound and visuals and good technology; I love visiting my brother-in-law and his Harman/Kardon, Yamaha & Loewe set-up!
So my options seem to include an HDD/DVD recorder with a 5.1 receiver/amplifier; it seems as if an HDD/DVD recorder wrapped up in a home theatre package doesn't exist in SA, does it?? The other option I was toying with is building an HTPC, since it's quite upgradable and customisable. And, of course, I'm open to any other suggestions.
So in a nutshell, the main factors seem to be versatility, price, space and quality. I would always go for something of better quality than more oomph.
Now that I've bared my ignorant soul, bring it on please?there's much accomplishment in a multitude of counsellors!
Disclaimers aside, here's my situation: I've always been an audiophile wannabe but have had to resign myself to an off-the-shelf, Sansui 5.1 home theatre system (ouch) with a 74 cm LG flat screen CRT (ouch again) for the past few years. My wife and I enjoy a good bit of music or a movie at home, but we also don't have buckets of cash. We're unsalaried volunteers helping out a non-profit organisation, so we're living off investment income and don't quite have all the financial legroom in the world.
The VCR part of the home theatre (HT) is finally packing up and I'm looking at getting an HDD/DVD recorder?and later, probably a 24" or 26" full HD LCD. Our studio/lounge area is small, about 4 x 5 metres and our system doesn't need to pack a punch, since our neighbours are in relatively close proximity.
I really would like a compact 5.1 system that can do the following: I basically would like to record TV to HDD without worrying about running out of disk space, play DVD's, CD's and MP3's (Blu-ray isn't too much of an issue due to current prices), plug in a USB flash drive, listen to FM radio... did I miss anything? Oh yes, and with as compact a set-up as possible. The current HT is obviously just the unit, the 5 speakers and the sub. That's nice for our living space. Of course I would love to move up to better equipment without breaking the bank?I have great appreciation for good sound and visuals and good technology; I love visiting my brother-in-law and his Harman/Kardon, Yamaha & Loewe set-up!
So my options seem to include an HDD/DVD recorder with a 5.1 receiver/amplifier; it seems as if an HDD/DVD recorder wrapped up in a home theatre package doesn't exist in SA, does it?? The other option I was toying with is building an HTPC, since it's quite upgradable and customisable. And, of course, I'm open to any other suggestions.
So in a nutshell, the main factors seem to be versatility, price, space and quality. I would always go for something of better quality than more oomph.
Now that I've bared my ignorant soul, bring it on please?there's much accomplishment in a multitude of counsellors!
