Recommend me a TV and Media Entertainment + Sound Set Up

Pbm33 on 06/08/2017 - 00:12

Hi guys, pretty much starting with a clean slate. In the market for a new TV and some speakers to go with it (unless the TV speakers are good enough). Keen to understand what TV and sounds would work best in my space. Also seeking advice on best media/entertainment set up to watch EPL, Netflix, DVDs, and streaming movies from my laptop to TV.

Current Set Up:
- Have an old 40" Sony Bravia (KDL-40W4000) paired with Logitech Z4 - yep these were purchased a long time ago.
- I have an Optus Fetch set-top box and PS3 which I will be keeping.
- Use the Optus Fetch set-top box for EPL and Netflix (TV is not 'smart'); and PS3 for watching DVDs and bit of gaming.
- To watch movies from my laptop on the TV I connect my laptop to the TV using a HDMI cable but this is a pain to do each time.
- Currently have the TV sitting on an entertainment unit. See photo: https://postimg.org/image/lkb7v9b9h/

Proposed New Set Up:
- Distance from sitting on the couch to the wall on which the TV will go (yes I do want the TV mounted - anything I need to check before getting it mounted, like studs on the wall etc?) is 240cm. So thinking about going with a 55" 4K TV. Budget of $1000 - $1500. Suggestions?
- Speakers - no idea what to do here. I'm in an open place space (lounge, kitchen, and dining). Thinking a 2.1 set up (similar to the Z4s) or soundbar (which will sit on the entertainment unit) may work best. Want to minimise wiring etc. Want a clean look. Haven't really thought of a budget for this.
- Devices:
- Optus Fetch set-top box for EPL
- TV ('smart') for Netflix
- PS3 for DVDs
- Some app which enables me to 'link' the laptop to the TV so I can stream directly from laptop to TV. Any recommendations?
- How would I run the wiring from the TV to these devices without the wires showing? Through the wall?

Can someone please help me with getting this right? I'm not in a rush so happy to wait for the right deals to come along as well..

Thanks!

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Mosher on 06/08/2017 - 18:10

    Speaker wise I would go a 3.1 setup to start off

    try and get the fronts and centre speaker all the same brand and model of speakers for a better timbering effect

    I bought my fronts (Dali concept 6) and concept centre speaker at the same time from JB Hi Fi when they had a 40% off speaker sales set me back $800.00

    I then kept an eye out and picked up the dali concept 1 bookshelf speakers from ebay for $150

    Whats your layout like as I also have a open lounge dining and kitchen area

    I Used d channel along the skirting boards to hide the wires for the rear speakers (bought from bunnings)

    As for streaming from the laptop to the TV I have a chromecast (using the chrome browser on my PC)

    Might be worth looking into A NAS setup for your movies and video files as I have a netgear 4 bay NAS and Plex on My TV

  • OrderInWrongWordsThe on 07/08/2017 - 22:59

    I would either recommend going a good looking dumb TV or something like a Hisense Smart TV as they tend to review quite well. I'd go a 65" if your budget stretches or a good sale comes up, 55" as minimum and wouldn't really bother with 75". They are truly immense and also prohibitively expensive. Biggest advantage of UHD TVs is that due to the number of pixels you can get much much closer than old HD or even FHD TVs without pixellation becoming an issue so honestly go about as big as you can to fill your view without going mental.

    Looking at your devices list you've got a bit of redundancy there.

    If you go the Fetch TV box you don't really need the following
    1 - Smart TV becomes optional as Fetch TV does Netflix. You can potentially save quite a bit by getting a dumb TV
    2 - Link Laptop to your TV, I believe Fetch TV can do this too according to their website. You may also be able to just copy files to the USB stick and either run them on the TV or run them on the Fetch TV. Mileage may vary.

    Also your DVD's are probably going to look pretty underwhelming on a 4K panel. They are 576i resolution and your TV resolution is much much higher
    Check out this photo for an idea of the scale. Your TV is going to have to blow those pixels up and it will probably do a very average job of it. Fancier brands have fancier ways to do this but I personally wouldn't recommend spending a few grand on setup and then displaying low res videos on it.
    https://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/500px…
    Blu-rays at 1080p will look pretty damn awesome and I can tell you from experience that the step from 1080p to UHD resolution at living room distance is not as big as from DVD to Blu-Ray. It helps that UHD is exactly twice as wide and twice as high so everything scales real nice without any black magic scaling witchcraft or stupid black borders.

    As for running the wires, you can run it in the walls depending on what your wall is or you could put trunking over the cables and paint it same colour.

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