lawlis1 said:chadwick626 said:ive got a few questions?

im a new hire and ive got 25 days til my discount kicks in. first thing im going to do is checkout vendor accomidations.

what are some of the useful items with the highet markups?

I'm not sure about the useful part - I don't know what you need...
Typically the best discounts are on audio gear; specifically receivers and speakers. I would think there could be a few good discounts on televisions and appliances as well as a few computer accessories like sound cards, etc.
One benefit I used to use a lot was going on hpinfolabs. com. You take e-learning type things on there and accumulate points towards HP products. You can then buy the item with your BB discount and redeem the points for a rebate which often makes the item free. It is perfectly legit to use employee price and your HP points.

L.

im in the market for alot of things... a home theatre, are there certain brands that have more markup than others? i thnk dynex does? and i heard jvc does which would be cool cuz theres a jvc set there i love.
harddrives/enclosures/ex hds? i want either a few maxtouch 2's or enclosures for my drives, whichever comes out to be cheapest.

those are he 2 main things... everything else ill have a day off pricecheckathon some time..

so OP why are u pissed of at BB?

I hope L isn't your real initial. You are doing a great thing for the members of FW, I would hate for you to get in trouble.

Thanks again!

chadwick626 said:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7033505&type=product&cmp=++&id=1099395276778
i admit majority of the reason i like the jvc is i like the tower speakers and that its the same series as my tv and matches..

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7171909&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat40200050002&id=1110266711927
i like this one for the hdmi input and output

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6803907&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat40200050002&id=1093386296986
and tower speakers

they all have optical input which is what i want to use from the htpc, none have wireless rear speakers unless theres a set you can suggest, i know the panasonics have an add on wireless reciever that has a 100$ rebate on it right now. but its not a huge issue as i was planning on running some kind of plastic duct around the room to hide the wires. i would get a reciever and surrounds cause ive got a cerwin vega e715 thats jst sitting in my parents junk room but i just moved into an apartment complex and our neighbors suck richard so ill just stick with an HTIAB. im mainly concerned with inputs and asthetics. is the quality difference between svideo and hdmi when it comes to dvds that big of a difference that id want to just focus on the samsung despite its appearance?


Ok, here goes...

I'm not a big fan of HTIB's in general as they typically have too many things cut to save $ such as cheap speakers amd THD of 10%+.
From a DVD playback standpoint the Samsung has an edge. The HDMI output improves quality 2 ways - it doesn't require digital to analog conversion as you would have with s-vid or component cables. By the way if we're talking about HDMI we shouldn't be talking s-vid as it doesn't support 480p. The other benefit of the Samsung is that like all HDMI equipped players it upconverts to 720/1080. This would improve your picture quality if you have HDTV and would be worthwhile if you have a fixed-pixel set (DLP, LCD, Plasma, etc).
The Panasonic is the only wireless unit that comes to mind for me. I cannot say I've heard it but I've heard mostly good about it. I'm not sure what 'good' is - we are in a time where mp3's are king and DVD-A/SACD will likely fail.
What would I do for a low-price? For a Richard-head neighbor friendly system I'd consider something like a Yamaha HTR5830 receiver, Infinity TSS450 5.1 speaker package, and any quality progressive scan DVD player that plays formats which you use.
This could be done for right about $500 and would be a lot higher quality then the HTIB's you are considering. Just a thought....

L.

chadwick626 said:dvd players are only capable of 480p? but yeah i think id have to bite the bullet and go with the samsung strictly for the hdmi input/output. id like to go with individual components, ill have a look at them but for the most part this is my starter setup and a couple years down the road when i get a 70" plasma or somethin ill most likely go halfway all out, hopefully then i dont live in an apartment.

I have to ask... what is 'halfway all out'? LOL

Get the most you can afford. This stuff has virtually no resale value so getting a system that will last you a few years is money well spent. BTW what are we talking for a TV in this setup?

My role in the forum seems to be changing...

L.

chadwick626 said:http://caraudiovideosystems.com/av56p575.html
http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027241&pathId=79&page=1
thats my precious...

1 hdmi input which i planned to get a dvi>hdmi cable to hookup my htpc cause svideo looks like crap. thats why the samsung would make the most sense i could run the htpc into the reciever, then the reciever into the tv. it only has stereo outputs so i dont have much restriction there and the htpc will be using optical output. but the ps3 will be out semi-soon and ill need another hdmi input for that... there isnt some kind of hdmi hub is there? i just got the tv a month or so ago and only have it calibrated by eye but i was planning on using the avia dvd.

halfway all out is my term for midrange. i dont have money, so i generally never buy aything if i cant get it than less than half the msrp.


Ok, now we're talking. JVC 56P575....

First off I see your thinking - you want to use the Samsung to upconvert your signal to HDMI. I'm lazy right now so you do the work - make sure it will actually do that. I'll be extremely surprised if it does.
As far as the upconversion DVD player, it wont hurt but my experience is that benefit is minimal to none on CRT based sets. Have you considered a solution which has a standard progressive scan DVD hooked up to your TV with component cable and putting a video card such as a geforce or radeon in your htpc that will output in DVI. All you would need is an adapter and you can go straight in to the HDMI on your TV.
As far as additional HDMI jacks, type 'HDMI switch' into google. You'll find a ton of them - I haven't had to buy one so I can't recommend where to get a good price.

And I knew what you meant by halfway all-out lol.

L.

Very interesting strategy. I knew Monster Cable must be good for something.

chadwick626 said:hdmi switch, awesome will most definitely be needing one of those. so the samsung most likely wont upconvert the picture to anything over the quality of svideo that will be worth sacrificing the jvc or lg which i actually want? id need an actual decent standalone dvd player for that? not that i watch many dvds so i prolly wont get one..

yeah ive got a radeon aiw9600xt in it right now which doesnt have dvi output, only 2 vga, but ive got a radeon 9600 pro in my sisters computer that has dvi output which i could swap. i was planning on using mce2005 but maybe i just didnt spend enough time on it but it wont play dixs? so i may have to look for some kind of third party mce software to run over xp pro. ive only worked 3 daya thus far but being around all the x800s and the like is making me want to build a better htpc for some gaming and bragging rights in general.

what part of avforums do u post in? ive only used it a few times but i have a feeling ill be posting there alot in the next few months..

Read about the Samsung to find out... a stand-alone DVD player definately will not upconvert s-vid; high end receivers such as Onkyo, Denon and others will. I believe there's a Panasonic receiver at around $500 that will as well but I'm aware this is a stretch to the budget. This is why I'm suggesting a video card with PCI out - ez solution is swap with your sister.

I actually have only been on avforums once or twice - my forum hangout is hometheaterspot.com. Anyone signing up for that should do the free membership and once in forums go to 'manufactorers spot'. Lots of good info broken down by brand and written by top-notch ISF calibrators.

L.

Thanks for the info, I plan on using for stuff before I go to college next year. What would their reactions be if I asked to return the warranties the second after I get the receipt. "Just saving me and you some time" would be a good line to use when the Manager gets pissed.

NetsForever24 said:Thanks for the info, I plan on using for stuff before I go to college next year. What would their reactions be if I asked to return the warranties the second after I get the receipt. "Just saving me and you some time" would be a good line to use when the Manager gets pissed.

Why push it?

And why risk losing the whole deal?