Beginner question on home theater: Denon 1910 and speaker

[BryanSchmieder]

I am taking the plunge and putting together a modest home theatre system to replace my current setup. I am looking for some advice and I have a few questions.

First, I will be using the system mostly to watch movies and sports, and listen to music.

I have already purchased the new Denon AVR 1910 receiver, mostly based on the review on AVS. It is a little more than I need now but I like that I can add on more speakers/zones later.

I got a good deal on a pair of Polk Audio M60 speakers, and have ordered a Polk C20 subwoofer and a Polk csi a4 center speaker.

I will purchase a Panasonic G10 or V10, between 50 and 58 inches. Probably a G10 54. I don't think the extra price on the V10 is worth it.

I already have an Apple TV, DVD player, and Harmony One Remote.

Questions:

1) I like to educate myself and would love to find a book or web site or something that does a good job of going over home theatre. I am beyond home theatre for dummies, but not an expert. Can't seem to find anything like that.

2) I stumbled upon a GREAT web page that had instructions on how to set up your Denon receiver, but sadly didn't bookmark it. Does anyone know of such a site.

3) I can't buy rear speakers yet, so I will only have a 3.1 system (I think this is the correct term - 2 front speakers plus one center and then a subwoofer). How can I configure the Denon for such a setup.

4) For my previous Panasonic plat panel I used a web site that listed models and just told you what to put in for calibration. I can't remember the darn name now. I would like to do more than that, but I don't think I want to pay for professional calibration. What do people think about using one of the DVDs that assist you in calibration?

Any help would be much appreciated!!!!

Bryan

[MrBoylan]

I am taking the plunge and putting together a modest home theatre system to replace my current setup. I am looking for some advice and I have a few questions.

First, I will be using the system mostly to watch movies and sports, and listen to music.

I have already purchased the new Denon AVR 1910 receiver, mostly based on the review on AVS. It is a little more than I need now but I like that I can add on more speakers/zones later.

AVS publishes pro reviews of gear now? Interesting. We reviewed it too. Nice receiver for the money:

Denon AVR-1910 Home Theater Receiver: Review by Peter Suciu on BigPictureBigSound

I got a good deal on a pair of Polk Audio M60 speakers, and have ordered a Polk C20 subwoofer and a Polk csi a4 center speaker.

Adding rear channel speakers would make a much bigger impact than adding a center, but I assume you're doing this as installing rear channels is tricky in your current room?

I will purchase a Panasonic G10 or V10, between 50 and 58 inches. Probably a G10 54. I don't think the extra price on the V10 is worth it.

If you like watching movies, The V10's Cinematic Playback mode at 96 Hz is pretty impressive. The G10 does 24p at 48 Hz which introduces flicker that some people find objectionable. Personally my eyes adjust to it, but some people don't like it. The V10 also offers a digital cinema color space mode which makes colors pop off the screen (though, ultimately this is not accurate for most sources). Both the G10 and V10 have a THX mode which gets you pretty close to calibration without paying for calibration. But it's fairly dark so you need the lights off for that picture mode.

I already have an Apple TV, DVD player, and Harmony One Remote.

You need a Blu-ray player. Regular DVD is not going to look great on a 54-inch or 58-inch screen, no matter how good the upconversion. Plus your receiver decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio so it would be good to get a source that can take advantage of that.

Questions:

1) I like to educate myself and would love to find a book or web site or something that does a good job of going over home theatre. I am beyond home theatre for dummies, but not an expert. Can't seem to find anything like that.

We've published a few tutorials on specific elements of home theater (like connecting and setting up an HDTV, choosing a front projector, setting up a subwoofer), but no book... yet. Crutchfield also has some decent topical tutorials. I haven't read any book on the subject. Sorry.

2) I stumbled upon a GREAT web page that had instructions on how to set up your Denon receiver, but sadly didn't bookmark it. Does anyone know of such a site.

Doesn't ring a bell and a basic Google search doesn't turn up much. Maybe it was written about a specific model? If so google that model number (with "set up" and "hook up" and other likely terms) to see what you find.

3) I can't buy rear speakers yet, so I will only have a 3.1 system (I think this is the correct term - 2 front speakers plus one center and then a subwoofer). How can I configure the Denon for such a setup.

Just plug in the Audyssey mic and run through the auto-calibration. It will detect that you only have 3 speakers and subwoofer and will disable the other channels as necessary. It will then mix any incoming sources accordingly.

4) For my previous Panasonic plat panel I used a web site that listed models and just told you what to put in for calibration. I can't remember the darn name now. I would like to do more than that, but I don't think I want to pay for professional calibration. What do people think about using one of the DVDs that assist you in calibration?

Set-up DVDs like AVIA Guide to Home Theater are excellent for adjusting picture settings, but a pro calibrator can do a better job, setting up a mode for day and for evening viewing. The Panasonic G10 and V10's THX mode is pretty good right out of the box. And as for publishing settings, CNET usually publishes the exact settings they used when reviewing/measuring the TV, so check out their reviews if you want some suggetions.

Any help would be much appreciated!!!!

Bryan

Good luck. In terms of where to buy the TV, I'd recommend OneCall or Amazon, unless you're outside the US. And if you don't want buyer's remorse, get the biggest best one you're considering (which would be the 58-inch TC-P58V10):

• Panasonic TC-P58V10 58-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV, In Stock at OneCall.com
• Amazon.com: Panasonic TC P58V10 - 58" plasma TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV: Electronics

Regards,

-Chris