Advice for tech on my gaming room

[||§§||po1s3n]

I’ve saved up a rather considerable amount of money and intend to transform my bedroom into my gaming/entertainment area; I’ve finalized the main parts I need:

*HD TV, is there a significant difference between full 1080p HD and normal 720 HD?

*LCD or plasma? (LED is out of the question as its cost $5000 going cheap :cry:)

*What size TV? I have a small room so I’m thinking around 32" but going bigger is not a problem,(advice please)

*330 watt theatre system, for good sound and movies (not too fussed but again, any advice is welcome)

*DVD or Blueray player? which one would be better?, obviously blueray is amazing but there is a sizeable diffference is price between the two. Keep in mind this will be be for more gaming then movies.

*my xbox will be hooked up to this system aswell (so no i will not buy a Ps3)

Any other bits of tech i should have please post them here and thankyou for your help everyone!!! :D

[||§§||Dr.H]

You can only really tell the difference between 720 and 1080 when you go over 42".

LCD are better in bright rooms and don't get burn in but blacks are less black and colors less realistic. Plasma have better colors and cost less but can have burn in problems and glare on the screen.
Of course the color and burn problems on both types have been fixed and controlled lately almost to the point that there is no difference other than cost and how bright your room is. LED is expensive but its not a type of tv just a different type of backlighting for the LCD tvs that give them better color than their normal cathode ray tube.
Having worked with both I prefer LCD. Plasma comes in larger sizes and costs less though.

Size is always dependent on how big the room is. A small room a 50+ may be overkill but bigger is always better. You want to give yourself a budget and first pick the manufacturer. If it's an LCD get a Samsung or Sony, if Plasma get a Pioneer or Panasonic, then pick the biggest size that will look right while still leaving money for wires and components. Good Monstercable hdmi wires and surge protectors will cost you hundreds.

You can easily spend thousands on great audio but if you're more into video then get a 5.1 in a box system from a decent company. Make sure the receiver is HDMI in and out, that will save you a ton on wires.

All you need to do is watch a Blu-Ray movie and that decision will be made.. downloaded HD movies will never match Blu-Ray in quality and lossless sound.

Of course the PS3 will fix that but I see you don't plan on buying one?? A HD gaming system without a PS3 is kinda sad. It just kicks so much ass over my 360. I just hooked up my 360 a couple weeks ago and saw the last time I played one of the game on is was 2007 lol. I haven't even upgraded its dashboard yet.

[||§§||Hand_O_Death]

Make sure you get a 120 or 240 Hertz TV (not the 60 Hertz) you need it for the fast motion that happens in games. If you are going to get anything above a 42 inch then the 1080P will be beter, below that you can get away with 720p and not be out anything.Plasma's are nice bt you can save and get an LCD, LED backlighting would be optimal because I am all about having the pure black when it needs to be on the TV and hate the gray blobs you always see when it is supposed to be a dark room or something. I really would suggest a PS3, it is the best BluRay player out there and it had WiFi so it will upgrade itself all the time, I know your a huge Xbox fanboy and all but if you use it just for movies it really doesnt count as cheating on your first love. Besides, Sony Pictures has some good movies you can get in the PS Store that won't be avalible to you over Xbox's NetFlix. unless you want to build a media PC with a BluRay player, the PS3 is your best and cheapest bet. I am sure a good 5.1 will be fine for your room. Also consider seating if you havent already. Comfy chairs for you, your friends, and ESPECIALLY the Lady Friends that you bring over to enjoy the sed entertainment room is a big deal.

And like the Doc said, HDMI connections are very important, everything you can connect HDMI, DO IT, If not then DVI for the video, and Optical for the audio.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it all goes.