Re-upgrading the Home Entertainment system
 

OK.. My dvd/5.1 reciever combo died yesterday(my 3rd combo unit that's died) and I gotta replace it. I was going to replace it with yet another Combo unit but I don't want to have to replace it again when HD-DVD or Blu-Ray takes off so I'm just going to use my xbox360 as a dvd player and just buy an A/V receiver.

I was thinking about going with this one http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo...oductDetail.do
but I dunno.. great reviews, great price.. but I need some other options.

Also I want to get a RF universal remote so I can eliminate infared and hide my units behind a curtain or something and get rid of the 4 remotes that I'm stuck using right now. I need it to be compatable with my Dishnetwork satellite, my dvd player and especially the A/V receiver that I end up buying. Any ideas there? I've seen them range from 40$ to 300$.. I'm hoping to get one close to 40$..

I'm a bit confused... Do you just need the receiver, or an all in one kit, speakers and all?

Cybermike,

From your post, it sounds like your speakers are still ok. Provided that they can still be hooked up to a new system, I propose splitting your sound system up even more. Take that $250 from the Onkyo set you found and put ALL of it into just a receiver. Look for a unit that has 7 channels of amplification and inputs for them, as this will likely be a common format for HD-DVD and BluRay. No sense locking yourself out of that from the get-go. Also look for Dolby Prologic IIx, which is currently very popular for stereo and digital sources. I'm not sure you'll find HDMI switching in that price range, but if you do see it, that would be a selling point (because your sources in the next 5 years will likely have HDMI outputs).

I saw a lot of suitable things on the Circuit City website (if that is where you are comfortable shopping).

This way you'll get the best receiver you can, and you can always upgrade the speakers later (in fact, this is where you'll see the largest jump in sound reproduction quality).

Honestly, I'd start looking over at www.crutchfield.com as they've got a wide selection of excellent stuff. Their prices are usually in line with retail outlets, too, and they've got killer tech support if you ever need it.

I decided against the 5.1 onkyo because it has no component outputs which is a must. HDMI input/output receivers are still around $800 so I'm going stick with component for now, not that I can a see a big difference between the two anyways. I'm really wanting simplicity over sound quality because as of now, with 2 TVs, and 5 units hooked up (two of which need to be hooked up to both Tvs) there's like 10 things that need to be done just to play a game, or watch a dvd.
Did I mention I have a low def TV, and a 110" high def projector that I only watch DVD and play HD games on?