What to buy next???

[gadgtfreek]

So, Im gonna have a good bit of Bbuy money after Christmas, but dont really know what to get.

Ive got a 50" 1080p plasma, so that's covered. Ive got an Onkyo 605, so I dont guess I need a rcvr upgrade. Ive got Polk floors, a sub and center which perform well in my living room, so Im set there. Have a vudu box for downloading movies.

Here's what Im considering:

Upgrade of Audio component if needed (maybe a new sub or center channel)
Xbox 360 for light gaming and tv show/movie market place
TivoHD for amazon unbox tv shows and OTA recording (really liking this idea)
AppleTV for tv shows

Any input is greatly appreciated. First time in a while I dont know what to buy

 

[gadgtfreek]

No bluray player recommendations right now , if I buy one of those itll be awhile and a BD35.

 

[Bigguy]

I'm also looking into getting an Apple TV for TV shows and cutting back my D*. I'd get the TivoHD but can only get two stations ota.

 

[SatinKzo]

personally, I really enjoy our TivoHD's, I upgraded them to 500gb drives cheaply and have lifetime service on them. Since I went OTA and dropped by subscription services, I can't say I'm regretting it one bit, half the stuff I watched on pay tv I can now get through netflix anyways and without commercials! The OTA tuners in the TivoHD's seem very good also.

We've actually only used the unbox a couple times, works well, prices are competitive for what we looked at.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Yeah, Im seriously thinking about the TivoHD, a 500gig WD expander and switching to Cox locally. They have added the main HD's or will by years end, and the price would actually be $10/mo cheaper than the D* service I have.

I just hate to leave directv because I really like it, but Im using the unbox a good bit and tivo would make it easier. I've got plenty of time to decide, but AppleTv just doesnt seem appealing (PQ is the worst and HD tv shows are $2.99) and I dunno that Id get the full use of a Xbox 360.

Id love to go OTA only, but I need ESPN

 

[SatinKzo]

heck, just buy some 500gb harddrives and upgrade the internal drives, no external devices cluttering up the shelf then. With the Tivo, you'll also have the option if you go (back?) to netflix in the future of using the tivo for the watch instantly (supposedly by year end).

yeah, ESPN is the only channel I miss, but I can get free Espn360 with my ATT HSI, so I do get to enjoy some stuff. Plus with FTA setup, I get quite a bit of sports anyways.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I was curious on the 360, I can get it if I switch to Verizon HSI.

Is it easy to swap the internal?

 

[SatinKzo]

yes, very easy. I use a utility called mfslive
mfslive.org - Must Have Tools for TiVo upgraders

very easy to take an existing drive in a tivo and move the tivo info to a new larger drive and then the utility auto expands it so you can take adavantage of the extra space.

About all you need is a couple different torx bits (size 10 and 15 IIRC) and SATA connections available on your PC (or a USB to SATA cable). Took about 3 minutes per Tivo on my machine, but I didn't move any recordings, just the software.

 

[jayn_j]

Harmony remote? These things are simply put, a component that is as valuable as the receiver or BluRay player.

A better sub? You'd be amazed at the difference between a $200 and a $1000 sub.

software, software, software.

Calibration gear, but that probably isn't available from BB. At least look at the ISF BluRay disc.

iPod?

 

[gadgtfreek]

Harmony remote? These things are simply put, a component that is as valuable as the receiver or BluRay player.

A better sub? You'd be amazed at the difference between a $200 and a $1000 sub.

software, software, software.

Calibration gear, but that probably isn't available from BB. At least look at the ISF BluRay disc.

iPod?

Dont need the ISF disc, Gregg already whipped my tv into shape

After much deliberation, Im gonna upgrade the audio. As much as Id like the TivoHD, I cant drop ESPN and Im very happy with my Directv and HR20, so I might as well not mess with it.

Will start a new thread with my current audio configuration and solicit upgrade advice