Video Asylum

Posted by glen199 (A) on February 01, 2004 at 15:03:05

I have spent a bit of time reading through posts, but have some questions I would still like to pose.

1) I am buying my parents a 42" plasma tv and home theatre/dvd combo. I think I will get the NEC 42XM2S. The confusion over EDTV and HDTV is understandable. My folks mainly watch TV, but will occasionally watch dvd's with the grandkids and maybe some digital cable movies. I have read posts where many say EDTV is actually better for viewing dvd's, and hardly a noticeable difference for tv. It seems to make more sense to go with EDTV for them, but I don't want to regret this later on. Any further clarity would be appreciated. I will be upgrading their cable service and box to digital. (Cablevision IO)

2) Due to space restrictions and ease of use, I want to go with a simplified "all in one" approach to the dvd/receiver ala bose. Since many people seem adverse to Bose, I looked into the Niro 1.1. This unit seems to be progressive scan w/component, not dvi outputs. How concerned should I be about that? It also does not have digital inputs, so the digital music from the cable box would come in on analog cables. Is that an issue at this level of hardware?

3) My father reads a lot about audio, being an audiophile since his Dynaco and Heathkit days in the 60's. He doesn't have a lot of room though, so I don't need huge wattage, and my mom will be intimidated to use the system if she needs to select inputs, use three remotes, etc.

Do the above options seem to be a reasonable compromise in terms of quality vs. ease of use?

Thank you in advance for any responses.