Hello all,
I currently live in an apartment but my wife and I will be moving into a house at some point this year or next. My current AVR is quite old and doesn't have HDMI pass through. My wife and I listen to music quite often on our Roku 3 in the living room; unfortunately this means that the TV has to be on... I can't wait until we move, and more importantly - she's given me the okay, so I will be putting together a proper home theater.
Essentially I'm looking for advice (constructive criticisms, improvement suggestions, reassurance, etc.) and/or approval on what I have currently picked out. The simpler something is to use, the more my wife will approve of it. So if there is anyplace I could save money or simplify something, that would be helpful.
What Will it be Used For?
Living Room
Streaming Netflix & SlingTV; watching OTA Broadcasts; watching movies from my Plex server; Bluetooth streaming of audio from Android phones to the AVR; and playing some light Steam games on occasion. If the need arises, I may want to watch Blu-rays but currently it's not in the plan.
In addition to what's below, I will be purchasing a multi-port power-line adapter for the RPi3 and Steam Link (living in an apartment limits what I can do to the drywall. I will have a friend run cables when we purchase a house), a mount to wall mount the TV, and this cable management kit from Home Depot for hiding the wires to the TV. I'm planning on running Kodi on the RPi3 and will be purchasing a Flirc USB dongle so I can control it with the Logitech remote (ease-of-use for wife approval!).
I already have speakers - only 5.1 (floor standing fronts, a center, a sub, and L & R surround) but am purchasing a 7.2-channel AVR in case I decide to expand in the future. I'm not looking into prepping for Dolby Atmos at this point in my life.
The Components
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| LG UH6150 55" 4K Smart LCD TV | $798.00 |
| Sony STR-DH750 7.2-Channel AVR | $348.00 |
| Bell'o AVSC2131 A/V System Cabinet (TV Stand) | $349.99 |
| Steam Link | $49.99 |
| Logitech Harmony Ultimate One Universal Remote | $119.95 |
| Raspberry Pi 3 | $35.00 + misc. accessories |
Game Room
Playing retro game consoles; an HTPC for running my Plex Media Server, playing light Steam games (nothing very graphics-intensive), and emulating older games that I don't have a physical copy of. The room may consist of up to 5-6 consoles (Xbox 360, PS2, PlayStation, Wii, N64, & possibly a GameCube). Plex streaming will likely ever only reach (2) concurrent streams, both internal to my network.
For clarification, the WD product below consists of (2) WD 3 TB Red HDDs that will be configured in RAID 1 (mirrored). It will be attached to the HTPC and will hold all media for my Plex Media Server.
I have not looked into KVM switches / adapters or anything like that yet for hooking up all the controllers. That's for another day. I also have an old bookshelf speaker system that will suffice for the audio in this room.
The Components
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Intel NUC6i3SYK | $340.00 (Combo includes 8 GB RAM and 120 GB SSD) |
| WD 6TB My Book Duo Desktop RAID External HDD | $299.00 |
| Roku 3 | Already owned |
| LG 42" 720p Plasma TV | Already owned |
Office
I will be purchasing a new desk and office chair, but the only thing that is relevant for this sub is the fact that my gaming PC will be in here. This is where I would be streaming Steam from to the Steam Link and possibly to the Intel NUC via Steam's in-home streaming.
Questions / Help
- Is the WD HDD enclosure a good idea? I do want redundancy for my media. Would it be better to use a NAS? The only data that would be stored on it would be the media for Plex. I have a separate external HDD for backing up my computers.
- Is there a better way to view the content on my Plex Media Server in the living room? I believe the TV's WebOS has the Plex app, but I've heard others mention that they prefer the Kodi UI to Plex's UI, at least in a living room environment.
- Going off the previous question... What's the best method for integrating Plex and Kodi so I can use Kodi on the RPi3?
- Better way to play Steam games in the living room or game room? Both rooms would be streaming Steam from my gaming PC in the office. The usage in each room is mentioned above.
- Given the amount of streaming, would I need a switch or a better router? My current router is a Netgear WNR3500Lv2. I would prefer a wired connection over wireless where ever possible.
- My current viewing distance to my TV is 10'. Given that, is there a good height at which to mount the TV?
Please offer any other advice or ask any questions if you need something clarified that I didn't touch on. Thank you everyone in advance for your help!
Submitted by Wiscomptons_Finest | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016
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