I was initially looking at a home cinema system for PS3 and was interested in a couple of all in one packages for my budget of around £200. But one thing was always confusing me. Why get a DVD recorder when console does the job. Just seemed to be doubling up. But some people wiser and more experienced than me are very happy to go down that road. Then i hear about people doing the amp and speakers option, which i would tend to go for (unless convinced otherwise). Can anyone suggest good set up for buying the separates. Make model etc. Thanks

Precisely - why go for an all in one when you already have a DVD player incorporated in the PS3.

The only reason I can think of is an all in one system may be able to be modded for R1 playback, this is one area where the PS3 fails, it's R2 locked.

If multiregion playback is not important then a system made up of separates will be highly recommended. If you require multiregion playback you can always pick up a cheap multiregion player for £20 if need be.

You will be aware the PS3 is capable of HD audio, this is the new lossless audio that comes with Bluray, it's far more detailed than standard DD5.1 and DTS.

Entry model prices for HD audio compatible amps are very reasonable, suffice to say - the more you can add to your budget the better it gets and the more choice you will have.

A couple of receivers to look at.....

Sony SRTDG820

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...Y-STRDG820-BLK

Onkyo TX-SR606

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...KY-TXSR606-BLK

Speaker packages are plentiful too, they come in a range of styles and prices ranging from........

Yamaha NSP110

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...id=YAMA-NSP110

Tannoy SFX5.1

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...ANN-SFX5.1-SIL

KEF KHT1005.2

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...-KHT1005.2-SIL

Onkyo SKSHT518

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...Y-SKSHT518-BLK

Should give you some food for thought.

Many thanks for advice. Will be googling like mad now and will post what i decided to go for

Cheers

That's the route I went for the same reason.

I use my PS3 or playing DVDs, recorded HD and game playing in about equal measure. The only reason I don't use it for music is that I have a Roku Squeezebox.

Hi mate, was in the same boat as you last month...

Bought the SFX5.1 in black for £150 from Richer sounds and a Harman Kardon amp for £80 second hand on e-bay. The sound quality is amazing...

Worth considering a half decent second hand amp if you have the room.

PS3 and Sky HD both connected to it via optical.

excuse my igorance but how do you get recorded hd on your ps3?

A PS3 console doesn't record. A DVD recorder, obviously, does. Having said that, a PS3 does PLAY DVDs very well.

Any sound system you buy will need an optical SPDIF input (TOSlink), if you're connecting it to a PS3, for proper surround sound.

Linked with Play TV, the PS3 does record (freeview) TV.

Sorry i forgot to mention that. Play TV works well with external hard drive. I went for 250 gig

i too was in this situation just before xmas and decided to go for the standalone amp, i went for the sony 820 as mentioned above and haven't looked back since.
ok the on i got has the slight problem with sky but i simply used the optical way of getting round that. they have apparently sorted that out now a while back.
the sony hooked upto the ps3 is just simply awesome with some good speakers. i did have to add another 2 speakers so i could get the 7-1 surround but boy o boy what a difference,and for the entry level i think its amazing for the price.
as far as the films and things i cant say anything about that as i stream films (if i dont have them on dvd)over to the ps3 from my lappy. the playtv does sound a good option though.