I'm thinking more and more of making the jump to HD 3D. However, in order to have an idea of how much I'll need to save up for additional equipment, I'd need some input.

First of all, here's my current setup:
- TV: Panasonic Viera TX-L37 (LCD 1080p)
- Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR506
- Blu-ray player: PS3 slim

Okay, so to go HD 3D, I'll need to at very least get:
1. a new TV (thinking again of getting a Panasonic Viera, perhaps a TX-P50GT30)
2. a new receiver? I think this Onkyo cannot handle pass-through video for HD 3D, so I'll need to get a new Onkyo receiver: HD 3D capable and 7.1 lossless sound capable. Any suggestions?
3. To get HD 3D with lossless sound, a new player will be necessary as the PS3 downsamples audio when using HD 3D, but that can wait (cost effective thinking!)

Any suggestions?

I just got an LG 3D TV and I am very impressed with it. I like the fact that it uses the cheap glasses, so all the ones I saved from seeing movies in the theater work fine.

I also got an LG 3D BD player. They have both wired and Wi-Fi models. LG has good remote control integration between the units. The "smart" functions for playing Netflix, YouTube and DLNA to my server media are awesome.

The LG TV will also synthesize 3D from any 2D source. Looks pretty good, especially when there is high contour contrast (such as landscapes, human bodies, etc.  ), or some other key to distance - the algorithms are amazingly good. They seem to "know" when one actor in a scene is standing in front of the other or in front of a tree, etc.

I am also a huge fan of Onkyo. If I were you, I would test with your existing one before upgrading. Then you can decide on exactly which new features you are missing, if any.

I'm sure other brands are just as good. Just sharing only the bits of the universe that I know about.

Quoting dee1959jay:

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Get yourself a 3D blu-ray player with two HDMI-outs, and you won't need a new receiver!

Examples:

the fabulous Oppo BDP-93EU

this Panasonic machine.

Thus, you can use one HDMI player connection to output 3D video to your new screen, and the other one to output audio to your Onkyo.

Oh, and the Panasonic GT30 is an excellent choice! (although personally I would also consider a VT30, especially since I just saved you buying a new receiver...      )

For the cost of that pretty OPPO player he can almost get a new Onkyo Receiver AND a Panasonic 3D BD player .

Quoting dee1959jay:

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You need to take into account that prices in general for AV gear are higher over here in Europe. E.g., in the US the Oppo will retail for $499.

You realize I was exaggerating just a little ...well, almost . On Amazon I can get the Onkyo TX - NR609 7.2 for $390.97 and the Panasonic DMP-BDT310 for $174.99: $565.96 .

I bought the Samsung UE55D7000 a few months ago. I really like the 3D quality of this one. This one uses the acitve shutter system, so 3D is presented in 1080p Full HD. I heard this is not the case for Phillips 3D sets. No idea what is used in the Panasonic.
In Belgium you can get the Samsung 55" for about 2400€, the 46" for about 1600€ and the 40" for about 1400€.

I had the Onkyo TX-SR705. This receiver had a very nice warm sound, but I never got a good surround out of it. I redid the calibration multiple times, changed my rear speakers, but I couldn't get what I wanted.
So I replaced it with a Yamaha RX-V1067. The sound is a little less warm, but surround is much better. This is receiver only available through Yamaha Pro dealers, and will cost you around 1000€.
The lower versions are RX-767 for about 580€, and the RX-567 for about 370€.

The Playstation 3 should be capable of playing 3D movies as of firmware version 3.50.

Personally, I have a Sony BDP-S470 region B and a Samsung BD-D6500 region A player. If you want a dedicated 3D BD player, you can get it in the 150 - 200€ price range. I don't see much added value in more expensive models.

Quoting Bad Father:

Quote:
Quoting cvermeylen:

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I bought the Samsung UE55D7000 a few months ago. I really like the 3D quality of this one. This one uses the acitve shutter system, so 3D is presented in 1080p Full HD. I heard this is not the case for Phillips 3D sets. No idea what is used in the Panasonic.

Panasonic uses the Active Shutter system as well.

Quote:
The Playstation 3 should be capable of playing 3D movies as of firmware version 3.50.

Video yes, Audio no. PS3 will not pass-through HD audio when playing 3D Blu-ray discs. Audio will only be Digital 5.1 max.

I personally never been a fan of the PS3 for Blu-Ray, as it isn't capable of bitstreaming the HD audio formats. Or has that been updated in later firmwares as well?
As I don't play games a standalone player will do just fine for me 

Quoting cvermeylen:

Quote:

I personally never been a fan of the PS3 for Blu-Ray, as it isn't capable of bitstreaming the HD audio formats. Or has that been updated in later firmwares as well?

The PS3 bitstreams HD audio just fine...just not when playing 3D movies. It's not that the PS3 can't do it, it can, but Sony opted for video quality rather than have to hear users complain about stuttering and so forth.

Fully agree!