Oftentimes, people who start trying to save money have trouble cutting their entertainment budgets. They end up not being able to save as much as the would have if they were aware of some frugal alternatives to popular sources of home entertainment. It is quite possible to enjoy movies, TV, sports, music and games without spending a fortune. According to Visual Economics and the Department of Labor, the average American consumer spends $2698 each year on entertainment. Assuming you’re starting from nothing (which the average consumer is not), we should be able to get your initial set up as well as all other costs in at less than half of that. After the first year and the initial money is spent, each following year will be significantly lower.

There are a couple of steps, some that save money and some that cost money, to get started on a long-term frugal home entertainment set up.

Display

Presumably, many people already have a televison in their homes. If it was purchased in the last 3 years or so, then it’s safe to say that it was probably an HDTV. What’s important here is that the TV has either an HDMI input or a VGA input with a PC audio or headphone input. The reason for this being that we’re going to be hooking up a PC to the TV. Ideally, the back of your TV would look something like this:

About a year and a half ago, I was able to find a floor model of a 37″ Sony HDTV for less than half of its sticker price at a big box retailer. If you look around on Craigslist or Ebay, you might be able to find a good deal on a used model. If you already have a TV with the necessary inputs, then you’re ahead of the game. If not, then you’re probably going to be set back about $400-500 if you can find a good deal. Don’t worry, if you’re an average entertainment consumer, you’re going to make up for that money later. Unless you’re an audiophile or have a very large room to fill with sound, the TV’s speakers should be enough. If not, then look into a used receiver and set of speakers.

Cable Box Replacement

If you’re paying for cable, stop reading this right now. Call and cancel your service. You can thank me later for the $71/month or $852/year you just saved. The only reason to have cable with the plethora of home entertainment sources available today is if you are a sports fanatic, especially if you watch games from outside your immediate area. However, it was brought to my attention by Redditor MetalPig that Xbox Live will soon be streaming all major sports, with the exception of the NFL, through ESPN to Xbox Live Gold members. However, an Xbox 360 is not the end-all cable box replacement that it would like to be.

Instead, you’re going to want a dedicated PC connected to your TV. Either HDMI or VGA with the PC audio connection will serve our purposes. Now wait, you’re thinking, when are you going to stop asking me to spend more money? Soon, don’t worry. Remember, I already saved you more than $800 this year.

While any PC will do the trick, you might be interested in a sleek design that looks like it belongs in your entertainment system. By no means is this the absolute best deal in the world, but the Dell Inspiron Zino HD at $399 isn’t too bad. The $249 model may look tempting, but be aware that it comes with Windows Vista instead of Windows 7, which could be a deal breaker for some people. In addition, you’ll probably want a wireless keyboard and mouse. Dell’s personalization tool lets you add one for $75, but I found one in a quick Amazon search for only $35.99.

If you go with the Zino HD, you’ll probably want to use HDMI as your connection. Again, any PC will do and VGA works just as well. Either way, search for the cables you need on Amazon. A 6-foot HDMI cable should only run you a few dollars including shipping, while a VGA cable with audio might be around $10-12. Don’t fall for Best Buy’s connection cable scams and end up spending more than $50 on a simple HDMI cable.

Part 2 will focus on software setup and should be up soon.

I plan to post about everything from video games to world news. I’d really like to keep writing throughout my life, and I guess that a blog is the best way to do it, right?

-Josh