We currently have a Samsung HT-Q40. I think it is three years old, but it seems older. I know, when we bought it, we were thinking that Blu-ray was coming, so we didn't want to spend a lot on a home theater system. By the same token, we never needed much more than the HT-Q40 -- it served our needs very well. We are only considering replacing it now because I hear a very high-pitched whine coming from it whenever I turn it on.

There are things that we would prefer it do. First, while DVDs look great on my 50" DLP, I suspect with up-scaling they could look better. Second, we currently have only one HDMI device, and even if we had two, our HDTV has two HDMI inputs. However, at one point in the past, we had two HD DVRs (i.e., two HDMI inputs), so if we had also gotten a BD player at that time, we would have had an issue. (Of course, we could have just used the component video inputs for one of the input devices. There is no noticeable difference between component input and HDMI input.)

These consideration are not worth replacing the unit. However, if that high-pitched whine turns into system failure (and wouldn't you expect it to?), then we'll be scrambling for a replacement.

So my questions to you:

1) Is that high-pitched whine something you know about? Is it a certain death knell? Is it cheaply repairable?

2) We're considering the following replacement options. What are your opinions:
a) Sony HTSS360 Home Theater System + Sony BDP-S360 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
b) Sony BDV-E300 Home Theater System with Blu-ray Disc Player (coming out next month)
c) The Samsung comparables to (a) (but, while I can find a Samsung comparable for the Blu-ray Disc Player [BD-P1600], I cannot find a comparable for the home theater system. Your suggestion?)

We don't specifically want Blu-ray (we think that the media costs far more, to purchase or even just rent from Netflix, to warrant the added price, given how good DVDs look), but at this point we don't think it makes sense to buy something that doesn't have a Blu-ray player. I expect media prices to fall in the next few years.

As I mentioned before, we do want up-scaling.

One thing that really has me avoiding this purchase if at all possible is that we don't need new speakers, but it seems that every inexpensive system comes with speakers. If we can just use the existing speakers with the existing wires, already run around the room, that's what we're going to do.