Help.
I'm new to AV — desppite having been a hi-fi buff for years. I'm a bit stuck on where to start. I have £8,000 on 5.1 speaker package, amp and DVD player + screen. Any ideas where to start — what to go for? Do the amps interact as much with different speakers as in hi-fi? What works well together?
Please advise.

Jon, anyone could give you advice BUT it would be according to OUR personal tastes, not YOURS.
Sooooo .......... step one; buy a dedicated magazine like "What Hi-Fi Sound And Vision" or similar for a start.
Step 2; you'll get ideas of the types of home cinema kit which will suit your lifestyle and your tastes. EG - LCD TV or plasma, etc. etc.
Step 3; ** IMPORTANT BIT ** visit a dedicated Hi-Fi/ Home Cinema dealer and ask THEM for their suggestions about your proposed system, then get them to arrange a demonstration of the equipment. Whether in their dedicated "listeining room" OR in your own home, any dealer worth their salt (and worth your money) will be pleased to arrange this.
Step 3 is especially important, as you will be investing your money and you need to be as sure as you can BEFORE you buy.
I can tell you this; for your budget, you should be able to get a well-specified quality home AV system.
Good hunting!

Thanks for that. But my worry was that if I specified my budget a dealer would lump with a demo that cost that much — when there may well be better sounding kit that works well together for less (eg: a £1,500 amp that's better than an £1,800 one. It often works that way with two channel).Been having a look through the forums though and am starting to get a potential wish-list together.
I'll let you know when I've had a demo.

Hey Jon, most GOOD dealers will listen to what you want and arrange a demo. from your wish-list so you can see (and of course, HEAR) what it will be like. The good thing about dealers and demo's is that they are usually (like us) hi-fi enthusiasts; the point being that they know the kit inside-out and understand better than most of us (who don't get the opportunity to "play") what works well as a system.
Maybe don't specify a budget, just your wish-list and after listening THEN listen to their suggestions.
Enjoy the experience.