Seperates for sure. All in one systems seem convenient, but often have no SCART output, many are impossible to hack for multiregion (need a £50 mod), and the quality will not be quite the same. At the bottom end of your budget, however, I`d suggest a cheap multiregion capable one, such as the Dansai that Tescos are doing - I think at around £90, plus the Yamaha VS10 (amp and speaker bundle) - can be got for less than £300. Total cost - £375 or so. If you can find one, Sainsburys are selling some Mico DVD players that have been well reviewed, for around the same price.
A little further up the scale, you could do worse that the Yamaha HTiB45 - £340 from http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=GtI6Z092ril1&bg=225&bp=b45s&v=8. See http://www.yamaha-audio.co.uk/homecinema/htib/htib-45/index.asp for full details. This is a more recent package, and has Prologic2 for excellent near 5.1 decoding of stereo (tv films, videos, etc). The speakers that it comes with are OK (NSP220 set, RRP £199, available for around £170), but perhaps the weakest part of the system. However, I`d suggest they will more than do you for the moment, and to get much better, you`ll end up spending the whole of you budget and more.
So, for this option, £430 or so with the "basic" dvd player.
You could look at a better DVD player, perhaps - to get much better you`re looking at a Toshiba 220 or similar - make sure you buy multiregion, as they can`t be hacked. Richer Sounds have it multiregion for £144 - bargain! Although any DVD player will play CDs, the Tosh will do it well, so you could use the amp & DVD as your main hifi system. Forgot to mention that the HTiB amp is in fact a receiver - i.e. it has a radio built in too.
Next step up would be a similar amp (or perhaps the excellent Marantz 4200 - £280 or so), plus a speaker pack from the likes of Mission or Wharfedale - another £300. You would have no sub with this bundle, and this is where things start to go a bit loopy. Another £150 or so for a sub is really the minimum you should expect to spend - the Paradigm PS10 from Richer again - however there are rumours that Richer are stopping importing these well reviewed beasts. As you can see, £££ starts flying from the old wallet.
Personally speaking, I`d be tempted to go for the Tosh 220 with the HTiB45, and save the rest for DVDs, or stick it in a savings account and upgrade the speakers in a year`s time. Don`t get me wrong, I have a Mission speaker pack and it`s fabulous, but you`re getting to the top end of your budget, and I think oyu`ll be really pleased with the kit I mention above.
One last thing - spend a few ££ on a good scart lead - get a BTech ribbon SCART from http://www.beyondhifi.net - £15 or so, and a massive difference from the cheapo ones supplied with a player. While you`re there, get a coaxial lead to connect the DVD to the amp. I have a feeling that the HTiB contains speaker cable, so that`s all you`ll need.
One other last thing (!) - you don`t mention what TV you have - if you don`t have a widescreen, I`d definitely save the extra ££ and put it towards one at a later date.
Hope this helps!!
