artmonkforHOF Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Im in the market for a new home theatre system and had a few questions. I plan to buy a HDTV, PS3 and a new home theatre system within the next year. I dont care if the home theatre has a blu ray player as I plan to use the PS3 for that duty. I dont need 10,000 watts of power, I just want some nice sound. (so yeas I am going cheap on the home theatre under $500) My questions are to do with surrond sound from different sources. Now I know I should be able to play regular DVD's in surround sound, as the theatre systems I am looking at all have a DVD player included, but how do I get surround sound from either my satelite TV feed or from the PS3? I know I can connect an audio in to the home theatre system, but those are only the red and white stereo cables, but how do you get surround sound output when you only have stereo input? is this what the Dolby prologic programs do? or is it even possible? I know my TV box has a digital audio out line, but most home theatre systems I have seen do not have a digital audio in jack. Do I need this digital audio in jack to get full surround sound from sources other than the home theatre system? Also, I saw one home theatre system that had a standard DVD player but a HDMI output for video. Is this connection really worth it since the DVD's are not HD? Will I see a noticable difference from non HD source materials using an HDMI cable as oppose to componetn or S video cables? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Do I need this digital audio in jack to get full surround sound from sources other than the home theatre system? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Touchdown Redskins Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 In my experience, you can get good surround sound quality from your classic red-and-white input cables, however if you want really, really good surround, you should get a system with the optical (digital) audio input. Also, even if it costs a little more, get 7.1 (not 5.1) surround. It's amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speardog1 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Make sure you have multiple HDMI inputs in your TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Atleast 3 HDMI outputs on your TV. Although, you can buy an HDMI splitter from Best Buy. Also, you can get very good deals if you search online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sly Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Now I know I should be able to play regular DVD's in surround sound, as the theatre systems I am looking at all have a DVD player included Avoid buying a surround sound system with either the DVD player included or the DVD player actually *being* your "amplifier." Those all-in-one-systems are usually pretty horrible. Look for a separate receiver (Onkyo has great products), then build around that. If you're worried about price, try to find refurbished brands. http://www.cnet.com has some good reviews on surround sound systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisenberg Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Go to Best Buy and wait for the guys in the white van to sell you the speaker system they need to get rid of. They will give you a hell of a deal. LOL In all seriousness, I just bought a 37 inch Samsung LCD last week and it's pretty amazing. I haven't upgraded my satellite package but even the over the air HD channels are amazing. For your TV I strongly recommend Samsung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Avoid buying a surround sound system with either the DVD player included or the DVD player actually *being* your "amplifier." Those all-in-one-systems are usually pretty horrible. Look for a separate receiver (Onkyo has great products), then build around that. If you're worried about price, try to find refurbished brands. http://www.cnet.com has some good reviews on surround sound systems. Exactly. Stay away from the "home theater in a box". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Look for a separate receiver (Onkyo has great products), then build around that. If you're worried about price, try to find refurbished brands. Sly speaks the truth. If I had to get a cheap system I would definetly go Onkyo. Not to say Onkyo does not have nice high end stuff too, cause they do. They are just the best of the cheap set ups in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Touchdown Redskins Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Exactly. Stay away from the "home theater in a box". Good advice Sly and Sith...I think the receiver is one of the most important pieces for your home entertainment system. If you get a great one (with inputs supporting up-to-date technology), then you can build around it for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 You can get carried away really quickly. I bet if someone took a $500 out of the box Onkyo set up and had people take the Pepsi challenge between it and a setup costing thousands, very few people would be able to tell the difference. jmo Keep in mind, whatever you set up is going to sound 1000x's better than your TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Dave Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 For the home theater all you need is the PS3. It does everything. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Dave Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 In my experience, you can get good surround sound quality from your classic red-and-white input cables, however if you want really, really good surround, you should get a system with the optical (digital) audio input. Also, even if it costs a little more, get 7.1 (not 5.1) surround. It's amazing. If he gets the PS3 it has the optical digital output. This will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artmonkforHOF Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 thanks for all the help, I wanted to stay away from the dedicated reciever simpy based on price. I cant justify spending a few thousand on recievers and speakers for a surround sound system that will only be used for 10 football games a year plus maybe a few movies per month. But if your saying I can grab a reciever and some decent speakers for under $1000 in total I would be interested. For the Onkyo brand, who sells it? I noticed bestbuy Canada does not sell Onkyo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Here you go for 849.00 Link You can probably find it cheaper, but research the units here. Crutchfield has a very informative site and great customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 thanks for all the help, I wanted to stay away from the dedicated reciever simpy based on price. I cant justify spending a few thousand on recievers and speakers for a surround sound system that will only be used for 10 football games a year plus maybe a few movies per month.But if your saying I can grab a reciever and some decent speakers for under $1000 in total I would be interested. For the Onkyo brand, who sells it? I noticed bestbuy Canada does not sell Onkyo. Most national retailers sells Onkyo. But check online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sly Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 But if your saying I can grab a reciever and some decent speakers for under $1000 in total I would be interested. For the Onkyo brand, who sells it? I noticed bestbuy Canada does not sell Onkyo. http://www.onkyousa.com/prod_class.cfm?class=Receiver There are plenty of great products in your price range out there... not just Onkyo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81artmonk Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 For the best sound from DVD and PS3 I would go with a Digital Optical cable. If you get a DVD with upcoverting you can get the best picture quality outside of buying blueray or HD. The best picture quality you can get is with HDMI or DVI cables...period!! So whenever possible try to use HDMI or DVI (the difference is HDMI is both video and audio together in one cable DVI is just the video, but both are HD quality) The next best is your RGB component cables. After that would be S-video. In order to get true 5.1 dolby digital you need to use either a coax cable or digital optical cables. With that said, If you want the best picture and sound, look for a surround sound system that allows you to use HDMI as a hookup. The next best option would be digital optical(for audio) and RGB componant cables(for video) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 The first piece of advice I would give you is don't get suckered into buying expensive cables and/or wires. The generic ones are just as good. I see people easily spend $200-300 more for their setup because they follow the salesmen's advice to buy the $50 cables for everything.... www.monoprice.com My setup currently is: Sony 6.1 Receiver(although I haven't purchased a rear center channel speaker yet) 5 Speakers & Subwoofer(I purchased speakers seperately) PS3 which I use for blu-ray and dvds(before I had an upconvert dvd player, but the PS3 also upconverts the regular dvds) Panasonic 5-disc CD changer. The TV is hooked into the PS3 via HDMI The PS3 is hooked up to the audio receiver via digital optical One day down the road I will try to sell my receiver(or give it away) and get one with HDMI ports, but I am not sure how much difference the sound is between HDMI and Optical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I plan to buy a HDTV, PS3 and a new home theatre system within the next year. I dont care if the home theatre has a blu ray player as I plan to use the PS3 for that duty. I dont need 10,000 watts of power, I just want some nice sound. (so yeas I am going cheap on the home theatre under $500)My questions are to do with surrond sound from different sources. Now I know I should be able to play regular DVD's in surround sound, as the theatre systems I am looking at all have a DVD player included, but how do I get surround sound from either my satelite TV feed or from the PS3? If you are using your PS3 for blu-ray, use it for regular DVD's also . No need for 2 units doing the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isifhan Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Just to jump on the Onkyo bandwagon, I was looking at this system http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4124855 It got some good reviews on the avs forums To go along with my Vizio 47" http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=38 I was also thinking about a bose system but they're so expensive http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4190095 or http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4190096 I do have a $500 JR gift card so I can dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorresA Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 My suggestion is dont skimp, even if it takes time to build. If you do you'll end up rebuying eveything. I bought an Onkyo similar to what HOF just linked. I have already replaced everything already except for the reciever, which I should do in the near future. Personally i am looking at the Denon 3808ci, maybe Yamaha 3800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I was also thinking about a bose system but they're so expensive http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4190095 or http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4190096 Bose is generally way overpriced for the specs you get. You can get the same specs in a system for much less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mufumonk Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Go with a Denon or Onkyo receiver with multiple HDMI I/P's. And look for one that can decode DTS-HD and Dolby True HD. Then upgrade your speakers when cash allows. Start off with a couple of bookshelf from Ascend or Paradigm for your front L/R and move them to the rear when you're ready to add on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 My suggestion is dont skimp, even if it takes time to build. If you do you'll end up rebuying eveything. I bought an Onkyo similar to what HOF just linked. I have already replaced everything already except for the reciever, which I should do in the near future. I agree, I'm a component guy, but if you don't have the cash you sometimes have to cut the corners. If you are just doing it to save a little and you do have the money, then it's not worth it buy the good stuff first. If you don't ever see yourself having the cash to go the mid to high end route it's the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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