Home Theater Systems Help

[kubstix]

Getting a new surround sound system and haven't been caught up on the latest audio. I'm an IT guy and haven't been around audio systems like I am with Cisco switches and servers. I don't know what to do. For starters I have an Xbox 360 Elite with a 50" Panasonic 50PZ750U. I have HDMI going from the 360 to HDMI1. I have HDMI going from the DVR to HDMI2. I want blu-ray as well, but I think I just passed on the PS3 because the only reason I would get one is for the blu-ray. But now comes my dilemma. Scenario: Do I get an Onkyo surround system + PS3 for bluray? Or do I go with a Panasonic system that has blu-ray built in to the receiver? And now comes the alltime confusing part for me. I noticed the Onkyo has 3/4 HDMI inputs and the output to go to the TV. What is this for? Wouldn't it better to have my xbox,ect go straight into the TV rather than going an extra step to the receiver, then the TV? I'm having a hard time understanding the purpose of the HDMI inputs when I could just plug the fiber digital audio cable from the blu-ray/receiver to the TV? Someone help an IT guy out who isn't up to par on audio systems. Thank You.

[Winning Season Please!]

The best thing is to run your HDMI to the receiver and then one HDMI out to the TV. The receiver acts as a switcher. This way you will get the best sound from the HDMI cable. Plust you shouldn't have any reduction in picture quality.

[I_Bleed_B&G]

get an onkyo or harmon kardon instead of a built in dvd/receiver. I would stay away from Home theater in a box (HTIB)

[stevenaa]

The HDMI spec is designed to pass both sound and audio. To take advantage of this you need a A/V receiver that passes sound and audio per the spec. Lesser expensive units scrimp by not passing sound over HDMI.

My setup is like this:

Blueray >>> HDMI to Receiver

360>>>>>>> HDMI to Receiver

Satellite>>>> HDMI to Receiver

WII>>>>>>> Component Video and sound to Receiver

Misc. Components>>>>>> Component or RCA video and sound to Receiver

Receiver>>>> One HDMI to TV

Everything gets switched through the receiver.

Like everything in life, it comes down to cost and how much you have budgeted to spend. I'd be happy to provide some suggestions if you have a pricepoint you want to stay within.

[stevenaa]

get an onkyo or harmon kardon instead of a built in dvd/receiver. I would stay away from Home theater in a box (HTIB)

Agreed. Stay away from HTIB. Bad value.

-Onkyo is good for both stereo and HT. HK is awesome for stereo. One of the best amplifiers out there in reasonable price points. But they are lacking in HT and their last HT receivers suffer some bugs. Ask me how I know. I tried both Onkyo and Denon after returning the buggy HK. (Really bummed about HK's issues. Really like their sound) The Onkyo was defective out of the box. No rear right surround signal. Went to Denon. Very impressed with the Denon sound Quality. Prefer it over the Onkyo. However this is subjective. Every reciever out there imparts it's own "sound" so you really have to listen to many if that is important to you.

[kubstix]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm not looking to spend boatloads of money as my basement is not very large. I'de say anywhere between 300-500 not counting the blu-ray player. Bose is out of the question as well. Too expensive, and junk. Next question as well, 5.1 or 7.1?

[artmonkforHOF]

I had similar questions when buying my home theater and TV. I have a panasonic TCP46G15, PS3, HD satellite and a Sony receiver with Bose speakers.

I run both HDMI cables (PS3 & sat box) to the receiver and have only 1 HDMI output to the TV. It takes about 2-3 seconds when switching from TV to PS3, but other than that little annoyance, it works great. I tried connecting the PS3 to the TV, then have a secondary audio line running to the amp so I could play games and watch movies with surround sound, but I did not get surround sound playing on some games and movies when I did it that way, so I went back to ps3->receiver->tv.

I tried the other way simply to take advantage of one of my TV's features: you can label the TV HDMI & other inputs from the onscreen menu, if you name one of them "game" you can press the game button on the remote and it will automatically go to the input named game and change the picture setting to a game setting. I cant use that feature if I only have 1 HDMI going into the TV from the amp. Knowing what I know now, I would have tried to find a receiver that has 2 HDMI outputs on it.

there was another thread about blu rays vs. PS3, and I am by no means an expect on this, but some posters noted that the PS3 blu ray is a better quality blu ray than most stand alone units. I think they said stand alones are catching up the the ps3 spec, but those are the more expensive blu ray players.

I would say get a ps3, but then again I am biased.

Does the PZ750 have a game mode? I would be a little concerned if my plasma did not have a game mode or pixel orbiter to help prevent image retention/burn-in.

[hockeysc23]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm not looking to spend boatloads of money as my basement is not very large. I'de say anywhere between 300-500 not counting the blu-ray player. Bose is out of the question as well. Too expensive, and junk. Next question as well, 5.1 or 7.1?

I'd get a 7.1 receiver then get speakers separately. You can keep 5.1 and upgrade later if necessary.

[kubstix]

I had similar questions when buying my home theater and TV. I have a panasonic TCP46G15, PS3, HD satellite and a Sony receiver with Bose speakers.

I run both HDMI cables (PS3 & sat box) to the receiver and have only 1 HDMI output to the TV. It takes about 2-3 seconds when switching from TV to PS3, but other than that little annoyance, it works great. I tried connecting the PS3 to the TV, then have a secondary audio line running to the amp so I could play games and watch movies with surround sound, but I did not get surround sound playing on some games and movies when I did it that way, so I went back to ps3->receiver->tv.

I tried the other way simply to take advantage of one of my TV's features: you can label the TV HDMI & other inputs from the onscreen menu, if you name one of them "game" you can press the game button on the remote and it will automatically go to the input named game and change the picture setting to a game setting. I cant use that feature if I only have 1 HDMI going into the TV from the amp. Knowing what I know now, I would have tried to find a receiver that has 2 HDMI outputs on it.

there was another thread about blu rays vs. PS3, and I am by no means an expect on this, but some posters noted that the PS3 blu ray is a better quality blu ray than most stand alone units. I think they said stand alones are catching up the the ps3 spec, but those are the more expensive blu ray players.

I would say get a ps3, but then again I am biased.

Does the PZ750 have a game mode? I would be a little concerned if my plasma did not have a game mode or pixel orbiter to help prevent image retention/burn-in.

No, there was a break-in process for my plasma. Which had it on very dim setting for the first 200 hours. After that, it's on the max. I can watch the stock market ticker for a week straight and it won't burn in.

[artmonkforHOF]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm not looking to spend boatloads of money as my basement is not very large. I'de say anywhere between 300-500 not counting the blu-ray player. Bose is out of the question as well. Too expensive, and junk. Next question as well, 5.1 or 7.1?

Unless you have a large room- like 20' x 20' or larger, dont waste your money on 7.1. You wont have enough space to set the speakers up properly in a small room, and the only difference between 5.1 & 7.1 is the two "inner" rear left and right speakers, which don't add much to the surround sound experience. there are only a few movies that are released in 7.1, and there is now a move to 10.2 (think 7.1 but with 1 more center speaker, 2 "inner" front surround speakers and a secondary sub woofer at the rear of the room). If you get 7.1, it might work on some newer big budget movies, but I have a feeling most of those type of movies will go to 10.2 in the near future anyway.

the extra cost for a 7.1 receiver and the extra speakers is jsut not worth it in my opinion.

[hkHog]

Definitely get a PS3 instead of a stand alone Blu Ray, the games are just too good.

[kubstix]

Unless you have a large room- like 20' x 20' or larger, dont waste your money on 7.1. You wont have enough space to set the speakers up properly in a small room, and the only difference between 5.1 & 7.1 is the two "inner" rear left and right speakers, which don't add much to the surround sound experience. there are only a few movies that are released in 7.1, and there is now a move to 10.2 (think 7.1 but with 1 more center speaker, 2 "inner" front surround speakers and a secondary sub woofer at the rear of the room). If you get 7.1, it might work on some newer big budget movies, but I have a feeling most of those type of movies will go to 10.2 in the near future anyway.

the extra cost for a 7.1 receiver and the extra speakers is jsut not worth it in my opinion.

Any recommendations on what to go with? I currently have a Bose Center Channel speaker.....but Im thinking this has no relevance since everything comes with a center channel.

[HOF44]

However this is subjective. Every reciever out there imparts it's own "sound" so you really have to listen to many if that is important to you.

Best advice ever right here when picking your HT system.

[stevenaa]

Here are a couple of suggestions but it slightly stretches your budget and doesn't get a Blu-Ray.

The first is a Denon Receiver with Boston Acoustic speakers. Not a big fan of BA, but it will sound good.

Denon/Boston Acoustic

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Denon+-+375W+5.1-Ch.+Home+Theater+System/9342071.p?id=1218088196263&skuId=9342071

599.99

Second is a Denon Receiver and Klipsch Speakers sold seperately. This would be my preference as the speakers are better IMO. But more expensive.

Denon Receiver

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Denon+-+375W+5.1-Ch.+Apple%26%23174%3B+iPod%26%23174%3B-Ready+A/V+Receiver/9382492.p?id=1218095771163&skuId=9382492

349.99

Klipsch Speakers

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Klipsch+-+HD+Theater+300+5.1-Channel+Home+Theater+Speaker+System+with+Powered+Subwoofer/9388879.p?id=1218096958747&skuId=9388879

399.99

If you are hard set on your budget, and need the Bluray to fit into that, HTIB is your best bet. Or Start with a slightly better Receiver, a Blu Ray and a couple of front speakers and upgrade to a subwoofer and surrounds over time. You're sound experience with a couple of fronts and the Bose center will be pretty good.

I like Klipsch and Polk Audio for reasonably prices store bought speakers. They sound good and are reliable.

[kubstix]

Thank you for the suggestions. I was also looking at the Klipsche speakers but one of the reviews said it wasn't very good for carpeted rooms and distorted very easy at medium volume which turned me off alittle bit. I'm going to take a look at crutchfield for models and probably hit up froogle to get a better price than crutchfield. Feel free to take a look at crutchfields website and send some suggestions my way. I have a good feeling I will be getting a PS3 for the blu ray player as it seems the best bang for the buck and has excellent video quality. I figure if I'm going for excellent video quality I'll end up paying 200+ for a good bluray player anyways and the slim is only $300.

[kubstix]

Also note I already have a bose VCS-10 center channel. Is this good? And should I maybe consider buying a receiver, powered sub, and the 4 satellite speakers seperately? Will the center channel be adequate enough for the sound system? Thank You.

[Winning Season Please!]

I got the Yamaha RX-V565 on sale for $340 and love it. The only complaint is it doesn't have banana plugs for all the speaker wires.

[HOF44]

Thank you for the suggestions. I was also looking at the Klipsche speakers but one of the reviews said it wasn't very good for carpeted rooms and distorted very easy at medium volume which turned me off alittle bit.

At that price point you will find reviews on all speakers that will have some rightly negative points. I guess the question becomes what gives you the most value at the price you want to pay. I like the Polk sat systems, but they are about double the price of this system.

[boofMcboof]

Also note I already have a bose VCS-10 center channel. Is this good? And should I maybe consider buying a receiver, powered sub, and the 4 satellite speakers seperately? Will the center channel be adequate enough for the sound system? Thank You.

Although Bose sucks monkey balls, the center channel is not hypercritical as it's purpose is filling in some of the sound. The Bose should be more than adequate.

EDIT: I should probably take that back as I was in music mode not home theater mode. I built my system mainly for music. The center channel is important and and some point you'll want to upgrade.

[SkinsMaster88]

Just another tip for getting an HDMI receiver. Make sure that it will handle full HDMI audio. A lot of the entry level HT receivers just do HDMI pass-through which will take the video, but needs a separate digital audio connection (coax or optical). (Just saw this was mentioned by stevenaa)

The reason for this is to get the best quality, lossless audio from Blu-rays, you need HDMI (or if you have an older receiver and typically higher priced standalones, then you have separate RCA cables for each speaker (8 for a 7.1 config)). If you just have the S/PDIF coax or TOSLINK optical, then you'll only get regular Dolby Digital or DTS, not the newer better quality formats like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

Most people would say it's better to get a good 5.1 than get more budget 7.1 due to the lack of true 7.1 material, but I've enjoyed the enveloping effect that is present with a 7.1 system. The receiver uses processing to generate a pseudo-7.1 signal so that you do get sound from all speakers. Purists would debate having additional processing, but whatever sounds better to your ears.

The center channel is very important for movies. Almost all the dialog will be with the center channel so you want to make sure it's good quality. The surround speakers add more to the environmental ambiance and special effects sounds.

HTIB systems are good if you're on a budget, but there's plenty of areas where they simply can't match component setups. I've used 2 different Onkyo HTIBs, which were great for under $400. You'll find hundreds of positive reviews online. That said, the receiver that came with the system is about $250-300 separate. So you're getting the full 7.1 (in my case) speaker package for $150. Obviously the quality isn't going to be as good as separate speakers which will cost more combined.

[stevenaa]

Also note I already have a bose VCS-10 center channel. Is this good? And should I maybe consider buying a receiver, powered sub, and the 4 satellite speakers seperately? Will the center channel be adequate enough for the sound system? Thank You.

Most receivers will allow you to adjust the level of each speaker seperately, so if the center is a bit lacking you can try bumping up it's volume level. Center for Surround is critical. If you have fronts and a center already, spend the money on a nicer receiver and Blueray and then upgrade the speakers as you go. Not quite the quick fix but you'll end up with a much nicer system. I'll second 88's suggestion on the Onkyo HTIB's as the ones of choice if you decide to go that route.

[81artmonk]

I noticed the Onkyo has 3/4 HDMI inputs and the output to go to the TV. What is this for? Wouldn't it better to have my xbox,ect go straight into the TV rather than going an extra step to the receiver, then the TV?

You could go either way. Most of my research, most surround systems do a good job of handling the HDMI. If you have enough outputs, I'd go with hooking everything up to the tv. All you need from your surround is the digital audio hookup to the tv for your surround.

Most flat screens have 3-4 HDMI hookups anyway. You probably won't need more than that.

I have an older tv, and I have most everything running to my surround. Since I don't have the hookups on my tv for them. Otherwise I'd have used my tv instead and worried about only the digial audio for surround.

IMO it's kinda an either/or scenerio. If you go tv hookups, it's less you have to do with the audio. My assumption is you will probably be switching inputs when you want to do something (ie xbox,blu or sat) rather than switching your surround all the time, which is what I have to do.

[heyholetsgogrant]

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665793616

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+BRAVIA+1000W+5.1-Channel+Home+Theater+System/9238844.p?id=1218065494324&skuId=9238844

This Sony component system should do the job. It's $350 and wont break the bank.

[kubstix]

Just another tip for getting an HDMI receiver. Make sure that it will handle full HDMI audio. A lot of the entry level HT receivers just do HDMI pass-through which will take the video, but needs a separate digital audio connection (coax or optical). (Just saw this was mentioned by stevenaa)

The reason for this is to get the best quality, lossless audio from Blu-rays, you need HDMI (or if you have an older receiver and typically higher priced standalones, then you have separate RCA cables for each speaker (8 for a 7.1 config)). If you just have the S/PDIF coax or TOSLINK optical, then you'll only get regular Dolby Digital or DTS, not the newer better quality formats like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

Most people would say it's better to get a good 5.1 than get more budget 7.1 due to the lack of true 7.1 material, but I've enjoyed the enveloping effect that is present with a 7.1 system. The receiver uses processing to generate a pseudo-7.1 signal so that you do get sound from all speakers. Purists would debate having additional processing, but whatever sounds better to your ears.

The center channel is very important for movies. Almost all the dialog will be with the center channel so you want to make sure it's good quality. The surround speakers add more to the environmental ambiance and special effects sounds.

HTIB systems are good if you're on a budget, but there's plenty of areas where they simply can't match component setups. I've used 2 different Onkyo HTIBs, which were great for under $400. You'll find hundreds of positive reviews online. That said, the receiver that came with the system is about $250-300 separate. So you're getting the full 7.1 (in my case) speaker package for $150. Obviously the quality isn't going to be as good as separate speakers which will cost more combined.

Can you specify what feature I should be looking for so the receiver will handle both audio/video through the HDMI cable?

[Goskinz0721]

Any recommendations on what to go with? I currently have a Bose Center Channel speaker.....but Im thinking this has no relevance since everything comes with a center channel.

My HK 247 7.1 allows me to have multiroom speakers. So I have 5.1 in my den and 2 speakers on my deck. They can play the same thing at once or 2 different sources at the same time.

I specifically bought this one because I wanted the ability to run the speakers on my deck.