Home theater question

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nate0123

rawr!
:
2023 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus, 2019 Hyundai Veloster N
What do I need to get true 5.1 sound from my DVD player?

I'm thinking about picking up one of these:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7034675&type=product&id=1099395730557

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTIB_160_1.htm

It says it has:
5.1-Channel Input Six discrete preamp input jacks for six audio channels: left front, right front, center, left rear, right rear and subwoofer (the ".1" in 5.1 surround sound)

But my dvd player only has 2-channel A/V out and optical digital audio out (PCM/BITSTREAM)

mmkthx
 
As was said just use an optical cable and you'll be fine. To bad you are on the other side of the country we are selling those things off for $249 just to get them out of our store. We had them to give away as freebies with TV purchases over $5000 awhile back and had a few left. Unless this is for a small apartment or a bedroom do yourself a favor and don't buy one unless you need a through away system. You would be much better off saving up money for better equipment and piecing it together over time.
 
Greg S said:
As was said just use an optical cable and you'll be fine. To bad you are on the other side of the country we are selling those things off for $249 just to get them out of our store. We had them to give away as freebies with TV purchases over $5000 awhile back and had a few left. Unless this is for a small apartment or a bedroom do yourself a favor and don't buy one unless you need a through away system. You would be much better off saving up money for better equipment and piecing it together over time.
Click to expand...
I have a studio apartment, and I have no use for something extremely loud

I'm also not an audio snob, as long as the sound is clear and the sound effects sound good, I'll probably be happy

I also have a 200 watt powered 12" sub that I might hook up instead of that 100 watt 8"
 
I'm curious, though, why you chose to call it a "through" away system (poke)
 
WOW, they really try to make those things seem like they aren't crap. 110w per channel? *LMAO*

THROW away system. basically as soon as something goes out, you throw it away. Not worth repairing or salvaging any part of. Also power plays a big role in clarity as do decent speakers.

Thatsaid, it'll give you sound that's likely better than just TV speakers, and atleast look kinda neat. and yes surround. Essentially anything's better than nothing. If you get a digital output for playstation or XBOX you can use surround to your advantage to hear things behind you that you might not see.
 
crap, hmm? what do you suggest? I'm not looking to sink a grand into a freakin amp and speakers

right now I'm using my computer speakers because they have a sub with them

it actually doesn't sound that bad

I don't have any gaming system and don't have any intention of buying one

basically this is for watching movies, and maybe playing a CD every once in a while
 
The one you picked out doesn't look too bad. I've seen much worse. Anything under $200 suffers from poor useability and faulty electronics. After a year or two (or perhaps if you drop it by accident) they will just stop working. For systems over $200 the setback is usually the speakers and a few key features that they intentionally leave out.

One feature that I personally feel is a MUST for people switching to HD is video switching. Lets say you connect a VCR, DVD player, and HD-ready cable box and you have an HD TV. Most receivers will allow you to connect all three, audio and video, then send the video signal to the TV and play the sound through its speakers. This allows you to turn a knob on the receiver to switch between VCR, DVD, or TV. However, all three of these sources might use different video interfaces. The VCR will use composite, the DVD might use S-Video, and the HD cable box will use component. If the receiver does not support video switching you will have to change the input on the TV every time you want to change the source on the receiver. It might seem like a simple task but it will get frustrating pretty quickly. You will always need the TV remote around to do this simple task since it usually requires pressing a special button or navigating through a series of menus.

Alas video switching does not come cheap. I haven't checked the combo systems but you are looking at a $300 stand-alone receiver if you want it. If you don't have an HD TV and don't intend to buy one...don't sweat it. You can just connect everything with composite video cables and almost every receiver on the market can handle that.
 
that yamaha receiver has video switching (I think?) - it's a $250 receiver bundled with a $180 speaker package so a pretty good deal I think

btw I do have an HD TV with built-in tuner - rarely use the HD though because I have basic cable and all I can get with the HD antenna is a few channels of PBS in HD and a spanish network
 
my $1500 rotel (circa 2001) doesn't even have video switching. there are adaptors out there that will fool it into thinking that composite (RCA) is S-video though... My next receiver will definitely have it - good point.

ya the yamaha one looks decent.
 
Vides switching and video upconversion are 2 entirely different entities. switching will switch as long as it doens't have to translate video signals (so if all your inputs are S-video, you're good) if a receiver's got any form of video signal inputs to it at all it should be able to handle video switching. Upconversion is where it'll turn Composit video (the single yellow RCA jack) into S-video and/or S-video into Component video. In order to get upconversion capability to Component video (the best of analog and the only one that'll pass HD) you're looking in generally the $4-500 range.

IF you're looking for THE BEST video signal there's DVI and HDMI which is basically a combined digital audio AND DIGITAL video.. Upconversion for THAT even isn't in the picture yet (if it ever will be since it would require some seious ADC's) as eventhough the new $1300 denon 3806 does HDMI switching (2 in one out), the upconversion is only to conponent video (still HD, but only in the low realm of it compared to digital) OOH and the 3806 gets Audyssey this year (multi-point simultaneous optimization) so basically you can have perfect surround sound setup for someone sitting directly infront of the right speaker, one directly infront of the left, one in the traditional sweetspot and even someone back in the hallway.


Nate> For the money, you're really not going to do any better, just don't expect it to holdup forever, or impress any audiosnob friends. I only mentioned the surround sound aspect 'cause it's dope playing gran turismo and being able to hear which side a car's trying to pass from. (and yea my halo-playing friends are addicted to surround it's almost an unfair advantage)
 
Last edited:
nate0123 said:
What do I need to get true 5.1 sound from my DVD player?

I'm thinking about picking up one of these:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7034675&type=product&id=1099395730557

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTIB_160_1.htm

It says it has:
5.1-Channel Input Six discrete preamp input jacks for six audio channels: left front, right front, center, left rear, right rear and subwoofer (the ".1" in 5.1 surround sound)

But my dvd player only has 2-channel A/V out and optical digital audio out (PCM/BITSTREAM)

mmkthx
Click to expand...

Ok, lets take a step back and look at this logicly for a moment.
Is this good or even decent equipment, build wise, it will be good enough to last a few years. Will it sound good/ decent, it will if your comparing it to what you have now which is a set of computer speakers. Keep in mind that these really are just computer speakers.

I personaly would not bother with something that cheap as its not worth it to me since I know I would quickly tire of it. However, if you are looking for something that will hit your budget and just give you sorround sound while it atleast doesn't sound worse then your computer speakers, then its not a bad option. Worst case, you can use it to grow a system in the future. When you do say have an extra $1500 to spend some day, you can go buy a set of front speakers you really like. Maybe pick up some rears a year later and then replace the receiver with something better. Perhaps something with 2 zones for when you move into a house or something like that.

If you can spend a grand, then look at the Boston AVIDEA system. I have used them a few times and the $1000 one is a fantastic little package. Like any other micro speaker system though it suffers from a lack of full range sound but thats just part of the trade off for having an inexpensive system that uses small speakers.

In the end, its your money and your the only ones ears you need to please so if you can listen to this thing somewhere then do that first and so long as you like it, then to hell with anything else.
 
nate0123 said:
I'm curious, though, why you chose to call it a "through" away system (poke)
Click to expand...

Opps, that's what happens when you are trying to type with the kids around.
I meant throw away system, meaning that when it breaks you get something else because it is not worth fixing. For your needs it sounds like this would be a decent piece. Like I said it's OK for bedrood and apartments, and since you have a studio apartment you'll be fine and it'll sound at least as good as your computer speakers. I sort of can't help being an audio snob as I've built and designed car and home systems for the last 20 years for a living, so ignore a bit of what I say(thumb) .
If you are running multiple pieces of equipment then Chuyler is right video switching and up-conversion are very nice to have but you do have to spend $300-400 on a receiver just to get them.

As Poseur said HDMI/DVI is the best connection, though DVI is disappearing in favor of HDMI, and you actually can get up-conversion to it starting at the $1000 price point and up-scaling at $1300, Yamaha RXV-1600/2600 and Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXAi.

Ok, enough off course typing. If it's going to meet your needs and you do not think you be throwing it away after a year because you'll want more features then I would say go ahead and buy it. If anything I typed sounds like stuff that you are going to get in to then I would wait and buy individual pieces over time for something that you can keep building on and use for years on end. It'll cost you more up front but less over the long term and you'll have something infinitely better. It boils down to personal choice and use.
 
lol I'm getting this one unless I see something better under 400 before I get the money in hand

thanks for all of your input
 
 
I like the black. When dealing with all these small systems, i think the satalites will all sound similar and you will notice the difference in the Subwoofer. They are all good starter systems for their prices.........

-R
 
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