[nemo]

MX Coaxial cable is around 350 bucks

[suprateep]

Originally Posted by nemo

MX Coaxial cable is around 350 bucks

Coaxial cables usually cost around 300-500 bucks for normal everyday use. There are others from monster that can st you back by 2-4k. Go for MX man - very good VFM

Then again if there is an optical out on the back of a dvd (if any) - use that. Optical is better when there are too many wires and electrical connections (like in mine and most HT setups) - they emanate Rf noise that a coax can pick up. Optical is immune in these cases.

But then again for most cases you are good to go with coax (co ax does deliver warmer sound over longer cable length vis-a-vis optical)

[jacob_inasu@gma]

Hi All,

Require your help in setting my entertainment unit.

Budget for all items - 1,25,000

Required items:
1. LCD Screen
2. Home Theatre 5.1
3. Support required for the Home Theatre

I watch a lot of movies and i'm into gaming. Music from my iPod should also be adaptable to the system.

I do not have a seperate room for the entertainment unit, this will be a part of our sitting room, which is big. One half of the room will be dedicated for this.

Any help, contacts, what i need to look out for etc will be appreciated.

I am in Bangalore.

Regards,
Jacob

[ssingri]

Originally Posted by suprateep

Then again if there is an optical out on the back of a dvd (if any) - use that. Optical is better when there are too many wires and electrical connections (like in mine and most HT setups) - they emanate Rf noise that a coax can pick up. Optical is immune in these cases.

Suprateep, I mean no offence and what you have said is generally believed to be true.
BUT IMHO
If you are using a digital output there is no question of degradation or noise as the signal is made up of 1s and 0s. Only thing you need to bother about is the "cliff effect" see this Cliff effect: Information from Answers.com
This means that an optical cable is needed only when you have to run very long runs. For a 1.5 mtr run you can buy the cheapest cable available. Monster or any other cable CANNOT give you any improvement over this one. Only area you might benefit, is in the contact/connectors as they may prevent a loose contact and engage better.
Of course they will look better if the back of your system is open to view.

[arindamray]

newbie question:

I have a SONY music system (I am not sure if that can be called as a HT system) something like this Buy Sony MHC-MG310AV Home theater shelf system with 60-CD changer for $259.95

Now if I give the audio input from my DVD player to this system, the audio output is very low (much lower than if I give the inputs to my TV).

What component I would need to add - amplifier and/or A/V receiver?

And how the connections should be between this new piece (A), TV (B), old Sony system (C) and speakers (D)?

[sai_ace]

Guys, a noob question.

I have a decent PC bases home theater. I watch my HD movie son the PC and it is connected to the Logtiech Z5500 which plays DTS sound. My only grouse is that the center speaker seems quite weak. ie: when I crank up the volume for better dialogue and suddenly there is an extra surge of sound I can clearly make out distortion. I would like to upgrade the center speaker alone to something more powerful. The current speaker is rated at 69w RMS.

If i have go for something more powerful like a 2way center speaker or something with higher power ratings, how do i go about it?

The reason me and my bro liked these speakers was it had an in built DTS decoder and what started off as primarily computer speakers has become our HT speakers. So I am looking to mod/upgrade these speakers. Please help!

[nishantgandhi]

Ok, so here's my proposed setup:

1. LG 32 inch LCD (already have)
2. WD HD Media Player (WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )) - to be purchased shortly
3. Good quality HDMI cable - to be purchased shortly
4. Speakers - ??? (Currently planning output through TV speakers)
5. DVD player (may purchase in future if the need arises. Currently all my movies {~300} are in .avi/.mkv format)

In the above setup, the weak link appears to be the speakers only. And I have no idea what difference is created in the sound quality/output by bookshelf/floorstanders etc.

Can the gurus please suggest the best VFM speakers for me?

I have read about Logitech z5500 on other forums but they are primarily PC speakers.

I would ideally like to have 5.1 speakers but someone was suggesting that I should put 2 floor standers mated to an amp.

Would also like to know whether an amp is an absolute necessity for floorstanders/bookshelf?

TIA

[devrajman]

Guys,

I have been to Pioneer showroom in Sigma Mall, Bangalore.

They many home theater systems and LCD TVs.

I saw one costs 40K with 5.1 speaker system with amplifiers (those pro looking ones) with self powered 200RMS Woofer!!

Its should be worth every paisa.

I request anyone interested to visit the showroom once and get a demo, yes they have demo room.

Im sure you will be thrilled!!

[v1kram]

I purcahsed a Harmon Kardon HS 300 ME unit today and it came with AKG K 910 Wireless headphone on offer. Now looking for a good 40 inch LCD TV.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by ssingri

Suprateep, I mean no offence and what you have said is generally believed to be true.
BUT IMHO
If you are using a digital output there is no question of degradation or noise as the signal is made up of 1s and 0s.

Not True !! from my personal experience, Quality of the cable does matter.

I had a cheap no-brand digital co-axial cable running from the DVD player to the AVR. And suddenly at times I would get interference like a tzzz tzzz tzzz sound for 2 seconds and it would vanish.

I used to think it was due to some electrical fluctuation. Later found out how to replicate it, If I would switch on a tube light, Or some electrical appliances, this sound would coincide with it. Again I thought it was something to do with the stabilizer connected to the AVR. After some googling, I changed the digitao co-axial cable to a better brand which had good shielding.
The above said interference sound vanished.

So the quality of the cable does play a role.

-Fillmore

[amitk26]

Hi,

See my responses inline.

Regards

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Ok, so here's my proposed setup:

1. LG 32 inch LCD (already have)
2. WD HD Media Player (WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )) - to be purchased shortly
3. Good quality HDMI cable - to be purchased shortly

Replace good quality with any cheap HDMI cable available. HDMI is encryted digital data and quality of cable really makes no difference.

[quote=nishantgandhi;1327045
4. Speakers - ??? (Currently planning output through TV speakers)
5. DVD player (may purchase in future if the need arises. Currently all my movies {~300} are in .avi/.mkv format)
[quote]
Why not a fanless PC instead of WD HD media player ? It can serve your PC requirement as well , Zotac Nvidia Ion board is a good choice.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

In the above setup, the weak link appears to be the speakers only. And I have no idea what difference is created in the sound quality/output by bookshelf/floorstanders etc.

The weakest link is abscence of an amplifier to drive the speakers , The HD Media players do not have sufficient power to drive the good quality speakers.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Can the gurus please suggest the best VFM speakers for me?

I have read about Logitech z5500 on other forums but they are primarily PC speakers.

I would ideally like to have 5.1 speakers but someone was suggesting that I should put 2 floor standers mated to an amp.

Would also like to know whether an amp is an absolute necessity for floorstanders/bookshelf?

TIA

Traditional good quality wooden cabinet speakers still produce best sound ( leaving likes of Bose out of the choice) . In the budget range avoide plastic cabinets and PC speakers.
I am not a guru so can't suggest any brand , As your setup looks to be a budget setup go by your ears after listning to various speakers rather then by brand.

[jassi]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Ok, so here's my proposed setup:

1. LG 32 inch LCD (already have)
2. WD HD Media Player (WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )) - to be purchased shortly
3. Good quality HDMI cable - to be purchased shortly
4. Speakers - ??? (Currently planning output through TV speakers)
5. DVD player (may purchase in future if the need arises. Currently all my movies {~300} are in .avi/.mkv format)

In the above setup, the weak link appears to be the speakers only. And I have no idea what difference is created in the sound quality/output by bookshelf/floorstanders etc.

Can the gurus please suggest the best VFM speakers for me?

I have read about Logitech z5500 on other forums but they are primarily PC speakers.

I would ideally like to have 5.1 speakers but someone was suggesting that I should put 2 floor standers mated to an amp.

Would also like to know whether an amp is an absolute necessity for floorstanders/bookshelf?

TIA

a good amp is an important part in a true home theatre system.
As for speakers, you could get some good floor standers. I am no guru, but I use Jamo S606 as they have good bass for the fronts
S 606 Floorstanding Speaker - Description
As i already have a 7.1 onkyo system thx990 ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA i did not need any more speakers.

However you can get the jamo s606 comes bundled as a 5.1 package too
S 606 HCS 6 Home Cinema Systems - Description
add a good amp and you are good to go.
As far as media player goes I use a PS3 for bluray/dvd as well as playing 1080p/720p media. The fact that you can use it for gaming is another advantage. You could also use a good pc with hdmi-out and co-ax out as your universal media player.

The hdmi cable can be the panasonic ones which are available with all electronic stores.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Ok, so here's my proposed setup:

1. LG 32 inch LCD (already have)
2. WD HD Media Player (WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )) - to be purchased shortly
3. Good quality HDMI cable - to be purchased shortly
4. Speakers - ??? (Currently planning output through TV speakers)
5. DVD player (may purchase in future if the need arises. Currently all my movies {~300} are in .avi/.mkv format)

What sort of budget do you have in mind? The options for an amp/receiver and speakers are vast.

[kaushik_s]

Need some input here. What I was thinking of is that if I can go for a HT setup of Onkyo(just did a quick search on Onkyo systems) such as HT-S3105 which doesn't take any HDMI input but take Digital Optical/co-axial input and Philips3996 DVD player. How is this system regarding audio quality? How is it compared to HT-S5105, the next level model with HDMI (pass-through only so almost useless) input? Is the AV receiver between these two systems are very different audio quality wise(except the HDMI part)?

Just called up Onkyo and they told me that 3105 is currently not available and instead 3200 is available.
Another thing I found that 5105 uses a active sub-woofer instead of passive one as in 3105. According to Onkyo showroom price for 5105 is 32.5k, 3100 is 22k, 3200 is 25k and 3105 currently not available . Is there any better deal available for these systems? Which one would be the best value for money with decent output?

I'm thinking about following setup
Philips 3996 ------ Digital Audio ----> Onkyo HT -->5.1 speakers(for Movies on A channel) or 2 bookselfs (on B channel) for Stereo(Music)
|
HDMI input
|
V
Pana 42PV80D

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Need some input here. What I was thinking of is that if I can go for a HT setup of Onkyo(just did a quick search on Onkyo systems) such as HT-S3105 which doesn't take any HDMI input but take Digital Optical/co-axial input and Philips3996 DVD player. How is this system regarding audio quality? How is it compared to HT-S5105, the next level model with HDMI (pass-through only so almost useless) input? Is the AV receiver between these two systems are very different audio quality wise(except the HDMI part)?

HDMI pass through means HDMI for Video , Still Audio will be processed by AV receiver so it is not useless.
Also HDMI-CEC ensure a single remote for all systems.

Secondly if whever you will invest in a Blue ray player ( 2 year down the line prices will be same as DVD today) you can still use this setup with HDMI.

Philips 3996 ------ Digital Audio ----> Onkyo HT -->5.1 speakers(for Movies on A channel) or 2 bookselfs (on B channel) for Stereo(Music)
|
HDMI input
|
V
Pana 42PV80D

Think of TV with DLNA , It is a big plus becuase you can use your home PC to stram Video , A DLNA server running on PC ( UPnP on WiFi) and a bittorrent client with unlimited net ( 256K from BSNL) open up a lot of possibilites for you.

As far as picture quality of Plasma vs LCD is concerend the best thing you can do is to go to some showroom and check side by side that is it worth investing in a Plasma which does not give you any connectivity features.