[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

It matters because electrical power consumption of receiver is 300 -- 800 watts.

Which brings me to a question which I was longing to ask:-

What should be the provision for power supply for a HT system?

I was thinking of 5 Amp each for TV, DVD player, STB and a/v receiver. That makes it 4 5 amp sockets. The idea was to take all off a single 15 AMP socket (already in place), put it into a stabiliser / ups (which one?), and then take power for each unit from the stabilizer / UPS.

Will a 1kva stabiliser / ups / inverter do?

Is this adequate?

[rrswift]

@BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

hope this helps you to decide power requirements for your setup:
Here is the setup that has been running perfectly for the past 18 months
1. UPS : Xenon 800 watts (Pure sine wave) with 160AH Amaron low maintenence battery.
2. 1KVA Servo stabilizer : from Servomax brand.
3. The following equipment is connected to Servo stabilizer:
40" Samsung LCD, Reliance STB, Yamaha V450 receiver, Samsung DVD with harddisk recorder.

I am able to watch TV + Home theater + STB or TV + Home Theater + DVD for more than hour whenever the power-cuts are there.

The max time I have run this setup on UPS is about 1 hour 15 minutes before power was restored.

[NetfreakBombay]

This is a tricky question. Hope someone from electrical background can chip in.

A poor stabilizer / inverter / UPS will do more harm than good. E.g. cheap 220->110 V converters (electronic ones) will start sending 220 v as output if they go bad. While transformer based ones will not supply anything if gone bad.

Have a friend who manages a large production plant, I picked up a 2 KVA 220->110 step down + stabilizer based on his recommendation. Cost was 3k. Most of my stuff is from US since cost is less than 50% there.

There are too many variables here (method used to stabilize voltage / quality of components / sine wave or not).

Most important, there is too much snake-oil in this. So expensive is not always better.

Regarding capacity (KVA / Wattage) it easy enough once you know the equipment. Each one has max wattage and KVS on backplate or manual.

E.g.
My plasma TV has rating of 500 Watts max
Receiver has 600 Watts max
Media player (xtremaer) : 50 Watts
assume 200 - 300 Watts for CD/Blue Ray player etc.

That makes it 1600 Watts. assuming 220 Voltage, you can calculate Amperage.

To support 1600 Watts, you need 2 - 3 KVA depending on various factors.

So, the answer is you need to factor is current + expected components to calculate capacity.

[nairrk]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Some good deals on Home Theater systems:

Article Window

AVR-1311 can be negotiated to 20-21k

+
Thanks all your replies
I would love to have a Denon system, but the problem is no dealer or distributor available in my area. The nearest one (according to the list) is in Calicut (which is around 130kms away from my place).
Anyway I have already sent an email to them asking their product and price range etc.

@BaCkSeAtDrIVeR- thanks to you also for your advise.

[NetfreakBombay]

That makes it a tough choice. Cause in case of any issue with Denon/Onkyo/Yamaha, you need to wait for quite a few weeks for the issue to be resolved.

I would suggest going in to a cheaper Sony / LG / Samsung system in that case since this system has only looks and no quality.

[nairrk]

Thats the reason, all these days, I have been searching for a good HT but unable make a decision so far. Buying Denon/Onkyo etc are the better choice which I know but if the dealer/distributor is far away from my place, then timely service back up will be not be there.
Whereas Sony/Lg and Samsung dealers are available nearby but as you said 100pct quality not there. I have been looking into various models and some how shortlisted into Phillips 5540 and Samsung c555 (4 tall boy speakers for front and rear-2 each ). Both have 1200/1000 w rms respectively as per the manual but dont know the actual.

I was told by some one that Phillips has got one HDMI out and one Coaxial in and
for good 5.1ch need Optical input (otherwise need convertors?).
Whereas C555 has HDMI out and Optical in.
More confused!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by nairrk

Thats the reason, all these days, I have been searching for a good HT but unable make a decision so far. Buying Denon/Onkyo etc are the better choice which I know but if the dealer/distributor is far away from my place, then timely service back up will be not be there.!

In which case, consider Pioneer.

Purchase is still a problem - their site lists only car accessory shops; but service ought not to be a problem, is what I feel. Check their site:-That is, if you can bear with one time head ache while purchasing.

Pioneer

Contact the service center for Kannur and talk to them.

Both have 1200/1000 w rms respectively as per the manual but dont know the actual.

1000 RMS is for big halls; the size of a Town hall.

I was told by some one that Phillips has got one HDMI out and one Coaxial in and
for good 5.1ch need Optical input (otherwise need convertors?).
Whereas C555 has HDMI out and Optical in.
More confused!

Your TV, being a recent purchase, ought to have a HDMI input. Your DVD too ought to have an HDMI output. (else, a DVD player with HDMI output will cost around 5K).

Most DTH / cable operators provide set top boxes with HDMi output. If the kids / you want to play games on a console (playstation, nintendo, whatever), that too will have an HDMI output, which can again be connected to an a/v receiver. This explains why entry level a/v reivers have 3 hdmi inputs and one output.

So, decide what devices you will want / have. For some devices, you can route the audio only into the a/v receiver.

With a proper A/V receiver, all these devices, (DVD, gaming console, STB etc) are connected through the respective HDMi outputs go into the a/v receiver, and your TV gets the video signal from the a/v receiver only.

Of course, an a/v receiver provides plenty of flexibility; most a/v receivers can be connected to TVs which do not have an HDMI connector.

HTiBs from non specialised brands, like Phillips, LG, Samsung and Sony have a DVD player cum amplifier, and that is what is causing all these confusion.

And no, for Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer etc a/v receivers, there is NO DVD player built in. DVD player is an extra.

So, do your homework.

Edit:- Here is a very outlandish idea. If I am wrong, hope soembody else will suitably thwack me. Consider buying a DVD player with HDMI output. Most of these will have 5.1 audio output for speakers. (like Samsung 1080PK or PR) series.

Get good speakers. Like from Yamaha or Onkyo. This is the tricky part, and I may be wrong here. Finally, put in place the a/v receiver. Would work out cheaper and better.

And do not swallow all of this at once; wait if somebody else says whether I am wrong.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

I am not sure that is the right thing, at least, going by the advice I got hear few posts back.

Best set up would be for everything to go in to the receiver, and one out from the receiver to the TV.

Looks like the isntaller had done the best he can. Obviously, your DVD too does not hdmi??

Hey Thanks bud.
Post 989 clearly tells how it can be done. My DBD player does support HDMI but wasnt used to connect to the receiver. This because the installer said "The receiver only does HDMI passthrough, so it wont work with the TV".

I am going to connect the Cable directly to the receiver and see how it fares, tonight.

[nairrk]

@BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Thans your detailed reply. I am not in a hurry to do.

My Tv has got 4 HDMI port
I have Digital TV Recorder (DTH) with HDMI out and Digital spdif Coaxial
No DVD at the moment (I had one LG DVd but it gone repair and presently using
the min dvd player(palm top model) but no hdmi port.
So picking all components seperately (i.e AVR,Speakers,DVD etc), it is going to cost
something decently?

As told you in my last mail, I sent email to Denon calicult distributor but recieved a reply from some other company (seems on-line shopping guys) which is as under:
//
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 4:25 PM
Subject: Fwd: Home Theater


Dear Sir,


Our Home theater basic Package range is Starting from RS 58,900/-. if you can give your postal address then we can send you our home theater brochure for more details.One of our Home theater package is giving below.For further details contact on this number 9544522522.



Denon AVR-1610

A/V Surround Receiver
110 W x 5 channel (6 ohms)
Analog to HDMI up conversion (1080P)
Dolby Pro Logic llz processing
3 x HDMI in/1xHDMI out
Compressed audio restorer to enhance digital music files
Dolby TrueHD & HD Master Audio Decoder
Audysses Multi EQ auto set up & Room EQ
Auto Surround mode
Variable Subwoofer crossover switching
Dimensions (WxHxD) 434x 171x378mm
Weight 9.3 kg


Price: 29,900/-




Polk Audio RM 6750

Home theater Speaker system
Power: 20- 200 W / channel
Frequency: 40Hz to 24 kHz
Sensitivity: 89dB
Impedance : 8 ohms
Powered Subwoofer: 100 W


Price: 29,000/-


Thanks & Regards

Megatrade
Shameel
Colombo Complex, Palayam, Calicut
04952704444,2704777
9544522522
www.megatrade.in


///
seems, the offer is on for old model and looks expensive...

thanks

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by nairrk

I was told by some one that Phillips has got one HDMI out and one Coaxial in and
for good 5.1ch need Optical input (otherwise need convertors?).
Whereas C555 has HDMI out and Optical in.
More confused!

Both are smilar. Coaxial (Technically "Digital Coaxial") and Optical,
both kind of cables are digital cables that can carry 5.1 signal.

As long as system has either Coaxial , Optical or HDMI input, it can play 5.1 sound (if there is not other issue like codec etc).

BTW, what is the source material?

Would you mainly listen to music or watch movies? Where do you get movies from?

System is only as good as weakest link. If you are going to play MP3 songs or VCDs, then all these systems are good enough.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Ah; I was wondering how the brands figure out that 1200 / 1000 RMS power for their HTiBs. And here is how:-

Taken from Samsung HT-TZ525N user manual.

Front speakers - 166W x 2 + Center speaker 166 W x 1, + Rear speaker 166 W x 2 + sub woofer 170W x 1.

166x2 + 166x1 + 166x2 + 170 = 1000W RMS!!!
Speaker frequency range is 45 HZ to 160Hz for sub, and 140 Hz to 20 Hz for other speakers.

Sony and Phillips too calculates power somewhat similarly, though I cannot find more detialed info on the user manual. The model you mentioned is no longer listed on the site.

Cannot find similar info for LG.

Regarding the email response you got - yes, the retailers in Kerala have got an attitude. They decide what the consumer should buy. I am afraid that most of them try to palm off old stock / ancient models on unsuspecting consumers. They think that if they say in a suitable tone "saar all products from brand X are stocked by us, if it is not here, you will not find it in any other shop", etc, the consumer will fall for it.

The offer is expensive, considering what profx is listing.

When I was looking around for washing machines, one dealer says that LG has only 9/4,5 KG washer / dryer combo; while the LG site listed total 3 models (9/4,5m 8/4KG and 6/3KG). And I still had to pay 2-3 K more than prices for same product elsewhere in India.

[nairrk]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Both are smilar. Coaxial (Technically "Digital Coaxial") and Optical,
both kind of cables are digital cables that can carry 5.1 signal.

As long as system has either Coaxial , Optical or HDMI input, it can play 5.1 sound (if there is not other issue like codec etc).

BTW, what is the source material?

Would you mainly listen to music or watch movies? Where do you get movies from?

System is only as good as weakest link. If you are going to play MP3 songs or VCDs, then all these systems are good enough.

+
Well, Movies - mostly watch from Star movies or HBO . Normally I record
movies and then watch same at my convenient (so that I can fast forward all the ads -lot of time saving). Mostly I programme recording from my mobile, so even am not in home, the recorder start recording when the particular movie starts.
Also I have got old movies like Jurrasic park, Charlie chaplin etc on dvd which I feel like watching sometime.
Music - mostly from TV (live music programmes)
+
One question - what is main function of Sound Bar -it works like a sub wooffer (only bass sound) or will get more ?

[ampere]

Had been to Forum today and noticed that the Harmon Kardon showroom was up and running. I also recognized the same guy who had solld me my AVR130 six years back at the showroom in Walton road!



What I got to know was that now there are also on offer cheaper AV receivers. I was talking to the owner and told him looked like prices had come down, stating my AVR had costed 26K.

To this he replied the DAC and AMPs for older ones were better and the versions available at 15-20K have lower specifications. For the same prices now there are updated models with same specs with Video/HDMI now added

Though I failed to understand what he meant by that, but one point I realized is that HK has expanded on its product range to suit all purses! Hence need to choose based on specifications and budgets.

[nairrk]

@BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Thanks yours last.
The company, megatrade calicut is the denon dealer (seen from denon website) who quoted me another offer yesterday which is as under:

AVR 1610 - Rs.29,900
Polk audio -TSi300 - Rs.21,000 per pair
Polk Audio -TSi100 - Rs.11,000 per pair
'' '' CS 10 - Rs.9500/-
'' '' Psw110- Rs.13000/-

Total Package price Rs. 84,400/-
Special price (for me) Rs. 82,700 (Rs.1700/- discount )
+
meantime, I have also sent an email to Profx bangalore to see what best package they can offer.

In addition, I have seen Pioneer VSX-519V-K and it is priced at Rs.16,999/- in ebay.
(I think normal shop price is something around Rs.25000?)

Thanks.

[ikoneer]

Please suggest some good 5.1 speakers to buy. I might be able to buy it from USA and would like to know some good model numbers. I sort of liked Polk speakers (audition at Profx chennai), but since i am buying from US, thought i could consider other brands as well. Price Range $500-700.

I will buy a receiver later or in chennai itself.