Surround speaker home cinema advice

[aelfheah]

I am after a bit of advice regarding setting up home cinema, please.

I have a JVC flatscreen TV (LT-32DG20J) and have a brilliant divx dvd player (LGDVX550) that plays all of my dvd's, bought and otherwise, but don't know which surround sound speakers/woofer to look for?

I'm aware that they usually come with their own dvd player (which I don't want), so am wanting to know if there are any systems that can mix & match to what I have, that can be wired up easily?

I don't know which woofer would wire up to my dvd (or does it go into the TV?)- the red/white/yellow connections on the back (top) are wired to the TV and the only 4 available (beneath those) are-

• Digital audio/coaxial
• Y/Pb/Pr Component Progressive scan

Hope this makes sense? Thanks

[jagabo]

How you wire it up will depend on what you buy and what other surround sound devices you have (cable box, satellite box, etc.)

If you only have the TV, DVD player, and surround sound system you can use what you have now for video (component?) and connect the coax digital output from the DVD player to the surround system's amp. Then run speaker wire from the amp to all the speakers.

[johns0]

You can buy a 5.1 receiver/amp with 2 surround and 2 front and 1 center speaker with a powered sub woofer,depending on how much you want to spend.

[edDV]

A less expensive alternative to A/V receiver+separate speakers is a soundbar system that replaces the TV speakers. Some offer surround speakers (wired or wireless) and a sub woofer. Prices vary. Make sure it has enough inputs for your set top box, DVD player, etc.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Home-Theater-Systems/Sound-Bars/abcat0205007.c?id=abcat0205007
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=501&name=Home-Theater-in-a-Box

[johns0]

Or you can get a 5.1 sound system for around $100 that are used for computers.

[Cornucopia]

How much are you willing to spend? (and what kind of SURROUND material are you planning on listening to?)

Scott

[aelfheah]

I'm not sure, around the £40 mark? Just a decent surround set that I can shift about to suit, and what gives a decent sound quality?

It's the actual wiring up that gets me, as electrics aren't my forte.

[jagabo]

I'm not sure, around the £40 mark? Just a decent surround set that I can shift about to suit, and what gives a decent sound quality?

You won't get great sound quality from a £40 5.1 system. But you're probably looking at computer speaker systems like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Multimedia-Theatre-Speaker-System/dp/B0006LCMK4/

(I'm not recommending that system, I'm just pointing it out as an example.) That particular system appears to have a digital coax input (looks like the red/white analog RCA inputs). Make sure your DVD player has a digital audio output (it appears to). If it's optical you'll need a converter.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOSLink-Coaxial-Digital-Signal-Converter/dp/B0042KL4T0/

Or find a system that has optical input. You can't use the red/white audio connectors because those only carry stereo. Note that a system like that only has one input. You can't switch it between different sources. In my opinion, decent sound starts around US$50 per speaker plus about US$100 for the amp. So you're looking at US$400 minimum.

[aelfheah]

Thanks, jagabo, my dvd has digital audio coaxial and three other sockets as above.

So can I use a converter to connect a PC surround kit (with the smaller jack plugs) to my dvd player?

This is my dvd player (below pic) and below link is a system that I am being offered by a friend;-

http://www.maplin.co.uk/5.1-surround-speaker-system-228127

[jagabo]

below link is a system that I am being offered by a friend;-

http://www.maplin.co.uk/5.1-surround-speaker-system-228127

That speaker system doesn't have a 5.1 audio decoder built in. You'll need a separate audio decoder (with six analog RCA outputs) to use it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DIGITAL-AUDIO-DECODER-ANALOGUE-5-1/dp/B0045ZPPI8/

Then you would run a coax cable from the DVD player to the decoder and 3 pairs of analog audio cables from the decoder to the speakers.

By the way, you should be using the component outputs instead of the composite (yellow RCA) output. You'll get a better picture.

[Cornucopia]

When I got my (great!) Yamaha 5.1 system in '06, I got it at a pawn shop for $150 US (Receiver + all 6 speakers), so if you can work a deal like that (assuming it's still in good condition), you could be saving a bundle (I think it retailed for ~$800 at the time).

NOTE: A digital output on your DVD player is only good if it can pass through (undecoded) the AC3/DD and/or DTS bitstreams direct to the receiver. AND, that receiver has to also have a built-in decoder. Otherwise, all you'd get out of that digital output would be stereo (though possibly of higher quality than the analog outs).
(doh! jagabo beat me to it)

Scott

[aelfheah]

Thanks guys,

By the way, you should be using the component outputs instead of the composite (yellow RCA) output. You'll get a better picture.

You mean unplug the white and red sockets and plug them into the connections beneath?

I think I'll look for a system with a good divx/xvid dvd player that plays all of my disks.

[jagabo]

By the way, you should be using the component outputs instead of the composite (yellow RCA) output. You'll get a better picture.

You mean unplug the white and red sockets and plug them into the connections beneath?

No, unplug the yellow cable and get a component cable to connect the three (red, green, blue) connections below to the equivalent connections on the TV.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1-5m-Component-Video-Cable-YpbPr/dp/B001GRVSKC/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-3RCA-Component-Video-Cable/dp/B001TH7GT6/

Leave the red and white audio cables where they are. You might have to move them at the TV end to match the component video input.

[aelfheah]

Ok, thanks for everything, jagabo (and you other guys), I'll do that whilst I continue to search for a suitable dvd player with speakers etc.

[aelfheah]

Hmmm, I bought and connected the red, blue & green cable to my dvd (above) and corresponding TV connections, but have tried every method of tuning it in, but nothing.

On one setting I got visual but no audio, and the visual wasn't even better quality than the red/white & yellow cable?

[edDV]

Hmmm, I bought and connected the red, blue & green cable to my dvd (above) and corresponding TV connections, but have tried every method of tuning it in, but nothing.

On one setting I got visual but no audio, and the visual wasn't even better quality than the red/white & yellow cable?

The TV should have separate audio red/white connections grouped with the analog component Green/Red/Blue video connections. You should be seeing better quality using the Green/Red/Blue video connections.

Similar to this example.



Show us your TV connector panel and identify the TV model number.

[jagabo]

On one setting I got visual but no audio

You have to move the red/white audio cables to the same input as the component cables.

[aelfheah]

I tried the rca cable in my dvd and into the red/white/yellow on the TV (JVC-32DG20J), but couldn't get a channel? I must be missing something?

[edDV]

I can't find the manual for that TV. There must be a menu setting to select audio source.

[jagabo]

I tried the rca cable in my dvd and into the red/white/yellow on the TV (JVC-32DG20J), but couldn't get a channel? I must be missing something?

Is that all your inputs? There must be more.

[aelfheah]

These are the TV's other rear connections and the actual TV tuning menu (I did try tuning with the others below). Should I be using both cables- the RCA for better visuals and the red/white/yellow cable for the audio?

Sorry, electrics aren't my best topic.

[jagabo]

These are the TV's other rear connections and the actual TV tuning menu (I did try tuning with the others below). Should I be using both cables- the RCA for better visuals and the red/white/yellow cable for the audio?

You should be using the component cable (red/green/blue) for the video and the red/white cables for the audio. You don't need the yellow cable. Although, if you leave the yellow cable plugged in, you may be able to quickly switch back and forth between component (YPbPr) and composite (EXT1?) to compare the two.

It would be even better to get a good upscaling player and use an HDMI cable. In this day and age I'd get a Blu-ray player. Then you have the option of viewing Blu-ray discs. You bought a nice HDTV, wouldn't you like to see some real HD material on occasion?

[aelfheah]

Thanks jagabo, that worked, yay! Yes it's better quality.

I did have a bluray player but it wouldn't play any of my vast collection of divx movies (which are 6x smaller than a bluray film and easier to 'acquire'), so I decided to stay with this dvd player for now.

Thanks again!