Need help with Home Cinema

[Lauree]

Warning - I'm a bit of a tech-dummy, writing for my husband who doesn't believe what we need exists. We have the speakers for a home cinema that went with a DVD player (now crapped out). We have a HD TV that we would like to buy another DVD for, but can't find one that has the amp/pre-amp and output for five speakers and a subwoofer (5.1). I'd also like it to have a USB, so that I could potential connect a PC laptop or my MacBook to it.

Can anyone help?

[jagabo]

What you had wasn't a DVD player. It was a amp/receiver that included a DVD player, all in one unit. You can continue to use those speakers by getting a 5.1 (or more) amp/receiver. Of course, you'll still need a DVD or Blu-ray player. Note that all-in-one units like that often use uncommon connectors for the speakers so may need to cut the connectors off the ends of the cables. You may end up spending nearly as much as just buying a new all-in-one home theater system.

If you want to view your laptops on the TV there are several options. But not in the way you're thinking. Generally you can run VGA from the laptops to the TV (if the TV has a VGA input) or DVI/HDMI cables. If those aren't viable options there is such a thing as a graphics card that connects to the computer via USB. They generally don't work well for video or gaming though.

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-GUC2025H-External-Video-Interface/dp/B004OA73PW

[Lauree]

Thanks! That was helpful. My husband doesn't want to buy a receiver AND a DVD player, so it looks like we're going to be buying new speakers, even though we don't need them