Can Someone Please Help Me, I Am A Newbie

[click_head]

OK, I know Jack about DVD players and speakers and stuff like that.

Just saw the Strathfield ad in the paper they have:

A Diamond DVD player:

Compatible with DVD, VCD, CD, MP3, CDR, CDR/W
Slim Design
Dolby Digital and DTS decoder
Composite and video out

$199 Save $100

&

6 Speaker Surround Package

With Subwoofer & Built in Dolby Digital Amplifier

$124 1/2 Price

============================================

Could I plug these speakers straight into the back of this DVD Player and when I play a DVD it would go through all the speakers and sound good, or do I need to get a DVD Player which does 5.1 Channel, like the XMS-750 for $329

Thanks for the help, I am a newbie to all this stuff

[d4n13l]

If the speakers have a built in Dolby Digital amplifier then you just connect the DVD player to the DD amplifier built in to the speaker with a digital interconnect. The sub woofer will have all the electronics that you need. Basically, if you buy this then you will not need any further items to watch DVDs and have DD surround sound. It is an all in one package and should include everything that you need.
You dont need to get another 5.1 channel amp, "like the XMS-750 for $329 " and what you said:
"Could I plug these speakers straight into the back of this DVD Player and when I play a DVD it would go through all the speakers and sound good"
...was right. But change "and sounds good" for "in full Dolby Digital surround sound".

[click_head]

Is full Dolby Surround Sound the same as 5.1 channel surround sound???

Sorry about this, I don't know much

[vitualis]

click_head,

Strathfield Car Radio right?

I've seen the package (or a similar one a few weeks ago). The DVD player itself has an Dolby Digital (AC-3) decoder so you don't need a separate digital receiver. I'll take "DTS" decoding with a grain of salt.

The back of the DVD player will have RCA sockets for the 5.1 speakers (e.g., left, right, centre, left surround, right surround and subwoofer).

The 5.1 speaker system (I saw) is like one of the cheap ones you can get for you PC. It doesn't do any Dolby Digital decoding, but I presume you would be able to set it up so that all the speaker sockets on the back of the player will be able to be connected to the relevant speakers.

If the speaker system really does have Dolby Digital decoding, then it will work in the way d4n13l described.

If you are looking for a really cheap set up, I suppose that its not bad. You can probably get the staff to set up the player and speakers to a TV so that you can see for yourself how well it plays DVDs.

Regards.

[click_head]

Yeah, it's from Strathfield, going down there tomorrow, so I will ask them some stuff.

If I do get it I probably wouldn't get any speakers for a while, just want to make sure that if I get this DVD player it won't cost me heaps to get speakers to make the movies I watch sound better.

Also, the TV I have in my room is just a mono 34cm Panasonic one, even though this is a mono TV, can I still hook up my stereo and get stereo sound, it's just a basic Teac one, but it has the AUX ports in the back.

Cheers once again!

[d4n13l]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-11-11 16:52:28, click_head wrote:
Is full Dolby Surround Sound the same as 5.1 channel surround sound???

Sorry about this, I don't know much

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>
Thats right.
I meant "Dolby Digital Surround sound", or in other words Dolby 5.1 surround sound - "Dolby Surround Sound" and "Dolby Digital Surround Sound" are actually different. Dolby Digital is the latest surround sound technology that most DVD's are encoded with.
Dolby Digital 5.1 actually has 6 seperate sound channels - Front left & right, Rear left & right, A center channel and a sub woofer (deep bass) channel.
Dolby Surround Sound (NOT Dolby Pro-Logic Surround) is only 3 channel (Dolby Pro-Logic is 5 channel(?)), Front left & right and rear mono (you still have left and right speakers but they are not in stereo).
There are many different Dolby sound technologies, I dont want to confuse you more by naming anymore . The only one that you need concern yourself with is Dolby Digital (Also refered to as Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or something along those lines)
Anyway, I would highly expect that the speaker system and DVD player that you described, to be an all in one package. In that it will decode it through the DVD player (maybe even the speakers do the decoding) and play Dolby 5.1 surround sound through the speakers. The method that Vitualis mentioned will probably be more likely - The DVD Player does the DD 5.1 decoding and the speakers do only the amplification: You connect the DVD player to the speakers with 6 RCA interconnects.
Any dolby digital setup will sound much better than the alternative stereo you get from your TV's speakers.

If your Panasonic TV has "stereo out" then you can hook it up to your hifi. However as it is only mono, I dont expect that it will have a "stereo out" because the normal TV sound would also be stereo. It would be pretty strange for a TV to have the electronics to process stereo sound and not to use it. You may still be able to hook it up to your HiFi though, even if it is only in mono, it would be better than the standard TV speakers.
Does it have any outputs?
Does you have a video recorder that you use with it?
If you have a VCR then that may have audio output(s) of some kind.

[click_head]

My stereo only has the Yellow and White plugs in the front and back of it, so because my TV isn't stereo I couldn't hook my stereo into the back to the DVD player and get stereo sound?

Thanks once again for this!

[d4n13l]

You can only connect your TV to your HiFi if your TV has an audio output of some type.

[vitualis]

This is my understanding of Dolby Surround:

"Dolby Surround" itself refers to the method by which the additional centre and surround channels are matrixed into an ordinary signal. Thus, the "Dolby Surround" logo is on things such as audio CDs.

"Dolby Surround" ALSO refers to a method to which the above can be DECODED to L, R, C and S channels. This is quite old though so it is unlikely you will see logo on hi-fi equipment.

"Dolby Pro-logic" refers to a more advanced method of DECODING the Dolby Surround signal. It is a decoding method ONLY. Thus, it's logo can only be found on hi-fi equipment and never on CDs.

I believe that same is true for Dolby Pro-logic II.

"Dolby Digital Surround" was described previous by d4n13l.

Regards.

[d4n13l]

"Dolby Surround", the way I know it, is/was a basic type of early surround technology. It had 3 channels of sound at the end of the day - A front Stereo channel (left and right = 2) and a rear effects mono channel (you can use as many speakers as you like but mono is only 1 channel).
Because I live in the UK and you live in Oz... and because Dolby seem to invent a new surround technology every month... we may have a slightly different understanding of what Dolby Surround actually is. Dolby have probably applied the term "Dolby Surround" to a lot of newer technologies too: Pro- Logic would probably be deemed to be "Dolby Surround".
I remember "back in the day" seeing TVs in the shops being sold as "Dolby Surround" - they only had two extra rear speakers (which were mono effects channels), no center channel - I think that some TV programs are broadcast in this way (I think that some Simpsons episodes are in this format). Then Dolby Pro-Logic came along and added a center channel and a sub woofer channel.
I dont even think the people at Dolby know what the proper name for each of their many sound technologies.

[vitualis]

I remember reading this from the tech documents from the Dolby site...

The original Dolby surround decoder (I think), had the two rear surround channels (mono) and left and right. The "centre" channel I believe, is encoded, but played back through the left and two speakers.

Dolby Prologic actually had centre coming through its own speaker (among many other things... the Dolby site has a good description of how things have changed and improved).

Regards.

[d4n13l]

Aaaaahhhhhh.

[click_head]

I am not going to get it, a few people have told me that I would be better off saving up some more money and getting the XMS-750, everyone think that is a good idea?

[vitualis]

Getting a better DVD player is always a good idea...

If you plan on making VCDs, then make sure you get one that is both VCD and SVCD compatible, AND CD-R and CD-RW compatible.

Also, you will not be getting the full benefits of DVDs without a good speaker system. Furthermore, you will DEFINITE not be getting the full benefits of DVDs with a B&W TV.

Regards.

[d4n13l]

"If you plan on making VCDs, then make sure you get one that is both VCD and SVCD compatible, AND CD-R and CD-RW compatible"
That means DONT get a SONY or Panasonic! ( or all those other big name players that cant play much else apart from DVDs )
Pioneer are about the only decent big name company for DVD players.
If you get seperate DD 5.1 decoder, then dont bother getting a DVD player with DD 5.1 decoding on board.

[djvirus]

Here is my explanation. dolby pro logic is analog, You get Right front, left front, center, the sub(doesn't have own channel) And the to surround speakers(Mono). Dolby digital can be anything from digital mono to surround. And 5.1, is the left, right, center, two surround(in stereo) and a LFE(sub channel). Then there is dolby digital ex, DTS, and all that nice stuff. Do yourself a favor though. Don't skimp. At least get a dolby digital reciever. Don't run speakers through the DVD player. They sound like shit when you do that. Unless the speakers have there own amp. BUt you do get what you pay for. Those are my 2 cents