Home theatre compatibility ?'s (Update 6-05)

[JustAGigilo85]

Sup fellas? I've been looking at some home theater systems for a few months now. Crunch time is now upon us, as there are some pretty good memorial day sales.

I'm looking at:

Sony DAVHDX265

Sony HTDDW790

I'm getting a PS3 very soon, and I'm wondering which unit I'll have surround with. Are they both compatible? If so, will I need any additional cables? And will I have surround with other things (Cable set top box, etc).

Thanks a bunch!

Sal

[inis]

i looked both of them up.

You need a optical input on one for the best ps3 experience. The HTDDW790
had it listed on the first site I went to, the other one I went to three sites and I didn't see it listed on any of them.

The cord itself (optical cord) is 20-45 at your local walmart or electronic store.

[Beodude123]

I have an Onkyo 705, and it does 7.1 through HDMI. I got it for $525 shipped on Amazon. It's a great receiver.

[JustAGigilo85]

I have an Onkyo 705, and it does 7.1 through HDMI. I got it for $525 shipped on Amazon. It's a great receiver.

Way out of my league, but thanks :]

i looked both of them up.

You need a optical input on one for the best ps3 experience. The HTDDW790
had it listed on the first site I went to, the other one I went to three sites and I didn't see it listed on any of them.

The cord itself (optical cord) is 20-45 at your local walmart or electronic store.

Hmmm, why is it called an optical cable if it deals with audio??

Anyways, is this the cable you were referring to

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229

So if the PS3 is hooked up to that 1000W receiver, would I be able to hook up other devices simultaneously, such as a cable box? The only reason I ask is that the HDTV I'm getting does NOT have a tuner on it.

[Beodude123]

Movie theater films use a part of the film to transfer the audio. I don't know how it works, but it does...

I looked up what you are getting. I didn't know it was a whole set. Yeah, I guess if you are looking at $200 or so for a full set, then 500 for a receiver is a bit much.

[inis]

Way out of my league, but thanks :]



Hmmm, why is it called an optical cable if it deals with audio??

Anyways, is this the cable you were referring to

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229

So if the PS3 is hooked up to that 1000W receiver, would I be able to hook up other devices simultaneously, such as a cable box? The only reason I ask is that the HDTV I'm getting does NOT have a tuner on it.

optical is just a better form of A/V (rca) cables. It uses light to pass through a cord which is ultimately clearer and faster produced.

Yes that is the cord.
I believe currently ps3 only supports 5.1, but has the possibilty to software upgraded for 7.1

As with any reciever you'll have multiple inputs to put different devices in, cheaper recievers with optical usaully only have one.
Check to see if your cable box will have optical output to start, not all of them have it. If it does, you need to look for a reciever with two optical inputs.

If it doesn't, 1 optical input will suit you....as most likely you'll only need it for the PS3.

[CraZx2ing]

Just remember the PS3 does games, DVDs, Blurays, anything USB and anything you can stream to your PS3. There really isn't much more you'd need for a starter system. Make sure you have optical on the setup you get as the PS3 does not have digital coax.

Between the two sets, larger speakers will give you a richer more full sound do to the extra mids. I'd try listening to both and seeing what you like better. Then just pick the one with the optical so you can connect the PS3 to it :).

Also, please check out the Panasonic units in this price range when you are listening to them. Don't compair just Sony to Sony, add another brand to the mix. Personally, when I was selling these gimmicks at Ccity, I perfered (and sold more of) the Panasonic units in the simular price range of the Sony gear. They seemed to have more guts and power.

[inis]

ps3 can't stream flash

[CraZx2ing]

hang on... i'll edit my post from "anything you can stream off of your PC" to "anything you can stream to your PS3."

[JustAGigilo85]

I got the home theatre today. No optical inputs. One HDMI output. This'll be fun (getting the surround to work on the cable set-top box and the PS3). I'm on the computer using this olevia 23" widescreen monitor. AMAZING!!!!!

[JustAGigilo85]

OK, so I've been doing a little more research... something I should have done before I shelled out the cash.

The only outputs the PS3 has is HDMI (picture) and TOSLINK (optical for audio), correct?

Therefore, the HDMI cable is going from the PS3 to the TV, and the TOSLINK cable is going from the PS3 to the receiver, right? and THEN, I'll have HD picture AND surround? If that's the case, I failed. This home theater does NOT have a TOSLINK input! I'll be returning this to the store tomorrow. F'n weak ass 10 day return policy.

Back to the television at hand... I don't see any outputs for sound. If I'm interpreting this correctly, they're all inputs. So if I wanted surround from cable programming, would I need to connect a TOSLINK from the cable box to the theater receiver, assuming the cable box has a TOSLINK output?

Unless I wanted to constantly mess around with TOSLINK cables, I would need a receiver with more than one TOSLINK input, correct? If not, would a switch like this be a solution to having only one TOSLINK input?

http://www.amazon.com/Nyrius-SW100-Digital-Selector-Connections/dp/B000812QC6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1212039895&sr=1-3

While we are on the topic of switches, in order to avoid swapping out HDMI cables from the PS3, cable box, etc, I'll need a switch for that too, correct??

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to return the TV also. This is one I've seen on sale numerous times, so I'm sure I'll pick it up again... probably cheaper.

Thanks again for all your help guys.

[slammmed]

couple of things. hdmi has both audio and video in it.

you don't NEED optical for audio. Optical is ideal but there are plenty of other options for surround, rca, coax, etc..

IF the tv has hdmi it has an output for audio. whats your tv model?

since your tv has hdmi it should have component input (red,green,blue) You can use this from the cable box to the tv. I'm not sure how it works for cable boxes but for my directtv I got a better picture from component than I did with HDMI.

[JustAGigilo85]

Olevia 323V. I heard the sound on it wasn't that great... which is part of the reason I picked up a home theater. It does not have an optical port on it. It does have component, but I'd rather have the sound coming from the surround when I'm watching sports, or hd movies on cable.

And I understand what you're saying about sound options (RCA, optical, component), but the PS3 only has optical. Since that's going to be the only definite thing in my entertainment system, I don't need to get a certain [brand, etc] of TV/HTIB. I just want a decent system that will get me surround on the TV, and PS3.

[JustAGigilo85]

.

[CraZx2ing]

First off, you need to realize that inputs/outputs cost money. That being said...

Okay, your goal is to have the PS3 and the Cable box play over the surround system.

I need to know what kind of audio outputs are on the Cable box. There is going to be an Optical (TOSLINK) and there MIGHT be a Digital Coax. If this is the case, you can use this system
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-HT-DDWG700-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-System-with-iPod-Dock-HTDDWG700/sem/rpsm/oid/208394/catOid/-13325/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#prodspecs
SON HTDDWG700
You would run HDMI from the PS3 to the TV and Toslink from PS3 to Receiver. You would run Component video from the Cable box and Digital Coax from the Cable box to the Receiver.

If you only have an Optical (toslink) out on the cable box you would need to buy this one, which is twice as expensive ($400) Model #: ONK HTS4100
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-HT-S4100-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-with-iPod-Dock-Black-HTS4100/sem/rpsm/oid/211808/catOid/-13325/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#prodspecs
You would hook your PS3 up VIA HDMI to the TV and optical to the receiver. The Cable box would be component to the TV and Optical to the receiver.

Now, you could get creative on this as well. If your TV does have an optical in, optical out, component in, You could do the following:
PS3 to TV via HDMI (audio/video)
Cable to TV via Component and Optical
TV to Receiver via Optical

If you can do this, you only need a receiver with 1 optical in.

Does that all add up to you?

[EmoRebellion]

Or drop the dough on a receiver with an HDMI input..

[slammmed]

the cable box should have coax out, run that to your receiver and be done with it.

[JustAGigilo85]

I ordered the cable box yesterday. It's an HD box, so I cannot see what outputs it has yet. With that being said, I'll hold off a bit longer before I get a receiver.

I checked out the receivers you posted CraZ. The sony lacks a component input, so I won't be able to get surround on my Wii (when I decide to get one). If the cable box has a component input, that's a different story.

As long as my receiver has 1 optical in, I'm fine. If I decide to expand, I can get a switch for them.

[CraZx2ing]

Wii can run off of composite inputs. It is not HD. You can use the Red/White for audio and the yellow for video. There is a component upgrade that you could do, however, i did not do it on mine because it looked fine as it was.

[inis]

dont run your video through your surround sound as posted before.

Run hdmi from ps3 to tv, optical to surround. If someone else uses your set up they'll have sound off the tv and dont have to mess with the surround sound. And when you're around you can mute the tv and use the surround sound.

[JustAGigilo85]

Ok guys. I got the HD cable box. It has 2 different composite outs, one component out, digital audio out, s video out, optical out, and hdmi out. SO, I was looking at this home theater...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-HT-S3100-5-1-Receiver-Speaker-System-HTS3100/sem/rpsm/oid/208452/catOid/-13325/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I'm starting to get a better grasp on this topic. I can run the component (YPrPb) from the cable box to the TV, and optical from the cable box to the receiver. Then, I can run HDMI from the PS3 to the TV, and optical from the PS3, to the receiver. At this point, I should have HD picture AND surround from both sources (PS3 and cable), correct?

INIS: you mentioned not running component through surround. I looked back through the topic again, I failed to see why not. Also, if component only carries video, then why would a home theater receiver have 3 component inputs, 0 component outputs, and no dvd player?

Thanks again! Your help and patience is always appreciated!

[CraZx2ing]

You have multiple video inputs for audio/video switching. This allows you to keep the TV on say.. Input1 then on the reciever you can change from DVD to Cable to PS3 etc and it will change the audio and the video with out needing to change the TVs input. On benifit is that the receiver will have more inputs than the TV. If the receiver has video inputs it DOES have an out put. I know this with out even looking at it.

The way you said to run it should work just fine.

[inis]

reciever converts it to HDMI output.


cable box, run components to tv and optical surround (you can also run red/white rca's to tv if you want the ability to have sound without the reciever on)

ps3 , run hdmi to tv, and optical to reciever.

[JustAGigilo85]

Quick update:

Had everything set up together for about a week now. With that onkyo receiver, I'm able to get surround on my PS3, PS2, and cable box w/o having to mess around with wires.

Thanks for everybody's help and patience as I "learned the ropes!!"