New LCD, Home Theatre Setup

[Diver]

Hi, this is my first post on this site although I have been reading a lot of the posts, so I know these items have been discussed a lot already, so please don’t shoot me for asking. But I would like your guys input, opinion, comments, critic or suggestions. I am looking at a new LCD, Home Theatre Setup for my home. This will be my first upgrade to the HD age. Because of the Budget constraint (R16 000) I am looking at the following setup:

Sony 32” FULL HD LCD (32W550) – R8 500
I am going for the 32” because the TV stil needs to fit inside my current wall unit and I am going for the W series and not the V series because of the 100Hz motion flow for beter sport viewing. I will also link my PS3 and WII to this TV.
http://www.sony.co.za/product/klv-32w550a

Sony 5.1ch DVD Home Theatre System (DAV-TZ200) – R2 600
I am going for this because it has HD and is cheap
http://www.sony.co.za/product/dav-tz200

HD PVR (plus current SD PVR thru extra view) – R5 500
I need to get this to make the HD TV worthwhile and make it look beter on the HD TV. I am going to link it to my current SD PVR via extra view so that I can still use the other 2 TV’s (3 in total) with PVR capabilities. 1 Will be the HD TV in the lounge, 1 will be SD PVR in the main bedroom and 1 will be SD PVR in the kids play room.

The total is R16 600. R600 over budget but I think I can manage that without selling a kidney.

 

[kang]

Welcome.

IMO you can't go wrong with the stuff you've mentioned. The "W" over the "V" series is a damn good choice.

 

[wetkit]

Is the HD PVR really worth it? There is only so many channels to watch that is actually in HD
I have been getting much much more value out of my popcorn than MNet lately

You can not go wrong with a Sony.

I actually knocked a wall down so I could fit a 42" TV into my room. 32" is not really worth it, IMHO.
Throw out that old wall unit man!

my 2cents.

 

[InTheCube]

You ain't gonna see much of a difference between HD (1080p) and HD-Ready (720p) content on a 32" screen - except maybe if you are sitting really close.

I recommend you go for a 42" at least. If it's not in your budget yet, wait a while till you can afford it, or drop the HD PVR or HTS and buy it a bit later on when you can afford it.

Personally, I'd get I PS3 instead of the HD PVR, and play downloaded Movies/Series from it. Also great for gaming, especially on a nice big LCD screen with HTS surround sound. If not the PS3, then get an MVix multimedia player, or one of the other great media players out there. I just don't think DSTV is worth it, especially not the premium package and the HD PVR.

 

[stevenv]

Except the DAV-TZ200 doesn't have any surround inputs i.e. no HDMI or optical inputs.

Where you getting that screen for such a good price?

 

[InTheCube]

Except the DAV-TZ200 doesn't have any surround inputs i.e. no HDMI or optical inputs.

Where you getting that screen for such a good price?

From past experience, I've noticed that it is very hard to find a HTS with HDMI in. Sure it has HDMI out for sending audio/video playback of DVDs or AVIs to the TV, but no HDMI in. Makes sense that it doesn't have HDMI in though. HDMI is for audio and video, and the only inputs a HTS should have is for audio (what's it gonna do with video?). Besides that, what device would send only audio down an HDMI cable to a HTS, and then send video down a different HDMI cable to the TV?

Surprised it doesn't have optical in though. Isn't composite or component sufficient for surround sound / DTS / Dolby 5.1?

 

[HapticSimian]

Surprised it doesn't have optical in though. Isn't composite or component sufficient for surround sound / DTS / Dolby 5.1?

Remember composite/component are video-only standards - they make no allowance for audio streams...

I remember years back when I bought my first 5.1 setup (ended up with a Samsung somethingorother) it was a helluva struggle to find an HTiB setup with an auxiliary optical input. If you want expandability go component (separate dedicated receiver/amp etc.) - all-in-one solutions are always a compromise.

 

[I am Penguin]

From past experience, I've noticed that it is very hard to find a HTS with HDMI in. Sure it has HDMI out for sending audio/video playback of DVDs or AVIs to the TV, but no HDMI in. Makes sense that it doesn't have HDMI in though. HDMI is for audio and video, and the only inputs a HTS should have is for audio (what's it gonna do with video?). Besides that, what device would send only audio down an HDMI cable to a HTS, and then send video down a different HDMI cable to the TV?

Surprised it doesn't have optical in though. Isn't composite or component sufficient for surround sound / DTS / Dolby 5.1?

It switches the video and audio together when a channel is selected else you have to select the audio channel manually unless you have a proper CEC setup.

 

[stevenv]

I have an old-school Samsung HT-DS400 setup from about 6 years ago that has an optical input, was gonna upgrade but seeing as how difficult it is to get an all-in-one kit that has digital or optical audio inputs, I'm going to hang onto it the only other way to go is a "proper" HT setup with an $$$ receiver.

 

[Dolby]

Personally, I'd get I PS3 instead of the HD PVR

I will also link my PS3 and WII to this TV

He's got a PS3

I recommend you go for a 42" at least. If it's not in your budget yet, wait a while till you can afford it, or drop the HD PVR

I'd agree with the 42" and possibly dropping the HD PVR right now if budget is an issue. If it's the cabinet being more of an issue, get rid of it

Regarding HDMI in, I actually find the more the merrier! I've got 3 in and 2 out right now - which is too few for future. My DVD player, Xbox 360 and TViX go to the amp which in turn goes the TV. I know I'll be getting another device with HDMI in the future.

I don't even use optical/coaxial inputs on the amp if the device has HDMI.

 

[I am Penguin]

He's got a PS3



I'd agree with the 42" and possibly dropping the HD PVR right now if budget is an issue. If it's the cabinet being more of an issue, get rid of it

Regarding HDMI in, I actually find the more the merrier! I've got 3 in and 2 out right now - which is too few for future. My DVD player, Xbox 360 and TViX go to the amp which in turn goes the TV. I know I'll be getting another device with HDMI in the future.

I don't even use optical/coaxial inputs on the amp if the device has HDMI.

Correct. I fully agree. They should include as many HDMI input akin to USB's on PC

Also a cabinet should not predict future upgrade purchases. The modern trend is towards minimalistic therefore the Wall mount LCD's becoming more popular.

I'll be getting another device with HDMI in the future.

I wonder what that will be!

 

[InTheCube]

He's got a PS3

Now how did I miss that?

Regarding HDMI in, I actually find the more the merrier! I've got 3 in and 2 out right now - which is too few for future. My DVD player, Xbox 360 and TViX go to the amp which in turn goes the TV. I know I'll be getting another device with HDMI in the future.

Please explain in more detail - I'm interested. I undrestand having 3 HDMI inputs on a TV, but where do you have 2 HDMI outputs?

All this cabling just confuses me.
My HTS is connected to my TV - HTS HDMI out to TV HDMI IN. This gives my full surround sound / dolby / DTS whatever, if I play DVDs from my HTS built in DVD Player.

Now I also have my PS3 connected to the HDMI in on the TV. The audio plays fine on the TV, but not on the HTS. So now to get audio from the PS3 to the HTS, I have to go via the TV. I've got an RCA cable going from the TV Audio Out to the HTS Audio in (the red and white cables/ports).

What would be nice is if all my devices could be connected only via HDMI, for both video and audio. I don't think this is possible though, but would like to be proven wrong. AFAIK, if I connect a device to my TV via HDMI, audio still has to be routed to the HTS seperately, using RCA cables.

Is there a better way of doing this?

 

[Dolby]

Correct. I fully agree. They should include as many HDMI input akin to USB's on PC

First time on this forum, I think *shake hand*

I wonder what that will be!

Possibly a Marantz Blu Ray player ...

Please explain in more detail - I'm interested. I undrestand having 3 HDMI inputs on a TV, but where do you have 2 HDMI outputs?

I have 4x HDMI on the TV and 3x on my amplifier - but everything goes straight the amp before going to the TV. I really don't care much for than one HDMI on a TV.

Some guys have 1 to an LCD/plasma for 'standard' TV watching - and have the other connected ro a projector mounted above the TV for BR or DVD.

IAP can probably assist with the next question

 

[Dolby]

Now I also have my PS3 connected to the HDMI in on the TV. The audio plays fine on the TV, but not on the HTS. So now to get audio from the PS3 to the HTS, I have to go via the TV. I've got an RCA cable going from the TV Audio Out to the HTS Audio in (the red and white cables/ports).

What would be nice is if all my devices could be connected only via HDMI, for both video and audio. I don't think this is possible though, but would like to be proven wrong. AFAIK, if I connect a device to my TV via HDMI, audio still has to be routed to the HTS seperately, using RCA cables.

Is there a better way of doing this?

Ok - go ahead.

A PS3 does have optical, right? Why not take the optical to your HTS? So you'll have PS3 HDMI > TV (for video) and PS3 OPTICAL > OPTICAL IN ON HTS.

The way you want, you'd need the HTS to have HDMI in.

 

[I am Penguin]

...................... But to get audio from the PS3 to the HTS, I have to go via the TV. I've got an RCA cable going from TV Audio Out to HTS Audio in (the red and white cables/ports)/....

No!
What model TV?
What model HTS?
Old or new slim PS3?

 

[InTheCube]

A PS3 does have optical, right? Why not take the optical to your HTS? So you'll have PS3 HDMI > TV (for video) and PS3 OPTICAL > OPTICAL IN ON HTS.

Yes it does. I guess I could connect it up as above.

The way you want, you'd need the HTS to have HDMI in.

Exactly. Do you get such HTSs?

Lets say for argument's sake that you do. Now the PS3 (or almost any other device) has a single HDMI out port. How would I then get audio from the PS3 to the HTS, as well video to the LCD? Would it be possible to get a splitter, or a 3 way cable, which will send audio down one route, and video down another? Or maybe just send both audio and video down two different routes, and have the receiving device decide whether it needs the audio or video, or both?

 

[InTheCube]

No!
What model TV?
What model HTS?
Old or new slim PS3?

TV - 32" LG HD Ready LCD TV with 2 x HDMI inputs (32LG30)
HTS - Phillips HTS 3565 with 1 X HDMI output (for DVD/USB playback)
PS3 - New PS3 Slim (2 months old) - 1 X HDMI output

 

[Smurfatefrog]

HD PVR (plus current SD PVR thru extra view) – R5 500
I need to get this to make the HD TV worthwhile and make it look beter on the HD TV. I am going to link it to my current SD PVR via extra view so that I can still use the other 2 TV’s (3 in total) with PVR capabilities. 1 Will be the HD TV in the lounge, 1 will be SD PVR in the main bedroom and 1 will be SD PVR in the kids play room.

The total is R16 600. R600 over budget but I think I can manage that without selling a kidney.

I guess you have added R2500 for installation? If you are even slightly technically minded then buy a multiswitch & set it up yourself (nothing required outside or on the dish), will cost you R500 + a few short cables. R2000 saved and that kidney is very secure

 

[Dolby]

Exactly. Do you get such HTSs?

Lets say for argument's sake that you do. Now the PS3 (or almost any other device) has a single HDMI out port. How would I then get audio from the PS3 to the HTS, as well video to the LCD? Would it be possible to get a splitter, or a 3 way cable, which will send audio down one route, and video down another? Or maybe just send both audio and video down two different routes, and have the receiving device decide whether it needs the audio or video, or both?

You definatley get them. Most component systems have got a few HDMI in/out, but I think even the more expensive/advanced 'all in one systems' will have a few HDMI's in.

So assume all HDMI like this : PS3 > HTS > TV.

Your PS3 is sending both audio/video to the HTS (which it process, amplifiers, send to speakers etc) and the video section goes untouched THROUGH the amplifier and onto the TV.

Hope it makes more sense :/

 

[Dolby]

Check this out http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showphoto.php/photo/7984/title/av/cat/all

Everything goes to amplifier and to the TV.

What my amplifier doesn't do is upconvert sources from component, so (for example) my media streamer didn't have HDMI and needed to be component. The amplifier wouldn't output the component signal via HDMI.

If that paragraph confuses you more, ignore it