home theatre suggestions

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:36 pm

i am looking to buy some sound for my new TV, as the default sound is pretty lacking to say the least.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PU ... PDKIKX0DER

this seems to do what i need, stream audio from my huge .flac collection, plus it seems as though i could connect a PC into it as well ?

i assume i can connect the DVI/HDMI cable from my older PC for video and plug the analoge sound from PC and pass that video to TV while the audio plays through the surround system ?

eventually i will have a HTPC that has digital sound out, but not right now.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:02 pm

Honestly, for that price you're not buying a lot of quality. I think you could find a lot better. I would find a receiver that you like and has the features you need and then go and audition speakers. Those smaller speakers will probably sound good but if you're going to be using them as your primary set of speakers I would think that they would get old pretty fast. I see nice full featured receivers for aroung $500. I would then just look for a set of speakers you like, a center channel spearker along with a sub woofer. Personally I think all the side and rear channels are over hyped and unless you have a really nice system I think the money you spend on them is wasted.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Wed May 01, 2013 2:57 am

Mark wrote:i am looking to buy some sound for my new TV, as the default sound is pretty lacking to say the least.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PU ... PDKIKX0DER

this seems to do what i need, stream audio from my huge .flac collection, plus it seems as though i could connect a PC into it as well ?

i assume i can connect the DVI/HDMI cable from my older PC for video and plug the analoge sound from PC and pass that video to TV while the audio plays through the surround system ?

eventually i will have a HTPC that has digital sound out, but not right now.

for $400,it will sound great for you,it has enough HDMI inputs for cable & bluray.

IMO it's a great choice for the money,

I like
"HDMI (4 in/1 out)"
&
"YPAO sound optimization for automatic speaker setup"
&
"HD Audio format decoding: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio"
&
"Airplay/Front panel USB Digital Connection for iPad/iPod/iPhone & MP3 "
also.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed May 01, 2013 6:40 am

i don't have cable TV, just an antenna, so i guess i would take the optical audio out from TV to the receiver and it will work ?
i have a ton of dvd's that i will be playing, and want to hook up an old PC as a a HTPC.
i don't have a bluray player yet, but have a lot of .mkv bluyray rips i play from an external HDD now, but want to play them from the HTPC eventually.
i may get a bluray player soon as my dvd player took a crap anyways, how much better do dvd's look when up-converted on a bluray player ?

or something like this..........
http://www.hhgregg.com/samsung-1-000-wa ... HTE5400SAM

cheaper and sure the sound will not be great ?

kinda on a budget here and can't see spending tons of money for my needs really

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Wed May 01, 2013 10:30 am

I think having the features on the yamaha rcvr is worth the extra $ on the yamaha system,

you can always get a descent BRP for under $100.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed May 01, 2013 10:40 am

Dan wrote:I think having the features on the yamaha rcvr is worth the extra $ on the yamaha system,

you can always get a descent BRP for under $100.

that was what i was thinking too

i am still trying to fix my dvd player, just got to find the right capacitor for it locally.

do bluray players really make dvd's look better on a 1080 TV ?

also how do i get sound from the tv tuner to the receiver, digital out from tv ?

no way am i paying for cable TV LOL

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Wed May 01, 2013 11:25 am

Mark wrote:that was what i was thinking too

i am still trying to fix my dvd player, just got to find the right capacitor for it locally.

do bluray players really make dvd's look better on a 1080 TV ?

also how do i get sound from the tv tuner to the receiver, digital out from tv ?

no way am i paying for cable TV LOL

yes,the audio & video quality is way better.

and I would have to look closer at the connections on the back of the TV & avr,I'm sure there is an easy way to connect the tv to get audio at least to the avr.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed May 01, 2013 12:02 pm

back of TV..................

back of yamaha..............

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Wed May 01, 2013 12:48 pm

ya you're right,the optical out looks good.

you'll also want an HDMI in to tv from avr,

and then hdmi from your dvd player to the avr(or av5 red/wht/yell rca input if it does not have hdmi out)

I can't see the 2 hdmi labels on the tv,& is that usb on the bottom of that row ?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed May 01, 2013 1:18 pm

Dan wrote:ya you're right,the optical out looks good.

you'll also want an HDMI in to tv from avr,

and then hdmi from your dvd player to the avr(or av5 red/wht/yell rca input if it does not have hdmi out)

I can't see the 2 hdmi labels on the tv,& is that usb on the bottom of that row ?

on side of tv 2 HDMI and 1 USB port

i also want to plug a PC into side HDMI for video, which works now, and i guess i need to plug PC audio into the avr for the sound , i have no way to get PC sound to TV as of now.

dvd, i may just use the PC for that after all, at least until i figure out if i want a bluray player, or fix my dvd player.

and then over the air broadcast with that sound through the avr.

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Thu May 02, 2013 2:07 am

Didn't follow your link in the first post and about to go to bed... but Yamaha rocks!

I bought my current receiver and cd player when I was 18. Yamaha, flawless.
I'm 40 now and still use them daily. Lots and lots of tunes.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Thu May 02, 2013 6:05 am

No EQ on it? That would kinda bug me.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Thu May 02, 2013 9:44 am

Be careful of the optical out from the tv, Most tv's do not support 5.1 out with the optical, Just 2.0 So if your watching a highdef broadcast with 5.1 it most likely will be bumped down to 2.0

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu May 02, 2013 10:01 am

morbidpete wrote:Be careful of the optical out from the tv, Most tv's do not support 5.1 out with the optical, Just 2.0 So if your watching a highdef broadcast with 5.1 it most likely will be bumped down to 2.0

the receiver should process 2 ch input to one of the 5.1 surround modes.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Thu May 02, 2013 10:13 am

Dan wrote:the receiver should process 2 ch input to one of the 5.1 surround modes.

im just not a fan of that simulated surround/pro-logic stuff. Im sure it has improved since the years i have tried it.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu May 02, 2013 10:20 am

morbidpete wrote:

im just not a fan of that simulated surround/pro-logic stuff. Im sure it has improved since the years i have tried it.

I have comcast HD service,but there are a couple channels that I watch that are not in HD or 5.1 and my avr does a great job processing the sound into one of several good modes & video upscaling as well ,of course my avr is a lot different than that Yamaha,but that Yamaha is a pretty good unit for the money and should do a fine job for Mark's type of viewing.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu May 02, 2013 10:30 am

YARDofSTUF wrote:No EQ on it? That would kinda bug me.

eq's are not really needed in modern home theater avr's,with room calibration EQ software like Yamaha's "YPAO" & Onkyo's "Dynamic EQ" & "Audyssey " & Pioneer's "MCACC " ,if anyone is still using an eq it's either because they have vintage equipment or their sub needs it for a hard to eq room,but then there are digital automatic room eq's for subs.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 12:08 pm

Dan wrote:the receiver should process 2 ch input to one of the 5.1 surround modes.

What other option do i have then ?

I meant to qoute pete
Stupid phone LOL

RaisinCain · Post by **RaisinCain** » Thu May 02, 2013 1:59 pm

By the looks of it you have 4 HDMI inputs to the receiver. Why not run your PC through one of them?

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Thu May 02, 2013 4:16 pm

RaisinCain wrote:By the looks of it you have 4 HDMI inputs to the receiver. Why not run your PC through one of them?

Good catch! Didnt even notice he was going to use HDMI and analog audio

@Mark, HDMI will provide digital sound, Just need to switch the default output to HDMI

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:41 pm

morbidpete wrote: Good catch! Didnt even notice he was going to use HDMI and analog audio

@Mark, HDMI will provide digital sound, Just need to switch the default output to HDMI

well the HTPC i am going to use is an old P-4 that doesn't have HDMI, hell i even had to put an old 7800GS APG card in it for DVI so i could use a DVI>HDMI plug.

i may have another sound card that may have coax audio though, not sure if they work now, been in a box for years.

the HTPC deal is not really a priority right now anyways, i was just playing around some.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:41 pm

morbidpete wrote: Good catch! Didnt even notice he was going to use HDMI and analog audio

@Mark, HDMI will provide digital sound, Just need to switch the default output to HDMI

yes true,all hdmi is the best and easiest for sure.

just don't overspend on monster crap.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:41 pm

RaisinCain wrote:By the looks of it you have 4 HDMI inputs to the receiver. Why not run your PC through one of them?

yes you are right, i didn't even catch that

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:42 pm

Dan wrote:yes true,all hdmi is the best and easiest for sure.

just don't overspend on monster crap.

i got 2, 3 meter cables at amazon for $10, decent price it seems.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:45 pm

i should get the system tuesday, so thanks everyone for the help so far.

finally good to see someone posting on this forum LOL

i may just build one of those Pi things that Pete was posting about, but that would be another thread, i assume you can run usenet/torrents on them ?

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu May 02, 2013 5:47 pm

Mark wrote:i got 2, 3 meter cables at amazon for $10, decent price it seems.

that's a cool price,I get mine from here http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdm ... -cable.htm
digital signal travels over a $10 cable just as good as a $100 cable.

you're going to have fun with this new system

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu May 02, 2013 6:08 pm

Dan wrote:that's a cool price,I get mine from here http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdm ... -cable.htm
digital signal travels over a $10 cable just as good as a $100 cable.

you're going to have fun with this new system

i remember going to staples once and the guy tried to tell me a gold plated USB was faster, i just ignored him and grabbed a cheap one LOL

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Fri May 03, 2013 8:31 am

Mark wrote:i may just build one of those Pi things that Pete was posting about, but that would be another thread, i assume you can run usenet/torrents on them ?

I got a Zotac Zbox ID80 for my HT. It runs openelec, which has an addon for torrents. I don't use torrents, but openelec has a large user community & forum, easy to get everything working the way you want. Total cost after adding a 500 GB notebook drive & 4 GB RAM, about $300.

I ended up getting a soundbar rather than a full system, I almost got the same Yamaha. I was on a budget & the soundbar was marked way down to $180.00. The Sony soundbar I got has a wifi sub & also comes with its own separate amp/box with 3 HDMI inputs and HDMI pass through back to the TV. Whats neat about it is that it automatically recognizes the AV source and will change automatically to accommodate it. If I'm watching cable TV and switch to Netflix, the Sony changes the input mode, if I'm using the Zotac & switch to DVD player the Sony changes to that. That's the advantage of HDMI.

I'm not a fan of the simulated sounds, but it's way better than using my old Marantz or Fisher with EQ.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Fri May 03, 2013 2:39 pm

Mark wrote:i should get the system tuesday, so thanks everyone for the help so far.

finally good to see someone posting on this forum LOL

i may just build one of those Pi things that Pete was posting about, but that would be another thread, i assume you can run usenet/torrents on them ?

I have 2 up and running, Use them on a daily bases, I'll jump in a thread and give ya any help you need. Very easy to setup if you have the correct backend or an external HDD (powered)

David · Post by **David** » Mon May 13, 2013 12:14 pm

As an aside, haven't intelligent blu-ray players supplanted HTPC for most of their features?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon May 13, 2013 7:39 pm

i have the system setup, but still need to tweak the placement of speakers, sounds nice so far.

i ordered some 14guage wire and plugs, the wire that comes with the speakers is really tiny and cheap.

this weekend i was able to setup a plexserver on my PC and can stream music fine, but i am pretty sure that i can't get it to play streaming mkv files, but i can still use an external HDD plugged into the TV, and have the sound pumped back through the AVR.

the menu on the TV for network browsing is pretty basic to say the least

i have still yet to try my old PC that i was going to make a HTPC, but it should work, will look into the bluray player for options as well.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:19 pm

David wrote:As an aside, haven't intelligent blu-ray players supplanted HTPC for most of their features?

not really for the storage feature,audio & video.

for me,my networked BRP(pandora,etc) & my iPod is just fine ,but some people I talk to have huge digital audio & video libraries.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:02 pm

Cool, work with the speaker placement. It's really amazing how much of a difference a couple of inches can make.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:19 pm

Mark wrote:i have the system setup, but still need to tweak the placement of speakers, sounds nice so far.

i ordered some 14guage wire and plugs, the wire that comes with the speakers is really tiny and cheap.

this weekend i was able to setup a plexserver on my PC and can stream music fine, but i am pretty sure that i can't get it to play streaming mkv files, but i can still use an external HDD plugged into the TV, and have the sound pumped back through the AVR.

the menu on the TV for network browsing is pretty basic to say the least

i have still yet to try my old PC that i was going to make a HTPC, but it should work, will look into the bluray player for options as well.

What software are you using to view the plex stream? the TV? or a PC? I lost track :-P

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:28 pm

morbidpete wrote:What software are you using to view the plex stream? the TV? or a PC? I lost track :-P

for now i tried the TV, but it only plays the music, in the manual it says nothing about streaming video to it from it's own browser deal.

morbidpete · Post by **morbidpete** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:37 pm

Mark wrote:for now i tried the TV, but it only plays the music, in the manual it says nothing about streaming video to it from it's own browser deal.

UPnP support?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue May 14, 2013 6:12 am

morbidpete wrote:UPnP support?

not sure but will check later, but i do have UPnP enabled in plexserver

from neweggs description............

Network functions
- AirPlay allows music streaming from Mac, PC, iPod, iPhone, iPad
- AV Controller app for operating various functions from an iPod, iPhone, iPad or Android phones
- Access to: Internet Radio (vTuner): MP3, WMA; Music files on PC/NAS: WAV, MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC
- DLNA 1.5 certified

David · Post by **David** » Tue May 14, 2013 8:21 am

Dan wrote:not really for the storage feature,audio & video.

for me,my networked BRP(pandora,etc) & my iPod is just fine ,but some people I talk to have huge digital audio & video libraries.

They have both network connectivity and USB ports for external hard drives. We have linked up to house servers without a hitch. They can handle a number of file formats and many are now NTFS compatible (For those large MKV's.)

It is surprising how many features they have added over the past two years.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue May 14, 2013 6:10 pm

David wrote:They have both network connectivity and USB ports for external hard drives. We have linked up to house servers without a hitch. They can handle a number of file formats and many are now NTFS compatible (For those large MKV's.)

It is surprising how many features they have added over the past two years.

my TV has a USB port that works fine with an external HDD

so a newer BRP can browse to a shared folder on my network and play video from there ?

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Wed May 15, 2013 1:52 am

easto wrote:it's really amazing how much of a difference a couple of inches can make.

Do tell

In truth, I envy you guys.

I have my 2 desktops (1 dedicated f@h) and a tablet I got a wireless router for.

Netflix, nice 20 year-old Yamaha system and decent speakers and subwoofer.

None of it is connected the way it could be though and 90% of what's been discussed here is total Greek to me.

I can't watch Netflix off my TV (Roxio?), or listen to music off my computer on my stereo (although at least I have my DVD hooked up to the stereo speakers saving grace).

Need to figure it out one of the days.