setting up surround sound???

jasonrat

hi wondered if anyone could help me. we have a pioneer dvd player with the normal red yellow and white audio/videos out also there is pb components out(don't know what they are used for). so we have audio left /right out. and for the surround 5.1 our subwoofer has 6 audios in SL SR FL FR CENTRE AND SUB. so two to go out but 6 going in. are we missing some cables somewhere? Do we need another box ?how would you set it up to maximise performance? the two cables going in are put in FL FR. Thanks for your help

bingo_bango

Your DVD player only has Stereo outs, so you won't be able to set up the surround sound I'm afraid.
There may however be an option for an optical cable? This would allow the necessary signals to be transmitted, but only if your 5.1 system also has an optical input. Found this out the hard way when I tried to hook my SS up to my DVD player. It's now hooked up to the PC through a 5.1 PCI card. I just watch movies on there now.

Sput2001

What model number is the DVD player?

It would be very odd to have one that doesn't feature digital audio output, either optical as mentioned above, or coaxial.

jasonrat

NickMidgley wrote:

What model number is the DVD player?

It would be very odd to have one that doesn't feature digital audio output, either optical as mentioned above, or coaxial.

oh it does have a coaxial out( what do i do with this). also pb and py component and video
its pioneer dv 383
it does have both optical and coaxial out thankyou very much what cables do i need now please

Sput2001

OK, the Pioneer DV-383 doesn't have an on-board surround decoder, which is why you can't find the six-channel outputs you were looking for.

It needs to connect with a surround sound amplifier that will do the surround sound decoding work. Does the subwoofer you're plugging it into have either coaxial or optical inputs? If you let us know the make & model number that may help.

If it doesn't, then you've got a bit of a compatibility issue. You'll either need to splash out on a surround sound amplifier, or the cheaper solution would be to pick up a DVD player with an on-board decoder/6-channel output (Amazon do a cheapo Chinese one for less than £20, but it might be worth splashing out a little more).

Let me know how you get on - I can make more suggestions when we know what your situation is.

jasonrat

NickMidgley wrote:

OK, the Pioneer DV-383 doesn't have an on-board surround decoder, which is why you can't find the six-channel outputs you were looking for.

It needs to connect with a surround sound amplifier that will do the surround sound decoding work. Does the subwoofer you're plugging it into have either coaxial or optical inputs? If you let us know the make & model number that may help.

If it doesn't, then you've got a bit of a compatibility issue. You'll either need to splash out on a surround sound amplifier, or the cheaper solution would be to pick up a DVD player with an on-board decoder/6-channel output (Amazon do a cheapo Chinese one for less than £20, but it might be worth splashing out a little more).

Let me know how you get on - I can make more suggestions when we know what your situation is.

the subwoofer has only got 6 rca points on it.
FL FR SL SR CEN AND SUB.
it's an eltax logic 5

Sput2001

jasonrat wrote:

the subwoofer has only got 6 rca points on it.
FL FR SL SR CEN AND SUB.
it's an eltax logic 5

Right, it looks like you're going to need a DVD player that has an on-board decoder and 6-channel output.

I'll have a hunt around and see what I can suggest...

jasonrat

will it make that much difference? sound wise or only expert ears?

Sput2001

jasonrat wrote:

will it make that much difference? sound wise or only expert ears?

5.1 surround sound compared to ordinary stereo will blow you away, especially on action movies and the like.

I'm struggling a bit for time, but will see what I can find in terms of not-too-expensive players with 6-channel output tomorrow.

jasonrat

i've been looking but cant seem to find any with 6 channel outputs thx for all your help
will this one work

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/230822/art/peekton/pk6005-mkii-dvd-divx-play.html?srcid=4018

trets77

NO NO NO NO NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

why ditch a perfectly good dvd player when you could buy a cheap second hand quality 5.1 amp. ????? Pioneer don't make bad players (my 525 lasted 4 years with out a single problem) so stick with the good player you have and build around it.

richer sounds , ebay or your local paper will be a good place to start looking for your amp.

you won't go wrong with any Yamaha , Pionner, Denon or Sony . i sold my 3 year Yamaha 620 amp for just £50 (£300 new ) recently that will beat any onboard/sub combo. and you will gain the flexabilty for all future needs and equipment. a no brainer this as the americans say.

a proper seprate amp will make a HUGE difference in terms of sound quality. and of course your existing sub will be able to put in the set up with the amps sub woofer out. for true surround sound you of course need to invest in 2 surrounds 2 rears and a centre (the 5) to go with your sub (the .1). routing the speakers directly off the amps speaker outputs not through the sub ( why let the sub do a half arsed job of what the amp is built to do ????). there are some good all in one products ( with no dvd player) around. again avoid cheap supermarket tat and unknown brands and go for older but superior japanese brands metioned above.

coaxial or optical connection between your dvd player and your new amp will be easy and cheap. again ebay would be a good place to look for some second bargains from people upgrading .

if you need speakers and a amp richer sounds will be your best first stop for expert advice and a good quality products.

volume and speaker levels maybe able to be set up with the aid of a onboard setup program (MIC IN THE REMOTE) if your amp is only a few years old .
other wise tops tips are
1) your sub must not be set too high it should be blend into the sound field without standing out.
2) same with rears most people set them way too high. rears may only be used a limted amount in non action films if at all and only then when they need to convey a movement or background noise.
3) set dynamic range to med or low to avoid the soundtrack suddenly going from normal to very loud to quite. (unless you really like that)
4) any starwars film will have a THX optimiser on it for fine tuning. (although the i have a dvd that really gets your system at optium settings but it costs £25 + !!!!!!)

a good 5.1 set up really can kick !!! for a minimal oulay if you buy right !!!!!!!

look at this with 5 speakers !!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pioneer-XV-DV55-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-DVD-System_W0QQitemZ250030148670QQihZ015QQcategoryZ72406QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pioneer-5-1-Home-cinema-system-VSX-300-DV-444_W0QQitemZ120035869613QQihZ002QQcategoryZ72406QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

a good yamaha
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-DSP-A5-5-1-Home-Theater-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ290033874248QQihZ019QQcategoryZ72406QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

a really kick bum !!! denon ( very nice at this price!!!!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Denon-AVR-2803-surround-sound-receiver-amplifier-BLK_W0QQitemZ170033426561QQihZ007QQcategoryZ72406QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

push the boat out but this is really special well worth £175-£200
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arcam-AVR200-Home-Cinema-Receiver-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ200031594654QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3280QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem