Home cinema systems

Anya

We are currently looking at buying an inexpensive home cinema system, it's one of those that comes with a dvd player. Can the TV, Sky etc, be wired up so that they go through the speakers as well or are they just for the DVD player? I don't have a clue about them so any help would be good.

duncansby

Hi - ours is a basic Sony system, and we play the TV, digibox and even the PS2 through it sometimes. I would imagine that most systems can do the same. If the broadcast is in stereo it is played through the front speakers, or we can use dolby pro-logic 2 and it puts into an artificial surround sound which is still pretty cool

Anya

How do you do the dolby thing then - is that a feature of the system? or is that on the tv? I probably sound really thick but I don't have a clue!!

T4i

Dolby is a feature on the system. It enables the system to recode the audio into seperate channels.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/DolbyDigitalsurroundformat.php

As far as I know dolby was outdated by DTS. DTS is better than dolby. Not sure if DTS is only available on DVD's. You need a DVD player capable of DTS and a amp/audio system capable of decoding the DTS.

DTS is amazing! Just wish our room was the perfect shape/size to benefit like in a cinema.

Anya

I know the dvd player has DTS, not sure about the dceoding capabilities of the system though so I'll look into that... I guess if it comes with the dvd player it must be capable of doing it. Is it easy to wire the TV, Sky etc into it?

Anya

Here is the spec of the one we're looking at - any idea of whether it is any good or not?:
This stylish DVD home cinema system comes with a slimline 5.1 DVD player, 50 Watt subwoofer, 5 x 10 Watt satellite speakers and stands.
Key Features


Plays CDR/CDRW/MP3 and DVD
Parental lock
3 selectable speeds
kodak picture CD facility
Included Accessories


2 Remote controls
Scart lead
2 adjustable speaker stands
2 wall brackets
3 pairs of RCA to RCA phono leads

Its a Goodmans one but it doesn't give the model number etc. so I can't look up any reviews of it!

T4i

Where have you seen this product? Can I ask how much is it? Does it include the T.V?

Basically you get what you pay for.....

If you have a shop called Empire Direct near you its worth popin in for a look. Bradford has a store and 90% of the time has a sale on & they do price match too......We have had a dyson, an ally microwave and a 100Hz t.v for well cheaper than should be.

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/

http://www.goodmansdigital.co.uk/index.htm

Anya

It's currently on Boots.com for £80 as their offer of the week reduced from £199, doesn't include tv. We have a Littlewoods outlet near us but not an Empire Direct.

Moncs_2

Try the forums on http://www.avforums.com/

Best place you'll find for the information you need.

T4i

Well.....I've had a right good look around but I cant find much more info about it than you pasted from boots. It looks very basic, but I dont think you will find another so cheap.

The next step up is http://www.tesco.com/electrical/product.aspx?R=8015441&bci=308|Home%20Cinema

Does what the other does but has more power and not as basic.

You may be able to pick up a bargain from Ebay......

This is not a bad buy >>> http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_20095.html Sony would be a big step up in performance.

Anya

Used the avforums link above and managed to find a review on their. I'm pretty sure its that model Goodmans GEC10. The review for it wasn't brilliant, but then they were basing that on the fact that they had got it priced at £230! I think for £70 with the Boots discount, that its not really a bad deal and that we'd struggle to find anything similar for the money. Thanks for your rooting T4i, I'll have a look at your links in a sec!