Home cinema systems

Anya

Gets so confusing when I don't understand these things at all. Are there any good surround sound systems about that you know of, around the same price, that will allow us to use mainly Sky through it? Is it worth cancelling the order and looking for something more suitable?

Quonous

Anya wrote:

Gets so confusing when I don't understand these things at all. Are there any good surround sound systems about that you know of, around the same price, that will allow us to use mainly Sky through it? Is it worth cancelling the order and looking for something more suitable?

I'd cancel the order personally. It doesn't do what you want. There are some systems out there with more inputs, but to pick one some info would be helpful

What's the absolute maximum you want to spend?

How many devices do you want to plug in? (e.g. SKY Box, TV, VHS, DVD, Games console)

Curry_Queen

Quonous wrote:

I'd also recommend Samsung systems as they use re-branded Klipsch speakers, which are absolutely superb.

I recently bought the Samsung system when it was on a Tesco Deal of the day, which reduced the price by over half to around £80, and I must say it is a rather good little system.

However, I too am disappointed that I can't hook up Sky or the video to it to use the surround sound, or at least I don't think I can as when I asked here previously I never really got a definitive answer. Someone suggested attaching the audio leads direct to the tv which made absolutely no difference, and considering the dvd is attached to the tv via scart lead already, I would have thought the audio cables weren't necessary anyway

T4i

Mr_Skint wrote:

as my old amp still pumps out 1 gigawatt no probs.

Blimey! What amp is that Mr Skint? The transformer must be the size of a t.v!

Anya

Quonous wrote:

I'd cancel the order personally. It doesn't do what you want. There are some systems out there with more inputs, but to pick one some info would be helpful

What's the absolute maximum you want to spend?

How many devices do you want to plug in? (e.g. SKY Box, TV, VHS, DVD, Games console)

We were hoping for about £80 although we knew that this would seriously limit us. My husband really wants it for watching matches on Sky, so we would need it to accomodate the dvd and Sky, but would also want it to accomodate the tv if possible.

If we bought the components separately, what would be the minimum we would need? and would that work out cheaper?

Anya

"Looking at the pics - its a DVD player with integrated Dolby Digital decoder bundled with an amplified speaker pack..

This means you will only get surround sound from Dolby Digital DVDs.. No DTS or pro-logic and no inputs to get surround sound from your TV/ Freeview/ Satellite / Games console..
The DVD player may say DTS on it - but this is just via the optical or coax digital output. You would need a separate decoder to split it into the 6 separate channels that the amplified speaker system takes..

Much better are systems with the amplifier in the DVD player. These usually have aux inputs which you can use and get decoded surround sound from ( such as Pro-logic or pro-logic2 ).. You can pick these up at around £80 too.. The giveaway is to look for a system that has no controls on the subwoofer.."

This is something that simes said on a different thread about this system. Our current dvd player has audio outputs as does our Sky box. Does this mean that our dvd player has an amp in it? Could we move the red/white wires from the surround system into each device as we wanted?i.e.to get surround sound from the Sky, just take the leads out of the dvd and put them in the Sky box? Would that work? Sorry if that's a stupid question - I don't undersatnd how they work!!!

T4i

hmmmmm.....KEF

I did a two weeks stint in a specialised hi-fi shop in Halifax. Wow! Couldnt believe how different hi-fi's could sound..

I only own a pair of small B&W's conected to a harmon kardon and I'm constantly in trouble with the next door neighbours.

T4i

send me please!

Quonous

Anya wrote:

We were hoping for about £80 although we knew that this would seriously limit us. My husband really wants it for watching matches on Sky, so we would need it to accomodate the dvd and Sky, but would also want it to accomodate the tv if possible.

If we bought the components separately, what would be the minimum we would need? and would that work out cheaper?

Do you already have a DVD player? If so you can just get a receiver and speakers. If not then It'll probably be cheaper to buy a package. Separates are more expensive than a package but they are more versatile and of a higher quality.

First off: You almost certainly won't be able to get anything for £80. This is great because you can run your TV and Sky from it, and has a DVD player and VCR built in so those will work too. It decodes to Dolby Digital, DTS and Pro Logic. Here are the tech specs which someone else cam confirm in case I'm reading this wrong. Considering this has an RRP of £250 and is currently retailing for that on Amazon this is probably he best bet.

PS, Mr Skint, I'm drooling at your setup.

Edit: Here is the manual for that product. It makes no mention of whether you can get surround from the TV and Sky box or not. I see no reason why you *shouldn't* be able to, but these electrical designers operate in a mystical world of their own so I provide no guarantees. The best way would be to go to a shop and ask. I recommend Richer Sounds as they tend to have better prices and more knowledgeable staff than somewhere like Comet.

T4i

Thx Mr Skint!

Anyhow back to the subject in hand.....Sorry Anya if I've given you misleading info.....I didnt know you had more external devices to plug into it.

For £70 its going to be better than 2 standard t.v speakers but thats about it. If you want real DTS and loads of inputs your going to have to spend more money.