can not get tv sound from home cinema system

Idiophreak

This thread's kinda random - bunch of unrelated rants and an OP that's vanished. Good advise from almillar, though - with one option missed:

If none of the cabling options suggested are possible (ie if there's no headphone socket) you could buy a cheap set-top box and plug that in to the bluray...

[Deleted User]

Idiophreak wrote: »

If none of the cabling options suggested are possible (ie if there's no headphone socket) you could buy a cheap set-top box and plug that in to the bluray...

Yes, assuming the OP doesn't already have a decoder of course.

Idiophreak

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Yes, assuming the OP doesn't already have a decoder of course.

...Don't think we'll ever find out

trets77

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Blu Rays are encoded with high-resolution soundtrack formats, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, which are essentially identical to the studio master, so Blu Ray soundtracks are exactly as the director and audio engineers intended.
With DVD, there were two main types of surround-sound formats, Dolby Digital and DTS. The goal of these formats was to take raw surround-sound audio--which is too large to fit on a DVD--and compress it so it fit on the disc. Both formats use what's called lossy compression, which means that some audio information is thrown away in the compression process.

With Blu-ray, there is far more space available, so both Dolby and DTS have created new soundtrack formats with the aim of throwing away less information and therefore improving audio fidelity.

By all means tell us that your ten year-old high end DVD player still functions more than adequately as far as sound is concerned, but don't tell us that it's better than a modern similarly specified high end Blu-Ray player.

I'll only watch a DVD these days if the film title isn't available in HD and, even then, it's rare for me to do that. I agree DVD isn't finished yet, but I think that's more to do with the price differential between the two formats rather than DVD being of equivalent sound and picture quality

A similar priced Blu Ray player would need to cost £1000+ if you compare new price to new price. My current £400 Sony Blu Ray is pretty good but the Arcam DVD in plain old vanilla Dolby 5.1 is better...fact. everyone who compares the 2 says the same. It is not a numbers game with the DTS master HD audio this and that. Good old fashioned high end components have just as much a part to play IMO and the Arcam has them in spades.
I had an high end HDMI amp (£1000 + new) with every processing mode going and my current amp with just plain old 5.1 sounds better too..why because it is all about the amplification and not about the processing modes and THX badges ect. You pay for every badge on the front of an amp. The more there are the less got spent on the basics of amplification.

[Deleted User]

trets77 wrote: »

The more there are the less got spent on the basics of amplification.

I remain unconvinced, but I accept that you're content with your ten year old home cinema set up.

trets77

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I remain unconvinced, but I accept that you're content with your ten year old home cinema set up.

come around for a listen one night. :beer:

almillar

trets77 - the argument isn't about DVD player A vs Blu-Ray player B. You've got both those pieces of kit, and you find the DVD better.
Blu-Ray, the technology, specifically sound, is better. There are different badges, specs and all sorts of gimmicks attached, as discussed above, but a Blu-Ray disc, produced properly, has better sound than DVD is capable of.
Spend the same on a Blu-Ray player as on a DVD player (be that £50 or £1,000) and the Blu-Ray will be better.
Don't mislead people that DVD is better than Blu-Ray!
(BTW I think the amp is far more important than the player!)

Idiophreak

almillar wrote: »

Spend the same on a Blu-Ray player as on a DVD player (be that £50 or £1,000) and the Blu-Ray will be better.

Meh, "better" isn't a great choice of word. For a couple of hundred quid you'll get a high end DVD player these days, but you're still in the blu-ray mid-range...so if you played a DVD or CD through both, odds on the sound would simply sound better on the DVD player. But as you say a blu-ray would probably sound better than a DVD anyway...But comparing the two is very much like comparing apples and pears...

trets77

almillar wrote: »

trets77 - the argument isn't about DVD player A vs Blu-Ray player B. You've got both those pieces of kit, and you find the DVD better.
Blu-Ray, the technology, specifically sound, is better. There are different badges, specs and all sorts of gimmicks attached, as discussed above, but a Blu-Ray disc, produced properly, has better sound than DVD is capable of.
Spend the same on a Blu-Ray player as on a DVD player (be that £50 or £1,000) and the Blu-Ray will be better.
Don't mislead people that DVD is better than Blu-Ray!
(BTW I think the amp is far more important than the player!)

This i agree with.

My point is that the £1000 DVD player can be had for £100 these days while the £1000 blu ray will cost £1000 or close to it. Hence Money saving opportunity with compromises (even the greatest DVD players ever made cannot match a decent blu ray for picture). Yes the similar priced Blu ray will be better ...100% agree. but your comparing a new product with a used product (which will have dropped a lot in price)

And i agree the Amp is more important. But again you can get high end amps that do not have HDMI sound and HD decoding for cheap. My Amp cost £1400 new(around 6 years ago) i paid a mere £300 for it. The compromise is that i have no HDMI sound or decoding (although you can still get DTS HD sound with multichannel connections and Blu Ray onboard decoding) . A similar engined Amp with these things would be around the £900 -£1000 mark i would guess. Better it will be but £500 - £600 more expensive it will be as well. The New £300 amp is not going to lock horns and win in pure sound terms no matter what the decoding mode.

BTW i owned a Flagship £1000 + amp with all the picture processing and HD sound badges under the sun and the older, cheaper amp with plain old 5.1 crushed it flat in terms of sound. That is with both Blu Ray and DVD sound. Give me the monster engine first, the processing mode is like the petrol you use to run it IMO.

Why? because the money was spent on amplification not on THX badges, Picture processing and upscaling, or automatic speaker set ups.

My Amp is like a late 90's supercar. it may not have the aircon, Sat nav or rear parking sensor but it will blow brand new "ford focus" level amps into the dust. Your modern supercar will be better, but at a price.

I love both formats i really do and think we are spoiled. But you can have a cheaper movie player, cheaper amp and much cheaper disks that will still look and sound fantastic at a cheaper price. Hence why i say having the latest bells and whistles that blu ray provides is not the be all and end all. This is a money saving site after all.

almillar

trets - agreed. Add to that list CD Players, and even record decks and stereo amps. Speakers can be hit hard too especially if they're big, Gumtree or eBay local can be good.
AV amps are notorious for bells and whistles being added, but the technology of amplification hasn't really changed much. I've jumped on board the HDMI bandwagon though, and got a Pioneer VSX-LX52 (I think?!) for £400 whereas it was £1,200 I think at launch.
But I do think we're in a different territory with Blu-Ray vs DVD. We've got a spinning disc and a laser, some chips and then similar circuitry I'd imagine for A/V output.
I find it difficult to believe, for example, that ANY DVD player can give as good a look/sound as my PS3 playing a Blu-Ray. I know what you mean about specs, but surely uncompressed sound (forget about 7.1 vs 5.1!) and 1920x1080 pixels of information instead of 720x576 must look and sound better no matter how much of a mess a PS3 makes of it and no matter how good a DVD player can output it?!