Surround or Home Theatre??

koala1 · 15-11-2004, 21:05

I see a lot more Home Theatre equipment advertised than Surround Sound and I can't seem to find anyone that will tell me the difference .. I get answers like "oh they are really the same" .. if they were the same, then they would both have the same name.

When I watch a race on tv .. I want to hear that car go around the room thru the speakers. I've been told both kinds will do that.

Please someone tell me what I want to buy. Thank you.

bobcar · 15-11-2004, 21:29

Home theatre uses surround sound to let you hear the car going round the room.

Obviously there's massive differences in the performance of different home theatre systems.

koala1 · 15-11-2004, 21:35

So what you are actually saying is:

They are the same thing ????

Then why are they called Home Theatre and Surround Sound??? That is two different names.

Just curious.

Binternet · 15-11-2004, 21:44

They are both the same thing. Usually the home theater name is given to seperate systems where as surround sound is usually a described feature of a TV. If you are interested in buying a system go for the seperates as the ones built into tv's are generally not up to much.

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 00:16

What I am planning on doing is buy a set of speakers (home theatre or surround). I want to hook up my pc, tv, stereo and vcr/dvd player, so no matter what I am using, the sound will be routed to the surround speakers.

I seen a real nice 6-pc Sony home theatre speakers from Walmart for 80.00. If I remember right, it was 300 watts. That seemed awfully cheap, especially for a Sony brand, so I just figured that I needed speakers that actually said surround sound instead of home theatre.

I'm not even sure how much wattage I'm wanting.

Jim Rae · 16-11-2004, 00:52

I have a very good Sony Home Cinema system which also provides surround sound from sources other than DVDs.

I paid a lot more than £80 for it however!

Sounds like a bargain, but there are none in our local Asda, which seems to be offering less and less in the TV and audio department.

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 02:03

I want to thank all of you for your information and help. It is greatly appreciated and I feel I know more now than I did before ... and isn't that what this forum is for ... to help people.

Thank you.

thejabba · 16-11-2004, 07:39

Just make sure it has some optical or coaxial inputs, these allow you to connect devices such as your DVD player or TV (satellite or cable) to the highest quality 6 channel outputs known as Dolby Digital and DTS. These inputs even if you don't use yet will give you compatibility to devices for full potential.

All amps for sure will have phono in, depending on how recent the amp is will have Dolby Prologic II which is pretty good, however it tends to be DVD / Home Cinema combo kits that often don't have the optical or coaxial inputs.

Dunedin397 · 16-11-2004, 10:18

Home Theatre is the American term (should be Home Theater really) for Home Cinema. Home Cinema is a term for a collection of kit, ie a display, amplifier\receiver, speakers and source to watch movies on. So you'd have a mixture of CRT, plasma and projectors for the display, DVD player for the source, etc.

Surround Sound is a general term really. There are various formats of surround sound, ie Dolby, DTS, etc and it really means you have more than 2 speakers, ideally 4 or 5 to allow the sound to come from the side or behind you as well as the front.

I've a JVC TV that supports surround sound. It uses Dolby Pro Logic 2 and has 3 speakers on the TV itself, left, right & centre, with 2 rear speakers (situated at the side of the seating area) along with a sub-woofer (which provies the low rumble effect).

Dunedin

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 12:02

So you are saying that either name is ok .. but what I should be more concerned with is how the system is described. I should be looking for certain words??

chrisjr · 16-11-2004, 12:20

An analogy.

Think
Home Theatre/Cinema = PC
Surround Sound = Software

You run Software on a PC to make it do stuff. So with a Home Theatre/Cinema system you "run" Surround Sound to make noises

So using this analogy the Home Theatre kit would be the hardware, ie amp and speaker system (at the very least) and also associated DVD player and TV display. Surround Sound describes the audio format that makes the noises you hear out of the speakers.

So just as you would ensure you don't buy MAC software for a PC you need to make sure the Home Theatre kit can "run" the various Surround Sound formats, DTS and Dolby being the one's you are most likely to encounter on most commercial DVD's.

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 12:38

This is the first time I have ever posted on a site that all my answers were from different people. I think I understand what everyone has said.

Basically whether the speaker system that I buy says "Home Theater" or "Surround Sound", as long as certain specks are in order .. the system will work the way I want to.

Is this corrent?

oddjob11 · 16-11-2004, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala1

What I am planning on doing is buy a set of speakers (home theatre or surround). I want to hook up my pc, tv, stereo and vcr/dvd player, so no matter what I am using, the sound will be routed to the surround speakers.

I seen a real nice 6-pc Sony home theatre speakers from Walmart for 80.00. If I remember right, it was 300 watts. That seemed awfully cheap, especially for a Sony brand, so I just figured that I needed speakers that actually said surround sound instead of home theatre.

I'm not even sure how much wattage I'm wanting.

This sounds cheap at £80 ?? Are you sure it includes the amp ? as you called it "6-pc Sony home theatre speakers"

evansc · 16-11-2004, 14:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddjob11

This sounds cheap at £80 ?? Are you sure it includes the amp ? as you called it "6-pc Sony home theatre speakers"

I think he was just talking about the speakers. If it was the complete system I would not touch it with a barge pole. It would be crap!.

evansc · 16-11-2004, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala1

I see a lot more Home Theatre equipment advertised than Surround Sound and I can't seem to find anyone that will tell me the difference .. I get answers like "oh they are really the same" .. if they were the same, then they would both have the same name.

When I watch a race on tv .. I want to hear that car go around the room thru the speakers. I've been told both kinds will do that.

Please someone tell me what I want to buy. Thank you.

You can do one of two things. Buy yourself a Sony or Panasonic 'complete' Home Cinema System. This will include the DVD player/Amplifier and 6 surround speakers inc. the subwoofer (important for base). You can then plug your TV and Video into the DVD player/amplifier.

Your second option is to by a seperate amplifier (Sony/Panasonic/Denon) and a separate 6 speaker package such as Eltax for example. You would then connect your TV, Video and DVD player into the amp aswell as the speakers.

Either way, make sure the amp can decode Dolby Digital and DTS. Most of them can. Hope this helps. I could go into far more detail as this is a vast topic!.

evansc · 16-11-2004, 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala1

This is the first time I have ever posted on a site that all my answers were from different people. I think I understand what everyone has said.

Basically whether the speaker system that I buy says "Home Theater" or "Surround Sound", as long as certain specks are in order .. the system will work the way I want to.

Is this corrent?

Surround sound can be obtained from 4 speakers, 2 front and 2 rear. (Pro logic). Home Theatre tends to refer to 6 speaker packages, ie. 2 front, 1 center, 2 rear and a subwoofer for base (Prologic 1 and 2, Dolby Digital, DTS etc.). The 6 speaker setup is the one to go for if you want a 'true' surround or cinema sound experience.

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 15:00

Thank you.

You have just provided me with the info I was looking for. Now I know what I will be doing.

Thank you

evansc · 16-11-2004, 15:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala1

Thank you.

You have just provided me with the info I was looking for. Now I know what I will be doing.

Thank you

No problem. Enjoy your system when you get it. You will not look back!!.

rjmachin · 16-11-2004, 17:10

I hope you don't mind me asking a question in your thread koala1, rather than starting my own thread on a similar topic.

I was wondering if anyone could provide me with a link to a decent system that would provide all of the features that people have described above.

I think I would like these features as I have read above:
1) Pro Logic 1/2, Dolby Digital, DTS
2) 5 or 6 speakers (4/5 speakers with subwoofer)
3) With or without a DVD player (My dvd player has a black plug for optical i think, but it quite big and old now)
4) Suitable for Sky+ if I get it

Could you please assume no price limit, but dont want most expensive product that provides the same as a cheaper version.

Thanks

koala1 · 16-11-2004, 17:36

I just found a site that has everything that I am wanting and maybe you could find what you want. The one I found was 119.00 which I thought was very reasonable for what I am wanting. plasmabay.com

rjmachin · 16-11-2004, 18:04

koala1, i have just been on plasmabay.com, and it seems to be an american website, with no delivery to the UK, and does not accept Solo cards either. Is there a UK website for this site?

Jim Rae · 17-11-2004, 09:07

I've just seen the Sony system mentioned here - albeit at around £90.

It's a powered sub woofer with five mini speakers to which you attach your DVD player and other kit.

If it's the same internal gear as the other Sony sytems at around £300, it's a right bargain!

rjmachin · 17-11-2004, 09:16

I have just done a search on kelkoo.co.uk for sony products under £150.

It found this:
http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/...roduct_id=3379

It is only 330W in total, but has ProLogic 2, DTS, and DD. It looks like it has a DVD player with it. Does anyone know if it will work with Sky+

Thanks

Scorpio · 17-11-2004, 12:18

It should have a digital input socket(s), this may be coaxial or, more likely for Sony, optical. This means you need a Toslink cable for wonderful 6 channel sound from Sky+ (when being bradcast) and Prologic II when broadcasting a stereo soundtrack.

Rgds,
Scorp

rjmachin · 17-11-2004, 12:41

Thank you for the reply Scorpio.

I have found the technical specifications for the linked product on Sony's website:
Technical Specs for Sony DAV SB100

Under input/output, it sais Digital Input = 0 and Digital Output = 0, is that what I need for Sky+, and so is it not suitable?

Your help would be great.

Thanks

15-11-2004, 21:05	#1
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	Surround or Home Theatre?? I see a lot more Home Theatre equipment advertised than Surround Sound and I can't seem to find anyone that will tell me the difference .. I get answers like "oh they are really the same" .. if they were the same, then they would both have the same name. When I watch a race on tv .. I want to hear that car go around the room thru the speakers. I've been told both kinds will do that. Please someone tell me what I want to buy. Thank you.

15-11-2004, 21:29	#2
bobcar Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 14,718	Home theatre uses surround sound to let you hear the car going round the room. Obviously there's massive differences in the performance of different home theatre systems.

15-11-2004, 21:35	#3
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	So what you are actually saying is: They are the same thing ???? Then why are they called Home Theatre and Surround Sound??? That is two different names. Just curious.

15-11-2004, 21:44	#4
Binternet Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Newcastle Posts: 1,190	They are both the same thing. Usually the home theater name is given to seperate systems where as surround sound is usually a described feature of a TV. If you are interested in buying a system go for the seperates as the ones built into tv's are generally not up to much.

16-11-2004, 00:16	#5
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	What I am planning on doing is buy a set of speakers (home theatre or surround). I want to hook up my pc, tv, stereo and vcr/dvd player, so no matter what I am using, the sound will be routed to the surround speakers. I seen a real nice 6-pc Sony home theatre speakers from Walmart for 80.00. If I remember right, it was 300 watts. That seemed awfully cheap, especially for a Sony brand, so I just figured that I needed speakers that actually said surround sound instead of home theatre. I'm not even sure how much wattage I'm wanting.

16-11-2004, 00:52	#6
Jim Rae Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayrshire Posts: 4,125	I have a very good Sony Home Cinema system which also provides surround sound from sources other than DVDs. I paid a lot more than £80 for it however! Sounds like a bargain, but there are none in our local Asda, which seems to be offering less and less in the TV and audio department.

16-11-2004, 02:03	#7
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	I want to thank all of you for your information and help. It is greatly appreciated and I feel I know more now than I did before ... and isn't that what this forum is for ... to help people. Thank you.

16-11-2004, 07:39	#8
thejabba Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: London Posts: 459	Just make sure it has some optical or coaxial inputs, these allow you to connect devices such as your DVD player or TV (satellite or cable) to the highest quality 6 channel outputs known as Dolby Digital and DTS. These inputs even if you don't use yet will give you compatibility to devices for full potential. All amps for sure will have phono in, depending on how recent the amp is will have Dolby Prologic II which is pretty good, however it tends to be DVD / Home Cinema combo kits that often don't have the optical or coaxial inputs.

16-11-2004, 10:18	#9
Dunedin397 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 182	Home Theatre is the American term (should be Home Theater really) for Home Cinema. Home Cinema is a term for a collection of kit, ie a display, amplifier\receiver, speakers and source to watch movies on. So you'd have a mixture of CRT, plasma and projectors for the display, DVD player for the source, etc. Surround Sound is a general term really. There are various formats of surround sound, ie Dolby, DTS, etc and it really means you have more than 2 speakers, ideally 4 or 5 to allow the sound to come from the side or behind you as well as the front. I've a JVC TV that supports surround sound. It uses Dolby Pro Logic 2 and has 3 speakers on the TV itself, left, right & centre, with 2 rear speakers (situated at the side of the seating area) along with a sub-woofer (which provies the low rumble effect). Dunedin

16-11-2004, 12:02	#10
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	So you are saying that either name is ok .. but what I should be more concerned with is how the system is described. I should be looking for certain words??

16-11-2004, 12:20	#11
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	An analogy. Think Home Theatre/Cinema = PC Surround Sound = Software You run Software on a PC to make it do stuff. So with a Home Theatre/Cinema system you "run" Surround Sound to make noises So using this analogy the Home Theatre kit would be the hardware, ie amp and speaker system (at the very least) and also associated DVD player and TV display. Surround Sound describes the audio format that makes the noises you hear out of the speakers. So just as you would ensure you don't buy MAC software for a PC you need to make sure the Home Theatre kit can "run" the various Surround Sound formats, DTS and Dolby being the one's you are most likely to encounter on most commercial DVD's.

16-11-2004, 12:38	#12
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	This is the first time I have ever posted on a site that all my answers were from different people. I think I understand what everyone has said. Basically whether the speaker system that I buy says "Home Theater" or "Surround Sound", as long as certain specks are in order .. the system will work the way I want to. Is this corrent?

16-11-2004, 13:22	#13
oddjob11 Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Lancashire Posts: 175	Quote: Originally Posted by koala1 What I am planning on doing is buy a set of speakers (home theatre or surround). I want to hook up my pc, tv, stereo and vcr/dvd player, so no matter what I am using, the sound will be routed to the surround speakers. I seen a real nice 6-pc Sony home theatre speakers from Walmart for 80.00. If I remember right, it was 300 watts. That seemed awfully cheap, especially for a Sony brand, so I just figured that I needed speakers that actually said surround sound instead of home theatre. I'm not even sure how much wattage I'm wanting. This sounds cheap at £80 ?? Are you sure it includes the amp ? as you called it "6-pc Sony home theatre speakers"

16-11-2004, 14:44	#14
evansc Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 636	Quote: Originally Posted by oddjob11 This sounds cheap at £80 ?? Are you sure it includes the amp ? as you called it "6-pc Sony home theatre speakers" I think he was just talking about the speakers. If it was the complete system I would not touch it with a barge pole. It would be crap!.

16-11-2004, 14:53	#15
evansc Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 636	Quote: Originally Posted by koala1 I see a lot more Home Theatre equipment advertised than Surround Sound and I can't seem to find anyone that will tell me the difference .. I get answers like "oh they are really the same" .. if they were the same, then they would both have the same name. When I watch a race on tv .. I want to hear that car go around the room thru the speakers. I've been told both kinds will do that. Please someone tell me what I want to buy. Thank you. You can do one of two things. Buy yourself a Sony or Panasonic 'complete' Home Cinema System. This will include the DVD player/Amplifier and 6 surround speakers inc. the subwoofer (important for base). You can then plug your TV and Video into the DVD player/amplifier. Your second option is to by a seperate amplifier (Sony/Panasonic/Denon) and a separate 6 speaker package such as Eltax for example. You would then connect your TV, Video and DVD player into the amp aswell as the speakers. Either way, make sure the amp can decode Dolby Digital and DTS. Most of them can. Hope this helps. I could go into far more detail as this is a vast topic!.

16-11-2004, 14:57	#16
evansc Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 636	Quote: Originally Posted by koala1 This is the first time I have ever posted on a site that all my answers were from different people. I think I understand what everyone has said. Basically whether the speaker system that I buy says "Home Theater" or "Surround Sound", as long as certain specks are in order .. the system will work the way I want to. Is this corrent? Surround sound can be obtained from 4 speakers, 2 front and 2 rear. (Pro logic). Home Theatre tends to refer to 6 speaker packages, ie. 2 front, 1 center, 2 rear and a subwoofer for base (Prologic 1 and 2, Dolby Digital, DTS etc.). The 6 speaker setup is the one to go for if you want a 'true' surround or cinema sound experience.

16-11-2004, 15:00	#17
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	Thank you. You have just provided me with the info I was looking for. Now I know what I will be doing. Thank you

16-11-2004, 15:19	#18
evansc Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wolverhampton Posts: 636	Quote: Originally Posted by koala1 Thank you. You have just provided me with the info I was looking for. Now I know what I will be doing. Thank you No problem. Enjoy your system when you get it. You will not look back!!.

16-11-2004, 17:10	#19
rjmachin Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Stoke on Trent Posts: 2,297	I hope you don't mind me asking a question in your thread koala1, rather than starting my own thread on a similar topic. I was wondering if anyone could provide me with a link to a decent system that would provide all of the features that people have described above. I think I would like these features as I have read above: 1) Pro Logic 1/2, Dolby Digital, DTS 2) 5 or 6 speakers (4/5 speakers with subwoofer) 3) With or without a DVD player (My dvd player has a black plug for optical i think, but it quite big and old now) 4) Suitable for Sky+ if I get it Could you please assume no price limit, but dont want most expensive product that provides the same as a cheaper version. Thanks

16-11-2004, 17:36	#20
koala1 Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 8	I just found a site that has everything that I am wanting and maybe you could find what you want. The one I found was 119.00 which I thought was very reasonable for what I am wanting. plasmabay.com

16-11-2004, 18:04	#21
rjmachin Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Stoke on Trent Posts: 2,297	koala1, i have just been on plasmabay.com, and it seems to be an american website, with no delivery to the UK, and does not accept Solo cards either. Is there a UK website for this site?

DS Forums

Surround or Home Theatre??

17-11-2004, 09:07	#22
Jim Rae Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayrshire Posts: 4,125	I've just seen the Sony system mentioned here - albeit at around £90. It's a powered sub woofer with five mini speakers to which you attach your DVD player and other kit. If it's the same internal gear as the other Sony sytems at around £300, it's a right bargain!

17-11-2004, 09:16	#23
rjmachin Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Stoke on Trent Posts: 2,297	I have just done a search on kelkoo.co.uk for sony products under £150. It found this: http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/...roduct_id=3379 It is only 330W in total, but has ProLogic 2, DTS, and DD. It looks like it has a DVD player with it. Does anyone know if it will work with Sky+ Thanks

17-11-2004, 12:18	#24
Scorpio Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Somerset Posts: 3,048	It should have a digital input socket(s), this may be coaxial or, more likely for Sony, optical. This means you need a Toslink cable for wonderful 6 channel sound from Sky+ (when being bradcast) and Prologic II when broadcasting a stereo soundtrack. Rgds, Scorp

17-11-2004, 12:41	#25
rjmachin Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Stoke on Trent Posts: 2,297	Thank you for the reply Scorpio. I have found the technical specifications for the linked product on Sony's website: Technical Specs for Sony DAV SB100 Under input/output, it sais Digital Input = 0 and Digital Output = 0, is that what I need for Sky+, and so is it not suitable? Your help would be great. Thanks