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Old 04-06-2005, 20:06
tapmadi
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I was looking to buy a home cinema system, they all seem to come with dvdplayers, can some one recomend a decent one under £300. Can I not just by some speakers and hook them up to a standard dvd player. or do you have to use the dvd player they supply.

Can anyone also recommend a Hi Fi unit amp + CD + Tuner + speakers under £300 Top
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Old 04-06-2005, 22:00
Rotara
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Tapmadi.. are you asking for a Home Cinema package minus the DVD Player? If you are then that's just a speaker package! Yes you can use your existing DVD Player but along with the speakers you'll have to invest in an AV Receiver or an AMP that's capable of handling at least 5.1 sound, unless your DVD player is capable of output direct to the speakers? If it can then you've got more cash to throw at the speakers & you'll get better quality.
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Old 05-06-2005, 01:16
Jim Rae
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I would buy my DVD player separately from my home cinema sound system.

Doing that means you can choose one with SCART or component out for video, oherwise you might only get composite or S Video.

A Toshiba DVD player and a Sony Home Cinema system is serving me very well at the moment, with a total cost of under £500.

But my son has a much cheaper Asda sourced system which is still pretty good and shakes the floor...

You choose.
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Old 05-06-2005, 11:21
Rotara
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I was a bit confused by Tapmadi's request.. I didn't know if he wanted a complete Home Cinema package, coz at the end of his posting he asks for even more stuff... didn't know if this was all for under £300??
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Old 05-06-2005, 23:20
tapmadi
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Sorry What I hve is a toshiba dvd sd230-e

on the back it has audio out R + L red and yellow and coaxial bitstream/pcm digital. also has 3 sockets green blu and red for video out. plus yellow video socket and a socket that says S on it which is a different type of connection.

I want to attach speakers and have surround sound (i think its 5.1) would it be just a case of connected wires some how are do i need an amp or something? how does it all work
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Old 06-06-2005, 10:29
Rotara
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Originally Posted by tapmadi
Sorry What I hve is a toshiba dvd sd230-e

on the back it has audio out R + L red and yellow and coaxial bitstream/pcm digital. also has 3 sockets green blu and red for video out. plus yellow video socket and a socket that says S on it which is a different type of connection.

I want to attach speakers and have surround sound (i think its 5.1) would it be just a case of connected wires some how are do i need an amp or something? how does it all work
Without being too intimate with the Tosh it sounds like you have basic left & right stereo output with the analogue connects.. The Coax may give you added SubWoofer action & there's prob a Digital Optical connection which should give you your 5.1 output but would need decoding by a receiver which then sends the correct sounds to the correct speakers... With me so far?
The RGB sockets sound like composite video & will not carry audio signals.. The yellow video connect is your bog standard video connection (in effect RGB flattened & combined) the S-connect stands for S-Video, again does not carry audio & is slightly better than using standard scart.

If you want proper 5.1 sound best getting a receiver capable of interpreting the DD 5.1 signal & the ability to process the sound to the relevant speakers.. If you're on a budget & not too fussed about fancy high-end Digital Processing & effects like THX then grab a budget unit like the Denon AVR-1705 £250, What Hi-Fi can't stop raving about it!

End of the day it's what your pocket can suffer over what your eyes & senses can appreciate.. Find your cross over point & be happy. Coz it's easy to buy a system that sounds absolutely fantastic but then have no food to eat!

Just read in this month's W,Hi-Fi Tosh are launching a successor to the SD-250e in the shape of the 350e boasting the first HDMI DVD player which is Sub £100 ! looks sleek too!

You may end up spending more than £300...! Good luck. Ro.
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Old 06-06-2005, 11:54
MacBurp
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I have a Denon AVR-1705, its a fantastic amp. I have my TV,video and Telewest cable box hooked up to it, the sound is excellent. I don't use its video switching capability or the built-in receiver, so I'm sure it could do a lot more for me.

However, the question was about Home Theatre in a box without the DVD player. I bought one of these from Argos for the bedroom;

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...clickfrom=name

Its the Acoustic Solutions DS533, the amp is inside the subwoofer, it offers analogue (aux), optical and co-ax digital inputs, for less than £90. Great for the bedroom. No DVD player.

Argos offer several home theatre systems without DVD player.

regards,
Paul
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Old 06-06-2005, 19:23
Rotara
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***STOP THE PRESS***

Denon AVR-1705

£187 DELIVERED!!

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/denonavr1705.shtml



Bargain!!
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Old 11-06-2005, 19:07
MrGriller
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I purchased the Acoustic Solutions DS1033 a couple of years back from Argos,it has been very good,it has been replaced by the DS1133 i think.This has DTS in addition to mine.

Came with all the cables,stands,batteries etc. Only thing i had to get was an optical lead (although the coax lead works it ain't the best in the world). Sound is great,pro logic works a treat with vhs,freeview etc,digital inputs sort themselves out for correct output. Recommened for decent sound without breaking the bank.
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Old 14-06-2005, 20:28
jelly1
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have a look at this!

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/yamahaavpack300.shtml
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Old 29-06-2005, 15:36
Jimmy Thicker
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If you buy a dirt cheap system from Argos such as http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...clickfrom=name can you plug it into a Sky+ and get 5.1 surround sound, or does the surround sound only work on the internal DVD?
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