A/V cables

[rh71]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
3. Xbox to receiver via Optical

XBOX has an optical out ?! I have the HD AV pack and it has 2 audio outs... but they look like they're composite... tell me how you're doing it!!!

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: rh71
Wow so this is what grown-ups are into. I feel like a newbie thinking all people who know how to use a PC are Gods.... except this is with A/V stuff.

You think PC's are expensive? Just wait until you get into the world of high-end A/V!

Anyway, its not that complicated and lots of people are willing and able to help you out. If you can do PC's, you can do A/V.

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
3. Xbox to receiver via Optical

XBOX has an optical out ?! I have the HD AV pack and it has 2 audio outs... but they look like they're composite... tell me how you're doing it!!!

You have this pack correct? If so, it has Dolby Digital decoding and a fiber optic cable required to enable Dolby Digital. So yeah, it does. Granted I have a PS2 so I can't help you on figuring out anymore than that since the PS2 is built-in.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: nord1899

Originally posted by: rh71
Wow so this is what grown-ups are into. I feel like a newbie thinking all people who know how to use a PC are Gods.... except this is with A/V stuff.

You think PC's are expensive? Just wait until you get into the world of high-end A/V!

Anyway, its not that complicated and lots of people are willing and able to help you out. If you can do PC's, you can do A/V.

Yep. If you get your home theater put together for under $10,000, you're doing good. :Q

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
3. Xbox to receiver via Optical

XBOX has an optical out ?! I have the HD AV pack and it has 2 audio outs... but they look like they're composite... tell me how you're doing it!!!

sorry. The XBOX HD A/V pack has optical out and supports Composite. It's a small black input box with two flaps RIGHT next to your WHITE Audio cable. It should glow slightly red

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: nord1899

Originally posted by: rh71
Wow so this is what grown-ups are into. I feel like a newbie thinking all people who know how to use a PC are Gods.... except this is with A/V stuff.

You think PC's are expensive? Just wait until you get into the world of high-end A/V!

Anyway, its not that complicated and lots of people are willing and able to help you out. If you can do PC's, you can do A/V.

Yep. If you get your home theater put together for under $10,000, you're doing good. :Q

My setup:
Sony Wega 32" (non-HDTV though)
H/K AVR 510 Receiver
H/K 5 Disc CD Changer
H/K DVD-5 player
B&W 303 (2 pair, 1 front and 1 rear)
B&W LCR 3 (center)
Definitive Tech Pro100 Sub (10" 250watt)

All that plus the stands for it cost about $4500 not quite 2 years ago. Not bad for entry level.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: nord1899


My setup:
Sony Wega 32" (non-HDTV though)
H/K AVR 510 Receiver
H/K 5 Disc CD Changer
H/K DVD-5 player
B&W 303 (2 pair, 1 front and 1 rear)
B&W LCR 3 (center)
Definitive Tech Pro100 Sub (10" 250watt)

All that plus the stands for it cost about $4500 not quite 2 years ago. Not bad for entry level.

Not bad at all. The killer is big screen HDTV and HDTV Sat receivers. That right there adds at least $3500 to the price tag.

How do you like your HK CD and DVD changers? I've heard some iffy things about them. Namely, slow, and a high failure rate.

 

[T2T III]

Personally, I would head to Wal-Mart and pick up their Philips/Maganvox cables. The cables come with gold ends, are sufficiently insulated and are at least as good of quality as the Radio Shack "gold series" of cables. Plus, the Philips/Maganvox cables are about 1/2 the price of the Radio Shack gold cables.

I'm not bashing Radio Shack - I have plenty of their "gold series" cables in use at my home. However, since there are other discounted brands out there of good quality, I'd head to Wal-Mart to pick up all of the necessary cables. Target is also another source of good (and cheap) cables. Best Buy sells good Acoustic Research cables, but they mark the prices up too high for what you actually get.

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: nord1899


My setup:
Sony Wega 32" (non-HDTV though)
H/K AVR 510 Receiver
H/K 5 Disc CD Changer
H/K DVD-5 player
B&W 303 (2 pair, 1 front and 1 rear)
B&W LCR 3 (center)
Definitive Tech Pro100 Sub (10" 250watt)

All that plus the stands for it cost about $4500 not quite 2 years ago. Not bad for entry level.

Not bad at all. The killer is big screen HDTV and HDTV Sat receivers. That right there adds at least $3500 to the price tag.

How do you like your HK CD and DVD changers? I've heard some iffy things about them. Namely, slow, and a high failure rate.

The CD Changer sucks ass. Extremely slow to change between CD's and if you change one its got to scan them all before it plays anything else.
The DVD Changer is pretty good. I got a defective one the first time though. When using the Coax digital out it would occasionaly lock up requiring a full power down to reset it. But OneCall.com being the kings of customer service out there replaced it for me at no cost and the second one has worked flawlessly since then.

I really like the receiver, but in hind sight, I would have gotten something else for the CD/DVD parts.

 

[LikeLinus]

nord1899's right. It's not too hard to learn, but you just have to study up on everything.

www.hometheaterforum.com is one of my favorite sites. Lots of good discussions there.

Wow 10k. I really haven't put thought into how much i've spent. Let me break it down

Mitsu 46" HDTV - $1600
Sony Progressive DVD - $149
Denon 3802 - $725
Klipsch Reference RF3 - $600 pr
Klipsch Reference RC3 - $250
Klipsch Reference RS3 - $400 pr
Klipsch KSW 51" Sub - $400
Cables - $200 (approximately - Optical, A/V, Speaker)
Sony 3000 Remote - $100

$4026

That doesn't include Sales tax. I bought all equipment locally from HiFiBuys (ocal mom and pop store, NOT the big hifibuys) or Tweeters. I started getting them into a price war against each other I made them print me off price list (without letting them know) then showing it to the other store and having them get me their best price. Playing them against each other gets you great deals.

I've had the JVC 5 disk CD player for years.

I got the Ultimate TV and Xbox for 2001 Christmas, more than a year ago. Do those count?

Oh i just built my HTPC

AMD XP 1800- $53
Maxtor 80GB 7200 HD - $69
Black Desktop Case - $44 w/ PS
Epox 8hka+ - FREE (friend thought AGP slot was fried..said i could have it if i could fix it...damn thing worked was just a jumper problem)
ATI 8500 - Had an extra one on the shelf for 4 months. Free basically
256mb DDR - Free had it already
Floppy - 10$
Lite-on black 16x DVD - $30
TB SC - $25
NIC Card - Free, had one.
Silent Fan's - $20
Thermalright sk7 - $25

$314 for HTPC.

$4340 TOTAL for everything

Oh yeah the first thing i purchased for my HT was the HDTV in MAY of this year...lol. So i've spent $4400 since May on this addiction. Sad isn't it

 

[Amused]

LikeLinus,

Scoll up and look at my question about the AV-3000, can you?

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: Amused
LikeLinus,

It sounds like you figured out how to clear and reprogram System 1 and 3. I can't figure that out and doing exactly what the instruction book says does not clear the stock settings and allow me to create a new macro under 1 and 3.

How's it done?

OMG That was the hardest thing to figure out. Now i can't remember, but I think you hold down DEL, then press the button. You are definately right about that, the instructions sucked for that part.

I'm gunna go get my remote...brb


Sorry i never saw your question

 

[LikeLinus]

press

COMMANDER OFF + Muting

Press SYSTEM after the "SET" screen comes up on the LCD

See the DEL key at the top Press and Hold DEL and then press the System # you want.

You have to press it pretty fast after you press the DEL key.

That will delete your System commands that are set

EDIT: I noticed if you do the delete right, it will make a BEEP the second you after you press the system button while still holding down the DEL key.

EDIT 2: Ok i also noticed that if you press both the DEL and the System key at the SAME TIME, you get a the same different one beep and it deletes the button. I think this is how you actually do it right. Otherwise you have to press the System REAL fast after you hold down the DEL. But i was able to do it everytime while pressing them both at the same time.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
press

COMMANDER OFF + Muting

Press SYSTEM after the "SET" screen comes up on the LCD

See the DEL key at the top Press and Hold DEL and then press the System # you want.

You have to press it pretty fast after you press the DEL key.

That will delete your System commands that are set

EDIT: I noticed if you do the delete right, it will make a BEEP the second you after you press the system button while still holding down the DEL key.

THANKS!! Boy you sure are right about having to be fast with the system button while pressing DEL I got both 1 and 3 cleared... FINALLY!

Thank you!

 

[LikeLinus]

No problem. I got this remote a couple weeks before Christmas and that thing pissed me off. Took me awhile to figure it out. I tried exactly what the manual said and i could never get it to work. I thought i was stupid. Then i realized you had to press them pretty fast (now i realize it's actually at the same time) to get them to work.

Thanks again Sony...lol. I hate Sony but i love this remote.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
No problem. I got this remote a couple weeks before Christmas and that thing pissed me off. Took me awhile to figure it out. I tried exactly what the manual said and i could never get it to work. I thought i was stupid. Then i realized you had to press them pretty fast (now i realize it's actually at the same time) to get them to work.

Thanks again Sony...lol. I hate Sony but i love this remote.

Yeah, I used to be a Sony loyalist, but they've really gone down hill lately. It's sad, really.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: nord1899

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
3. Xbox to receiver via Optical

XBOX has an optical out ?! I have the HD AV pack and it has 2 audio outs... but they look like they're composite... tell me how you're doing it!!!

You have this pack correct? If so, it has Dolby Digital decoding and a fiber optic cable required to enable Dolby Digital. So yeah, it does. Granted I have a PS2 so I can't help you on figuring out anymore than that since the PS2 is built-in.

Would ya look at that... never even noticed the digital audio output there. I don't seem to have the optical cable though... was it supposed to be included in the HD AV Pack, LikeLinus ? From the wording, it seems to be a purchase separately thing...

 

[rh71]

Can someone explain to me how a typical set of RCA cables (video+2 audio) here can be $25 cheaper than these AR branded ones? Is the quality difference that great? I do plan on using 3 RCA/composite cables to use as component video, as AMUSED mentioned is possible.

As far as optical cables from the same site... there's a $14 difference from Dayton brand vs. AR brand... is the extra cost worth it ?

 

[Mutilator]

I still say you should buy the AR component cables instead of rigging up your own stuff.
From home-theater-faq:
Does the quality of speaker wire / cables really make a big difference?
It depends on who you ask. Some people swear by certain brands of cable and other people say you can use old phone cord for speaker wire. Here's my two cents: As far as speaker wire goes, a 12 gauge speaker wire will sound a heck of a lot better than 18 gauge wire. However, $5.00 brand "x" 12 gauge wire will probably sound pretty much the same as $50.00 brand "y" wire. AV cables are kind of a different story, quality definitely matters here. However, I've seen some AV cable advertised for $300/a foot. Give me a break! Most of the free cables that come with equipment are not very good. They will physically carry a signal, but will also carry interference, noise and other things you don't want. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself good quality, but reasonably priced, shielded cables.


I guess I could test this with some HD programming tonight though and see if I see a difference. I do like having the cables color coded though... makes it a lot easier to connect stuff when you have 40 cables coming down the back of the TV.

 

[rh71]

On my Onkyo receiver, why is there a need for 2 video inputs/outputs if I can just as easily plug those inputs into the tv's video input just as easily? Is it simply because composite cables come attached with video/audio together?

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: rh71
On my Onkyo receiver, why is there a need for 2 video inputs/outputs if I can just as easily plug those inputs into the tv's video input just as easily? Is it simply because composite cables come attached with video/audio together?

Video switching. What you do here is send all the audio/video signals to the receiver and one video signal to the TV. Now the receiver is the only thing you have to switch to change sources. Rather than the TV for video and the receiver for audio.

Of course I think this only works for as long as they share the same connection type. That is, the receiver can't change a composite signal into an S-video signal for sending to the TV. So if you have the VCR using composite and the DVD using component, you will need to have one of each type going from the receiver to the TV and switch both. Could be wrong on this part though, it was something that I didn't quite understand myself.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: rh71
Can someone explain to me how a typical set of RCA cables (video+2 audio) here can be $25 cheaper than these AR branded ones? Is the quality difference that great? I do plan on using 3 RCA/composite cables to use as component video, as AMUSED mentioned is possible.

As far as optical cables from the same site... there's a $14 difference from Dayton brand vs. AR brand... is the extra cost worth it ?

Dayton is a bit cheaper cause it's considered the "house brand". In all honesty (even people at my hifibuys admit this), once you go Optical, you really can't tell the difference in the upgrades over certain cables. I mean i guess you could if you had super high fidelity components, but at our mid level, you wont tell the difference between a 15$ cable and a 25$ optical cable. The jump over RCA to Optical you can tell the difference. Also the fact that 5.1 for XBox and DTS EX is only allowed through Optical is enough of a choice to go Optical.

The biggest difference in price from AR/Dayton/Monster is in the quality of the housing and wire used. The AR vs that other brand its because the higher quality wire/guage they use to carry the signal and the plugs at the end. Another good thing is the AR are Oxygen free. Once you get Oxygen in your wire, it corrodes (turns green/black) which can kill signal/quality.

It's really hard to say how much better the quality is one over the other cause i've personally never tested. But i figured everyone on HTforums and AVforums says to atleast get midgrade. It's a one time purchase and I'd rather have a fair priced midgrade quality cable than something cheap. Just looking at the difference in the picture was enough for me. I wouldn't pay a huge premium though.

 

[LikeLinus]

Oh yeah, the Optical cable does NOT come with the HD A/V pack. Purchased seperately.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Dayton is a bit cheaper cause it's considered the "house brand". In all honesty (even people at my hifibuys admit this), once you go Optical, you really can't tell the difference in the upgrades over certain cables. I mean i guess you could if you had super high fidelity components, but at our mid level, you wont tell the difference between a 15$ cable and a 25$ optical cable. The jump over RCA to Optical you can tell the difference. Also the fact that 5.1 for XBox and DTS EX is only allowed through Optical is enough of a choice to go Optical.

Are you implying that there is an audible difference between a coax digital and an optical connection?

Viper GTS

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Dayton is a bit cheaper cause it's considered the "house brand". In all honesty (even people at my hifibuys admit this), once you go Optical, you really can't tell the difference in the upgrades over certain cables. I mean i guess you could if you had super high fidelity components, but at our mid level, you wont tell the difference between a 15$ cable and a 25$ optical cable. The jump over RCA to Optical you can tell the difference. Also the fact that 5.1 for XBox and DTS EX is only allowed through Optical is enough of a choice to go Optical.

Are you implying that there is an audible difference between a coax digital and an optical connection?

Viper GTS

Not that I believe it, but I went to Circuit City last night to check out their cables... and on the packaging of the monster cables box, it indicates coax is not as good as optical for audio. As far as it being an audible difference... I'll leave it up to those who've experienced it.