Need help selecting a cheapo HTIB for PS3 and Cable

DOTC

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Jul 2, 2006
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My LG TV doesn't do 5.1 very well.. if a game doesn't support switching to stereo all i get is static on somethings (guns fired, multiple sounds, etc) Anyway, I just needed something cheap with a optical in port on it. I plan on using the optical audio out on my TV to whatever system i get. All its used for is some light gaming, movies and cable tv.
 

DaveSimmons

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Aug 12, 2001
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Check your manual and/or AVSForums to see whether the optical out passes 5.1 from HDMI or just stereo, I know when I bought my Samsung DLP a couple of years ago many/most TVs just sent out stereo.

If so, you'd need more optical cables (audio directly from PS3 to the receiver, HDMI directly from PS3 to the TV) or a HTIB receiver that does HDMI switching and audio decoding from HDMI.

The best brand I know of for low-to-midrange HTIB is Onkyo, and try to spend more that you planned so you get at least half-decent speakers. A $500 HTIB is going to sound a lot better for movies and music than a $300 one. The $300 one is probably OK for game audio and crappy P2P MP3s.
 

DOTC

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Jul 2, 2006
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Thanks for the response. Ill check into the audio out. Im not really all that into surround, if it did output stereo im sure a htib can handle the surround seperation better than my TV can. (anything would sound better than tons of static and distortion)I was thinking about one of those Logitech Z5500 systems.. but I think $200 is really all im looking to spend.
 

DaveSimmons

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For the PS3 you might be able to switch to using the red+white stereo audio outs from the AV cable that came with it. Check your TV for whether it can be set to use the HDMI in for video only.
 

DOTC

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Jul 2, 2006
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Yeah Ive thought about that and it cant. :( I have the PS3 hard set to stereo only, but some games find a way to work around that. I really hate having to buy something JUST to fix this issue, but its very very annoying and I cant even play some of the newer games out there. I look on AVSForums for more help with my TV and see what I can do.
 

DaveSimmons

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Aug 12, 2001
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A decent PC 2.0 / 2.1 speaker set for ~$100 would give you better stereo sound than the TV, just mute the TV and use the PS3 red/white to connect to that.

Before buying one double-check that the PS3 red/white can still be active when using the HDMI. I know the optical out is but have never used the analog outs.