Possible to connect PC surround to TV?

[Coldkilla]

I'm going to be diving in and purchasing a plasma soon but don't really want to say all that much for sound. I've got a nice logitech z5500 surround sound currently, but am wondering if it is possible to have the abilty to quick switch the cables out of the back of my PC and into the TV.

 

[Slick5150]

What are you feeding your TV with? Your TV might have some audio outputs on it, but you won't get surround sound. You could most likely plug your DVD player or Cable Box or something into the z5500's though, although I'm not entirely sure what kind of inputs the z5500's have (digital?)

 

[PurdueRy]

Quite a few sets have a digital out on the back. These can be used if you are receiving a digital signal from OTA digital station and many sets also convert analog audio into PCM digital. Just look for a TV with these features.

 

[Coldkilla]

I haven't bought the TV yet, or any cable service yet. Could I have some examples of what would be a good way to set this up? I'm not firmiliar with "OTA digital stations, PCM Digital ports, etc". I'm just looking for a good idea of what to take to best buy when I purchase my television.

What do I bring with me when I go there? Do I say: I need a Plasma that can connect into my Cable box, and then have my cable box have a digital out to a specific type of port that will plug into the 3 1/8th inch jacks that I use for my PC surround sound.

I know this is stretching it, but do they make any sort of "splitters" that would allow me to run both the computer and the television to work? I wont be having the PC running while the TV is on, but this would save me the hassle of removing the cords from the computer and the TV very often.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
I haven't bought the TV yet, or any cable service yet. Could I have some examples of what would be a good way to set this up? I'm not firmiliar with "OTA digital stations, PCM Digital ports, etc". I'm just looking for a good idea of what to take to best buy when I purchase my television.

What do I bring with me when I go there? Do I say: I need a Plasma that can connect into my Cable box, and then have my cable box have a digital out to a specific type of port that will plug into the 3 1/8th inch jacks that I use for my PC surround sound.

I know this is stretching it, but do they make any sort of "splitters" that would allow me to run both the computer and the television to work? I wont be having the PC running while the TV is on, but this would save me the hassle of removing the cords from the computer and the TV very often.

Your z-5500s have a digital optical and digital coaxial input in addition to the 6 channel analog input that you're currently using with your computer.

Any HD cable box you get should have digital sound output on it, so you'll just need to get a cable to connect it to the z-5500s. Don't get this cable (or ANY other cables) at BB when you get the TV. Monoprice or someplace similar will get you a much better deal for your cable needs.

To switch to the cable box as the input for the z-5500s, you'll just need to change the input type on the control pod of the z-5500s and not change any cables around physically.

What kind of budget are you thinking for the TV?

If I was buying a plasma soon, I'd be looking at the new units from Pioneer if I had the budget for them (5080, etc.)

 

[montypythizzle]

Too bad my TV doesn't at least upmix my analog to digital, just passes DD with my digital tuner.

 

[Coldkilla]

I was looking into this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1186004972717

I wont be purchasing from newegg as their 5 year warrenty is $1000.0 and best buy's 4 year is only $350. Plus its down the road and makes for an easy trip if I need to repair/return it.

I haven't done nearly as much research as I would like to. I'm still young (19), living at home, have a few thousand saved up for my apartment (have all appliances, etc), have a great job, going to college, and plan to have over $10,000 saved prior to getting my apartment next march, and may very well wait until then to buy a TV until then. I'm just doing a little research prior to buying the TV. Unless a deal on black Friday catches my interest.

I am however making trips to the store, asking about different TV features/differences. And thinking about a Tivo.

 

[montypythizzle]

Wow, I want a job sooo bad.
I would get an LED DLP though.

 

[Coldkilla]

Why's that?

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Why's that?

Well for my usage, I want 1080p and a large screen and don't care about size. Also, LEDs last longer than regular DLP bulbs.

 

[Wuzup101]

Alright, what type of cable box do you have in the first place? I personally have the Motorola HD box from Comcast. I have yet to purchase a true HD-TV, but am also looking. Currently I have a Dell 2407 (24" 1920x1200 LCD) that I use for my computer and also for gaming on the x360 and for watching movies and such. I also have a set of logitech z5500s. I have the cable box connected to the monitor via digital coax and component. I have the xbox 360 connected via VGA and optical. My computer is connected via normal stereo analogue (despite having an older board with a soundstorm 5.1 chip on it - as I rarely do anything on the computer that doesn't involve me using my headphones). The sound works beautifully for everything. The logitechs will pretty much play anything that you put into them, and your new TV should have optical S/PDIF out or digital coax out (the TV you linked has both). Some TVs will pass through signals, and some will only output certain formats. Ideally, you would just want the signal passed through to your speakers... IE: not screwed with in any way (as per my understanding). I know I've seen some sets that only output in stereo despite using an optical output. You wouldn't want to be putting a 5.1 channel source into said TV (say from an HD-DVD player, PS3, 360, etc...) and have it cut down to stereo before being passed to your speakers (which would then do their best to emulate a 5.1 channel signal).

In all honesty, if I were in your situation, I would go for a bit less of a TV and spend a bit on a nice pair of HT speakers. Don't get me wrong, I love my z5500s, they are great computer speakers, but I'm not so sure that I would drop 3k on a TV and then be using my computer speakers with it. To each his own though, I'm sure you will love that LG!

 

[montypythizzle]

I motion for this:
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B...1499101&pf_rd_i=507846
and this:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd...ODUCT&cm_keycode=27686
or this:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm...m/ccd/productDetail.do

 

[audi111688]

i set up my x-540s around the room...i have a problem with surround sound computer speakers on a tv...it is that the rear channels on a set of computer speakers is a good bit louder than the front channels. maybe its just my set...but i figured it was because the listener is intended to be closer to the front speakers than the rear while sitting at a computer...as opposed to a regular set of home theater speakers, where the listener is seated closer rear/center of the room...