Help With Your Recommendations

[gerard786]

Hi all,

First of all......a big hello to everyone here on this forum. Definately a lot of good input from people here and hoping to get some advice.

I am a newbie, and the more i read, the more confused I get. I have a TEAC TV which I bought in the 1980s which has lasted me all this time and finally died. I thought I'll give myself a treat in which I recently purchased the Sony Bravia X 52 inch LCD. It wasn't cheap but am absolutely mesmerised by the quality when compared to my old TEAC !!!

However, it is only after that I purchased the Bravia that I read that it has this thing called HDMI on it. The more i read, the more confused I get. If I went out to buy...let's say, a Sony DVD with HDMI function....will this be the same or better picture quality to a Blu-Ray?

Anyhow, onto another subject matter. I am thinking of getting a BOSE Acoustimass 10 (Series 3). I've also been reading some of the comments of this forum which has interesting reports, and will look like I'll be getting them as.....those speakers look sooo damn sexy !!!! I am also thinking of getting another pair of satellite speakers separately.......so maybe looking at 6 satellite speakers, 1 centre speaker and the 1 Bass module. What Amp do you recommend? Also, I'm VERY confused as to what is a "receiver" as compared to an "amp", and which is ideal for my Sony Bravia? Will it be an over-kill in getting all these Bose speakers?

As I'm in Australia, I don't think we are getting a lot of Blu-Ray stuff (ie:- movies and players). Right now, I got a cheap $100 Pioneer DVD player. Let's say if I buy a Sony PS3 and watch Blu-Ray movies on it to get that excellent quality......can I also run my Bose speakers all together so I'm getting the best of my LCD, PS3 and sound system (i'm sorry if this sounds like a newbie question). Will I get lip-sync issues?

Well......that's about my question for now? Otherwise please feel free to advice me what you feel the ideal set-up for me will be. Thanking you all in anticipation of your replies !!!

Gerard (Dazed and Confused)

[kurt vidal]

-as far as your question regarding a sony dvd (hdmi capable) putting out as good a picture as blu-ray the answer is a definate NO.
-you may want to read some more of the topics regarding "bose" speakers.
-suggest you get yourself a PS3 as a blu-ray player, a high quality a/v rcvr (denon, yamaha) that is hdmi capable and a good set of speakers and you should be up to snuff with the latest and greatest home theatre setup.
good luck

[MatrixS2000]

However, it is only after that I purchased the Bravia that I read that it has this thing called HDMI on it. The more i read, the more confused I get. If I went out to buy...let's say, a Sony DVD with HDMI function....will this be the same or better picture quality to a Blu-Ray?

No - DVDs do not have the resolution.

Anyhow, onto another subject matter. I am thinking of getting a BOSE Acoustimass 10 (Series 3). I've also been reading some of the comments of this forum which has interesting reports, and will look like I'll be getting them as

You should read this thread....

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=7227

[Rup_Muk]

Gerard,
First off: Congratulations on the purchase and welcome to this forum. You are taking steps in the "right" direction. It is funny how the wonderful quality of images on the new TVs make us plunk down even more money to make the picture quality (PQ) even better.

That said, you've found the "best" forum. People here are very friendly and full of good, useful advice. I've managed to do a lot of my "researching" through reading people's comments.

HDMI: is the new interface standard that carries audio and video signals in digital format. To optimize your connectivity you need a device that outputs HDMI. I'm not familiar with the Sony DVD player you mention - very likely, it is an "upsampling" device. That is it takes standard definition (SD) DVD and interpolates data to make the signals coming out some form of HD (720p, 1080i. Perhaps not 1080p - but that's an assumption). Yes, the PQ will look better than SD with upsampling - but, there is still consensus in this forum that the PQ will not approach already encoded HD signals - like Blu-ray.

Amps and receivers: Again, there is a plethora of advice available here. My understanding - as limited as it is - is that if you buy a good receiver out of the blocks, you don't need an amp. I would look to purchase a new receiver capable of 7.1 output (at least 100W per channel), two or more HDMI inputs, 4 or more digital audio inputs (combination of coax and optical). Denon makes a few recommended models. Please browse this forum for more info.

Speakers: More personal choice than anything else - and dependent on room configuration, listening preferences, etc. There has been some discussion in this forum recently that Bose speakers don't deliver as much "bang for the buck" as other makers do. JBL, Klipsch, amongst others seem to be consensus alternatives to consider.

All things said: Get ready to get immersed in a whole lot of jargon - and often seemingly confusing advice. Please do yourself a favor and take any advice that you get from a store salesperson with a pinch of salt. There is no substitute for well-researched opinions.

AND - get ready for the sticker shock!!!

WELCOME to the world of HD!!!

[Blue]

A receiver is a pre amplifier (also known as a switching amplifier), power amplifier and and radio tuner. This has now extended to include decoding for Dolby Digital and DTS, with 5 power amplifiers (or more). The "traditional amplifier" is a Stereo (2 channel) pre amp and power amp in a single box.

HDMI is a connection cable and standard, just like Toslink (or just called optical). HDMI is a little more sophisticated as it is video as well as audio. There is feedback, control signals e.g. sending remote control signals around. There at the moment is not a lot of receiver support for HDMI yet. Although there are some receivers with HDMI, they do not not decode the New high definition Dolby and DTS standards and can not handle the HDMI from a PS3 that well (this will be from all Blu-ray players within the near future (deliberately being vague here to save confusion).

An amplifier for Bose umm go down to Tricky Dickey check the price and pay 100 times the price for the cheapest receiver and it should be a good match. You obviously haven't been reading many of the Bose threads here, Bose is loved by a few vocal people here and that's about it, some of the vocal people here don't even have them! Especially in Australia they are even more ridiculously priced, you can do much better for much less.

With an amplifier I would get a very cheap Yamaha, or Denon (I don't know where you live but in Melbourne Radio Parts have them frequently on sale) with the expectation of finding another use for the amplifier in about a year when this HDMI thingy gets resolved and most amplifiers have it.

Get a PS3 with some nice speakers (i.e. not Bose) a temporary receiver (use the optical out of the PS3 to the amplifier) HDMI to the TV. In a year or so get a nice amp with all the new CODEC's and HDMI switching and you will be laughing.

If you want a good Blu-ray match for your Bose get the Panasonic Blu-ray player (both are horrendously over priced).

DVD players put out (approx 800) x 600 in Australia. Blu-ray on the other hand can go up to 1920 x 1080.
I don't know which model you have but I'm guessing it will be 1920 x 1080.

[gerard786]

Hi Kurt, Matrix and Rup........thanks for the above information. I'm actually getting quite excited from reading your comments plus others in this forum. What you said about talking to the storeperson is correct.....half the time they want to push the "sale" with the highest profit margin for them. I feel being in this forum you get an unbiased viewpoint (most of the time).....cheers and hope everyone is having a good Easter break

[gerard786]

Hi Blue,

Thanks for your feedback !!! When i read your post......man, I was kinda feeling about not worrying about the whole Home Theatre sound system set up because it just seems like companies out there are at all different phases of technology (ie:- Bose with no HDMI output) and all the talk about the new HDMI 1.3, etc etc. The main reasons (superficial) that I like Bose is the small compact size of the satellite speakers, and the name. And yes, it is very expensive in Australia although I am trying my hardest to find a second-hand system in our local trading paper (in Perth). Correct me if i'm wrong.....but I feel we are at that stage of technology transition that it is better to just hold off any purchase until new products get released. My only problem is that I'm just itching to get a surround sound system (maybe paying good money) and then kick myself for not waiting that extra month as another better system comes out in the market.

Ok then.....it then looks like getting the PS3 maybe the way to go to get Blu-Ray function DVD (not to mention I'm also a gaming freak). This should allow me to utilise the excellent picture quality of my Sony Bravia.

I've been reading on some RECEIVERS and it looks like at this early stage of Blu-Ray / HDMI technology, this AMP seems to be the answer for its relatively lower / mid price range.....have a look and let me know if this will do the job

http://reviews.cnet.com/Onkyo_TX_SR6...l?tag=pdtl-img


or this one for the more expensive price range.......

http://www.sony.com.au/homecinema/ca...tegoryId=22050


If so, then the question will be on what speakers. I've been looking at lots of speakers but still always come back to the BOSE. I'm definately staying away from the big blocky tall speakers as I do not have the space (besides they look ugly).....any recommendations for small, but kick-ass, speakers ?

[theknub]

gerard, you can always get the speakers since the connections and equipment for those isn't going to be changing much anytime soon. blue had a good idea about getting a cheap receiver for now and upgrading when things are settled. however, you can get an hdmi 1.2 receiver and still enjoy hi-def audio simply by letting the player do the audio decoding.

[Deciazulado]

If you're getting a PS3 be aware that for now it doesn't upscale DVDs (your TV would have to do that for now, or a DVD player that does.) also if you get a receiver to go with it to get the best sound it should have an HDMI that accepts up to 7.1 multichannel high res 192kHz LPCM high res or DSD . Sound formats right now are a multitude DD DD
+ DTHD DTS HD DTS HD MA 5.1-7.1 LPCM and a little complicated. Read a lot and don't buy something until you're 100% sure it does what you want. etc etc