Questions regarding HTIB

[FFAngelVanille]

Hello everyone. I tried asking this is another thread but I guess it was the wrong one and got removed so I decided to create a new one.

Anyways my question is regarding Home Theater systems. Specifically the "HTIB" (short for Home Theater in a Box correct)?

In general do most HTIBs have an A/V receiver in them as well as the speakers?

What I really want is a Home Theater system that has great speakers a nice receiver and NO Bluray player since I already know which Bluray player I want.

Also is there really much difference between 5.1 and 7.1? Would a normal average individual really notice any difference in terms of sound while watching a movie. For me the picture quality is more important but I do have some movies that 7.1 tracks and I'd like to take advantage of them so long as it's noticeable.

Lastly I also have a 360. I know I can connect it to the HDTV directly and get the audio thru the TV's speakers however does anyone know if I can hook it up to an A/V reciever and have the audio sent to the home theater system's speakers and the picture alone sent to the HDTV?

[aramis109]

Your question probably got moved to the HTiB section.

HTiB does stand for Home Theater in a Box. It's typically an all-in-one solution. Onkyo has probably the best HTiB's currently. However, I will put in my personal opinion that there's currently no such thing as a "great" HTiB. Typically you're sacrificing quality for convenience. You'll be better off to put together separates that will serve you for years.

As for 5.1 vs. 7.1, yes you can hear the difference. It's not always worthwhile for everyone, as some room configurations just don't support it. Personally, I run 5.1 and am perfectly happy with it. Without a higher-end receiver that can matrix out PCM and lossless audio, many times those speakers will be silent as most movies are still 5.1.

On the 360 tip, you just hook the optical cable into the receiver. You'll get 5.1 DD and DTS that way (though games are only DD). If you haven't experienced that, you're really missing out.

[FFAngelVanille]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Your question probably got moved to the HTiB section.

HTiB does stand for Home Theater in a Box. It's typically an all-in-one solution. Onkyo has probably the best HTiB's currently. However, I will put in my personal opinion that there's currently no such thing as a "great" HTiB. Typically you're sacrificing quality for convenience. You'll be better off to put together separates that will serve you for years.

As for 5.1 vs. 7.1, yes you can hear the difference. It's not always worthwhile for everyone, as some room configurations just don't support it. Personally, I run 5.1 and am perfectly happy with it. Without a higher-end receiver that can matrix out PCM and lossless audio, many times those speakers will be silent as most movies are still 5.1.

On the 360 tip, you just hook the optical cable into the receiver. You'll get 5.1 DD and DTS that way (though games are only DD). If you haven't experienced that, you're really missing out.

Thanks for the reply. So all in one does mean the receiver also comes with it right?

I live in a spacious apartment (at least decently sized living room) so what would you suggest based on that re teh 5.1 vs 7.1?

As for the 360 what do you mean by Optical cable? The HDMI?

[aramis109]

Ah, if you have a 360 with HDMI you'd just use that. I assumed you had an older one like mine with component.

Yeah, HTiB comes with the receiver. As for 5.1 vs. 7.1, I would buy the best fronts and center you can afford and then add to that as you go were it me. If you want to go HTiB Onkyo offers 7.1 setups.

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by FFAngelVanille

Thanks for the reply. So all in one does mean the receiver also comes with it right?

I live in a spacious apartment (at least decently sized living room) so what would you suggest based on that re teh 5.1 vs 7.1?

As for the 360 what do you mean by Optical cable? The HDMI?

optical or toslink cable is for digital audio. it was available before hdmi. personally, i use the hdmi for the 360 for video and audio to my receiver and use component/analog to tv. the good thing about the 360 is it detect wether or not the receiver is on through the hdmi and switches it on when available.

[FFAngelVanille]

My ideal situation would be to find a great HTIB that has a good 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system that doesn't have a Bluray player.

If it has a receiver that's nice that's good but if not then I would buy a really good one from Onyko.

And then last but not least I would want my 360 to b setup to send the audio to the home theater system and the video to my HDTV thru HDMI.

But yeah I'll look around and see what I can find and get back to you.