BD 350 with Onkyo 606 and Onkyo HT540

[dragonmaster]

Hello Guys,
I am trying to set up a home theater system and have read lot of threads around the one which will fit my budget. I am looking for approx 800 USD setup. I already have a Sony Bravia 42" LCD TV.

BD Player - 350 vs PS3 vs 550? I was leaning towards PS3 but negatives i read about are fan nosie while upscaling normal DVD's, inability to bitstream certain HD codecs (not sure if this is a problem with a Onkyo 606 receiver). I dont really understand the issue with bitstreaming vs decoding by the receiver. Is the fan nosie issue still present in latest PS3 devices?

If not for PS3. then i guess 350 would be a better choice given the prices since both 350 and 550 are BD Live 2.0 compatible and analog sound is not an issue.

I am pretty much convinced with Onkyo 606 against Sony DTR 820 but wasn't very sure about the 7.1 speaker setup. Is the HT540 from Onkyo good enough or should i look for something else?

[dragonmaster]

After doing some more research, I stumbled upon the HTIB - Onkyo HT-S6100.
I read that the bundled receiver is very similar to Onkyo 606. Could someone confirm that?

For 550 USD, looks like a good compromise against Onkyo 606 + Onkyo SKS-HT540. Audio guru's out there, please help me in choosing the right one !

[Midnightsailor]

Originally Posted by dragonmaster

Hello Guys,
I am trying to set up a home theater system and have read lot of threads around the one which will fit my budget. I am looking for approx 800 USD setup. I already have a Sony Bravia 42" LCD TV.

BD Player - 350 vs PS3 vs 550? I was leaning towards PS3 but negatives i read about are fan nosie while upscaling normal DVD's, inability to bitstream certain HD codecs (not sure if this is a problem with a Onkyo 606 receiver). I dont really understand the issue with bitstreaming vs decoding by the receiver. Is the fan nosie issue still present in latest PS3 devices?

If not for PS3. then i guess 350 would be a better choice given the prices since both 350 and 550 are BD Live 2.0 compatible and analog sound is not an issue.

I am pretty much convinced with Onkyo 606 against Sony DTR 820 but wasn't very sure about the 7.1 speaker setup. Is the HT540 from Onkyo good enough or should i look for something else?

Welcome to Blu-ray. I'll start with the PS3. I own a 40gb PS3 and I never notice any fan noise. I don't think the newer models are much louder. It's never an issue for me. The PS3 also does not bitstream audio to your receiver. It will internally decode all of the HD audio, though. The Sony S350 can bitstream all of the audio to your receiver and it can internally decode Dolby TrueHD. It can't decode DTS-HD MA. However, for roughly the same price, I would suggest the Panasonic BD35. =) It can internally decode and bitstream all HD audio. It's a very good player. No matter what people will tell you, you'll pretty much get the same audio with internal decoding vs. bitstreaming. When audio is bitstreamed to your receiver, it takes care of the decoding.

As for audio, look at the $500 setup here:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=71252

[dragonmaster]

Thanks for the reply, Midnightsailor

Now i understand the bitstreaming vs internal decoding stuff. Is the Onkyo 606 capable of accepting bitstream and then decoding all the HD codecs? In that case, i can save 150 bucks by settling for the S350 instead of PS3 (I am not a gamer as well) or 550.

And, regarding the other option of Onkyo HT-S6100. I was looking for a 7.1 setup and the under 500 USD options mentioned in the attached thread id Onkyo 606 + Polk 5.1 setup. How does that compare with the HT-S6100?

This forum and you guys rock

[Midnightsailor]

Originally Posted by dragonmaster

Thanks for the reply, Midnightsailor

Now i understand the bitstreaming vs internal decoding stuff. Is the Onkyo 606 capable of accepting bitstream and then decoding all the HD codecs? In that case, i can save 150 bucks by settling for the S350 instead of PS3 (I am not a gamer as well) or 550.

And, regarding the other option of Onkyo HT-S6100. I was looking for a 7.1 setup and the under 500 USD options mentioned in the attached thread id Onkyo 606 + Polk 5.1 setup. How does that compare with the HT-S6100?

This forum and you guys rock

The Onkyo 606 is a great receiver! It can do most everything you will need it to. Also, if you upgrade to better speakers, you wont necessarily have to upgrade your receiver because it can handle quite the power (the $1500 package listed in the thread with the Polk Monitor series is a good start for that). I've recently read a thread on the same issue. I think it was decided that the Polk 5.1 setup was the better bang for your buck. However, the receiver is 7.1 so you can just add a few more speakers. If I can find the thread, I'll send it your way so you'll have more info on the added speakers.


Edit: and here you go! https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=1340704

Edit #2: The HD audio can only be bitstreamed over HDMI 1.3. Visit www.monoprice.com for all of your cable needs.

[dragonmaster]

Thanks again for the quick reply. I guess I will go with the Onkyo 606 + Polk 5.1 + 2 extra Polk satellite speaker set up as the general feeling seems to be that Polk speakers are better than Onkyo.

Thanks for helping me to narrow down on my choices