New DVD player cannot connect to existing 5.1 setup

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Dodgy1

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#61334 14-May-2010 12:24

Hey guys an girls....I need a little help with my home theatre or lack of it . A short while ago my dvd player turned up its toes and died

not such a big deal I thought....so decided to buy a new one with a hard drive in it....pretty cool now I know how to drive it...my problem is this...The old one came with home theatre speakers for the surround sound etc....my new one doesn't have all the connections in the back to plug in all my speakers. I'm guessing that I need some sort of amp or reciever of some description. Both my TV and DVD have hdmi sockets...Can anyone help???

[EDIT MOD RC:Changed subject to something helpful]

johnr

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#330065 14-May-2010 12:29

First bit of advice do not start threads with Help please this is also covered off on the FUG

John

Jaxson

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#330067 14-May-2010 12:32

Yeah we much prefer to know what the problem is, not just that you need help.

Anyway, all your assumptions are right. Sounds like you had a home theatre in a box type setup, replaced it with a straight DVD player/HDD combo and now have nothing to drive the speakers with. So, yes, you will need an amp or receiver, or buy another home theatre in a box unit.

What model TV do you have.
What model DVD/HDD player do you have.

How much money do you have to spend.
Do you want to reuse your existing speakers.
What do you want from your setup eventually, eg What are your priorities: quality sound, quality picture, easy to use etc etc....

Feed us some info and we can help you.

Dodgy1

43 posts

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#330070 14-May-2010 12:43

johnr: First bit of advice do not start threads with Help please this is also covered off on the FUG

John

My appologies........

Dodgy1

43 posts

Geek

#330113 14-May-2010 13:55

Jaxson: Yeah we much prefer to know what the problem is, not just that you need help.

Anyway, all your assumptions are right. Sounds like you had a home theatre in a box type setup, replaced it with a straight DVD player/HDD combo and now have nothing to drive the speakers with. So, yes, you will need an amp or receiver, or buy another home theatre in a box unit.

What model TV do you have.
What model DVD/HDD player do you have.

How much money do you have to spend.
Do you want to reuse your existing speakers.
What do you want from your setup eventually, eg What are your priorities: quality sound, quality picture, easy to use etc etc....

Feed us some info and we can help you.

Thanks for you reply and sorry about the title of my post etc....I'm a noob and we all make mistakes. The TV is a Panasonic viera flatscreen plasma the DVD is also a Panasonic which does have an optical digital audio out socket to connect to a amp but doesn't elaborate any further.....

fahrenheit

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#330177 14-May-2010 16:06

Your old unit sounds like a 'Home Theater in a Box' which is an all-in-one unit that combines DVD player and amp. If thats the case then yes, you'll have to buy a seperate AV reciever to accompany the DVD recorder.

Dunnersfella

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#330209 14-May-2010 19:14

What type / rating are your current speakers?
This could get a little expensive... more so than the cost of your new DVD recorder.
An entry level amp may cost $700 - $1000, a speaker pack that will surpass your current speakers is easily available for under $1000.
You'd then need to factor in speaker cable (under $70) and an optical cable ($60).
Of course, you can spend less... or more.
But I find a happy middle ground works well LONG term.
I like Denon amps, some people like Yamaha / Pioneer / Marantz / Onkyo etc.

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illicit

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#330232 14-May-2010 21:37

+1 bet that the old unit was a Philips

Or buy a second hand amplifier, trademe etc.. actually that reminds me I have a disused Onkyo 5.1 Amplifier sitting in the garage, where in the country are you?

Dodgy1

43 posts

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#330234 14-May-2010 21:41

illicit: +1 bet that the old unit was a Philips

Or buy a second hand amplifier, trademe etc.. actually that reminds me I have a disused Onkyo 5.1 Amplifier sitting in the garage, where in the country are you?

Bang on the money me ole china....Phillips....and I'm in Te Awamutu

richms

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#330395 15-May-2010 15:04

You will also have to get new speakers since the junk ones that came with the system in a box will have correction for them done in the unit that has failed and will sound really really bad with an unequalized full range signal fed to them.

Richard rich.ms

slinkytrips

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#330719 16-May-2010 19:22

Just be prepared that the DVD player won't record TV when you are watching a movie.

Dunnersfella

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#330720 16-May-2010 19:29

Unless it's a dual tuner DVD recorder...

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Dodgy1

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#330742 16-May-2010 21:46

slinkytrips: Just be prepared that the DVD player won't record TV when you are watching a movie.

Actualy acording to the destruction book I can record to the hard drive whilst watching a movie I have yet to try It though

jtbthatsme

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#330769 17-May-2010 00:29

Personally without knowing what exactly you have and what exactly you want i would suggest something that's not going to cost you a fortune yet still produce good sound. I would recommend maybe buying something like a logitech 5.1 surround sound speaker system.

They cost anywhere from early $100s to $600+ and I know for a fact that if you go for even the mid range option (around $350) your going to get something pretty decent sounding with a ton of possible things you can connect to it. My friend has one of the mid range systems and he connects his 46" lcd, his xbox 360 and his HTPC to it all producing great sound.

There is even a possibility to get wireless rear speakers (more pricey obviously) or if you want the best sound they have a model at the top end that has digital thx certification (you know the one they use at the movie theatres) so that's my 2 cents worth anyway good luck.