Home Theatre systems - Page 7

graphicgoose · 13-02-2015, 03:06 AM

Thanks mate! Super happy with it so far. Only had a brief chance to watch one show as I gotta get up early tomorrow, so bed time for me...but **** it looks good! Really rounds the room out nicely too. The tv and cabinet are pretty well the perfect size for the room I reckon. Just gotta decide if I'm happy having the centre speaker crammed in the shelf like that or if I should put in on the top panel under the tv.

Bit of a step up...lol

rednose · 13-02-2015, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graphicgoose

The tv and cabinet are pretty well the perfect size for the room I reckon. Just gotta decide if I'm happy having the centre speaker crammed in the shelf like that or if I should put in on the top panel under the tv.

Bit of a step up...lol
image

Looks good man.

I'd lower the tv to close the gap and leave the centre where it is.

Good to see another member rocking the wdtv, I have one per tv at my place...lol

blueoval · 13-02-2015, 10:39 AM

Looks the good graphic. I bet you dont know yourself with such a huge screen now.

graphicgoose · 13-02-2015, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednose

Looks good man.

I'd lower the tv to close the gap and leave the centre where it is.

Good to see another member rocking the wdtv, I have one per tv at my place...lol

Unfortunately that's as low as the tv can go with that stand, otherwise I would have put it lower. Didn't have a huge selection of cabinets/stands that suited my size constraints, and the other option I saw, on closer inspection, looked like a much cheaper and not as well put together unit...despite being the same price. This cabinet is solid. Was actually really easy to put together too, everything lined up nicely when screwing it together. If it was my own place I'd wall mount it, but it's a rental so don't have that option. Could always take off the tv mount and sit it on the top shelf using the tv stands, but this looks cleaner.

Oh and yeah how good is the wdtv?! I use it pretty much for everything!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueoval

Looks the good graphic. I bet you dont know yourself with such a huge screen now.

Haha thanks mate, it's pretty awesome! My mates words once we got it all together and in place were "that's epic dude!" lol!

**Grunter** · 13-02-2015, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graphicgoose

New t.v. and cabinet added to the theatre today

Nice!

GG and rednose, I notice you've both got the WD Live. Do either of you have issues with the menus slowing up sometimes, or when bringing up movies, etc. from a NAS/storage, that also can take a long time, or can end up freezing? Doesn't happen all the time, but seems to get worse the longer they have been on (over a couple of days). I've a few of these and they all do it. That aside same as rednose, one on each TV, they are great and easy to use units!

rednose · 13-02-2015, 12:39 PM

I had similar issues when using the devices wirelessly.

I can honestly say that since running cat5e cable throughout the house I haven't had an issue.

For the money you can't beat em, simple and work well, even if you have to reboot them every now and again.

Best thing about them is the size, below is the TV on my Bedroom wall (Sony 42")

WDTV mounted behind the screen protruding just enough for the remote to work

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 12:23 PM

Well I bit the bullet and got myself an entry level "system", ended up with a Pioneer VSX324 with some Pioneer speakers that came with the AVR.

Ive hooked up my PS3 and PC, easy as pie, but Im struggling with my audio out of the TV (http://www.mytoshiba.com.au/products...specifications). I was hoping to get that through the AVR aswell. Ive checked the specs on my TV and Im sure it can do it but there must be a setting on the TV to tell it to do the audio through HDMI?

I have the HDMI plug in the HDMI1 port (ARC)..which I think has something to do with audio record control?

Ill have to have a play with it but otherwise Im happy...so much better than the TV speakers!

blueoval · 23-02-2015, 12:40 PM

HDMI does both audio and sound in the 1 plug. You should be able to plug the HDMI cable in the back of the amplifier and into one of the rear HDMI ports on the TV and get full surround I would have thought.

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 12:43 PM

bah double post

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 12:46 PM

Yeah that works for the PS3 and PC but not the TV it seems...unless Ive got another bung HDMI cable....Ill have to see if the AVR recognizes the HDMI connection from the TV (it comes up with a little red light when it find it on the AVR screen).

Ill have to check the model# of my TV when home, Im sure it said on the box it was 200Hz but that spec on their website says Native Refresh Rate = 100hz..unless the 200hz was some marketing gibberish...hmm

blueoval · 23-02-2015, 12:48 PM

Not to make it sound like your stupid (I know you're not), but did you scroll thru your AV list to check to see if anything came thru there?

Otherwise swap the cable over with the one you know works and see if it is the cable.

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 12:59 PM

Yeah went through all the settings for sound and audio...couldnt find anything obvious. I reckon ill try and swap the cables...but to have two fail from just being pulled out of the TV and into the AVR is odd. Thanks.

jimt3te50 · 23-02-2015, 01:28 PM

ARC is audio return channel, meaning it sends the audio back down the hdmi cable into an avr or similar. I would think there'd be a function or hdmi port in the pioneer receiver that accepts an ARC signal and that'd be the input you'd want to use? I am sure you also need to activate ARC to ON in most settings.

ARC is a great idea that is sadly not very well implemented. Congrats on the purchase!

rednose · 23-02-2015, 01:46 PM

As Jim said.

Otherwise...

Just use the optical out of your TV and into your AVR

rednose · 23-02-2015, 01:49 PM

Just had a look at the manual.

http://assistly-production.s3.amazon...lication%2Fpdf

Page 6 shows how to enable / disable ARC

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 02:00 PM

Yeah at the moment my ARC HDMI input (TV end) goes into the only Output location on my AVR. Ill have to find the manual, but it could be as simply as a dodgy cable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednose

Just had a look at the manual.

http://assistly-production.s3.amazon...lication%2Fpdf

Page 6 shows how to enable / disable ARC

Is there another link? Thank you

rednose · 23-02-2015, 02:02 PM

I would just use an optical cable.

rednose · 23-02-2015, 02:09 PM

Try this one, and click on the attachment.

https://pioneer-au.desk.com/customer...1316515-vsx324

**Polyal** · 23-02-2015, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednose

Try this one, and click on the attachment.

https://pioneer-au.desk.com/customer...1316515-vsx324

Awesome thanks...yeap page 15. I was wondering how I adjust the settings on the AVR but it looks like I need to plug in the another cable for the OSD? (I think OSD = setup for AVR?)

Through the OSD I think I can set the ARC (page 33)..but I have not yet worked out how to see the OSD screen...I think I need the above cable for that. Is it just a yellow RCA cable?

rednose · 23-02-2015, 03:02 PM

You should have the HDMI out on the AVR connected to the HDMI input on your TV screen.

If you do, then you just need to switch TV to the correct HDMI input and you should see the AVR settings come up when you select settings on the AVR.

dawsman · 23-02-2015, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Well I bit the bullet and got myself an entry level "system", ended up with a Pioneer VSX324 with some Pioneer speakers that came with the AVR.

Ive hooked up my PS3 and PC, easy as pie, but Im struggling with my audio out of the TV (http://www.mytoshiba.com.au/products...specifications). I was hoping to get that through the AVR aswell. Ive checked the specs on my TV and Im sure it can do it but there must be a setting on the TV to tell it to do the audio through HDMI?

I have the HDMI plug in the HDMI1 port (ARC)..which I think has something to do with audio record control?

Ill have to have a play with it but otherwise Im happy...so much better than the TV speakers!

ARC for the TV sound should be working. Is the HDMI cable old? I believe ARC needs the latest revision "high speed" HDMI cables. Otherwise, an optical audio connection would also fix your issue, as others have suggested.

I use ARC on my setup because the receiver I have only has one HDMI (and one optical) input. Therefore ARC sends the audio from all my devices connected to the TV via HDMI back to the receiver. You don't have that problem with your receiver as it has multiple HDMI inputs over which send audio straight to the receiver and not passed through via the TV.

The problem with ARC is that due to licensing restrictions, it doesn't send Dolby 5.1 sound to the receiver from the '3rd Party' devices attached to the TV's HDMI ports. It only sends 5.1 directly from TV broadcasts and apps (e.g. media streaming). For the other attached devices (Foxtel and Humax PVR) it sends 2.1 therefore I'm stuck with Dolby Pro-Logic from the attached devices. Except for Foxtel which I've attached to the optical input which I can switch to when watching Foxtel with 5.1 sound.

I had a manual optical switch box which allowed me to connect all my devices to the optical input and switch between them for proper 5.1 sound, but it was a bit messy cable-wise so I got rid of it.

For those interested, here is my setup:

Panasonic VT 65" TV, Panasonic BTT-785 Blu-Ray surround sound system (that will make some cringe but I don't really have room for a "proper" system), Foxtel IQ Platinum, Humax 7500T 1TB PVR with IceTV (awesome!), Apple Airport Extreme as a wireless extender to which the TV, Foxtel, Humax and Surround Sound system is connected via ethernet, and the 5th "box" is my old Panasonic PVR which I never use but it has a digital clock on it

. I also have an old iMac with a busted screen that works through the TV.

I stream movies, TV shows etc. using either the TV or Humax built in streaming apps via a Synology DS212J NAS with 2x 3TB hard disks in RAID. I also use this for general file storage and PC backups. It's connected to another (newer) Airport Extreme with 802.11ac wifi although the old Airport Extreme is limited to 802.11n wifi. Works a treat!

**Polyal** · 04-03-2015, 02:25 PM

Thanks for the tips guys.

I reckon its a dodgey/not new enough HDMI cable from the TV not getting the signal. On the PS3 and the laptop the AVR Hdmi light is active and not with the TV...

Quick question though, if I was to have a Bluray backed up into a MP4/MKV etc file, Im assuming my PC is not smart enough to do some magic and send the audio through surround sound?

Does this mean I will have to dust off my Blurays and start heading back to the sanity store?

dawsman · 06-03-2015, 05:10 PM

Assuming your PC is connected via HDMI and the MP4/MKV file is encoded with 5.1 surround, then your receiver should be able to decode it.

However, why not play your backed up file through the PS3 so you can watch it on the big screen? I don't think PS3 plays .mkv files but it does play .mp4 files plus the other file types listed below. You could convert any .mkv files you have to another compatible format using free software. I use handbrake https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

Types of files that can be played on PS3:

The following types of files can be played under (Video).

Memory Stick Video Format
- MPEG-4 SP (AAC LC)
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
- MPEG-2 TS(H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
MP4 file format
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
MPEG-1 (MPEG Audio Layer 2)
MPEG-2 PS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AAC LC, AC3(Dolby Digital), LPCM)
MPEG-2 TS(MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AC3(Dolby Digital), AAC LC)
MPEG-2 TS(H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
AVI
- Motion JPEG (Linear PCM)
- Motion JPEG (μ-Law)
AVCHD (.m2ts / .mts)
DivX
WMV
- VC-1(WMA Standard V2)

duaned · 06-03-2015, 05:42 PM

Just remember the ARC port on your Toshiba is "EXT3". Your HDMI cable should be marked "high speed with Ethernet" or similar. And you must go into the receiver's menu and enable "ARC".

**Polyal** · 08-03-2015, 09:50 PM

Mate you sure it's ext3? It says arc next to hdmi 1 but I bought a new cable and still no love.

Dawsman my pic is into my receiver so it's output for visual is the tvand the audio is through the avr for audio. We'll both through the avr so the picture is already big?

duaned · 08-03-2015, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Mate you sure it's ext3? It says arc next to hdmi 1 but I bought a new cable and still no love.

Yes that is HDMI1.(Sorry I missed your post above). Have you activated the Regza-link on the TV and HDMI control on the receiver?

jimt3te50 · 09-04-2015, 01:37 AM

I forget what "stage" I'm up to exactly but collected some gear on order today- the highlight being one of the very first Denon AVRX7200W receivers in the land

love this stuff!

Also my very first power conditioner which is sure to change the world of sound as I know it!

What's not pictured her is what I hopelessly ordered while I was picking up this gear- despite the fact they sold my second Krix Volcanix prior to me collecting it! Lol my bro in law manages the store so he knew I hadn't finished (actually, started) the cabinetry- bastard! Lol

Ordered an OPPO 105D Blu Ray Terrence Trent Darbee edition (haha), a Rega RP6 turntable and their flagship cartridge, a Vincent pre amp along with a whole bag full of Chord interconnects... I tell ya, I could not be more excited about getting this gear together!!

More pics sure to follow!!

blueoval · 09-04-2015, 10:18 AM

I want to be at your house once this is all installed Jim. lol

**Grunter** · 09-04-2015, 10:52 AM

I want a review from Spiderman once it's installed! ;)

You've got some great gear there!

jimt3te50 · 10-04-2015, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grunter

I want a review from Spiderman once it's installed! ;)

You've got some great gear there!

Thanks mate, really can't wait to get it all hooked up properly. I am hopeful I can pull off the near impossible "theatre and 2 channel" listening environment. I Really love my music but just can't afford to run another near-audiophile-grade system and a dedicated room. I'd feel like a knob sitting in there by myself anyway! Lol

Because the screens acoustically transparent, it's not ideal having those beautiful Neuphonix behind it for HD stereo sources like pure audio bluray, 180g vinyl on a Rega Rp6 with Exact cartridge, running through a Vincent tube pre amp connected by high quality XLR interconnects and run directly into the monoblocks run bi-amped and feed the big Krix's through Rocket 44's solid core cables. I do all that then stick the speakers behind the screen. BUT. I worked a way around it! The main speakers will pull out of the cabinetry on runners when I want to really chill out and just listen to every nuance of some of the finest music ever recorded, in glorious old school stereo. Looking forward to that.

But, movies in full CinemaScope and 7.2.4 Atmos, I can't wait. Spidey's a bit "meh" with his reviews man, hard bastard to please. So long as he's got a seat, don't think he's too bothered! Lol