[Goose4540]

Sorry if this is a double post, tried to post and it didnt seem to work

I'm new to the hometheatre world
me and a couple buddies just bought a 50" vizio plasma last night
we also are getting HD Cable with DVR
and purchasing a PS3

I am going to purchase a hometheare in a box system i think, just to give a little extra sound while not spending too much

the unit i'm currently looking at is the Sony Bravia System DAV-HDX279W

It has audio inputs for, 1 analog audio input, 1 optical audio input, 1 coaxial audio digital input

Video
1 composite video input, 1 component video input

Also has a HDMI output and HDMI upscaling

The TV has 3 hdmi inputs, where i would assume we would hook up the ps3, receiver and cable box all with hdmi cables

i would like to get 5.1 surround from the PS3 and cable box (normal and HD cable), is that possible with this system?

Thanks in advance

[Jeff Gatie]

You can get surround sound from your cable box and PS3 with that system, but you will be limited to plain Dolby Digital and DTS. That is no problem for cable because HD is broadcast in Dolby, but it does prevent you from getting the new HD audio formats available on Blu-Ray disks via the PS3.

These new formats (Dolby TrueHD and DD+, DTS-HD/MA) have more fidelity than plain DD/DTS and have the capability to sound better than the soundtrack in the theater, but they require either 5.1 analog outs (the PS3 and HTiB lack these) or a receiver with HDMI 1.1 for HDMI audio (the HTiB lacks this). Now that is not to say plain DD/DTS is not great sounding, regular DVD's have used it for years as well as being the default for theaters and you'll be quite pleased with them, but the HD codecs are newer and in many cases much better.

[Lew Crippen]

But not to worry, as DD 5.1 & DTS will provide better sound than any HTIB can handle.

That is, what the PS3 can decode is better than the sound system you are considering. There will be plenty of time to upgrade your sound system later, if you choose. Then you can think about getting a player that can decode the more exotic sound tracks.

[Goose4540]

well are there other options that will benefit from having the PS3, theatre set ups with better inputs and outputs.

keep in mind this sony unit is $376 shipped, so something in that price range would be beneficial and this will be goin in a townhome where the living area is probably 18ft long and 13 ft deep so we probably dont need some crazy loud system.

or would you say for the money and what we are looking for this is a good setup. the system will mainly be used for dvds, prob more reg dvds than blue ray, video games (guitar hero, rockband, etc), cable tv, and then also music (it has an ipod dock)

i would think going from no surround sound to this would be a vast improvement that we would be happy with, what do you all think?

thanks for the replies btw

[Goose4540]

so are there any other better options? obviously there are better but keep in mind 4 things

1. that sony system is $376 shipped, so obviously we are on a budget
2. we live in a townhome where the tv room is prob from tv to back wall is 13ft and the room is 18ft wide, so its a smaller room
3. we will mainly be playin dvds (more regular dvds than blue ray), video games (rockband, guitar hero etc) and HD cable tv
4. am new to audio so definitely a beginner in terms of home theatre

also what do u think about the wireless rear speaker set up, for us it works out so we dont have to have wires all over the place and we arent goin to spend the money to run the speakers through the walls

thanks guys

[Al.Anderson]

The Sony is not junk, so yes, it's better than nothing.

But it's a very, very basic system. And worse, not one you can really build on. So when the time comes you'll wind up scraping it and starting over.

My prediction is you'll like it for about a month, or until you are over a friends house that has a decent system, whichever comes first.

A good starter HTIB would run you maybe $800. My advice would be to hold off on anything until you can save that up. (I ran my TV without a receiver for about a year and have no regrets.)

If you wind up shopping around go for a powered sub and more video connections (it's common to route all the components through the receiver and only one output to the TV).

If you want to compare, Onkyo makes good lower cost starter systems.