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Setting Up Surround Sound Query (1 Viewer)

electrochyld

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Chris
Hey guys.. bit of a surround sound newbie here, just looking for some advice on my setup at home!

I am currently running a Samsung 37" HDTV with 3 HDMI ports and a digital audio out ( optical ) port.
My 5.1 speakers are connected into my Samsung HT-THX22 DVD Home Cinema System, which has an HDMI output, component output and an AUX audio input.

On top of this I have a Virgin Media V+HD Box with SPDIF port and HDMI ports, as well as my XBox which has an HDMI port and a component port.

What I am looking to do if possible is to have all three ( DVD, V+HD Box and Xbox ) through my 5.1 system and if so, what would be the best setup to have?

Would I need an AV receiver to be able to run all 3 or would it be possible to connect the V+HD Box to my Samsung TV via optical cable and run the other 2 through HDMI?

Any advice at all would be appreciated guys, as stated above I am quite a newbie to this home theater setup so go easy on me :P


Cheers!
-Chris
 

Jason Charlton

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Hi Chris - welcome to the forum!

What you've discovered is the biggest drawback to many "all-in-one" systems - a lack of expandability. In your case, since the DVD is integrated into the unit, you have a complete lack of video inputs to go along with only 1 audio input.

What most people try and do to work around this is to run all their devices into the TV, then run a digital audio cable from the TV to the surround sound system, however this doesn't really work most of the time. TVs don't preserve the digital surround sound from external sources before the audio is output, so at best you get simulated Dolby Pro Logic surround sound derived from the stereo output of the TV, or at worst, your TV won't pass any external sourced audio at all.

If your TV does pass stereo out from your external sources, and you have absolutely ZERO budget to work with, this is about the only option available to you. Dolby Pro Logic will be better than the TVs speakers, but it won't be digital 5.1.

Alternatively, keeping the same equipment, you may be able to use a digital audio switch (something like this - it appears to handle both optical and coaxial cables with included adapters). It's a manual switch, so you'd have to get up to change it, but it would enable you to get digital audio from all three devices into the surround sound system.

Ideally, you would use a separate A/V receiver that handles all your video and audio needs - a single switching point for all your sources (and then some - many of today's HDMI receivers have 4 inputs or more). The potential drawback however, is being able to re-use the speakers that came with your Samsung.

I couldn't find any information for your specific model system, but did take a look at the specs for the HT-TX72. According to the manual, the speakers have an impedence of 3 ohms - which is very low.

In short - if the speakers in your system have an impedance of 3 ohms, you won't be able to use them with an off-the-shelf receiver, and you could be facing the prospect of starting from scratch.

Sorry the news isn't any better - but if the possibility of getting some new gear is doable, let us know what kind of budget you have in mind and we can see about making some concrete recommendations.
 

electrochyld

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May 7, 2010
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Chris
Hey, thanks very much for the reply. At the moment I have next to no budget to work with, but I don't think it would be an option to wire all 3 devices into the TV via HDMI then run a digital audio cable from the TV to the DVD system as there is no optical audio port on the back of the DVD player, just the standard auxilliary audio input.


I found some spec about my Samsung DVD Cinema system.. don't know if this will help you or not?


Technical Details for Samsung HT THX22


Product Description

Samsung HT THX22 - home theatre system - 5.1 channel


Product Type

Home theatre system

Components

DVD player / AV receiver, speaker system


Sound Output Mode

Surround Sound


Built-in Decoders

Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Digital, DTS decoder


Surround System Class

5.1 channel

Radio System

Radio tuner - FM - 30 preset stations


DVD

DVD player

Digital Player (Recorder)

WMA, MP3

Speaker(s)

2 x right/left channel speaker - external
1 x centre channel speaker - external
1 x subwoofer - external
2 x right/left rear channel speaker - external

Remote Control

Universal remote control - infrared



Thanks again.

-Chris
 

Brian McHale

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I was able to find a copy of the manual online for the HT-THX22. The only input it has is the analog stereo Aux input. The only way you can listen to multiple external sources with the gear you have now would be to run everything into the TV, then run an analog output from the TV to the HT-THX22 (assuming the TV has an analog out). You won't get surround this way (unless via ProLogic II), but you'll get better sound than you can get from the TV speakers.


If the TV doesn't have an analog output (which I would consider unlikely, but you didn't mention it), you would need to get an audio selector/switch that would allow you to switch between multiple inputs.


You're never going to be able to get discrete 5.1 surround with the HT-THX22 with any external devices. To do that, you're going to need to upgrade to a new receiver.
 

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