Setup Advice Needed (1 Viewer)

[Scott.Lacy]

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for all of these questions, but since it's a new DVD player that is making me ask them, this is where I'll start the thread.

With that said, here is my current setup:
TV: Panasonic 53wx52 - No DVI :frowning:
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V1200
DVD Player: Panasonic RP-62

I've got a DirecTivo, OTA-HD Receiver and a couple other toys and everything is switched through the Yamaha for Audio and Video.

I have not been very happy with my RP-62, so last night I decided to replace it with the new Sony Mega-Changer (CX985V, not the 777ES), and since I've never used a changer before I've got a few questions.

1: While reading the manual, I noticed a little blurb about SACD's not being able to be output via the Digital out of the Sony, and this has me confused. Does this mean that I have to hook my speakers up directly to my DVD Player for SACDs? If so, how would I go about doing this so that I could listen to SACDs through the Sony yet still output everything else through my receiver without manually changing the speaker connections every time? I've never actually heard an SACD but thought it would be cool to try out after everything I've heard about them, but I'm not willing to change my speaker connections every time I want to listen to one.

2: This question is for anyone who actually has experience with a mega-changer. I spent a few hours last night loading my DVD's. I started at slot 400 and worked backwards through slots and the alphabet, leaving slots open for movies I know I'll be getting soon (such as Star Wars OT and the Alias S3 Box Set), and a few slots for un-planned purchases. So now all of my DVDs are loaded in alphabetical order starting at slot 130 or so, and the Special features are also loaded right behind the corresponding movies for total push-button access. The problem is, when I eventually run out of spacer slots, it looks like I will be moving a lot of movies around to keep them in alphabetical order. Is there a better way to manage the DVD's? Is it even important that they are in alphabetical order, or am I just being anal? What are your recommendations to keep disc loading and organization to a minimal level of hassle? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

3: Last Question. I've read a lot about 3rd party control programs; mainly Mainlobby and DVDlobby. I know this unit doesn't have the RS232 port that the ES model does, but I found a post somewhere about the IR port working just as well. I would like to use the DVDlobby interface, but being as inexperienced as I am with this I'm not sure exactly how it works. I've got a laptop that I could configure this with, but would I need the laptop every time I want to watch a movie, or would I only need the laptop long enough to transfer the data to the DVD Player and then use the interface from the DVD Player/TV just like the current (albeit horrible) Sony Interface? Does this even make sense? Basically, I guess my question is: Do I need to use my laptop (with the DVDlobby software) as a remote to control the DVD Player, or can I download the software directly to the Player and control it with my current setup/remote?

As always, thanks in advance for any advice.

Scott Lacy

 

[EricRWem]

I would suspect the latter. I don't think could ever sell something like this if people were forced to use laptops to control everything. Someone with more direct experience on this should be able to help you further.

Hope I gave you a decent start!

 

[Scott.Lacy]

Eric, you're my new best friend! 2 outta 3 questions answered is a great start, and I agree with you on the 3rd, I just don't want to spend $108 to find out that it won't do what I want it to do.

Thanks!

 

[EricRWem]

Enjoy! You're almost at the finish line!

 

[Scott.Lacy]

Oh yeah, and one other thing. I'm sure I'm doing this right, but I just want to confirm it. I loaded all of my DVDs in the player, and then hit 'Load' and went to bed. When I got up in the morning, out of almost 300 DVDs, the player had only recognized about 10 of them, meaning that I am now manually going into each one, setting the custom picture and naming each DVD. I know it looked at every slot, because all of the slots with something in them are correctly labeled as 'DVD'. Is this a new feature that just doesn't work well, or is there a something I'm missing?

 

[Gary Padgett]

I am also considering adding SACD to my HT system. Most likely the Sony 5 DVD changer. My question is simple, but I haven't seen it specifically addressed anywhere on here...how high quality does the interconnect need to be going from Analog OUT on the DVD player to analog IN on the receiver. I know Monster wants to sell me the six cables for a total of $150 (nicely labelled for each). Of course, the interconnect costs almost as much as the SACD player. Do I need that high quality of interconnect for this setup? If not, what do you guys recommend?

 

[Scott.Lacy]

Gary,

I know most people on this forum don't consider Monster cables to be the best cables anymore, but I've spent a small fortune on Monster cables and have everything connected with either their 'Better' or 'Best' cables. Just to test the 5.1 output from my DVD player yesterday I hooked up some of the generic RCA cables that I had laying around, and I will tell you that I didn't notice any difference in 5.1 output. It could be because my DVD player has better Dac's than my stereo, but I was happy with the output. Ultimately, I'll probably get some better cables, but right now the ones I have are doing the job pretty nicely.

Scott Lacy

 

[Mike__P]

Don't mean to derail the thread but.....

Nine years ago, much of the high end audio/HT discussion was about whether expensive cabling was useful/important/made-any-difference, etc.

Returning to the HT scene now, I find that much has changed, but not that. We can "send a man to the moon," but we apparently still haven't pinned that down. :frowning:

Nine years ago I bought into the theory, and spent the better part of $1000 on wire. Nine years later, I still don't know whether or not to be sheepish about that.

-- Mike

 

[EricRWem]

I said it somewhere else: My own personal creed for myself is to never spend more than...$10-$15 a meter on cables. There's just way too much marketing, hype, and myths out there. There comes a point where you pretty much hit a glass ceiling for any practical purposes on cable quality.

People's glass ceiling on this issue obviously will be very subjective. I just told you mine.

Just my $0.02.