DraKhen

Ok, I have a small room, and I want a simple Home Theater setup. So far, I am looking at the Pioneer HTD-520DV and the Kenwood HTB-705DV.

Does anyone have either of these systems? What do you think of them? They both have 5 disc DVD players integrated into them, and the main difference I can see is the Pioneer is rated at 500 watts and the Kenwood is rated at 600 watts, which explains the $100 price difference [Pioneer = $400, Kenwood = $500]

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Htd

wrong forum dude... moving to--->DVD & Home Theater Hardware


whoops...

i am not a moderator

JimRochester

This is probably more appropriate in the hardware section. HTIB can be a real good choice for a small room. That being said you shouldn't notice that much difference in the power output in a small space.

DraKhen

Oops, sorry for the wrong forum.

After inspecting the two packages side by side, methinks I will go with the Kenwood. 100 more watts, more inputs/outputs, and it's more of a component system... the DVD player and Receiver are two separate pieces connected by a digital RCA-style [orange colored ends, never seen that one before???]

Anybody's thoughts on this setup?

I do know that optical audio cables would make a difference in the sound output, but I can live with the RCA-Style for a while untill I get the money for the optical cable. I think better speaker wire would be a better first upgrade, once I get the system.

Mourn

Definitley go for the one with the seperate receiver/dvd player, having stuff combined is never good.

DraKhen

That and the obscene amount of inputs and outputs on the Kenwood are amazing! I will have to find room for it though, since it's two separate components instead of one slim component... gotta move the PS2 or something!

tommyp007

The orange colored plus is for a digital coax cable. That links the 2 units for 5.1 sound. fyi....

DraKhen

Ok, thanks, that makes sense, since that's what the guy at Best Buy told me...

But I decided the afficianados at DVDTalk would be better informed, given that he told me that if I hooked the Progressive Scan DVD player in the Kenwood package up to my regular TV [which only has coax input, ouch], that I wouldn't get a picture, or I would get a fuzzy picture. It was then that I decided that he was full of beans and I wasn't going to believe a word he said!

Later on, another BB "representative" told me that the 1st guy was in fact incorrect and said he would talk to him.

Now I am correct in assuming that my regular TV [with Coax input only] will work with a progressive scan DVD player, it just won't look as good as it would on an HDTV, right?

Mourn

I was under the impression that unless you had an HDTV you wouldn't notice any difference using a progressive scan player or a normal one. I'm not sure however.

DraKhen

That's what *I* was assuming, so I was going to just get the Kenwood unit and if it didn't work, return it :c)

I have a 10% BB "Preferred Customer" coupon I got in the mail the other day, which doesn't go in effect until Friday, so I am hoping they still have on Friday at lunch time [which I'm pretty sure they will] which I can purchase and leave in my car until I get home from work :c)

Friday night should be fun :c)

Icculus

Well, the guy at Best Buy was actually right... You need a high definition TV (or at least extended definition but there's not many of those around) to view a progressive signal. If you try to play a progressive signal through your TV (actually, you can't send a progressive signal to your TV without component intputs) it won't work. If you switch the DVD player into interlaced mode you'll be able to watch it but there won't be any benefit from having a progressive scan dvd player.

DraKhen

How would one go about switching from "Progressive Scan" to "Interlaced" mode? Is it usually a switch on the back of the player, or is it an on-screen thing? AND, if it's on-screen, then how do I view it without an HDTV to begin with so I can switch?

Thanks!

Htd

there is no proof that says that optical will give you better sound quality than a digital coax connection

they are both passing a digital signal

anyhow, i think going with components is always a better option

and don't buy receivers based on the "wattage" ratings ...get a good low cost high current unit like an Onkyo sr600 or the sr500(if your on a stricter budget)

DraKhen

Ok, well right now it isn't about wattage, its about feature set, and some brand recognition. I like Pioneer for car audio [I have the DEH-P940MP Premier head unit], but for home audio I have had good results with Kenwood [Kenwood being what my parents have bought, as well as some friends].

I DEFINITELY agree with you guys on the separate components = better. It's a mantra I've subscribed to for years :c) [no TV/VCR combo for me!].

As for switching modes between "Progressive Scan" and "Interlaced", how would I do this?

Icculus

The switch depends on the player. My DVD player has a button on the front turn turn progressive mode on and off - others have a switch on the back.

betterdan1

If your tv has a coax input only then it will look like crap and you will need some kind of adapter. Do you mean a composite input?

DraKhen

Yeah, my TV only has Coax input, no Composite or Component... but I will get a new TV next year which has all the nice inputs on it :c)

renaldow

Gotta disagree with that one, there's lots of proof. Do you think there's 2 types of digital cables just for kicks and giggles?

Digital Coax is indeed digital, but it's digital over wire which means it's RF and is as lossy as any other RF medium. The cable is prone to interference like any other RF source. Anyone who has had to troubleshoot a network connection for it to end up being a badly laid wire knows exactly what I'm talking about. Your receiver will have a chip on it that does error correction on all signals coming through the digital coax connection because it is such a lossy source. Some receivers do better error correction than others. The sound can be effected immensely by this.

Digital Optical does not have that problem. It cannot be interferred with unless the cable itself is broken, which generally results in no signal at all. The 1's and 0's it sends are pristine, and you'll get the unfiltered pure sound from the disc.

Think of it this way, audio from a digital coax cable is like dirty water that has been filtered to make it drinkable, while digital optical is like water from a clean mountain spring.

Depending on your equipment and amount of RF interference around it you may not be able to tell much of a difference, so like any cable argument, YMMV.

I can't believe I'm replying to a banned member...

DraKhen

renaldow, I thank you for the informative response, even if htd is banned. I'm new to this whole "home theater" thing and appreciate you guys helping me out!

BTW: I got the Kenwood HTB-705DV last night, and set it up. SOUNDS AWESOME [at least compared to my mom's setup, and to my TV [lol @ myself].

Oh, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City sounds awesome as well... what an improvement to all things audio!

Now that that is said, the subwoofer that came with it isn't a "powered subwoofer" [which I take to mean a powered sub has its own amp built into the box its in]. Can I hook up a powered subwoofer to my Kenwood receiver/amp, or do I have to buy some special hookup like an RCA conversion kit for a car to lower the voltage back down to a few volts before hooking up to a powered sub?

Icculus

Does the receiver have a "sub out" on the back? If it does you can use that for a powered sub, just connect an rca cable between the two and you should be all set.

DraKhen

You know, I can't remember, but I didn't think that it did. Is there another [good] way to hook up a powered subwoofer to my system?

nchhabra

ok i am looking at the same 2 htib and i am also looking at the onkyo ht-s560. any comment on which of the three is better. i want to keep the cost around 600 including any other accessories i would need (speaker mounts, cables, etc). also i use my ps2 as my dvd player. would this have any effect on which system is better? would it worth be buying the s-video cable for the ps2 for better dvd viewing? the main thing i want is quality sound, as long as my ps2 will suffice as the dvd player.

DraKhen

I like the Kenwood that I bought, but it does NOT have a powered sub. Overall sound quality is pretty good for my small room. I would recommend it. It has two other issues that don't really put me off too much, which are the facts that the DVD player doesn't have a power or open/close button on the remote.