briank

Patman or anyone else familiar with this please help. I just got the Sony 333ES and the Toshiba 5109. It's a huge upgrade for me coming from the toshiba 6109. If you can help talk me through the initial hook ups I'd be thankful. Basically I would like some thought on the best way to hook everything up where I get Digital 5.1 and DTS, etc. Which wires and where to put them? Optical, Coaixl, etc? And what do you use for playing dvds? Do you just use the auto decode mode or cinema or what? Any thoughts on this model would be helpful. Thanks.

Patman

BrianK,

Depending on the digital audio output options on the Toshiba 5109, use the least expensive hook-up (usually coaxial RCA is cheapest - a 75 ohm shielded video cable will do), or if you already have a TOSLink (fiber optic cable with a square connector on each end) then use that cable and hook it up to the DVD's digital audio output, and hook the other side to the Sony's DVD digital audio input.

Then pick AFD for the soundfield to start. It'll provide you with the standard Dolby Digital or dts 5.1 sound that you crave. Be sure to turn on the digital audio input mode to either "auto input" or either "digital (coax) " or "digital (optical)" for whatever type of connection you are using. There's a button on the front panel for this.

Hopefully you'll have 5 speakers (left front, center, right front, left rear, right rear) and a powered subwoofer. Hook up the speaker cables to the proper speakers, and hook up the LFE coax output to the powered subwoofer's coax input.

Then play a DVD, make sure the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is selected from the DVD menu system (usually in the audio menu). If this is done correctly, and the AFD is on, and the digital audio input is set up correctly, you should see the blue light of DD/dts ecstasy come on and the speakers should emanate sound from each one of them.

If you don't like AFD, you can try the other soundfields, but I rarely use them unless it's for 2-channel sources on TV. I stick with AFD with my DVDs and LDs.

Hope that answers your questions. Come back if you need clarification.


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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs

briank

Patman,
Thanks for your help. That was kind of my hunch but wanted a second opinion. Thanks. So as you say the blue light will appear for a 5.1 disc with AFD. I assume it will do the same for a DTS disc?
Yes I have the five speakers plus a powered sub. Nothing fancy but I like it. Those will be the next upgrade, but probably not untill atleast Christmas because just in the last month I bought this receiver, the 5109, and the tw40x81!!!
Now should I be putting the S-video or the yellow video cable from the dvd player into the receiver if I'm already running component video cables from the dvd player to the tv?

Patman

quote:<HR>Originally posted by briank:
Patman,
Thanks for your help. That was kind of my hunch but wanted a second opinion. Thanks. So as you say the blue light will appear for a 5.1 disc with AFD. I assume it will do the same for a DTS disc?
Yes I have the five speakers plus a powered sub. Nothing fancy but I like it. Those will be the next upgrade, but probably not untill atleast Christmas because just in the last month I bought this receiver, the 5109, and the tw40x81!!!
Now should I be putting the S-video or the yellow video cable from the dvd player into the receiver if I'm already running component video cables from the dvd player to the tv?<HR>

BrianK, yes, you get the blue light when a dts bitstream is detected by the receiver. It's the same thrill as seeing the engines go back on line in The Phantom Menace when R2D2 bypasses the main drives.

If you have video hooked up via component video, there is no need to hook up the composite or S-video connections unless you want to tape a DVD to a VHS tape (you might have to use a Sima Copymaster box to get rid of the macrovision copy protection on most region1 DVDs). It doesn't hurt to hook up the composite and S-video connections, but if you are going to watch DVDs on the component input, what'sthe point hooking up the other connections?


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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs

briank

Okay I think I got this down. There are quite a bit of inputs on the back of this 333ES! So all I need to do now is pick up a
coaxial cable to connect the audio from the dvd player to the receiver. So your saying all that is, is basically a 75 ohm video cable? Thanks again.

Patman

Yes. Don't get too hung up by the impedance matching. Some guy soldered wire hangers to 2 RCA coax connectors and there was never any audible dropouts (due to heavy error correction algorithms in place) when he hooked it up from the DVD player to the receiver.

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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs

briank

Well I just got done hooking everything up. I ran out real quick and ended up picking up and AR digital audio coaxial cable for 20 bucks. So far I'm impressed, I've been playing parts of the Fifth Element and then 12 Monkeys DTS to make sure I had everything set up right. Sounds MUCH BETTER than my 6109 did (lol!) Now I can't wait to get the 40x81 so I can notice the picture difference of the 5109. And I think it's going to take me a while to learn that REMOTE! But I usually don't use a receiver's remote that often anyway because I usually put a cd, dvd, or music channel, etc, on and leave it alone and don't change things that often. Again Patman you've been very helpful in this situation! And your the one that basically convinced me to get the 333ES over the DB930 (which you have). I ended up getting it locally for $450. They originally sold it for $700 then dropped it to $600 then most recently to $500 and I signed up for their card (I have 90 days to pay it off interest free!) and I got 10% off my first purchase which brought it down to $450. So I thought it was a good deal. The DB930 would have been the same exact price. If I have questions pop up I'll be looking for you. Or if you have any advice I'm all ears.

Patman

BrianK, glad that everything's hooked up and cooking. It's a no-brainer to go ES if the price is the same between the 2 models just due to the extra 3 years of warranty on the ES models.

Now go get SPR on dts DVD, and prepared to be amazed! Side 2 of Das Boot will have you ducking for cover inside the submarine.

There are some things on the Sony receivers that can't be accessed via the remote (changing speakers from small to large, vice-versa, digital audio input selection), and that bothers me, but since the changes are few and far between, I guess I can afford to get off my butt and fiddle with the receiver's buttons on the front face. Perhaps the ES has a better remote implementation over my DB930.


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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs