I have never used surround before so I have a question. On the back of my blu-ray player, there are outputs : Front Left, Front Right, Surround Left, Surround right, and Center. They look to be RCA type plugs. The speaker system that I'm looking at also has these same inputs on the back. My question is....is there a special kind of cord that I need to connect the two ? Or just normal RCA audio cords ?

Check your owner's manual?

if your dvd player has those on the back they are preouts (for the built in surround decoder)

the best way you should connect your dvd sound is by using the optical/coax digital out and connecting to you a/v receiver (or hdmi for vid/sound to a/v receiver w/ hdmi switching)

Is there a 5.1 system that I could run the blu-ray player straight into without a receiver, or is that not possible ? I had the outputs of my machine wrong. It has an hdmi output as well as a coaxial digital out. It also has plain stereo outputs...which is what I'm using now.

HDMI switching ?

I assume that you don't have an audio system at present?

your defeating the whole burpose of having bluray

you cant hook a standard bluray/dvd player directly to speakers, their is no amplifier or speaker connections

you'll wanna get an a/v receiver... even a low cost onkyo or harman kardon model can do you well

you'll need at least 5 speakers (2 fronts/ 2 rears / center channel) and subwoofer .. maybe a small satellite system

No, I don't have a system right now. I'm just doing a bit of research so that I'm ready for when I can get one. My picture connection is just fine. I'm just wondering about a speaker setup. On the back of my player are an HDMI output, standard RCA stereo connections, a digital coaxial connection, and the video outs. Is there a system that I can plug the HDMI or digital coax into without a receiver ? I'm looking for one of those home theater in a box type of things. I really want to be able to have surround sound. I've only ever had stereo.

budget?

Onkyo usually has decent sounding HTIBs for the money... usually starting around $300 for a 5.1 satellite/sub system

Those are also receivers. But you wouldn't need a separate receiver if you get an in-the-box system.

For right now, the 300 or so HTIB kind of thing would be about all I could do. But I've heard some of them and they seem to be pretty decent for what I need. I've heard good things about Onkyo, but what about the Sony ones ? Is there a system where you can adjust the volumes of the speakers individually ? I hear about 50% more out of my right ear than my left. So, to get balanced stereo sound, I have to either turn the left side volume up or move the right side speaker back aways. If I changed the volume in one or more speakers, would that mess with the surround aspect of things ?

um, stick to onkyo in that price range

sony is great for tvs but laughable for home theater audio

yes, all speaker levels in any system can be adjusted up/down individually

Also, if I have my blu-ray player connected with the HDMI for audio, can I still use the component for the picture ? My tv is kind of old and doesn't have HDMI.

I just found this...
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-52...8204622&sr=1-1

It has 3 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. Is it possible to use an HDMI input for the sound but use composite from my player straight to the tv for the video ?

What owner's manual ?

I found this receiver....
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR308...205333&sr=1-12

But what speakers would I need ?

The one that came with your Blu-ray player that explains how you can and can't hook it up.

Yes. But why would you? Composite is the lowest quality video signal. Is your TV that old?

In a previous post he wrote component. I think he's just confused.

Also, he wrote this:

Yeah. I meant component. my tv is about 4 years old and 4:3.

Normal RCA audio cords are fine. Sure you can go for those overpriced "Monster" cables, but not worth the money.

The only difference in the cables are the colors used to identify them. If you plugged in all those RCAs into a receiver that uses the same output you would get analog 5.1 audio. These are what most SACD and DVD-Audio players needed to work before HDMI came along. HDMI just makes it simpler and retains a pure digital signal.

Unless you want to keep stereo only, a receiver is needed. HDMI switching is where you plug in various sources (Blu-ray player, HD cable box, video game console, etc) into the receiver, and run an HDMI cable to the HDMI input of an HDTV, which allows you to switch between sources using the receiver instead of plugging in a bunch of those into the TV and changing its inputs. Chances are if the receiver you're looking at does HDMI switching, then it probably does component switching as well. HDMI simplifies everything since it's one cable for both video and audio, versus three for video, and a digital audio cable for surround, which would also limit the ability to decode HD surround audio from Blu-ray titles.

Some receivers also do HDMI upconversion in addition to switching, which means you plug in Component video, or S-Video, or Composite, and it will still run through the HDMI to the television. I'd love to get one of those.

Just like with stereo that's not from the TV speakers, if you want the "better" sound, you need a receiver to feed the source audio into and the speakers to connect to. I built mine from the ground up. Speakers aren't the same brand or size but they work great and I'm very happy with them. I started with stereo, and went from there adding speakers when I could when I got a surround receiver. I'm not a snob about it either, since all of my speakers were purchased used, and two of them were given to me. The receiver was the only thing I got new.

Everyone has differing opinions on the quality of a brand, so more research (reviews) would probably help - specifically brand comparison chart-type things.

Receivers do indeed have the ability to change speaker levels, since it is critical to surround and stereo enjoyment. Speakers need to be adjusted according to room size, speaker size, speaker position, and receivers have controls that adjust these in their menu systems. Some are on-screen, some are on the front display panel. Can't have the rear channels drown out the fronts, or the center too low, or too much volume in rear left versus rear right, etc, etc and so on. Typically it will come with a microphone for using the receiver's calibration program, in which you place the microphone (with a very long cable attached) nearest to where you'll be sitting - the ideal position - and it listens to the speaker levels to ensure they're balanced.

Or you can go and change them individually to your own preferences.



If you're happy with the TV, then it's all good.

Receivers come with microphones ? And how do I decide what speakers to get ? Wattage wise, I mean. For instance, one of the receivers I looked at says...
65 Watts per Channel at 8 Ohms, 20 Hz¿20 kHz, 0.7%, 2 Channels Driven, FTC

What kind of speakers would go with this system ?

I kind of like this receiver.
http://www.amazon.com/product/dp/B0039XQL2G

Could someone who is much more knowledgable about these things take a look at it and tell me what kind of speaker connections those are. They don't look like you just clip a wire into it. They look more like RCA plugs. It says Large Speaker inputs. What does that mean ?

I'd go with the Pioneer receiver over the Onkyo. I've only ever used Pioneer receivers and theyve always performed excellent.
As for speakers, what's your budget?

I don't really have a budget right now. I'm just doing some research so that I will be ready when I'm able to put a system together. Do I need a certain kind of speaker. I've read about watts. If I get speakers that are a higher wattage than the receiver, will they just use whatever power the receiver gives them ? I don't really know about this kind of thing.

Wattage ratings arent really important. I have a newer Pioneer receiver like the one you listed and a set of Defintive Technology speakers and am very happy with the sound.

BTW the speaker connections youre asking about are typical speaker connections. You dont clip them in, you wrap the wire around the terminal and screw them into it. Or you attach the speaker wire to a bananna plug and plug it into the terminal.