questions from the godawful annoying newbie
10-30-00 | 04:31 AM
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A few questions I'm confused on after reading some articles/guides and things I need to get straight:
DTS and Dolby Digital - should you get a receiver that supports both? Is one a dying technology or are they both favored?
Does your TV need anything special in order to use a receiver?
Can you use speakers you get with a computer with a receiver? I've noticed some receiver/speaker systems say you can use it with for a computer. If you have a 4 speaker, 1 sub speaker set, is that good with a receiver?
What does it mean when a receiver says it's Dolby Digital Ready? Does that mean you have to buy another receiver? I was looking at the Sony STR-DE335 Dolby Digital-Ready ProLogic Receiver at hifi.com and it mentions this (not going to buy it, just wondering).
DTS and Dolby Digital - should you get a receiver that supports both? Is one a dying technology or are they both favored?
Does your TV need anything special in order to use a receiver?
Can you use speakers you get with a computer with a receiver? I've noticed some receiver/speaker systems say you can use it with for a computer. If you have a 4 speaker, 1 sub speaker set, is that good with a receiver?
What does it mean when a receiver says it's Dolby Digital Ready? Does that mean you have to buy another receiver? I was looking at the Sony STR-DE335 Dolby Digital-Ready ProLogic Receiver at hifi.com and it mentions this (not going to buy it, just wondering).
10-30-00 | 06:34 AM
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From: Austin, TX
Almost all receivers today support both DTS and Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital is the most favored because it is required on all region 1 DVDs and it is the sound standard for HDTV (any digital cable here in Austin). DTS produces a higher quality sound because it uses less compression (and more space on a DVD). DTS is less supported than DD (100+ DVDs for DTS vs about 5000+ DVDs for DD) but its support seems to be growing so it is not likely it is going away.
The only thing a TV needs to be able to hook it to the receiver is a Left and Right sound output. You will hook a DVD and TV sound output to the receiver so it does the decoding and amplification. If you are going through decent speakers, this will sound much better for normal TV as well.
I don't think you would probably use computer speakers as that they usually already have a built in amplifier. If they don't they can probably only handle a few watts of power and would be easily blown by an AV receiver. If you want to go the computer speaker route they sell a package that has a DD (some also have DTS) decode, amp, and speakers that you could use in place of a AV receiver. Note that the sound quality will be no where near what a good receiver and speakers can produce.
Dolby Digital Ready means the receiver has analog inputs for the 6 channels of Dolby Digital but no built in decoder. This way you could hook up an external decoder located in a stand alone box or TV or DVD player. I don't recommend this route because 1) there is usually only one input, 2) the sound quality is worse, and 3) you have to hook up many more wires.
Hope this helps!
Rick
The only thing a TV needs to be able to hook it to the receiver is a Left and Right sound output. You will hook a DVD and TV sound output to the receiver so it does the decoding and amplification. If you are going through decent speakers, this will sound much better for normal TV as well.
I don't think you would probably use computer speakers as that they usually already have a built in amplifier. If they don't they can probably only handle a few watts of power and would be easily blown by an AV receiver. If you want to go the computer speaker route they sell a package that has a DD (some also have DTS) decode, amp, and speakers that you could use in place of a AV receiver. Note that the sound quality will be no where near what a good receiver and speakers can produce.
Dolby Digital Ready means the receiver has analog inputs for the 6 channels of Dolby Digital but no built in decoder. This way you could hook up an external decoder located in a stand alone box or TV or DVD player. I don't recommend this route because 1) there is usually only one input, 2) the sound quality is worse, and 3) you have to hook up many more wires.
Hope this helps!
Rick
10-30-00 | 06:29 PM
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1) You should get a reciever that supports both... DD is the standard, so its a must, and DTS, if you can find a DVD with a slightly better soundtrack than a DD one, why not??? Good to have... More and more DTS titles are coming out every season....
2) Nope, the reciever is just a peice of equipment that recieves the audio, the video is just an addon IMHO. If you only have a DVD, you can just hookup the DVD directly to the TV without going via the reciever.
3) Dolby Digital Ready means that the reciever has 6 inputs in the back that connect to a DVD with INTERNAL DECODER that has 6 outputs. Built in decoders do not sound as good as a recievers', i never recommend the Built In Decoder option.
2) Nope, the reciever is just a peice of equipment that recieves the audio, the video is just an addon IMHO. If you only have a DVD, you can just hookup the DVD directly to the TV without going via the reciever.
3) Dolby Digital Ready means that the reciever has 6 inputs in the back that connect to a DVD with INTERNAL DECODER that has 6 outputs. Built in decoders do not sound as good as a recievers', i never recommend the Built In Decoder option.
10-30-00 | 08:54 PM
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I agree: DTS is a frill, but fortunately, it does not cost that much extra w/entry level receivers.
Your TV needs, minimum, a composite video input (aka, RCA connector) for video hook up to a receiver. If the TV is REALLY old, it'll only have a RF coax input (the kind on old VCR's). You'll need a RF modulator ($30 from a place like Radio Shack) to convert the composite signal to the RF coax. I'd use separate speakers, rather than the one/s built in the TV for all audio.
Some computer speakers can be used - like the kind w/CS's DTT2500. These kits have a mini receiver/amp and unpowered speakers. They are VERY low power speakers (7W). You can buy these speakers separately, but it's not really worth it, since decent "regular" speakers can be pretty cheap.
[This message has been edited by BEC (edited October 30, 2000).]
Your TV needs, minimum, a composite video input (aka, RCA connector) for video hook up to a receiver. If the TV is REALLY old, it'll only have a RF coax input (the kind on old VCR's). You'll need a RF modulator ($30 from a place like Radio Shack) to convert the composite signal to the RF coax. I'd use separate speakers, rather than the one/s built in the TV for all audio.
Some computer speakers can be used - like the kind w/CS's DTT2500. These kits have a mini receiver/amp and unpowered speakers. They are VERY low power speakers (7W). You can buy these speakers separately, but it's not really worth it, since decent "regular" speakers can be pretty cheap.
[This message has been edited by BEC (edited October 30, 2000).]
10-31-00 | 06:31 PM
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There are some cheap 5.1 computer speakers that can be used for HT. PROMEDIA ones come into mind. They are computer speakers soon to come with a Digital audio decoder for 5.1 digital inputs. I think the Promedias have components that will go onto the next-generation KLIPSH entry level speakers.
