Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

Having moved into a new house 6yrs ago and it having been constructed
with very little change over 50 yrs ago, the time has come to upgrade
the living room.
My TV is approx 10yrs old and is showing it's age so a new one is
scheduled for Jan or Feb, (SWMBO fancies a wall mounted 50ins) I must
admit I fancy one also.
Modern TVs I understand have a connection named HDMI which I had not
come across before, but they also have a myriad of other connections
some of which I recognise, others I don't .

If the TV gets fixed on the wall I shall need to chase a channel for
many cables perhaps, with separation distances no doubt, so to save
chasing, I'm inclined to make a false chimney breast (floor to ceiling
& approx 12 ins wider than the TV) using vertical 3x2 ins square
battens covered with plasterboard except for a region behind the TV
where the cables will terminate.

It would be useful to have a TV bracket which would allow the TV to
hinge on one side to allow easy access to the rear, does such a thing exist?

I used to have a very good Hi-Fi system in the previous house and it's
been in dry storage for 6yrs, It's now time to dig it out check and
reinstall it. After looking at this NG and mags Hi-Fi News etc I realize
that I am hopelessly out of touch with modern AV systems, I don't
understand most of the jargon.

I noted in a previous thread that Dave Plowman said you can take the
audio (stereo) signal off the back of the TV via Phono sockets (avoiding
delays) which sounded promising for connecting to my Amp. Are these
available on all modern TVs?

I like my Amplifier/Speakers combination, (Linsley Hood 80 Watt / B&W
DM330) I had excellent performance (maybe slightly bass heavy) out of
them in my previous house and despite advice from a computer literate
acquaintance I want retain them. The conversation went something like
this " He said,- Every thing's gone digital now, get rid of your amp and
get a digital one, but my speakers are analogue I said. Get digital ones
he said. But my ears are analogue I said!!!!!!!! :-\
All very confusing.

My excellent CD player, a Phillips went missing in moving house, I have
a cheap sony Video player which also plays my CD collection but only
through the existing TV speakers so cannot judge it's CD performance.

Should I invest in a blue ray for the latest HD Videos and will it also
play ordinary videos and most importantly play my CD collection without
degradation of audio quality?
--------------------------------

CONNECTIONS
Input to TV.

Mains.-
Blue Ray -
Sky receiver-
Second Sat Receiver-
Can the last three be daisy chained or would they best be separated ?

Any others needed?
-----------------------------------
Output connections from TV

Audio phono stereo L&R

Any others needed ?


Things may change as I haven't tested my Amp and Speakers yet. :-(

Don

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article , Donwill
wrote:


I noted in a previous thread that Dave Plowman said you can take the
audio (stereo) signal off the back of the TV via Phono sockets (avoiding
delays) which sounded promising for connecting to my Amp. Are these
available on all modern TVs?

Afraid I can't say if all TVs provide for it. But I'd recommend ensuring
that you can get spdif (i.e. either an optical or coax) digital output from
the TV/display. This may help you avoid lip-synch problems. You can then
use that to feed a DAC that then gives you the input for your Linsley Hood.
If the TV has multiple inputs the TV will then also be your 'selector
switch' for the audio. (Given what you say below about playing CD, note
that some players these days may also have an input to act as your DAC, so
combine this with being able to play discs.)

If you want a DAC note that as well as new ones, the secondhand dealers
often sell old but decent ones for lower prices. There are also some cheap
and small options like the 35 quid CYP one from CPC, etc. Sold for the 'AV
installation trade' where they don't need to impress with the brand name.
Works quite nicely in my experience and small enough to hide behind the
rest of the kit. :-)

I like my Amplifier/Speakers combination, (Linsley Hood 80 Watt / B&W
DM330) I had excellent performance (maybe slightly bass heavy) out of
them in my previous house and despite advice from a computer literate
acquaintance I want retain them. The conversation went something like
this " He said,- Every thing's gone digital now, get rid of your amp and
get a digital one, but my speakers are analogue I said. Get digital
ones he said. But my ears are analogue I said!!!!!!!! :-\ All very
confusing.

Your "acquaintance" does seem rather confused. If you like your present amp
and speakers, and they still work OK, then go on using them.

My excellent CD player, a Phillips went missing in moving house, I have
a cheap sony Video player which also plays my CD collection but only
through the existing TV speakers so cannot judge it's CD performance.

Should I invest in a blue ray for the latest HD Videos and will it also
play ordinary videos and most importantly play my CD collection without
degradation of audio quality? --------------------------------

I'd personally not bother with 'blue ray' unless you do want 'HD films'. I
haven't bought such a player and have no plans to do so. But you may be
keener than myself on seeing films in HD. My interest is mainly in the
sound and SD video is fine so far as I'm concerned.

Things may change as I haven't tested my Amp and Speakers yet. :-(

Should be OK if you stored them carefully.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article ,
Donwill wrote:
I like my Amplifier/Speakers combination, (Linsley Hood 80 Watt / B&W
DM330) I had excellent performance (maybe slightly bass heavy) out of
them in my previous house and despite advice from a computer literate
acquaintance I want retain them. The conversation went something like
this " He said,- Every thing's gone digital now, get rid of your amp and
get a digital one, but my speakers are analogue I said. Get digital ones
he said. But my ears are analogue I said!!!!!!!! :-\
All very confusing.

Think your pal is confused too since true digital amps ain't the norm. Nor
is there any real need for them since analogue can give more than
satisfactory performance. The only real practical advantage with digital
is in transmission and storage etc systems.

Speakers and amps haven't made the sort of progress in the past 30 years
that most other electronics have. Mainly because their designs were mature
by then - unlike computers etc.

My excellent CD player, a Phillips went missing in moving house, I have
a cheap sony Video player which also plays my CD collection but only
through the existing TV speakers so cannot judge it's CD performance.

Should I invest in a blue ray for the latest HD Videos and will it also
play ordinary videos and most importantly play my CD collection without
degradation of audio quality?

If you wish to play CDs at their best, you'd need to run the audio direct
to your amp. Going through the TV electronics will likely cause some
deterioration. If the player doesn't have phonos, but does have a SCART
you can pick up analogue audio from that.

As regards connecting things to the TV, just make sure the one you buy has
enough inputs of the required type.

--
*OK, so what's the speed of dark? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

"Donwill" wrote in message
...
Having moved into a new house 6yrs ago and it having been constructed with
very little change over 50 yrs ago, the time has come to upgrade the
living room.
My TV is approx 10yrs old and is showing it's age so a new one is
scheduled for Jan or Feb, (SWMBO fancies a wall mounted 50ins) I must
admit I fancy one also.
Modern TVs I understand have a connection named HDMI which I had not come
across before, but they also have a myriad of other connections some of
which I recognise, others I don't .

If the TV gets fixed on the wall I shall need to chase a channel for many
cables perhaps, with separation distances no doubt, so to save chasing,
I'm inclined to make a false chimney breast (floor to ceiling & approx 12
ins wider than the TV) using vertical 3x2 ins square battens covered with
plasterboard except for a region behind the TV where the cables will
terminate.

It would be useful to have a TV bracket which would allow the TV to hinge
on one side to allow easy access to the rear, does such a thing exist?

I used to have a very good Hi-Fi system in the previous house and it's
been in dry storage for 6yrs, It's now time to dig it out check and
reinstall it. After looking at this NG and mags Hi-Fi News etc I realize
that I am hopelessly out of touch with modern AV systems, I don't
understand most of the jargon.

I noted in a previous thread that Dave Plowman said you can take the
audio (stereo) signal off the back of the TV via Phono sockets (avoiding
delays) which sounded promising for connecting to my Amp. Are these
available on all modern TVs?

I like my Amplifier/Speakers combination, (Linsley Hood 80 Watt / B&W
DM330) I had excellent performance (maybe slightly bass heavy) out of them
in my previous house and despite advice from a computer literate
acquaintance I want retain them. The conversation went something like this
" He said,- Every thing's gone digital now, get rid of your amp and get a
digital one, but my speakers are analogue I said. Get digital ones he
said. But my ears are analogue I said!!!!!!!! :-\
All very confusing.

My excellent CD player, a Phillips went missing in moving house, I have a
cheap sony Video player which also plays my CD collection but only through
the existing TV speakers so cannot judge it's CD performance.

Should I invest in a blue ray for the latest HD Videos and will it also
play ordinary videos and most importantly play my CD collection without
degradation of audio quality?
--------------------------------

CONNECTIONS
Input to TV.

Mains.-
Blue Ray -
Sky receiver-
Second Sat Receiver-
Can the last three be daisy chained or would they best be separated ?

Any others needed?
-----------------------------------
Output connections from TV

Audio phono stereo L&R

Any others needed ?


Things may change as I haven't tested my Amp and Speakers yet. :-(


I'm charmed by the idea that a TV a mere 10 years old is "showing it's age".
My living room TV is a 27 year-old Philips and is still going strong,
despite near daily use. Over that 27 years it's only had one fault, about
ten years ago the de-gauss thermistor burnt-out leaving the screen with a
wonderful array of psychedelic colours. Otherwise it's been fault-free, I
keep waiting for it to go wrong to justify getting a new set, but it just
keeps on working ;-)

If you are going for a 50" set you would be well advised to go HD at the
same time as SD does not look good on large flat-panel screens. If you have
Sky get their HD set top box. And Bluray is also well worthwhile, it will
also play DVDs and CDs just fine.. You will need to use HDMI to link a Sky
HD box and a BD player to your new TV so you will need at least two HDMI
inputs as you cannot daisy-chain HDMI sources. (You can get HDMI switches,
but it's much easier to have enough inputs on the TV). If you want to
output AV audio to your old HiFi amp you will either need *analogue* audio
output from the TV, or an external DAC to convert a digital audio output
from the TV to analogue for your amp. (Many modern TVs only have digital
audio output). If you want to play CDs on a Bluray player connect the
analogue output from the player direct to your amp so that you don't need to
switch-on the TV when playing CDs.

David.

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article ,
David Looser wrote:
I'm charmed by the idea that a TV a mere 10 years old is "showing it's
age". My living room TV is a 27 year-old Philips and is still going
strong, despite near daily use. Over that 27 years it's only had one
fault, about ten years ago the de-gauss thermistor burnt-out leaving
the screen with a wonderful array of psychedelic colours. Otherwise
it's been fault-free, I keep waiting for it to go wrong to justify
getting a new set, but it just keeps on working ;-)

The justification is that it either doesn't do 16:9, or the 16:9 picture
is simply too small. Unless you only watch analogue transmissions. An
option you may not have for long.

If you are going for a 50" set you would be well advised to go HD at the
same time as SD does not look good on large flat-panel screens.

My set is 45" and I can assure you SD looks ok on it. Or rather it looks
sharp enough. The movement artifacts can bee seen on any sized screen.
Sadly, HD TV from the broadcasters has had the data rate restricted to the
point where it is nothing like as good as originally. Think DAB radio...

Bluray can look stunning, though.

--
*It is wrong to ever split an infinitive *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
I'd personally not bother with 'blue ray' unless you do want 'HD films'.
I haven't bought such a player and have no plans to do so. But you may
be keener than myself on seeing films in HD. My interest is mainly in
the sound and SD video is fine so far as I'm concerned.


Good Bluray on a good display really is a vast improvment over SD. As were
the original HD broadcast transmissions. Now sadly 'dumbed' down. So they
can sell you yet another new system in a couple of years time. Super HD or
whatever.

--
*Therapy is expensive, poppin' bubble wrap is cheap! You choose.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
David Looser wrote:
I'm charmed by the idea that a TV a mere 10 years old is "showing it's
age". My living room TV is a 27 year-old Philips and is still going
strong, despite near daily use. Over that 27 years it's only had one
fault, about ten years ago the de-gauss thermistor burnt-out leaving
the screen with a wonderful array of psychedelic colours. Otherwise
it's been fault-free, I keep waiting for it to go wrong to justify
getting a new set, but it just keeps on working ;-)

The justification is that it either doesn't do 16:9, or the 16:9 picture
is simply too small. Unless you only watch analogue transmissions. An
option you may not have for long.

I don't watch analogue, the set normally functions as an RGB monitor off a
Sky+ or DVD, but 16:9 on it looks OK to me, it's 'scope (2.35:1) that looks
too small. Mind you 2.35:1 looks too small on anything, except a very wide
cinema screen. I have to say I'm no fan of wide aspect ratios and I don't
understand why 'scope is so popular with film makers. IMAX is 1.5:1, if a
sensible aspect ratio is good enough for that it should be good enough for
"normal" films as well.

If you are going for a 50" set you would be well advised to go HD at the
same time as SD does not look good on large flat-panel screens.

My set is 45" and I can assure you SD looks ok on it. Or rather it looks
sharp enough.

Well we'll have to differ on that as well. I'd far rather watch SD on a good
SD CRT display than an "HD ready" LCD display.

The movement artifacts can bee seen on any sized screen.
Sadly, HD TV from the broadcasters has had the data rate restricted to the
point where it is nothing like as good as originally. Think DAB radio...

I've no experience of broadcast HD, only Bluray.

Bluray can look stunning, though.

Agreed.

David.

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

Donwill said...


I noted in a previous thread that Dave Plowman said you can take the
audio (stereo) signal off the back of the TV via Phono sockets (avoiding
delays) which sounded promising for connecting to my Amp. Are these
available on all modern TVs?

It varies wildly in my limited experience. On some the only audio out
is from the headphone socket and on others with RCA connectors it can
either be at fixed line level or vary with the TV volume control and
some others have only audio out as digital on RCA or TOSlink.


--
Ken O'Meara
http://www.btinternet.com/~unsteadyken/

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article ,
UnsteadyKen
wrote:
Donwill said...


I noted in a previous thread that Dave Plowman said you can take the
audio (stereo) signal off the back of the TV via Phono sockets
(avoiding delays) which sounded promising for connecting to my Amp.
Are these available on all modern TVs?

It varies wildly in my limited experience. On some the only audio out
is from the headphone socket and on others with RCA connectors it can
either be at fixed line level or vary with the TV volume control and
some others have only audio out as digital on RCA or TOSlink.

My current (Panasonic CRT) TV does have analogue outputs for sound.
However they audible clip/distort loud sounds and add background noise and
hum. My default assumption is to assume analogue outputs from a normal
domestic TV display are rubbish. I'd hope that an spdif output from a new
set would be OK. But given how badly TV makers seem to treat audio I can't
say I'd be surprised if they fouled that up as well! :-/

Fortunately CRT has no noticable 'processing delay' that makes the sound
obviously out-of-synch. Alas Plasma/LCD/etc do tend to do this, so you end
up needing a delay to resynch the sound and vision. The logical place for
this is in the display since that should get it right by default. But then
see my about comment about TV makers!...

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Choosing and setting up an AV system, (mix of old and new)
 

In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
My current (Panasonic CRT) TV does have analogue outputs for sound.
However they audible clip/distort loud sounds and add background noise
and hum. My default assumption is to assume analogue outputs from a
normal domestic TV display are rubbish.

They seem to vary wildly. My last TV was a Philips Matchline in a posh
wood cabinet. That had very good audio circuits - although the built in
speakers were as usual rubbish. It also allowed you to dub between the
various inputs without effecting the main screen and sound - very useful.
All in all a very good TV - but the 28" 4:3 screen just wasn't big enough
for my room when displaying 16:9.

My current set is a 45" rear projection DLP made by Sagem. I'd call the
sound circuitry just about adequate.

--
*Who is this General Failure chap anyway - and why is he reading my HD? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.