Home Entertainment

sound bar is only gd in confined space...eg. bedroom.....sound travel n bounce back off the wall....if u gonna put it in the living room....den i suggest u get the HT system....unless u wanna make ur bedroom into a media hub...den i suggest u get the soundbar to enjoy the full potenial....2 cents...

Somehow or rather, yes the sound bar doesn't look like a good option now, also realised that there are limitation to expanding your system...so... I'm looking at HT system now.

Just got my LG LED delivered just now..so for the last few hours have been enjoying image without a line going through somebody's neck Also did the rewiring for my home entertainment, I have the following component 1) a Marantz amplifier 2) a Marantz Dolby decoder and 3) a Rotel DTS decoder 4) front speaker - Venturi tall speakers and 5) ALR centre speaker.

Current set-up, my cable is hook up direct to the LED TV using the red, white and yellow cable..didd't know that I could connect without the coxial... ..my WD Live TV HuB is connected to the TV as well using the HDMI connection. My LG DVD player ( manufacure in 2007, and still in good condition) is connect to the TV using the component Blue Green and Red cable and the audio out from the DVD goes to the Marantz Dolby decoder via a coxial audio cable. My TV's audio is then patch thorugh to the Dolby decoder via an Optical cable. The Dolby decoder is then patch thorugh to the Marantz amps. The amps is use for driving the speakers.

Everything works as I expected, only thing the sound is coming out from onlythe left speakers... I think my right and centre speaker all gone up the lorry!

That's the price for neglecting my sound system for so long..okay so now I'm on lthe look-out again for a new set-up. This time around will try to keep the budget down. My current set-up cost me nearly $4K about 13 years ago. Initially I though upgrading the amps to a AV receiver would solve my problem but since the centre and rights speakers are gone as well so it will be a new set up.

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm looking at the two offers ~

a) Denon 1311 (5.1) - entry level AV receiver but good Boston Acoustic speakers at $1200

b) Denon 1911 (7.2) - mid level AV receiver but low end JBL speakers at $990.

Maybe this weekend going audtion already ..anyone keen to come along?

Alamak bro, i'm so out of touch. Played around with HT system many, many moons ago. Don't know if i can be of any help. Anyway, if you're going to spend a bundle on new speakers etc. thought it would be a good idea to get decent cables and interconnects. You're basically looking at main speakers set up, rear speakers and a centre speaker. Your main speakers should be of decent quality, I normally don't bother too much of the rear or centre speakers as they are only useful when watching movies. I'm more into music so my main speakers are very impt to me. You could get a good AV receiver so that everything can be connected there. It would save space and lots of wires. Next if you're serious enough, look at the room set up. Heavy drapes would help in your final set up as they act as soundproof. I'm lost on the digital mumbo jumbo so can't advise you there. Realize that i actually know very little on this HT thingy. Guess, I'm lost in time... Enjoy your new toys. Perhaps, you can invite us to audition once all is completed.

I'm not really into sound as well, more like I'm into technology...anything new fascinate me, like the DLNA thingy and etc, and it seem that Dolby is also no longer just simply Dolby, there are many more Dolbys..my decorder is certainly outdated, don't think so they can process the "newer" Dolbys

So today I was playing around with my set again and this time the right and centre speakers works...paiseh..I didn't set the parameters correct on my TV Live Hub... learn something new as well and also you can't simply copy DVD's on the Hub especially if they are original, need to tweak before it can work.

Since my speakers works, I might change my priority once again and simply settle for an AV receiver only. Cheaper alternative and I can upgrade to better quality book shelves speakers little on when I have the budget...

nice

For the past 2 weeks or so, since I got my new LED TV, have been researching or rather picking up another old habit. As you guys know, habits are never cheap, anyway I was also on the road to discovery and if more information are shared, I would have save plently of time and effort in bringing up my knowledge to scratch.

It has been an eye-opener with new technology and terms in home entertainment, given the short period I didn't have enough time to invest in magazine to check out what's new. So this is hands-on and I learn quite abit. Some of the things I posted would be common knowledge which I didn't know till now.

I start off with the latest in TV.Common terms like HD ready and full HD, I got no idea what that's all about, my initial impression, no point in having something HD when the rest of your equipment is not HD ready yet, somehow quite correct. I'm still getting use to this term, anyway my TV is Full HD and I need to use the HDMI connection to enjoy 1080p and Dolby/DTS sound, I think.

This comes to the rest of my equipment, I'm using a 4 year DVD player, a Digital set-top box from Starhub and an almost 14 year old amps with seperate DTS/Dolby encorder. In another word none of my equipment are HD, buying a full HD TV will only have the function but I will not enjoy the full benefits.

So what do I do? I got myself the WD Live TV Hub with full HD capabilities and build in DTS/Dolby encoder. This will serve two purose, first is that I want to view my DSLR output on 42" space and second, I rip most of my DVD and save that on the Live TV Hub by-passing my non HD DVD player, solve the problem? Somewhat.. by connecting direct to the TV, I don't get to enjoy the full surround sound because of the 2 dimensional speakers that comes with build in to the TV. One way to overcome this is to connect the audio to my exisiting amps, at least the sound gets amplified. So how am I enjoying the sound? Well not really, I only have 2 front and a center speaker, still no surround sound.

The other option is for me to get surround sound speakers and add on to my exisiting set-up. Comes back to money again, and other consideration such as space and adapting to latest in sound technology, is there any point in holding on to my 14 year old equipment? Guess not, these are solid equipment to have lasted this long, a Marantz amplifier and Marantz Dolby decorder and a Rotel DTS decorder.. when I call up one of the audio shop looking for a cheap set-up below $1K, the guy was asking what is my current set-up, and when I told him what I have and he said that it's more like a downgrade for me.

So after spending a few weeks "looking" around, I finally decide to "trade down" my amps. I went for the Denon 1311XP set up, very basic amplifier with build in decorder for Dolby and DTS with 5.1 speakers, tiny speakers after considering the space and budget. I paid $799, GST inclusive. Cash and carry and self installation.

It took me like a week to sort out things and what goes where and how. I connect my Live TV Hub via HDMI to the Denon 1311 amplifier, my set-top box via RCA cable and my DVD via Component cable to the 1311. A HDMI out cable from the amps to the TV. Did it work? I was only able to hear and view the Live TV Hub, able to hear the DVD and Cable Tv but no picture appear for these two. It took me almost 30 minutes to figure this one out, now if you are connecting non HDMI equipment to the amps, the video does not go up to the TV. Since the DVD and set-top box are on RCA and Component cables, I need to plugin the same out from amps to the TV. So I rehook up the DVD to RCA and connect 1 video output from the amps to the TV. This minimise the wires going to my TV. Works now.

Since I got everything working over the CNY holidays and Starhub gives free access to all it's channel from CNY eve to 7 Feb 12 noon, I decided to investigate their HD Intersactive set-top box, rental is $2 more, still affordable and last Saturday, I went down to their Service Center in Tampines and traded in my old box for the HD box. Brought it home and connect the box via HDMI cable and access the HD channels, sad to say video output is the same as the previous digital box and I didn't get the digital sounds as promise. My amps was showing "stereo" sound, no Dolby or DTS sound.That was user error in set-up, I didn't "fine tune" the set-top box, and I only discover on Sunday morning by going in to the setting and changing the video to 1080p and the sound to Dolby-> Yes did I get the full HD. My conclusion, it's worth going HD, picture is much more 3-Dimensional and colors are more vivid and sound wise, yes UI got it on Dolby with full surround sound. Too bad I get only get to enjoy HBO and Starmovies HD till 7 Feb noon, will have to wait till the next holiday to enjoy these channels on HD once again but I still have the AFC and Discovery channel on HD till 28 Feb. Will condsider my options again if I should subscribe to Starhub HD channels when the time comes, overall going HD will cost slightly more.

Well brO.its a nice on gg hobby for u since u gave up ur photography.as for the full hd setup I bet u r njoying the fruits of ur labour.one thing abt HD is..to me it seems very bright in terms viewing..have the tendency to switch off surrounding lites or ambience it.to save electricity.pics showns on the tV are very bright on my mio setup.coz mIO oso gvg free channels to month end.HD on soccer, teledramas n movies seems surreal.can see btwen perfections n imperfections of the normaL channel.love tt.but as usual,HD tV screen get hoT easily.scared might burnt out once 3 yrs warrant is out.
On a diff note,u want to watch all tv channels?a big headache wen u gt a hundred over channels to watch from.internet tv can be hooked uo to ur existing set atye..try those.or can pm me.

No internet TV yet, I think my WD Live TV Hub is not capable of that yet, just need to wait for the firmware update, if any. So far I have not notice any difference in the heat whether watching HD or normal TV channel, but I'm enjoying the sight and sound right now.

So for my photography, who said I give up on that? Still very much into photography, if you want to know more on what I've been up to can visit my Klubklip website on the going on for photography.

Right now I'm comtemplating if I should consider going into this:-

Wahahaha...another new toy..remote car controlled.ehh..thought u sold off ur pentax..

Yup, sold off my Pentax K-x but got my self another Pentax K-5. The color red is a bit too young for me, so now I've gotten myself one with the normal black body. Also when I got the K-x, consulted with my kids and they wanted a red one but in the end I was the only one using the DSLR. So now the K-5 is for my exclusive use only.

RC cars another way of modding, can poison and use any exhaust system and engine to boost the power without getting in trouble with LTA, that's releasing the frust for any excuse, but I think at this stage, I would prefer to take photos of people playing RC rather than getting myself into the hobby. BTW the way a basic electric model can cost from $200 to $ 500 and a nitro model can cost up to $1K, too expensive to indulge in too many hobby!

woah....didnt noe that RC car can be that expensive hobby....u got exclusive accesss to those 'races'?
upz for ur nex exclusive pentaxX..

starstruck96 wrote:woah....didnt noe that RC car can be that expensive hobby....u got exclusive accesss to those 'races'?
upz for ur nex exclusive pentaxX..

Ya bro, RC can be an expensive hobby just like your car, since you won't be needing a workshop or a mechanic to make the changes, you'll be buying spare parts all the time to play around with the car...suspension, motor, contoller etc..

u are the chief mechanics in our forum anyway...upzZ for ur newfound hobby brO...one dae wen my child is bigger..im sure he wants those tOoOo..HAiZzzZ...hahaha..
as much as an NA car...would be an NA car...mod to the maX..

last year i came across the ''DRIFT'' style RC in a shopping centre near my hometown..it has a self built track for drifting purposes...i believe ders a permanent track @ east coast park off Macdonald area..
interesting ...but as the hobby is as much as expensive as those flying thru the sand dunes ''rally'' style.
need petrol as it burnS N slideS to the finishing line..
those battery ones are oso available but not as fast though

starstruck96 wrote:last year i came across the ''DRIFT'' style RC in a shopping centre near my hometown..it has a self built track for drifting purposes...i believe ders a permanent track @ east coast park off Macdonald area..
interesting ...but as the hobby is as much as expensive as those flying thru the sand dunes ''rally'' style.
need petrol as it burnS N slideS to the finishing line..
those battery ones are oso available but not as fast though

Alamak bro interesting topic but wrong place to bring this up lor, this is my home entertainment thread la Can start a new thread but then nowadays this forum seem to be dead, people seem to come in and check what is happening but never share their opinioon by posting.

Very nice update on your HE set up. I bet you're going to be looking at upgrades in the very near future. This hobby is an expensive, poisonous but fulfilling hobby. While i also wish i can have a similar set up. i know i won't have the time to enjoy it just like my old HE system. I'm just happy with my basic set up that serve its purpose. But then again, you'll never know when the itch comes.. So when you inviting us over for an audition?

pussy_lover wrote:Very nice update on your HE set up. I bet you're going to be looking at upgrades in the very near future. This hobby is an expensive, poisonous but fulfilling hobby. While i also wish i can have a similar set up. i know i won't have the time to enjoy it just like my old HE system. I'm just happy with my basic set up that serve its purpose. But then again, you'll never know when the itch comes.. So when you inviting us over for an audition?

See the underline, any reason why I should be getting an upgrade in the very near future?
The way I see it is that I have two more upgrade, better wires for the front speakers and a Blue Ray Disk player. The BD upgrade must wait till my DVD player goes kaput, so will be doing the wires very soon, not looking for those monster cables just better grades ones will do

All in all, I don't think so I that I spend much on this set-up as compare to my original set-up which I paid for nearly $5K, 13 or 14 years ago, this time around I got better and more modern equipment at half the price that I paid for previously. Unless something new turn up, guess I hope this will last me for another 10 or 15 years before I fiddle with it further.

audition time pls...hehehe

Ikon wrote:

starstruck96 wrote:last year i came across the ''DRIFT'' style RC in a shopping centre near my hometown..it has a self built track for drifting purposes...i believe ders a permanent track @ east coast park off Macdonald area..
interesting ...but as the hobby is as much as expensive as those flying thru the sand dunes ''rally'' style.
need petrol as it burnS N slideS to the finishing line..
those battery ones are oso available but not as fast though

Alamak bro interesting topic but wrong place to bring this up lor, this is my home entertainment thread la Can start a new thread but then nowadays this forum seem to be dead, people seem to come in and check what is happening but never share their opinioon by posting.

nowadays bz people ler...economy rising...so no time for postings..
anyway sori for the wrong post...thanks for reminding.

darn...no good moderator i am...nvr play the tools of trade of this forum...
err...mr Admin...how do i move a section of my posting of RC drift n jumping dunes ones to another topic..? no

starstruck96 wrote:darn...no good moderator i am...nvr play the tools of trade of this forum...
err...mr Admin...how do i move a section of my posting of RC drift n jumping dunes ones to another topic..? no

Wah suddenly you realise hor?

Haha...moderator or not,im still the same person which tries to keep the forum aLive by posting.where is mr Admin?how cum he's nt helping me?

starstruck96 wrote:Haha...moderator or not,im still the same person which tries to keep the forum aLive by posting.where is mr Admin?how cum he's nt helping me?

AWOL

AWOL is chargeable offence..by fine n demerits point lor

Singtel came to install the MIO TV last Saturday and finally my home entertainment setup is completed! Made them ran the phone line all the way to my home entertainment area, so for the first month got some free channel but too bad I'm not able to access the VOD channels..perhaps a good thing as well...

The MIO set top box is connected to my AV Receiver via HDMI cable as my Starhub set top box. My AV receiver detect the source mode automatically, and I did a comparison...last night during Britannia High, the Starhub HD5 plays in Dolby mode whereas MioTV HD5 plays it in stereo..so my question is there some audio mode that I need to adjust on the MIO set top box or something to have in Dolby surround? Anyone have any idea?