I have a Toshiba 42" LCD (42X3030D) with a Sky HD connected via HDMI and a PS3 via HDMI. I want to add surround sound to my setup and have been looking at various solutions.

I'm not going to spend thousands so have been looking at the all in one box setups, my TV has optical out so what i'm wondering is will the 5.1 from the Sky and PS3 be passed through their HDMI cables and then output via the TV optical out to the amp and everything will work beautifully?

Am I asking too much

no it won't as skyHD doesn't pass dolby digital over hdmi, only stereo.

you'll need an amp with optical inputs which is very common now but what i suggest is an amp with hdmi inputs and a pass through, that way you plug everything into the amp via hdmi+optical then just one hdmi to the telly and let the amp sort it all out. its made our setup way simpler and easier to use

i bought an onkyo 506 and i'm very happy with it

You need somethinb with dtshd and truehd ideally to enjoy bluray stuff. I have a 5.1 / dts setup with my ps3 and hdtv and its amazing with the ps3 games as they put out dts sound. Works great for watching dvds in dts and 5.1 also. Play.com have a deal on a sony 7.1 unit at the mo for just over £200 and supports all hd audio formats.

YAMAHA HOME THEATER SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM TSS-10 on eBay, also, Speakers Hi Fi, Home Audio Hi Fi, Consumer Electronics (end time 03-Jan-09 22:30:25 GMT)

I have a system similar to this, the TSS-15 in black. Mine has so many inputs it's crazy (2x optical, 2 analogue, 5.1 surround, and best of all they can usually be had for very little (unless you want a black one - rare as s***).

Yamaha Music UK Ltd

The bass is very good, and I have to use the night mode otherwise the neighbours can hear it - even on lowest Sub setting!

This should do the job: SteinwayLyngdorf Model D

..................... although it might be outside your budget at around £108,000 :eek:

edit: ooops, just realised that it's a 'music' based system so it'll be no good for you

have a look, or even take a visit to richer sounds

Mine has so many inputs it's crazy (2x optical, 2 analogue, 5.1 surround, and best of all they can usually be had for very little (unless you want a black one - rare as s***).

this is the rear of mine

and its only average in terms of inputs.

WOW! How much is one of them bad boys?

My ickle Yamaha only cost me £50 though

As with all AV related questions there are 2 very important things to take in to account:-

Budget

Wife/SWMBO acceptancy

It depends on what these answers are before any meaningfull advice can be given.

I wanted a simple single box solution so went for one of these -

NAD Electronics :: VISO FIVE DVD/CD Surround Sound Receiver

Although I would imagine it is a little out of date now and seriously lacking in HDMi compared to Ben's.

But!!!

Coupled to these babies -

Q-AV System

It sounds awesome.

i got it from richer sounds and cost a couple hundred i think for jsut the amp, you can spend 10 times that very easily!

True, and my investment included all the speakers.

I dont think I'd get anything meatier past SWMBO right now.... as already working on my next purchase

gotta have gadgets.

yeah i've only bought pretty much budget speakers and they have cost me £150 for the two floor standers and the centre, the rears are my brothers.

I wanted a simple single box solution so went for one of these -

NAD Electronics :: VISO FIVE DVD/CD Surround Sound Receiver

Although I would imagine it is a little out of date now and seriously lacking in HDMi compared to Ben's.

But!!!

Coupled to these babies -

Q-AV System

It sounds awesome.

Clearly the credit crunch hasn't reached Hampshire yet!!

Did you sort out your new telly in the end Stu?

I've had that setup for a while now.

Yes the telly is sorted, ended up part exchanging a kidney for a 50" Pioneer Kuro. Teamed that up with a nice Sony 550 BD player, just need to sort the Sky HD out now.

nice telly stu, best i've ever seen

which one did you get? the proper one or the pikey one?

Edited 30 December, 200817 yr by VRStu
oops, pressed the wrong button

Got this one, luckily for a lot less than they quote!!

Pioneer PDP-LX5090 review - whathifi.com

My current setup comprises various sources with a Denon 3802 receiver and Ruark Vita 100 speakers.

Cost 2.5k when new which is a few years ago now. I really do like the sound it makes and as such have no desire to upgrade which I guess proves that you need to choose wisely and then stop looking or else you end up on the 'must' upgrade path.

I must confess to being a little out of touch but I would always say that you should buy with your ears.

well i will say the quality of the amp makes a huge difference, the onkyo i have now is far from an elite unit but sounds a million times better than the slim pioneer one i had before

As gadgetmeister suggested, find out how "discreet" or how much of a "blended in" solution you will have to compromise for to keep her happy and how much you want to spend.

As you don't have any speakers yet, you have two options: get an all in one package which has an amplifier, often with DVD player integrated + speaker package. The speakers will be matched but limited in their ability to produce a powerful, meaningful sound. If you only want it for home cinema and you don't care how good it is for music, or, WAF (wife acceptance factor) is high up the priority list, they're your best bet

If you have more freedom, then I would get a separate (proper) amplifier and speaker package. It will be far more flexible and upgradable than an all-in-one package where if you decide you need a different amp, you might have to get a new speaker package too...

or, WAF (wife acceptance factor) is high up the priority list, they're your best bet

It's a pity they don't quote the WAF in the specifications and reviews

Thanks for all of the replies, unfortunately I have ignored all of you and bought this:

Panasonic - ideas for life - Home Cinema - Systems - SC-PT460 - Overview

Only got one optical input so I need to buy a switch but it's mostly for the PS3 games / Blu Ray anyway. iPod dock was nice extra and the GF was complaining whilst I was playing COD5 that it was too loud (Ithink that menas it's good ) she also commented that it sounded like someone was typing in the kitchen last night whilst watching Beverley Hills Cop II.

Just need to extend one of the cables for the rear speaker and tuck them under the skirting board and it'll be sorted.

I think in the future I will go for a proper amp but this will do for now.

Cheers

does it not have any hdmi inputs then?

its a shame you didn't already have a system of any kind as the amp i have can be got from richer sounds for the same price as you bought that system for but obviously is only an amp but would have run any speakers if you'd had them but seeing as you had nothing it would have cost a lot more even for entry level speakers.

amp is £200 and speaker packages start from £60 and then teh cables would have cost probably another £35 upwards depending on size of room and cable quality.