First things first, i'm not sure if this belongs here, but please don't slate me if it doesn't, i'm sorry. Right, I have just bought a Sony DVPNS30 dvd player that has the ability to play TV Virtual Surround, and i am thinking of buying a TV that can output TV Virtual Surround. Would I have to connect the dvd and the tv through the coaxial digital out jack on my dvd player or will just having it connected by Scart be alright? Also, if i was thinking of buying a reasonably cheap dolby 5.1 speaker package (and i'm talking pretty cheap),would virtual surround be a better overall investment? Or should i get NICAM and then get cheap Dolby 5.1? Thanks for the help.
Both virtual surround and Nicam are stereo signals. Personally, i have never heard a sysytem sound any better with "[/virtual] surround" over straight forward stereo since most Tv's with this function allow you to switch between the two. You will not need to use a digital output,(and you will struggle to find a TV with a digital input on a budget anyway) Scart is capable of delivering a stereo signal. My advice, for a small budget is to buy an all in one dolby digital (5.1) system with pro-logic II and 5.1 capabilities. You must have a digital cable to connect your DVD to the system to enjoy 5.1 and ideally a decent stereo RCA connection from you TV aux output to the Surround system aswell. Through this you can enjoy dolby pro-logic II sound, which is a pretty damm good surround sound produced out of the stereo signal. You can also enjoy true 5.1 digital surround when watching a DVD which has a 5.1 sound track most do)via the digital cable.
Thanks for the reply. I will most likely buy a tv with stereo sound, and then buy a dolby system to connect to the tv from the dvd player. One thing i would like to know, if the tv had a total of say, 16 - 20 watts of total power output from it's speakers, connected to dolby, would that be powerful enough for viewing in a small room? Or should i get something a little more powerful? Also, while searching for home cinema systems, all i can find are ones with an included dvd player, whereas i would only want the speakers and i think my dvd player would need a decoder. Any help on where to get all the things i would need would be appreciated because i'm a bit confused about all the things i need to connect my dvd player (sony dvpns30) to a surround sound system . I have seen several comments on Amazon.co.uk which talk about 5.1 connectivity, and i am not quite sure what they mean: 'It doesn't have a built in 5.1 decoder, just pass thru so make sure your 5.1 speaker package has a built in decoder.' So i have to make sure the speaker package has a decoder? 'A Dolby DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signal can be routed through the player's optical digital-audio output for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.' Not sure about that either. So will setting Dolby 5.1 up through this dvd be relativly easy? Thanks for the help.
The sound your Tv produces on its own will always be inferior to a seperate surround sound system so don't worry too much about the audio capabilities of the TV, especially if you plan to add a seperate system later, instead concentrate on other things like the amount of scart sockets, NTSC & PAL capabilities, screen size, 100 Hz display and other quality attributes of a TV. In my previous reply I suggested an " all in one" surround system. By this I assumed your DVD player had no decoder built in. This means it will output the raw data to the digtal cable & into your seperate system to be decoded into the 5.1 surround channels. This system will consist of a subwoofer & the decoder in the same unit, this is where any input/ output cables terminate. You should make sure that the back of the unit has the same digital connection socket as the back of your DVD player. There are only two types (optical or co-axial) I will not explain these but make sure the two look the same. The system will have outputs for 5 surround speakers which will be part of the kit provided. DTS is another type of 5.1 digital sound. Some DVD's have a DTS sound track aswell as a dolby digital sound track and you can choose which one to listen to IF>>>> your system can output both DTS and dolby digital. For you situation, dont worry about DTS. But do look for Dolby pro-logic 2. This is not a digital surround sound output but is a very clever manipulation of a stero signal so via a connection from your TV aux RCA outputs to the system RCA inputs you can watch TV programs in an "enhanced stereo" surround including the subwoofer and the 5 satelite speakers. You do not need, and should avoid a system that is provided with a DVD player. This is my best advise given your requirements and percieved budget. Feel free to ask more if you need it.
