What is the difference with all these new DVD formats?

That's the question that a lot of people are asking. Why are the new technologies so expensive?Well a typical DVD disc can only hold 4.7 GB of information, which is why there are so many movies that offer special editions utilizing a second disc - there's not enough information to keep the resolution of the movie, and high fidelity sound at their highest output, so a second disc is required. But you can hook a DVD to practically any television.When it comes to Blu-Ray and HD DVD players they are similar in that they will both output a High Definition image from a disc, but differ in many other ways. Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs first off can hold up to 10 times more information that a typical DVD so now you can have tons of extras on a disc (commentaries, deleted scenes, games, behind the scenes, easter eggs, etc), while having up to 1080p lines of resolution and up to 8 channels of surround sound - a typical DVD can not do this.Between the two formats you will hear many people picking one over the other, I personally prefer Blu-Ray because more movie studios are backing it, and the disc has more capacity (Blu-Ray up to 50GB, HD DVD up to 25/30 GB). There will be more Blu-Ray movies, and more Blu-Ray compatible players, as well as the Playstation 3 that offers Blu-Ray as well.The price is high at the moment because it is new, as was DVD. I paid $600 for my first DVD player, and now I could walk in and get the current generation unit for $120, and other brands for $40 - $70. Blu-Ray and HD DVD will drop, technology always does. First thing you should do is get an HDTV, then decide which of the High Definition Disc formats is right for you.I hope this helped.

Can I convert Component Video and Analog audio up to HDMI?

As far as upconverting your component video to HDMI the only real way to do it is through a Audio/Video receiver that has HDMI inputs on it that also does upconverting. There's quite a few products on the market that do it, but you're going to be looking between $700 - $1000 to get a receiver that offers this capability. However if you keep an eye on the promotions, you can catch a good deal on a few products. Check out Circuit City for the Denon AVR887 ($700), and the AVR 987 ($1100). Both units have multiple HDMI inputs, and also will upconvert Composite, S-Video and Component Video up to HDMI. (You can also go higher up the latter with Denon and a few other brands to get more features, but you may not need them). However, there isn't a single product on the market that will allow audio and video to go from analog to HDMI. So if you want to get sound into your Television as well you would run an audio cable from the recevier too.Looking at your system now if you're using the component video jacks, it more than likely for your source (sat/cable), and probably your DVD player. Figure out what is more important to you, between the sources and if you're not getting an HD source from your satellite or cable, switch it to S-Video, and use the component for your XBOX if you don't do something with a receiver, because the XBOX 360 (if that's what you've got) offers HD Gaming through component.I am a national trainer for Denon and Monster Cable, along with numerous other Home Theater related companies, so I get a lot of questions like this on a regular basis.

What's up with these new High Def Disc Formats - Which is better?

That's the question that a lot of people are asking. Why are the new technologies so expensive?Well a typical DVD disc can only hold 4.7 GB of information, which is why there are so many movies that offer special editions utilizing a second disc - there's not enough information to keep the resolution of the movie, and high fidelity sound at their highest output, so a second disc is required. But you can hook a DVD to practically any television.

When it comes to Blu-Ray and HD DVD players they are similar in that they will both output a High Definition image from a disc, but differ in many other ways. Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs first off can hold up to 10 times more information that a typical DVD so now you can have tons of extras on a disc (commentaries, deleted scenes, games, behind the scenes, easter eggs, etc), while having up to 1080p lines of resolution and up to 8 channels of surround sound - a typical DVD can not do this.

Between the two formats you will hear many people picking one over the other, I personally prefer Blu-Ray because more movie studios are backing it, and the disc has more capacity (Blu-Ray up to 50GB, HD DVD up to 25/30 GB). There will be more Blu-Ray movies, and more Blu-Ray compatible players, as well as the Playstation 3 that offers Blu-Ray as well.The price is high at the moment because it is new, as was DVD. I paid $600 for my first DVD player, and now I could walk in and get the current generation unit for $120, and other brands for $40 - $70. Blu-Ray and HD DVD will drop, technology always does. First thing you should do is get an HDTV, then decide which of the High Definition Disc formats is right for you.

I hope this helped.

Surround Sound Help Please!?

My TV is a Sony KD-34XBR960, I have an XBOX 360 with HD DVD player. I'm looking to get a sound system, but don't want to blow anyone away. I just want great sound for games and movies.

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Depending on what you want to spend you have quite a few options. You've got a good TV and good source with the XBOX and HD DVD add on. Option #1 - Look at a component Home Theater System - Receiver, Surround Speaker Package, and Subwoofer. With this you'll be looking around $1000 and up. Keep an eye on the adds at Best Buy and they constantly advertise the Klipsch Quintet III surround System, with Sub and Receiver for $1000. You will be hard pressed to find a better deal. The Quintet surround package is the number one selling system in the entire country and has been rated very high by pretty much everyone.Option #2 - Home Theater in A Box (HTIB). This will save you a lot of money, and will give you a complete system for a great value. You can get a pretty good system starting at $400, and a very good HTIB for $700. Look into Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo for HTIBs as they offer quite a few. These will come with a receiver, speakers, subwoofer, and a few even come with a DVD player that you could use in another room or as a CD player. Can get 5.1 to 7.1 surround sound out of these for movies and games.Option #3 - a 2.1 Speaker system. Samsung, LG, Philips, Denon and others offer 2.1 speaker systems. These will be a receiver, 2 speakers and subwoofer that will simulate surround sound using only 2 speakers and a subwoofer. These are great for small rooms, and sound great. I've got a Denon S101 in my bedroom, and use it for my PS2, DVDs, and Satellite. The cost on these however will be similar to an HTIB.I train home theater for a living, and educate consumers as wel as sales people on how to purchase and sell Home Theater.

What makes Blu-Ray and HD DVD so much better, and do I need an HDTV for it?

That's the question that a lot of people are asking. Why are the new technologies so expensive?Well a typical DVD disc can only hold 4.7 GB of information, which is why there are so many movies that offer special editions utilizing a second disc - there's not enough information to keep the resolution of the movie, and high fidelity sound at their highest output, so a second disc is required. But you can hook a DVD to practically any television.When it comes to Blu-Ray and HD DVD players they are similar in that they will both output a High Definition image from a disc, but differ in many other ways. Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs first off can hold up to 10 times more information that a typical DVD so now you can have tons of extras on a disc (commentaries, deleted scenes, games, behind the scenes, easter eggs, etc), while having up to 1080p lines of resolution and up to 8 channels of surround sound - a typical DVD can not do this.Between the two formats you will hear many people picking one over the other, I personally prefer Blu-Ray because more movie studios are backing it, and the disc has more capacity (Blu-Ray up to 50GB, HD DVD up to 25/30 GB). There will be more Blu-Ray movies, and more Blu-Ray compatible players, as well as the Playstation 3 that offers Blu-Ray as well.The price is high at the moment because it is new, as was DVD. I paid $600 for my first DVD player, and now I could walk in and get the current generation unit for $120, and other brands for $40 - $70. Blu-Ray and HD DVD will drop, technology always does. First thing you should do is get an HDTV, then decide which of the High Definition Disc formats is right for you.

I hope this helped.

How do I get better sound out of my XBOX 360 through my DVD built in sound system without an Optical Input?

When it comes to Home Theater systems with DVD players built into them, this tends to be the number one complaint. Although you don't have an optical input on the unit, you do have the analog audio inputs (Right , White ) which you can connect the XBOX 360 to. It will not produce the 5.1 surround sound that the system is capable of, but it should have a surround mode for gaming, or general purpose that will make the gaming experience more complete. If you want to enhance the sound even more check out upgrading the Audio/Video cables to Monster Game Cables from Monster Cable, they will maximize your picture and sound to its best capabilities. Also if you want more of the surround experience use the Level settings on the system to raise the level of the Surround Speakers so that there is more active sound from behind you. If it really gets down to you wanting the optical input, you can switch out the receiver, and more than likely keep the existing speakers, or switch out the speakers as well since you have the wires run through the wall. But if you do that you will either end up using the XBOX360 as your DVD player, or purchase a DVD player as well. There are some really good HTIBs out there now for under $500, one in particular from Sony, comes with an up-converting DVD player, and HDMI connectivity on the receiver for future use as well.

How do I connect my Television to my Surround Sound System?

Hopefully this isn't as complicated as you feared. This depends on your TV and what else you will be connecting to the system. Here's a few options for what you are trying to do.1) Direct TV Connection Option: If your television offers an audio output this will be the easiest of the connections, all you do is connect an audio cable from the TV's audio output (white and red jacks), to the input of your choice on your receiver (TV/SAT, Video 1, AUX, etc). When you want to watch your TV through surround, you turn on your receiver to the correct input and trun on your TV, and you're good to go. There may be an option in your TV menu as well to leave the audio output as fixed - choose this option if available, this means that as you adjust the volume on your TV, it won't mess with the sound through the receiver.2) Using a Cable or Satellite Box: If you have a cable or satellite box connected to the TV, the sound quality will be better than coming directly from the TV. For this you will utilize the audio outputs on the back of the boxes, either Analog Audio (red and white), or a digital output (optical or digital coax). From the back of the box, connect one of the cables from the audio out (analog or digital) to your receiver to whichever input you choose, and now when you watch your cable or satellite, you will have sound from your receiver and/or your TV. (This is my preferred choice).3) Using a VCR: If your TV doesn't have an audio output, and you're not using a cable or satellite box this is pretty much the only other option (if you have a VCR that is). If you have a stereo VCR and your TV signal (basic cable/antenna) is running through the VCR, you will connect an Audio cable from the Audio output on the back of the VCR to whatever jack you prefer on your receiver. All you do is leave your VCR on when you want to listen to the stereo, and whatever channel the VCR is on, that sound will come through the Stereo as well.

I hope this helps in your quest, I know its a lot of information, but I like being thorough.

What are some good movies to demo my system with?

It just depends on what you want to test, and if you want to just play particular scenes for demo, or if you want an entire move with effects throughout. Here's a few recommendations and what scenes are best for particular demos.1 - U571 - if you play the Depth Charge scene you will be able to test the Dynamic Range of your system. Meaning the ability to handle very quiet sounds (whispers, talking, water) at the same time hearing extremely loud booms (explosions, metal breaking, glass breaking, etc).2 - Dragonheart - for directivity. There's a scene where Draco the dragon, and Dennis Quaid's character are talking, and the Dragon flies in circles around Quaid as he talks, and you can hear the voice coming from different speakers, and the wings in different speakers.3 - 3 Doors Down Live Away from the Sun - Great for live performance, probably one of the only DVDs that were recorded in a live audience that gives you multiple aspects of sound. Can listen in DTS from the stage so you hear what the band hears, or you can listen in Dolby Digital from the crowd or the stage for another live experience. The disc also has digital music files of each song too for your ipod or computer.4 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - The Quiddich Match with the Rogue Bludger. This scene is one of the best ever for full on surround sound. There's a ton of bass from the bludger, a ton of directivity from the kids on the brooms flying around, the Snitch is awesome flying around you can actually here the wings flapping. Amazing demo.5 - King Kong - when we goes crazy in the streets. One of my favorite scenes to demo to show how sound moves around you, and changes with perspectives. If you watch the scene and pay attention to the camera angles for Kong, you will hear his breathing, and grunting move to where they should be, plus when the cars crash and things break they aren't overdone like newer movies they do a great job of keeping the sound accurate to that time period.6 - Fast and the Furious - First race with Paul Walker. Engines, Music, Tons of surround effects, sub kicking like crazy.

There's a lot more, but these are the one's that I use the most for my trainings that I do.

My TV only has an antenna/cable input, how do I connect my DVD Player to it?

The easiest way to do it is to utilize an RF Modulator. They are available from $10 - $30 depending on how many items you think you may need it for. The purpose of the device is to convert Audio/Video outputs (yellow, white, and red cables) to a coaxial connection on older televisions. Basically all you do is connect the cables from your DVD player into this device and then run a coax cable from it into your television, then put your TV on CH 3 to watch a DVD movie. Some people get confused by these because they already have a cable going to the coaxial jack on the back of the TV. Not to worry. The RF modulator will have an input for that connection as well. So you will connect your DVD player with the Audio/Video Cables, then connect your Cable Box (or VCR or Satellite or whatever else was connected to that jack originally) to the coaxial input on the RF modulator. Then you will have one cable going from the RF modulator to the TV. When you want to watch a DVD turn the TV on to channel 3, and hit play. When not watching a movie you just turn off the DVD player.

I hope this helped.

I've got my cable box connected to my TV with HDMI, but I'm not getting a picture?

This is a huge problem in the industy. I am a National Trainer for Monster Cable and as a whole 98% of the time is has to do with where the signal is coming from. First thing to check is to ensure that the HDMI output is active on the device (DVD or HD BOX). To do this connect a video cable to the TV first and go through the settings on the box. After you've gone through and activated the HDMI output you should be good. This is the problem most of the time with products form Samsung, Philips, Pioneer, LG, and DirecTV. For some reason they are shipped with HDMI turned off and the Component Video output (Red, Green, Blue) set as the default. If this doesn't fix the problem, then the most other common problem has to do with the pass-through. HDMI has a copy protection built into it called HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Copy Protection), which causes a lot of problems as well. If you have your source (DVD or HD Box) running through a surround receiver, try connecting it directly to the Television and bypass the receiver, if that works then you know its the fault of the receiver for not sending what is called a repeat signal (basically to send the signal along to the TV). If that's the problem I recommend Denon receivers ending in an 07 in the model number because all of them pass through HDMI with no problems.I know this was a lot, but I hope it helped.

Can't get 5.1 from my XBOX on my HTIB!

This question was posted on an answers site:
I've got an XBOX 360, and can't get 5.1 from my Panasonic HTIB because it doesn't have an optical input, what can I do? Do I need to buy a new system or what? My speaker wire is also in the wall.

My Response:

When it comes to Home Theater systems with DVD players built into them, this tends to be the number one complaint. Although you don't have an optical input on the unit, you do have the analog audio inputs (Right , White ) which you can connect the XBOX 360 to. It will not produce the 5.1 surround sound that the system is capable of, but it should have a surround mode for gaming, or general purpose that will make the gaming experience more complete. If you want to enhance the sound even more check out upgrading the Audio/Video cables to Monster Game Cables from Monster Cable, they will maximize your picture and sound to its best capabilities. Also if you want more of the surround experience use the Level settings on the system to raise the level of the Surround Speakers so that there is more active sound from behind you. If it really gets down to you wanting the optical input, you can switch out the receiver, and more than likely keep the existing speakers, or switch out the speakers as well since you have the wires run through the wall. But if you do that you will either end up using the XBOX360 as your DVD player, or purchase a DVD player as well. There are some really good HTIBs out there now for under $500, one in particular from Sony, comes with an up-converting DVD player, and HDMI connectivity on the receiver for future use as well.

The picture from my DVD Player is PINK! How do I fix this?

This question was posted on an answers site:
The picture from my DVD Player is PINK! How do I fix this?

My Response:
Couple of things to check:
1. If using component video, then somewhere in the mix it is very possible to have switched one of the connections by mistake, this happens a lot. Check to make sure that the plugs are where they are supposed to be, and that may fix it.2. If the cables aren't the problem then it could be the output on the DVD player is not set to match your TV - if you have a progressive scan DVD player, and your TV is not an HDTV, you may need to deactivate the progressive scan.3. Could be a bad cable. This happens as well, more so with S-Video than any other, but S-Video would probably show up in black and white.Check the cables, then check the DVD player video settings to make sure that they match your television.

Is it really necessary to use the Video In jacks on my surround receiver?

This question was posted on an Answers site:
Is it really necessary to use the Video inputs on the back of my Surround Receiver?

My Response:
It entirely depends on the components which you are connecting and the type of operation that you want. For instance, if you have a DVD player, Satellite, VCR, and a Video Game system your TV more than likely couldn't handle all that, so this is where the receiver comes in. If you run everything through the receivers A/V inputs then you could in a sense have one cable going to your television, making operation easy. Depending on the brand of receiver, it may convert lower video inputs out to higher outputs (example - Composite (yellow) in from VCR, but send out S-Video or Component to your TV). I travel for a living and I have most of the equipment I listed above, and I have everything running through the receiver, and now when my wife and son want to watch a movie or play games all they do is select the input on the receiver for the device they are going to use, and there it is right on the TV.