What does it mean when "PROTECTION" is flashing on my Toshiba HTIB?

9 times out of 10 when you see this message on a Sony or Toshiba home theater system it has to do with the wiring of the speakers. Somewhere in the system there are wires that are either:Wires are touching somewhere.Wires may be out of phase (meaning one end of the wire is correct, and the opposite end is opposite).Speaker's and Receiver's OHMs ratings don't match. Make sure you're speakers and receivers share the same ohm rating (look for an upside down horsehoe on the back of the speakers and receiver).You could have had your system wired backwards for a long time and may not have ever known it, the system has been receiving feedback from the speakers for a long time and finally has just given itself up.

Normally when this happens its a very costly repair (typically its the main amp that needs to be replaced).Try calling Toshiba directly and ask them about resetting the system, that's about all you can really do if it is still acting up after you check all the connections.

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.

Why is my surround sound shutting off when loud explosions or volume increases occur?

It sounds like you've got a wire issue. Meaning that somewhere you've got a wire backwards, or touching together. To fix: Check all connections and make sure that the wires match at both the receiver and the speakers - meaning that the negative is to negative, and the positive is to positive.Check to make sure that all the bare wire is wound tightly before going into the speaker wire terminals and that no bear wire is out touching. Also make sure that you haven't got more than an inch of bare wire stripped, this can also cause a problem.This happens to a lot of people, and most of the time is has to do with a wire being backwards. What happens is when the power increases - like you said for loud volumes, the system "clips" and power goes back to the receiver because wires are "out of phase" (flipped), or touching.

Hope this helps.

P.S. If it's a Sony and "Protect" is flashing it could be a bigger problem that may need repair.

Can I use a New Upconverting DVD Player with my older Home Theater System?

The easiest way to answer this is that: yes you will need a new sound system if you want to take full advantage of the HDMI connectivity. However, if your receiver has an additional optical input on it you will be OK. The HDMI connection is most important for Video at this stage of its life anyway. Most receivers now that accept HDMI are having issues with the digital audio, so the HDMI will go directly to the TV, and then an audio or fiber optic/coaxial cable is then run to the stereo system. If you're in the market for just an upconverting DVD player and not a Blu-Ray or HD DVD player then take a look at the Sony HT-7000DH for $500 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?... It's an HTIB system with an upconverting DVD player and receiver with HDMI capabilities. Great buy for what you get.

I hope this helps.

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.

How do I mount my new 46" Flat Panel Television?

If you want the easiest mount to use check out the Vantage Point U42 or U50 at Best Buy for $150 - $200. Its pretty much ready to go out of the box, all you need to do is decide if you want it flat, or to have a tilt. Then find the studs in the wall, level off the back of the mount and then hang the TV to the mount, then lock it in place. By far and away the highest rated mount on the market for ease of use, safety, weight limit, and reviews from sites. I personally hung my Panasonic 50" plasma which is heavier than your set in under 15 minutes, and I'm not a big guy. The only help I needed was picking it up. There's another popular brand out there called Sanus which is based out of Japan, so when you look at their mounts you will see strange shaped slots for the screws that are to go to your studs, that's because in Japan studs are 2x3 not 2x4, so there have been many reports of those mounts not holding up over time, plus you can literally lift the TVs right off the mounts because the screws they send you to lock the TV to the mount aren't long enough. If you want to see for yourself, go into any best buy that has the new mount display in their home theater department and lift up on the bottom corner of the display (plexiglass hanging on display) and you will literally take it right off.