Female In Urgent Need Of Your Wisdom!!

[admin_exported]

I have finally decided to invest in a blu-ray player and fancy the Sony BDP-S560 or the Sony BDP-S760, but I'm unsure whether my Home Cinema will be able to cope!!

The current set up I have is very unsophisticated and low budget as it's an all in one-but is as follows:

TV: Sony KDL-V26A12U

DVD: Panasonic DMR-EZ27EB

SATELLITE: Samsung Sky+ HD

HOME CINEMA: Sony DAR-RD 100

As the home cinema is an all in one the amplifier is contained within the sub-woofer, so the only way to connect my DVD recorder and Sky+ HD box is by using the Optical Digital cable at the rear of the sub woofer, and since there is only 1 cable (out) from the sub woofer I have to switch it between my DVD and my Sky box depending on which I'm watching at the time!! It's a pest but isn't really a problem.

1) The sound that I currently get from the Home Cinema is great (well I think so) but will I be able to use the same set up when I buy my blu-ray player??

2) I think both the Sony blu-ray models I was looking at have an Optical Digital output, so will I be able to just plug in the optical cable from my amplifier/sub-woofer the same way as I do at the moment??

3) If so, will my amplifier/sub-woofer be able to understand the signal it's receiving and decode it if necessary??

I would greatly appreciate any advice or answers you can give me. Thanks in advance!!

 

[The_Lhc]

Yes, yes and yes.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh thank you for puting my mind at rest, as I've been getting myself worked up into a real tizzy-the more I read the more confused I get!! Like I said my system is very low budget but it does almost everything I need for the moment, so I'm happy with that!!

By the way which of the blu-ray players would you recommend for me?? The BDP-S560 or the BDP-S760??

 

[Clare Newsome]

The BDP-S760 would be overkill; the BDP-S560 will do you fine - though unless you need its wireless connectivity, you may as well save money and go for the BDP-S360, which is essentially the same player (minus the wi-fi capability). There are some stonking deals around on the Sony, including with free Blu-rays - see our latest bargain update here.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Clare Newsome:The BDP-S760 would be overkill; the BDP-S560 will do you fine - though unless you need its wireless connectivity, you may as well save money and go for the BDP-S360, which is essentially the same player (minus the wi-fi capability). There are some stonking deals around on the Sony, including with free Blu-rays - see our latest bargain update here.

took the words out of my mouth. You could also invest in an optical splitter.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=35241

 

[professorhat]

This might help with your optical cable switching woes. Although it's still a manual switching process, it makes it a bit easier than unplugging and plugging back in, especially if the plug is in a hard to reach place.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, will the BDP-360 connect to my all in one amplifier/sub woofer in the same way as the BDP-S560/S760 would??

Cos my in one amplifier/subwoofer is worrying me!! The ONLY way to connect it is with the optical digital cable, but some of the blu-ray players I looked at didn't have a port for it. I'm now starting to think my home cinema system is even lower budget than I thought!!

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah actually i was looking at optical splitters on the net last week but I could only see 2 or 3 and some reviews said they weren't very good. Do you have any advice?? Does a more expensive one equal better quality??

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FlossieDon:
Oh, will the BDP-360 connect to my all in one amplifier/sub woofer in the same way as the BDP-S560/S760 would??

Cos my in one amplifier/subwoofer is worrying me!! The ONLY way to connect it is with the optical digital cable, but some of the blu-ray players I looked at didn't have a port for it. I'm now starting to think my home cinema system is even lower budget than I thought!!

The best way would be to connect straight to your LCD with hdmi - if your screen has enough inputs.

 

[professorhat]

FlossieDon:Yeah actually i was looking at optical splitters on the net last week but I could only see 2 or 3 and some reviews said they weren't very good. Do you have any advice?? Does a more expensive one equal better quality??

My friend uses that model and it's served him fine. I think possibly some really cheap ones will degrade the signal, but I would have thought the above would be fine for your needs.

As for the BDP-S360, this also has the optical output on it so will work with your home cinema system.

 

[Anonymous]

Well my TV only has 1 HDMI port but I can easily buy a splitter for it!! Would the sound be as good through the TV as it would through the speakers??

 

[Clare Newsome]

This is all getting a little too complicated. If you were considering the Sony S760, I assume you've potentially got around £400 to spend? If so, why not buy a brand-new Blu-ray home cinema system to replace your aging set-up? We've tested four of them in our new issue (out tomorrow), with two five-star options at this price point.

Then you'd enjoy Blu-ray, get more from Sky+ HD...and they all have iPod docks, if that's of interest!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Clare Newsome:
This is all getting a little too complicated. If you were considering the Sony S760, I assume you've potentially got around £400 to spend? If so, why not buy a brand-new Blu-ray home cinema system to replace your aging set-up? We've tested four of them in our new issue (out tomorrow), with two five-star options at this price point.

Then you'd enjoy Blu-ray, get more from Sky+ HD...and they all have iPod docks, if that's of interest!

There you go, easily the best option.

 

[professorhat]

Yup, definitely the best advice so far - ignore everything I said earlier

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I'd love to upgrade and update, money isn't the problem-it's space, or lack of it!! So I think for the moment I'll just get a blu ray player, the BDP-S360. As long I can plug it into my amp/sub-woofer into an optical digital port for Home Cinema and get picture quality equal to what I get with my Sky+ HD box I'll be more than happy.....for the moment!! Since it'll be my first blu-ray player I'll start with the more basic model and see how it goes, then if I like it I'll upgrade everything in my system in 18 months. See not all Aberdonians are mean with their money!! Ha Ha!!

Then all I'll have to do is replace my Star Trek DVD's with Blu-Ray discs!!

 

[Anonymous]

Thank-You everyone for wisdom and advice, now I can make the purchase without any doubts!!

Wish me luck.

FlossieDon

 

[The_Lhc]

FlossieDon:Yeah I'd love to upgrade and update, money isn't the problem-it's space, or lack of it!!

The kind of system the guys are talking about would replace your Sony amp and sub, so it wouldn't be using up any more space.

 

[professorhat]

Good luck - come back and let us know how it goes!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FlossieDon:
Yeah I'd love to upgrade and update, money isn't the problem-it's space, or lack of it!! So I think for the moment I'll just get a blu ray player, the BDP-S360. As long I can plug it into my amp/sub-woofer into an optical digital port for Home Cinema and get picture quality equal to what I get with my Sky+ HD box I'll be more than happy.....for the moment!! Since it'll be my first blu-ray player I'll start with the more basic model and see how it goes, then if I like it I'll upgrade everything in my system in 18 months. See not all Aberdonians are mean with their money!! Ha Ha!!

Then all I'll have to do is replace my Star Trek DVD's with Blu-Ray discs!!

Just to make it clear; Clare's suggestion is the full package for £400. It includes 5.1 speaker set up, bluray player which has the amp integrated. It has two optical outputs so you can connect your Sky HD box into it as well. This would mean you could sell your dvd player, Sony surround system and replace it with the Sony BDV-E300 - so if anything, more space rather than less.

And so you can use hdmi for HD audio with bluray, you could add this splitter for instance and connect your screen to the Sony system and your Sky HD box.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet©-SWITCH-REMOTE-output-Switcher/dp/B001PL5QDY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260465170&sr=8-6