advice on connecting all-in-system / separates

[theochh]

Hi All

I am a novice at all this so pls bear with me. I have a relatively new Panasonic TV with all the relevant audio connections, plus a new DVD player, with once again all the audio connections ( 5:1). Question is, if I was to purchase separates, where would I plug in the cables that go from the amp, ie should they plug into the relevant sockets on the TV or the DVD player? the DVD is connected via a scart cable to the TV.

Secondly why do all-in-systems have to have the amp built in to the DVD player, does that mean I chuck out my DVD player if I was to purchase one of these?

Thanks for listening

[CFS]

Ok, from your DVD you would have a digital coaxial, or optical cable into the amp, this delivers your surround in Dolby Digital, dts etc.

I'm assuming your TV has stereo outputs, so use a phono lead to connect the tv to the "TV/SAT in" on the amp, allowing pro-logic from broadcasts.

If you have a fancy DVD player that accepts SACD or DVD-A, then you need to run 3x stereo phono cables from your dvd players "5 ch out" to the "Multi-ch in" on your amp, as you cannot send SACD or DVD-A down a digital cable, unless using specialist connectors you can only use if your amp and source are from the same company.

[CFS]

Regarding your second question, all-in-ones have an amp and dvd in the same enclosure simply to save space, as many people who want the surround experience often do not want all the clutter of boxes that are normally associated with home cinema. Hope this clears everything up for you.

[theochh]

thanks CFS, that sounds spot-on