new tv new leads

[systemsdead]

just recieved my tosh 36ZP48 after a major struggle getting out the box in hallway because no way would it thru my living room door, got it setup totally impressed with quality on tv,dvd,xbox,im no tv techie this is first proper tv ive owned everything was connected using the cheapest of cheap scart connections from old tv.ive been reading up on diff type of connections for this tv,now would i see a dramatic increase in quality if i buy composite leads, if so could anybody help me recommend which i need to get for ntl box the sd240e dvd player and xbox nothing to extreme,as i have said totally new to all this any help appreciated,budget around £60,one other thing ive connected the 4 speakers which came with tv but sound is only coming through 2 front speaker all connected the same round the back and front so cant find out what ive done wrong any ideas,sorry for long first post

[Laurel&Hardy]

You should be able to get a decent SCART for the NTL box for about £15-20. Ixos leads have always been good and I have them connected to my 51", and saw quite an increase in picture quality. For the DVD I'd advise you get component video leads and use EXT 4 - this lead offers the best performance for DVD. I think you can get a 1 metre lead for about £25.

The sound will need to be set up - go to your instruction manual and ensure you have it set up properly. You may find you are using the set in plain NICAM mode. Also, you will need a digital co-ax from the DVD to the TV lead for the dolby digital sound, otherwise it will be prologic surround - OK, but not a patch on dolby dig. The lead will be about £20. This also needs to be configured in the setup menu, and the TV manual shows how this is done.

[GreenBars]

Here's my idea:

• Connect your DVD to the TV via a component (not composite) video lead. Set your DVD to output video, not RGB or S-video.
• Connect your ntl box to an RGB-enabled scart socket, via a scart lead. Ensure the ntl box is set to output RGB, not composite.
• Connect your X-Box to an RGB-enabled scart socket via a scart lead.

I don't know how many RGB scart sockets your TV has, however if it doesn't have enough, invest in a quality scart switcher, e.g. JS Technology Master Scart Controller.

Regarding leads, personally I wouldn't spend too much. I've gone for, relatively cheap, Belkin PureAV leads, which are available at dabs.com:

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/resul...hPhrase=pureav

An offical X-Box scart lead should be good enough, although there are lots of (expensive) alternatives.

I'm sure other people will come up with their own recommendations though.

Can't help you with your speaker problem. Good luck.

[Laurel&Hardy]

The 36ZP has 3 scarts, 2 of them are RGB so he has enough to connect up the kit.

Regarding leads, I think the outlay of £60 for good quality leads from IXOS or similar brand is not too expensive. I've been down the cheap route and I've always been disappointed. I'd agree that forking out huge sums may not yield as much of a change as the hole it makes in your wallet, but I don't think £60 for two SCART's, a component lead and a digital co-ax is too excessive.

[GreenBars]

I wouldn't call the PureAV cables cheap, rather 'relatively cheap' compared to what you could spend, and coming from a quality manufacturer like Belkin they are well made - no problems with ghosting, etc.

My recommendation would come to £46.28 (incl. p&p), plus whatever it would cost for the X-Box scart cable; anyway systemsdead may already have one of those.

I do agree that IXOS cables would be a good choice as well, though.