[Marcus663]

I have a Samsung LCD TV, a BT Vision Box and have just bought a DVD/Home Cinema/Surround sound system.
My question is cable related, as I haven't yet set anything up.
As far as I know I use 1 of my HDMI leads to go from the TV to the BT Vision Box, is that correct?
Re The DVD/Home Cinema/Surround sound I was also sold an optical lead which I am supposed to run to the Tv.
My main question is re my 2nd HDMI lead, does it run from the System to the TV or to the BT Box and if the Bt box how as there is one slot in the back and that is being used by the tv?

Also I have heard there are problems with BT Vision and surround sound (re only outputting stereo (2 speakers), is this correct or an old problem that's been sorted.

I would appreciate any help as it all gets delivered today.

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

As far as I know I use 1 of my HDMI leads to go from the TV to the BT Vision Box, is that correct?

No - from BT Vision to TV. Not the other way round. The HDMI cable is carrying sound and picture from the external box to the telly. The telly isn't passing anything to the BT Vision box via HDMI.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Re The DVD/Home Cinema/Surround sound I was also sold an optical lead which I am supposed to run to the Tv.

From the TV. Not to the TV. No point in running it to the TV - the TV is already getting its audio from its internal tuner and from the BT Vision box. The optical cable allows you to transmit the audio from the TV to the home cinema, so you can hear the audio through the home cinema's speakers.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

My main question is re my 2nd HDMI lead, does it run from the System to the TV or to the BT Box and if the Bt box how as there is one slot in the back and that is being used by the tv?

From the home cinema to the TV. So that any DVDs you watch on the home cinema can be seen and heard on the TV.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Also I have heard there are problems with BT Vision and surround sound (re only outputting stereo (2 speakers), is this correct or an old problem that's been sorted.

BT Vision for the most part gives you Freeview. Freeview programmes are stereo only encoded. Therefore, the BT Vision will, for the most part, give you stereo output only. This isn't something that BT can sort out. It is the programme makers and distributors of digital TV via a TV aerial.

[Marcus663]

Thanks Broadz but maybe i should have just put 'between' rather than from/to as both ends of the hdmi cable are the same, aren't they?

So what you are saying is BT are really no good is that correct, i mean what is the point, do you know if they plan on sorting this out.

Also why the 'Digital Optical Audio Cable' i have been sold then if HDMI is already transmitting everything, have i been missold as i was under the impression it was to go between the home cinema and the TV

Thanks

[Marcus663]

I am still confused
I have 2 HDMI cables and 1 'Digital Audio Cable'

Am i now correct in saying that 1 HDMI goes between the BT Box and the TV, 1 HDMI goes between the Home Cinema(DVD) and the TV and the optical cable goes between the Home Cinema and the TV.

Please tell me what it should be, if incorrect.

Many Thanks

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Thanks Broadz but maybe i should have just put 'between' rather than from/to as both ends of the hdmi cable are the same, aren't they?

Both ends may be the same. But the information is always sent from one piece of kit to another. And your TV sends no information via HDMI to either home cinema or BT Vision. Whereas home cinema sends information to TV, and BT Vision box sends information to TV. Not the other way round.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

So what you are saying is BT are really no good is that correct, i mean what is the point, do you know if they plan on sorting this out.

In what way are BT no good? In that they can't modify Freeview broadcasts to be in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound? If that makes them no good then Freeview themselves, Freesat, Virgin Media, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, Sky One, Bravo, G.O.L.D., UK living, Film Four, and just about any other broadcaster or maker of TV programmes is no good as well - because the majority of their output is not in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound either.

When you say "What is the point" what do you mean? You think that because they can't turn Freeview stereo broadcasts into surround sound broadcasts there is no point in them? Well, G.O.L.D. can't turn Fawlty Towers recordings from the seventies into surround sound. And Filmfour can't broadcast films that were only released a couple of years ago with a DD soundtrack in surround sound on Freeview, Freesat or Sky. So don't have a go at BT about it. Have a go at the broadcasters, not the people who give you access to these channels.

Do I know whether they have a plan to sort this out? Who? BT? No, I don't think BT have any intention of telling everybody who broadcasts via Freeview that they can't do it any longer unless they broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. As BT would be laughed at the length and breadth of the country.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Also why the 'Digital Optical Audio Cable' i have been sold then if HDMI is already transmitting everything, have i been missold as i was under the impression it was to go between the home cinema and the TV

The optical cable carries audio from the TV to the home cinema. HDMI might be transmitting everything - from home cinema to TV. But isn't carrying anything in the other direction. That is why you have an optical cable also. Your TV outputs nothing via HDMI. Your home cinema inputs nothing via HDMI.

[StevieBuck]

Yes, those connections are correct.

Many new TVs and home cinema systems are compatible with a feature called Audio Return Channel (normally referred to as ARC). This allows the HDMI connection between the TV and home cinema to transfer audio from the TV back down to the home cinema. i.e so you can watch broadcast TV and have the sound play through your home cinema speakers.

On older equipment without ARC functionlity, you need a separate audio cable connected between the TV and sound system to do this as the HDMI will only be one way (just transfers audio to the TV).

If it turns out that both your TV and home cinema system are ARC compatible you could do away with the optical connection. You haven't said the model numbers of your equipment though, so I can't check.

[Marcus663]

Thanks Broadz i see what you mean.

Stevie Buck thanks, Re your last comment about the compatibility my equipment is a Samsung LE37C530 37" LCD TV, a BT Vision box (new one) and an LG DVD Receiver (Surround sound) System LG HT805SH.

I purchased the Optical cable with the system as was told it would be needed but already have 2 HDMI cables, am i all set up ready to go or can i take the optical cable back (Is it ARC Compatible?) All all three?

Cheers

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Thanks Broadz i see what you mean.

Stevie Buck thanks, Re your last comment about the compatibility my equipment is a Samsung LE37C530 37" LCD TV, a BT Vision box (new one) and an LG DVD Receiver (Surround sound) System LG HT805SH.

I purchased the Optical cable with the system as was told it would be needed but already have 2 HDMI cables, am i all set up ready to go or can i take the optical cable back (Is it ARC Compatible?) All all three?

Cheers

ARC compatible equipment normally works if the equipment is made by the same manufacturer. A Samsung TV is not made by the same manufacturer as an LG home cinema. You may be in luck, but I doubt it. A BT Vision box is obviously not ARC compatible, as there is nothing on the BT Vision box which can accept audio or video from an external source. It receives its input from a TV aerial and an internet connection. It sends its output to a TV and/or a surround sound system.

Why not wait until your home cinema arrives - you said it was being delivered today - and see whether it receives its audio from the TV via the HDMI connection between the two? It won't - but at least you'll have something to test. And when you find it doesn't, you can put the optical cable in place and find that you now have the audio from the TV being sent to the home cinema. And you can bask in the knowledge that you have all the right pieces of kit.

If you find by some minor miracle that both TV and home cinema do support ARC, you can run the optical cable from the BT box to the home cinema instead, so that when BT take your suggestion about forcing Freeview channels to broadcast in Dolby Digital seriously, you can feed digital audio from the BT Box directly to the home cinema, and enjoy Eastenders in DD5.1 audio. Or you can return the optical cable and save yourself a quid, or whatever you paid for it.

[Marcus663]

Many thanks Broadz you have answered all my questions, i have the Surround Sound, just waiting for the TV now, like your Eastenders quip in the response, but i don't think my Mrs would tell the difference to tell you the truth.

Re BT though do you know if the BT on demand films are in 5:1 or will i just have to go back to hiring them out or buying them to watch on dvds?

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Re BT though do you know if the BT on demand films are in 5:1 or will i just have to go back to hiring them out or buying them to watch on dvds?

They almost certainly are - as they are downloaded from the internet, not received live via Freeview. In which case, you might consider connecting the optical cable from the BT Vision box to the home cinema as this will transmit DD5.1, optical from TV to home cinema won't. Of course, having this connection in place won't send audio from the TV to the home cinema - but if all your viewing is done via the BT Vision box, this won't cause an issue.

If in certain circumstances you want to watch TV using the TV's Freeview tuner, not the BT box's Freeview tuner, then you could either move the optical from the BT box to the TV - or you could think about a second optical cable from TV as well as from BT Vision, connect both to an optical switch, and switch between the two of them depending which one you want to watch.

[Marcus663]

Ok i get that i think and maybe as you say i would be be best to connect the optical cable between the Surround sound and the BT (after all i never use freeview on the tv only BT) but sorry if it is a stupid question and you may have already mentioned it but this will mean i dont have an optical between the tv and the surround sound (does this matter, is it not needed for dvds in surround sound) again sorry if youve already answered it

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Ok i get that i think and maybe as you say i would be be best to connect the optical cable between the Surround sound and the BT (after all i never use freeview on the tv only BT) but sorry if it is a stupid question and you may have already mentioned it but this will mean i dont have an optical between the tv and the surround sound (does this matter, is it not needed for dvds in surround sound) again sorry if youve already answered it

No, optical is only needed between TV and home cinema if you want to listen to the output from the TV's own tuner on the home cinema. If you want to listen to BT Vision, and BT Vision is connected to the home cinema via optical, then that will work fine. And as the DVD player is built into the home cinema, you don't need any kind of connection from outside to the home cinema for that. You don't even need the home cinema connected to the telly to hear DVDs in surround sound - but you wouldn't get a picture if you didn't connect it to the telly.

[Marcus663]

Thanks Broadz is this now correct, this is my planned setup.
1) HDMI between BT Vision Box and TV
2) HDMI between DVD/Home Cinema and TV
3) Optical between BT Box and DVD/Home CInema.

What i hope to achieve from this is to watch TV as broadcast thru the BT Vision Box (On demand being in HD & 5:1)
Watch DVDs in HD and in Surround Sound.

If this is incorrect please just tell me what leads should be going where?

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

Watch DVDs in HD and in Surround Sound.

You can't watch DVDs in HD. Unless they are Blu Ray discs, and the home cinema you have bought is a Blu Ray home cinema - and the LG-HT805SH certainly isn't. But your connections are certainly correct.

[Marcus663]

Thank you for the confirmation re my connections, if i could buy you a drink over the web i would.

What do you mean you can't watch DVDs in HD i thought by the player upscaling the DVDs to 1080 that would be HD (Isn't 1080 HD?)
(Or is upscaling to 1080 different than actual HD?)

As my previous post says, i have bought the LG-HT805SH
(not the Blue Ray home cinema which you say i have bought).

Thanks again.

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by Marcus663

What do you mean you can't watch DVDs in HD i thought by the player upscaling the DVDs to 1080 that would be HD (Isn't 1080 HD?)
(Or is upscaling to 1080 different than actual HD?)

Massively different. If upscaling an SD DVD turned it into high definition - there'd be no need for Blu Ray or BT Vision broadcasting in high definition would there? You'd just connect your kit to your telly using HDMI cables and everything would be high definition through upscaling...

No, an upscaling DVD player tries to guess what the missing pixels are that would be included if the DVD disc was actually a Blu Ray disc by looking at the pixels which are there and making an educated guess. Just the same as your telly would if you fed it via scart.

In fact, your TV will almost certainly make a better job of upscaling than your DVD player would. I have a Samsung TV and an LG upscaling DVD recorder - and the TV upscales much better than the LG does. Which is why I feed an SD signal from my DVD recorder to my TV, and let it upscale the picture to fill its screen. Rather than let my DVD recorder upscale the signal before sending it out, and let the TV just show the upscaled picture it receives.

The only time I have come across an upscaler built into something other than the TV make a better job of upscaling than the TV is with my Blu Ray player and my Sky HD box. But that is because both of those are built to handle high definition. An upscaling DVD player or recorder is not built to handle high definition - and usually makes a fair attempt at it, but it doesn't generate anything like real high definition.

Originally Posted by Marcus663

As my previous post says, i have bought the LG-HT805SH (not the Blue Ray home cinema which you say i have bought).

I said you hadn't bought a Blu Ray. Not that you had.

[Marcus663]

Thanks for everything, i will use your knowledge again should i need to add anything,