Lg ht805sh

[Kezman9]

Hi guys

Im new here so bear with me Right im a student living at home and have a Samsung le40b620r in my room with only a PS3 hooked up to it... So i want to get a home cinema system because i watch blu-ray movies but it seems bland without a proper sound system.

Ive looked around and shopped around most electrical stores in and around London but due to my lack of knowledge in this department i havent really come to a conclusion, however i have found this piece of equipment which seems quite good.

LG HT805SH Home Theater System - 850W Home Theatre System - LG Electronics ZA

Can i get an opinion on this please? I only have £200 to spend however i can push it out to £250 at a maximum, im only going to use it to play PS3 and watch blu-ray movies

Thanks for the replies in advance guys!

 

[StevieBuck]

This system appears to have an optical input so it should give you 5.1 audio from the PS3 (you'll need to buy an optical cable separately).

In terms of sound quality I don't know how good it is though.

 

[Kezman9]

Oh i see,... Well i've searched far and wide over the internet and there is not a single site that i've come across that has reviewed this product, is it new/old? Hopefully someone here has had some sort of experience with it Also it should have any compatibility problems with my television will it?

Also about the optical cable, is there any make i should go for or are they all the same?

 

[Kezman9]

Anyone?

 

[StevieBuck]

What type of compatibility problems are you worried about? Since you're only using it to play audio from the PS3, you don't even have to connect it to the TV.

I wouldn't spend much on an optical cable. You should get one for under £10 from one of the forum's assured advertisers.

AVForums.com List of registered Assured Advertisers

 

[Kezman9]

The sales assistant at Curry was saying that there could be a chance that there may be compatibility problems because my tv is Samsung and the equipment is LG? Sorry im a complete noob when it comes to things like this Im guessing no one has had an experience with this specific model then?

 

[Craig FLC]

Just bought one, like you I didn't want to have to spend much on a sound system after having just spent money on a high definition TV. I'm happy with it but I don't really have anything else to compare it too. I have an LG TV so I've got no compatibility issues and can't really comment on that but as far as I know this sound system should be universal across all media devices with an optical port. All I can think that compatibility issue she's speaking about is maybe cross functionality between your TV's remote and the sound receiver. Either that or she's just covering her arse because she doesn't really know one way or the other. If you're mainly using it for the playstation though they have optical ports on the back so you could just plug it into the back of that.

I have had a couple of issues with the sound syncing up but it's adjustable in the menu screen and have managed to sort it out quickly though that was annoying.

Also on the PS3 XMB and on screen keyboard there seems to be an error with the sound effects not playing immediately. Say I have to move along three places before I get the usual sound effects to play, stop moving for more than 5 seconds and it glitches again. Movies and games play fine though.

I have got the sound system rigged up through my TV though so the two above problems could be linked to that. If you want me to check and see if the XMB sound effect issue is still present when hooked up through the PS3 optical port post a reply and I'll try it out and let you know when I get a chance to try it out.

£167 here if you'd like to check it out, I doubt you'll get a 5.1 system with an optical port any cheaper.

LG Electronics HT805SH black | Skinflint Price Comparison UK

 

[StevieBuck]

I have got the sound system rigged up through my TV though so the two above problems could be linked to that. If you want me to check and see if the XMB sound effect issue is still present when hooked up through the PS3 optical port post a reply and I'll try it out and let you know when I get a chance to try it out.

Do you mean you have the PS3 connected to the TV by HDMI, and are relying on your TVs optical out to pass the audio on to your speaker system?

Very few TVs pass 5.1 audio through from the HDMI port to the optical output. The rest only accept 2 channel audio over HDMI and hence will only give you stereo out of the optical. If your TV falls into the majority you will be losing out on 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS from the PS3 by having it connected this way. You can always turn on Pro-Logic II processing for stereo sources to up-mix the audio to 5.1 - but this surround effect will not sound as good as a true 5.1 signal.

You can add in an optical switch if you wish to use multiple optical sources with the sound system and do not want to keep chagning over cables:

TOSLink Switch - Digital Audio Optical Switch

 

[Craig FLC]

Thanks for that Stevie, I thought I'd be getting a true 5.1 signal as standard through the optical out port on the tv & that was the point of upgrading and not having the old analouge wires. Another thing the clueless in Currys failed to tell me when I bought it (actualy asked as well).

The sound seems to be ok though, I'm far from being an expert but the audio seems to be coming out of the correct speakers from the sources I have plugged into the set and relayed into the reciever so I may be lucky with my set, I'll check the manual and see what it says. If not though how would I go about getting Dolby 5.1 sound out of a device without an optical output on it but is capable, like an X360?

Oh, and if anyone else has come here thinking of buying this speaker system I'm happy with it but the sound synching issues are starting to **** me off, I have to manually change the synch up options to plus 30ms everytime I want to play Xbox and there's no way to store settings.

 

[StevieBuck]

You can only input 5.1 audio to this system from an external device over the optical connection. Some other types of audio output connection can be converted to optical, but digital coaxial is the only realistic one you can work with without spending a lot of cash on convertors.

Unless you have one of the basic models (like the Arcade version) the xbox 360 does come with an optical output. Instead of being on the back of the console itself, it's built in to the connector head (the end that goes into the console) of the supplied component video cable. If you're using the HDMI on your 360 however, you won't have this connected. There's already a sticky thread telling you what to do in that situation though:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox-360/982786-hdmi-optical-out.html

 

[Kezman9]

Well as Stevie suggested to me in a previous post i will connect my PS3 to my tv via HDMI and then into the system via optical cable, but hows the quality of the sound Craig? Is it clear and can you hear the small things you wouldnt usually hear from the tv speakers? Because im thinking to save up a a bit more and go for a better one if this one isnt THAT good.

 

[Craig FLC]

Thanks for that post Stevie. Unfortunately I have got an arcade model, I've had two previous die on me the first a pro' which I just kept the hard drive and then downgraded to an Arcade which I bought in a sale.

At the moment I'm happy with how the sound coming out of the speakers, sounds from the rear left are distinctly coming from that direction and the same goes for every other speaker so I think I've got lucky with the TV, it is a new model. Besides I can't face buying any more wires, splitters or dongles at the minute the amount behind my set up and even trailing around the room (wired network, speakers, plugs etc) is driving me mad & I don't think my partner's too happy either. Utmost appreciation though for the links.

Kez, as you can probably tell I'm not too particular when it comes to sound quality. I wanted something with more bass than my tinny TV speakers, 5.1 surround sound and decent quality. I'm happy with my purchase. This model doesn't come equipped with DTS or any high definition sound decoders but from what I've read into it the increase in price far outweighs any audible benefits, slight as they are. If you really can't decide would you not be able to get a store demo? I say go for them, if you really were willing to spend a lot of money on a surround sound set up but are budgeting right now these would be a great stop gap, I doubt you'd pay the extra to upgrade though.

Oh, and the bass is great. I'm usually having to turn the sub-woofer off because I can feel the vibrations even at low volumes and the bass from the other speakers though small is great. Overall a big step up from my TV.

 

[u44]

I have lg 42lh2000 LCd tv + usb hard disk connected to tv (by usb 2.0). I can watch HD movies from usb hard disc in ac3 5.1 sound. But I have no home sound system yet. So, I want to buy LG HT805SH sound system and connect it by optical digital cable tv lcd tv. Will be LG HT805SH home theater system capable of producing ac3 5.1 sound from my hard disc?
thanks

 

[bigsby]

Was looking around for an all in one with optical input and noticed that Dixons are advertising this for £99.99

It's not for me as it doesn't have DTS (or even Dolby?) but looks like a good deal at that price.

http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/lg-ht8...-pdt.html?srcid=867&xtor=AL-78#tab-tech-specs

 

[Craig FLC]

U44, sorry I didn't realise someone had posted in this topic or I'd of checked for you. I'll check tomorrow in case it's still relevant. It should do though, I have a couple of files with 5.1 but most are MKV and weigh in at over 4 gig so I'll check to see if it'll read an NTFS formatted drive as well, maybe come in handy for future reference.

Bigsby: It has Dolby, it's marked into to top of the unit like a badge of honour. Is DTS really that important? It didn't factor into my choice of unit, from what I've read even in a professional studio environment any difference in sound quality is barely noticeable if at all and even then sometimes Dolby comes out as the superior format.

 

[u44]

craigFLc: I bought lg ht805sh and it works just fine. No problem with playing mkv files (HD) with 5.1 AC3 sound from external usb disk connected thrue lcd lg tv.

Simplink function works also. (hdmi needed)

 

[bigsby]

Bigsby: It has Dolby, it's marked into to top of the unit like a badge of honour. Is DTS really that important? It didn't factor into my choice of unit, from what I've read even in a professional studio environment any difference in sound quality is barely noticeable if at all and even then sometimes Dolby comes out as the superior format.

Some (many?) MKV files are encoded with DTS only so that would be a problem I guess.

 

[Craig FLC]

True, it has been a pain in the arse to convert the sound over on downloaded files, and yeah, "many".

U44, glad you're happy, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

 

[robc1967]

Hi

I have just bought this home cinema system from LG and was looking to see if anyone knows of a multi region hack being available. It seems to play some of my region 1 dvd's but not others.

 

[Craig FLC]

No but if you find one please let me know, I have a region 1 copy of Insomnia which I haven't been able to watch for years since an ex stood on and broke my multi region PS2 converter in a strop

 

[archermav]

Sorry to drag up an oldish thread, but I'm thinking about buying this system. Perhaps a daft question, but I was thinking that it would be SKY HD/PS3 to TV via HDMI, then SKY/PS3 to surround sound via optical (yep, with a splitter), then just mute the TV. Erm, is it really as simple as that? Thanks.

 

[Craig FLC]

Can't answer for a Sky box but as far as your PS3's concerned on the far left hand side of the XMB, then five or six options down you have the option of choosing how to output the audio, via the HDMI or Optical port. Choose Optical and there's an Optical button on the remote, pressing it will turn on the player in order to broadcast your audio through the 5.1 speakers.

Hope that helps, your Sky box should have a similar audio output setting.

 

[archermav]

Thanks for the reply, I have just ordered the system (£99 delivered, can't grumble at that). I assume when you refer to the remote control, you are talking about the remote for the surround kit. I do not own a PS3 remote. I own an LG TV, so I'm assuming that the simplink remote control can also operate the TV, or am I way out?

 

[Craig FLC]

I mean the DVD remote. I also have an LG TV & often just use the simplink. Handy having them connected together as you can navigate the menu screens on DVD movies with your TV remote. I rarely use my DVD remote any more. You'll figure it all out, it's quite simple but if you want any more help just post here & I'll help if I can.

 

[archermav]

Craig, daft question time mate. I have the system plumbed in, I have it via optical from the Sky box and the PS3. Anyway, which 'sound' mode would you recommend? Natural, natural plus, pop etc etc? I suppose I am asking, which 'mode' is actually fully fledged 5.1 dolby? Thanks