Getting a Blu-ray HT system. Need some help on a few things.

[C-A-S]

Hey what's up?

I'm hoping somebody can shed a little light on a few things for me. I'm looking to buy the Panasonic SC-BT100 Blu-ray HT system. I'm usually very good at hooking up these kind of things but I never had to deal with HDMI with a surround system before and I just want to be clear on some things.

What I want to be able to do is get not only the Blu-ray HT to be in surround sound (that's easy enough) but I want to be able to have my cable TV and my Xbox 360 to be in surround sound as well.

I have the Panasonic TH-50PX60U TV set that is currently connected through HDMI to my digital HD DVR cablevison box. That leaves one HDMI input left on my TV. Which I plan on using to the Blu-ray HT when I get it. Now I'm guessing this doesn't make my cable tv watching surround sound as well, right? What do I need to do to make this happen?

Also my Xbox 360 is currently hooked up to my TV via component cables. What's needed to make this surround sound to the HT system? I have a Nintendo Wii too but I don't think I'm going to have any slots or whatever left on the HT to make this surround sound as well. So I'm just mostly concerned about what I mentioned above.

ANY help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time.

Corey.

[chlngr1970]

Well, since this is such a new item, it's hard to find stuff on line for it. I wouled imagine it has at least two digital inputs, so, there you go. Optical digital from your Xbox, and cable box, you are good to go.

good luck!

j

[SilentBob]

Well from the sounds of it from their own site it wouldn't be the best thing to invest in. Only one component input, 1 HDMI for the setup itself and 1 optical input. Its a 7.1 system and for some reason they only give you a 5.1 speaker setup.

So for the $1000 cost you are better off getting a nice receiver and PS3. You will need more for the speakers (less if you already have some) but would be a better overall plan in the end to get everything look and sound great at the same time.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by C-A-S

Hey what's up?

I'm hoping somebody can shed a little light on a few things for me. I'm looking to buy the Panasonic SC-BT100 Blu-ray HT system. I'm usually very good at hooking up these kind of things but I never had to deal with HDMI with a surround system before and I just want to be clear on some things.

What I want to be able to do is get not only the Blu-ray HT to be in surround sound (that's easy enough) but I want to be able to have my cable TV and my Xbox 360 to be in surround sound as well.

Thank you so much for your time.

Corey.

Corey, you could get the unit you are looking at, and order one of these:
For only $5.25 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 3X1 Optical Audio Toslink Bi-Directional Manual Switch | Toslink Switch / Converter

That you will allow you to switch up to three optical sources for use with the Panasonic HTIB.


Or, IMO this combo is an even better solution:
Amazon.com: Onkyo HT-SP908 7.1 Channel Home Theater System: Electronics
Buy the Philips BDP7200/37 Blu-ray DVD player and other HD DVD & Blu-ray Disc players at circuitcity.com

That will give you a nice entry-level Blu-ray player as well as a killer receiver/HT package with lots of inputs and a DVD player to spare! The Blu-ray player I listed can bitstream the nextgen codecs to the receiver in the Onkyo SP908 for full-resolution Blu-ray audio! IMO the Onkyo SP908 + Philips BDP7200 combo will give you higher quality than the Panasonic HTIB you picked out.

Another possibly good BD player option instead of the Philips is the Samsung 1500, which so far seems to be a lot better than its precessors and the best bang-for-buck:
Samsung - Blu-ray High-Definition Disc Player with 1080p Output - BD-P1500

[C-A-S]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Corey, you could get the unit you are looking at, and order one of these:
For only $5.25 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 3X1 Optical Audio Toslink Bi-Directional Manual Switch | Toslink Switch / Converter

That you will allow you to switch up to three optical sources for use with the Panasonic HTIB.

Nice. I think this is what I'm going to do. Sounds like the best option for me 'cause I don't think I can swing the amount of what it would cost me if I had to build a setup peice by peice.

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by C-A-S

Nice. I think this is what I'm going to do. Sounds like the best option for me 'cause I don't think I can swing the amount of what it would cost me if I had to build a setup peice by peice.

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

No problem, that optical switch is certainly a simple solution to the problem.

Be sure to price and take a look at the second combo I listed, though, also - at most I'd imagine it would only be at most $200 more altogether. The Onkyo SP-908 HTIB comes with everything you need except the Blu-ray player, and you can get the Philips BDP7200 Blu-ray now for only $349. The Onkyo SP-908 + Philips BDP-7200 combo would likely give you a significantly better experience than the Panasonic HTIB - plus you wouldn't have to hassle with a manual switch as the Onkyo has much more inputs.

[C-A-S]

Hey... I still haven't bought a Blu-ray system yet. I most likely will in the Fall. End of the year for sure. Hopefully by then there will be something right up my alley.

I was just curious though about something. I was having a debate with someone about the settings I would be using on the Blu-ray player when I get it. Now as you know I have the Panasonic TH-50PX60U. What output would I put the player on for this TV set? I know my TV can't do 1080p... (at least I don't think so) but would I have the settings on 720p or 1080i? It's my understanding that 1080i would be the way to go on a native 720p set. I mean I watch all my cable HD shows/movies on 1080i and they look really, really good.

Thanks for any thoughts on this.