yes its all in one, sony dav dz500f, 1000 watts its a fucking monster of a sound system mate, i can only really have it on 20/25 before the glass starts to crack!! but no its not a seperate amp.
i thought if your tv was HD, then when a blu ray (hd) player was connected (via hdmi) then the sound would be high def as well??
No mate. Most TVs are stereo sound out or surround, which is a pseudo type of 5.1.
All HD means on your telly is that it can play pictures in 1080p (Full HD) of 1080i (HD Ready). The sound still has to come out of the speakers, of which there are normally only two or three. TVs also dont have the proper hardware or codecs to decode the signal from the player. In an ideal world you need a seperate Amp that you can either connect your player to (either the player will output Bitstream sound and the amp will decode it, or the player will decode it and output multichannel PCM) and the Amp will then wack it out to yor 6 speakers. The easiest methd is if you have an Amp that has HDMI inputs and outputs. Bluray player to Amp input via HDMI, configure the Amp to put picture to your telly (via HDMI out) and let it do its thing to your speakers.
You cant get TRUEHD or DTS-HD over coax/optical. (unless you want to run 6 cables from the player to the amp and not many support this method) These are the HD sound output formats at the moment although every disc will come with 5.1 as minimum, which very amp will play and you can connect with Fibre.
thanks for the advice, but surely a PS3 is more game player orientated? besides, im having enough trouble talking the missus around to having a blu ray, if i suggest buying a PS3 i'll have no chance!!
PS3 is actually one of the best players out. The picture and sound are both top drawer. I had a Panny BD30 player which I've just sold to get the PS3. The Panny was/still is regarded as one of the best players out there. To tell the truth there is no discernible difference between the PS3 and the Panny. And it upscales normal DVDs much better than the Panny does. And you dont have to get an amp that will decode a bitstream.
The advantages of the PS3?
1. Its a gaming machine. And a very good one at that. I had a 360 which I got rid of because I basically only play the odd game or two so its handy to have it for that if I want it. The 360 cant support Bluray playack. The PS3 does both very well.
2. Its much more than a gaming console. And much more than a Blu ray player. It connects wirelessly to the internet and updates automatically to all the latest standards. It allows you to surf the net.
3. It is basically an excellent media centre that just happens to play games as well.
I have mine set up at the moment and it runs everything I want from the one place. And its a lot smaller and quieter than having an Xbox and a blue ray player, (and you have a DVDas well cos its your amp) and all the associated leads and power packs in the case of the Xbox.
Here's what mine does for me at the moment:
Plays blurays
Upscales (very well) and pays DVDs
Lets me connect my USB sticks to play back movies/music/pictures
Lets me connect my HD video camera to it via its SD card or USB ports. Allows me to save to its hard drive.
Streams music/videos and pics seamlessly from the PC upstairs which has most of my ripped movies/DVDs etc. And upscales them.
Plays back DIVX ad Mpeg files.
Can use it to surf the net. Plays back Tube8 stuff
Is much better looking than the Xbox.
Oh, and it plays games. Very well!
And allows connectivity to the worldwide games scene wirelessly from out the box - for free. Xbox live is a bit better but you have to pay, and if you want to go wireless then you have to buy an adaptor.
Im usually one of the "oooh that new I've gotta have that" brigade I'm afraid - hence the panny etc when it first came out. But to tell the truth the PS3 does everything as well, if not better, than having a stand alone Bluray Player and my Xbox. You might not want games, but its there if you eve do. You might not want a media centre, but its there if you do.
Best buy around at the moment IMO for entertainment.
Oh, and dont worry about 7.1 unless you're really serious on HT, or have a dedicated room for a really expensive system. Not many discs seem to support 7.1 at the moment anyway. There's better money to be spent IMO.
Hope that was helpfull.
