DVD player, Set top box + Cables

[Justme]

I currently have the following (all recently purchased):

• Onkyo 606 AVR
• Panasonic PV8
• Bose Accoustimass 3 (gifted)

I now need to purchase a DVD player (not very expensive - Hence, oppo is not a choice)
Set top box - which is better for this setup - Tata Sky, Airtel, Dish TV (I am not comfortable in buying Reliance)
Which all cables would be required for best connectivity and how should they be connected (which through AVR, wch directly to TV etc)

Also wanted to know since Bose Ac 3 is a 2.1 system and its speakers connect to the AVR through the subwoofer, if I add couple of floorstanders to the setup and make bose speakers as rear speakers, will the subwoofer still work?

I believe some of the questions are pretty basic, but I am a novice in this field and not ashamed to admit it.

 

[prakasse]

I currently have the following (all recently purchased):

• Onkyo 606 AVR
• Panasonic PV8
• Bose Accoustimass 3 (gifted)

Congrats on your purchase. AVR and PV8 are good choices.

I now need to purchase a DVD player (not very expensive - Hence, oppo is not a choice)

Try pioneer Dv610 in grey market : 6.5K Will give excellent video o/p to PV8.
Else try philips 5996.

Set top box - which is better for this setup - Tata Sky, Airtel, Dish TV (I am not comfortable in buying Reliance)
Which all cables would be required for best connectivity and how should they be connected (which through AVR, wch directly to TV etc)

Get Reliance. The pic quality is good. But the service is bad. This is same for all the DTH operators. Pic quality wise reliance is good.

Also wanted to know since Bose Ac 3 is a 2.1 system and its speakers connect to the AVR through the subwoofer, if I add couple of floorstanders to the setup and make bose speakers as rear speakers, will the subwoofer still work?

I am afraid nothing much can be done here. I saw the manual of the same downloaded from the website. The bose subwofer connects to its amplifier using acoustimass module cable which is non standard. Also the speaker cable is also non standard. However with little bit of tweaking you can use the speakers for the rears, i am not sure about the subwoofer.

Best is to move this bose to bedroom and invest in full 5.1 speaker system to match your Onkyo 606 which is a very good receiver.

I believe some of the questions are pretty basic, but I am a novice in this field and not ashamed to admit it.

No issues, keep your queries coming in.

 

[doors666]

[*]Bose Accoustimass 3 (gifted)

is it a good deal at the price u paid:lol:

if oppo is not a choice, I believe the general consensus on this forum is pioneer 610 or the cambridge audio dv something. pioneer is about 9k, but around 6.5k in grey market.

go for which ever has hdmi/component out for video as that will give the best pq. I believe none has hdmi. Also consider the support from these companies.

I believe bose 2.1 can be seperated and used independently without routing it thru the sub. You might have to set the impedence on the avr. Please do some research before doing so, dont blame me if something blows up as I have never tried this. I believe lot of people are using bose using some avr directly.
You can add the floorstanders and it will still work, though if u connect the speakers thru the sub, you might not get all the affects from the sub as you will probably be using the rca outs meant for rear speakers, instead of using the LFE out of the avr.

 

[skumar]

if oppo is not a choice, I believe the general consensus on this forum is pioneer 610 or the cambridge audio dv something. pioneer is about 9k, but around 6.5k in grey market.

go for which ever has hdmi/component out for video as that will give the best pq. I believe none has hdmi

Pioneer 610 has both HDMI and Component outputs, with upscaling.

 

[doors666]

Pioneer 610 has both HDMI and Component outputs, with upscaling.

I was referring to the set top box in this comment.

 

[tortoise]

Hi,

I bought Pio-600 AV in Bangalore with 1 year warranty from Pro Audiotronics on 22nd June. It costed Rs 5500 whereas a 410 was quoted at 6K. Not sure if the offer remains still

-tortoise

 

[Justme]

Get Reliance. The pic quality is good. But the service is bad. This is same for all the DTH operators. Pic quality wise reliance is good.

Since my AVR does upscaling, I was thinking of setting my STB to the TV through the AVR
STB to TV - composite / coaxial (which one will be required??)
AVR to TV - HDMI

Will there be similar configuration with the DVD player?
DVD to AVR - HDMI
AVR to TV - HDMI

Will two separate HDMI cable be required for setting AVR to TV for STB and DVDP or will it be one only

Regarding the DVD player, I am unable to find 5996, can I use 3996? What is the major diff between the two?

 

[venkatcr]

• Onkyo 606 AVR
• Panasonic PV8
• Bose Accoustimass 3 (gifted)

Which all cables would be required for best connectivity and how should they be connected (which through AVR, wch directly to TV etc)

What you must do is use the 606 as the central unit of your AV System. Connect all the sources to this, and connect the speakers and TV to the AVR.

1. Set Top Box to AVR. depending upon which unit you buy, you must use a composite cable or a component cable.
2. DVD Player to AVR. If you buy a modern DVD Player such as Pioneer 610, use an HDMI cable. Else use a component cable.
3. AVR to PV8. Use a single HDMI cable.
4. AVR to Speakers. Use good quality 16 or 14 AWG speaker cables.

For more details check my thread titled AVR Connectivity.

Also wanted to know since Bose Ac 3 is a 2.1 system and its speakers connect to the AVR through the subwoofer, if I add couple of floorstanders to the setup and make bose speakers as rear speakers, will the subwoofer still work?

You can certainly connect FS to the Front L&R of the AVR easily. Connecting the Bose to the surrounds of the AVR is tricky. You can logically connect the Surrounds L&R to the speaker level input of the Bose Sub, and the set the Bose satellites as Surround speakers. But with this configuration, you will not be able to use the Bose sub as a regular sub for the HT system by connecting it to the Sub Out or LFE out of the AVR.

Find out the impedance of the Bose satellites, and if they are 8 or 6 ohms, connect them directly to the Surround L&R of the AVR. Connect the sub to the sub/LFE out of the AVR.

Cheers

 

[suprateep]

Since my AVR does upscaling, I was thinking of setting my STB to the TV through the AVR
STB to TV - composite / coaxial (which one will be required??)
AVR to TV - HDMI

Will there be similar configuration with the DVD player?
DVD to AVR - HDMI
AVR to TV - HDMI

Will two separate HDMI cable be required for setting AVR to TV for STB and DVDP or will it be one only

Regarding the DVD player, I am unable to find 5996, can I use 3996? What is the major diff between the two?

okay to dispel a few myths

1. Airtel is slightly (maybe 5% to the naked eye) better in comparison to the rest - the high costs do not justify the minute increase in quality. Tata Sky does well - I have it and have no qualms about it.

2. Connection:
Tata Sky through composite to AVR - HDMi to PV8 (only a minute difference in tata sky quality - though noticeable) when 606 and pV8 upscaling are concerned.

3. Get a Pioneer 610 - its better than philips 5996/3996 (you can get 5996 in croma for5k - comes with free HDMI cable). Even audio quality is better and its a universal player. Better blacks and colour reproduction. If you use an upscaling DVD player like Philips 5996 or Pioneer 610 - use the HDMI cable from DVD player to Onkyo (set output in dvd player as 720p) - and use a DVD player again from onkyo to pv8. You need 2 HDMI cables.

Always note for connecting to TV from AVR you need a HDMI cable - use HDMI cables whenever possible to connect other peripherals to the 606 say for e.g. a ps3, an upscalign dvd player etc.

BTW since you have a PV8 - use the following settings for playback for HD or near HD content: (found using monster THX calibration DVD)

Use Standard mode + WARM
Brightness : 52
Contrast:23-25 (sometimes with poor quality rips or hindi dvds use upto 33)
Colour: 48
Sharpness:23
Tint: Neutral/default
Turn off all settings such as PNR etc.


Happy Viewing:clapping:

PS: Just saw Venkat Sir posted this above - so maybe a repeat

 

[skumar]

Unless you watch cable/STB for a very limited time, consider connecting the STB-Audio to the TV directly and then routing TV-Audio-Out to the AVR. This will help you to route the audio only of specific TV programs/movies to your HT and switch on the AVR only when you feel like when watching TV.

Be ready for a big jump in your electricity bill if you connect the STB-Audio to the AVR directly and you watch a good amount of cable/dish daily.