ONKYO HTS3100 v/s PHILIPS HTS4750

[AbhY]

Well, just finished buying a Panasonic PV8 plama TV. Now, looking for a good home theatre inside my budget of 20K. I want a good HD DVD player inside this price as well. Important thing is that i'll to have to buy it in next 18 hrs cause there's an excellent offer going on at the moment in E-Zone.
PHILIPS HTS4750 (With a DVD player) = 16.2K
Onkyo HTS3100 (Without any DVD player) = 16.5K

Btw, there's another model, Sony DAV-DZ570, which costs 19.5K and sounds almost same as the philips to my ears (bass was even better actually), but really didnt find anyone talking about it much in this forum. Any idea about this one?

I read a bit about these 2 (philips and onkyo) in this forum, but couldn't really arrive at any final conclusion.
I could test a 5.1 channel DVD playback in a closed room on the Onkyo. It was awesome. Then i tested Philips one in open. Sounded great too. The person there said, for music, Philips is better, but for movies, Onkyo is better. My music/movie watching is going to be 50%/50%. Style wise, i'm loving the Philips a lot, cause i just renovated my home. And Onkyo will get costlier when i add a DVD player but never mind, it's the sound quality that matters more.

A few questions-

1) IDK the DVD player model they are providing with philips, bit is it good? (In terms of controls, playback, quality of playback)
2) Will it support external HDD and HD movies available on internet? (I heard some HDD's require external power for their operation. I'm not sure what format of HD movies is available, but i think it's DiVx, no? If it's so, then it should play it.
3) Will it support the increasingly popular formats like .mkv or other formats of the h.264 Codec?
4)Any other things i should watch out for future?

Again, please reply early if possible, cause i'm going to get it today itself.

 

[marsilians]

I would go with the Onkyo as its got better connectivity as well as future upgrade options. The only thing that might be a bit laid back is the sub since its not a power subwoofer.

Some of the recent Philips systems have had reliability issues. I heard the 3569 and it definitely sounded a tad hollow.

Also just from a common sense perspective, if you think you are getting 2 systems for almost the same price with DVD throw in one of the packages, then they are sacrificing on quality or quantity on others to make this within the planned budget. In this case, Philips will come out weaker.

One thing to remember, you are asking for a lot in a HTiB including HD DVD etc. That will be a stretch for your budget. So start out with the Onkyo and get a decent DVD player that will upscale to 720P.

BTW, have you looked at Sony and Yamaha HTiB's They are pretty good esp. if you go up your budget a little.

 

[moserw]

Philips will have limited connectivity options and also more prone to breakdown since the DVDP/Amp are a combo (I think). Even if one goes the other becomes useless. In Onkyo you can change any part later on. Even a standalone DVDP is much better IMHO as you can upgrade it later on. I am not too much in favor of Sony (no punch in their entry level HTIBs), but Yamaha has a couple of great models too, but starting from around 24K or so.

 

[AbhY]

Well, i'm a beginner in Home theater systems and looking for a good sound. Can i get a these 2 things clarified?

Philips will have limited connectivity options and also more prone to breakdown since the DVDP/Amp are a combo

Even if one goes the other becomes useless

BTW, have you looked at Sony and Yamaha HTiB's They are pretty good esp. if you go up your budget a little.

Had a look at one of the Sony's as i said already. But E-Zone's representative said it won't play any video from USB. And there's no way i'm going to go above 20K.

 

[moserw]

AbhY,

Philips comes with a DVDP/amplifier combo (I think). I used a similar product but they are pretty limited in terms of connectivity options when compared to a dedicated AVR. Also, if the DVDP breaks down then there will limited options to connect an external source like DVDP/CDP etc. For an AVR you can connect just about any DVDP/CDP available in the market with many connectivity options in terms of analog, digital, HDMI, etc.

Coming to cost, even an entry level HTIB from Onkyo like 3100/3105 will be available for under 20K with a DVDP thrown in free.

 

[vint]

I have philips hts 3569, its very good for both music and movies. Got it for 21k. The only drawback is it does not have a optical input. But sound-wise its leagues ahead of onkyo/yamaha/sony entry level htibs.

Just my opinion, I heard all of them and then decided on Philips 3569. So audition them and check it out.

 

[Rakesh]

Abhy,
one of the dealer told that hts 4750 is going to be obsolete as they introduce hts 3569 in wooden box that may be a reason for low price as both the systems have same M.R.P.ie 22k+.
I also had the question in my mind that if dvdp break down can we play a separate player with the same system.

 

[AbhY]

Well, i'm done with the deal. I would've loved to go with Onkyo, but i went with Philips (Rs. 16,200) in the end. Got to the stores with Onkyo only in mind after what i read. Tested Onkyo's movie playback first, it was simply awesome. But after he played music, no/poor bass! It's not made for music, i 'm sure. After listening to same music again, in philips, there was no way i could avoid it as I'm going to listen a lot to music as well.

I also had the question in my mind that if dvdp break down can we play a separate player with the same system.

Even moserw is talking about same thing i guess. I asked it to the expert there in E-Zone. Well, he said that if the DVDP breaks down, i'll have to get the same one back somehow, in order to use the speakers and the woofer. If i can't, then i won't even be able to use the entire setup at all. IDK how accurate he is, but i certainly didnt like this much. But in the end, as i said, the "music sound" difference was too big to be worried about it.

 

[AbhY]

Just curious, is it possible to play HD movies available on internet? IDK much about the format available...may be it will play only DiVx HD movies. I'll like to know more about it.

 

[madbullram]

Abhy: Congrats and welcome to the 4750 family. Have been using the system hardcore for 3 years and only once it had let me down that bcos the Ants found the system taste very good and they ended up eating the power circuit unit. Trust t was one of the weirdest thing I have seen.

Tune the system well, get a THX DVD movie and use the THX optimizer in it and also set the delay and sound boost based on where the speakers are placed. This is important for a good effect.

The 4750 is not made in India and is made in UK and built quality is very solid and also the tray less design is supposed prevent dust entering the system.

This wont play HD movies available in internet, I am not sure if HD DivX would play as I havent tested that but the system plays DivX videos like charm. Ensure you download the firmware update from Philips UK website.

This is the main reason I bought WD TV so I can enjoy HD movies

Rock on buddy!!!

 

[AbhY]

Thanks madbull.

Tune the system well, get a THX DVD movie and use the THX optimizer in it and also set the delay and sound boost based on where the speakers are placed. This is important for a good effect

How can i find if a movie has a THX version of it's DVD?

 

[marsilians]

Thanks madbull.


How can i find if a movie has a THX version of it's DVD?

Find a THX Certified DVD Title

Click on the link to show all movies.

 

[AbhY]

Well, i found out that ghost rider was present in the limited list of THX CERTIFIED DVD's on this site. But territory given there was France. Does it still mean the copy of this movie available here will have "THX" stuff in it? If yes, i can try ordering it from library. (Seventymm.com)
And one more question, as it's available in many movies, is the THX setting specifically for that Movie only? Can i know more about such tweakings if it's worth? (TV and Home theater, both)

 

[marsilians]

Well, i found out that ghost rider was present in the limited list of THX CERTIFIED DVD's on this site. But territory given there was France. Does it still mean the copy of this movie available here will have "THX" stuff in it? If yes, i can try ordering it from library. (Seventymm.com)
And one more question, as it's available in many movies, is the THX setting specifically for that Movie only? Can i know more about such tweakings if it's worth? (TV and Home theater, both)

No the setup I have seen are common for all THX DVDs. The ones I have used are Toy Story 1/2, Monsters Inc. Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Indiana Jones series. They all have the same settings. This is in the audio setup section of the DVD (so if you get it from one of the bazaars, it may not have this copies over )

 

[AbhY]

Well, i did order the original "GHOST RIDER" DVD but it doesn't have any THX optimization

What can i do? Any other option other than THX?

And does it have picture quality adjustments too? I'll like to know about other Video/Picture tweakings also if it's worth.

 

[sam]

Dealers for PHILIPS HTS4750..Delhi

hi....i am looking to check out HTS 4750 in delhi....but unable to find any dealers...can someone help me with some contact details...pls

cheers
sam

 

[nphutane]

Check out the Philips Arena Outlets:

Philips Arena - Delhi (East)
3, Vigyan Vihar, Near Yamuna Sports Complex, Near Anand Vihar Colony, Delhi-110 092.
Tel : (011) 22149595 / 22159595

Philips Arena - Delhi (Central)
P-25, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, Below Madras Hotel, New Delhi - 110 001
Tel : (011) 23742578

Philips Arena - Delhi (North)
7332, Prem Nagar, Shakti Nagar Chowk, New Delhi - 110 007.
Tel : (011) 23829229

Philips Arena - Delhi (West)
A-3/315, Paschim Vihar, Opp. BPCL Petrol Pump, Near Jwala Heri Market, New Delhi.
Tel : (011) 42321700 / 42321800

 

[realactivex]

If you are serious about sound and Picture adjustments, then i suggest buy an AVIA or a DVE dvd from amazon.. You might have to spend initially, but it will be worth it.

 

[aayushmathur]

Hi,

I have been going around visiting Bangalore and Chennai stores this weekend for a demo of the Philips 4750 system. Could not find it anywhere!! Even the Philips Arena guy in Chennai says it is an old model and has already been phased out.

The eZone outlets in Chennai are even worse. They don't have the Philips 4750/3569 or the Onkyo 3100 models. In Bangalore -eZone, Croma, Reliance Digital all had the Onkyo 3100 (offered at 21.5K)but they would take a couple of days to deliver from the warehouse.

The eZone sales folks are extremely frustrating due to their lack of knowledge. It is like having illiterate librarians!

Is there a place in Chennai where I can demo the Philips 4750? I have checked the 2 eZone outlets (Alwarpet and OMR), Vivek's at Spencer Plaza and the Philips Arena on Mount Road.

Thanks for your help

 

[madbullram]

U can come home if you really interested, I am home tom as its a holiday!