Sound and Network setup for my Home

[chelseafc]

Hi guys, I am a newbie. Have very little knowledge of Audio Systems, Network devices. But I do know how sweet audio sounds like. I recently bought Samsung PS51F5500AR: Plasma TV - 129.54cm (51) Full HD 3D Smart Plasma TV (PS51F5500AR) - OVERVIEW

I am planning to buy following:
1. Headphones
2. Router
3. Audio System

Now I will provide my requirements one by one:
1. Headphones: I am looking for something suitable for Movies and Sports(Football). My budget is around 15 K. I do like bass and I am into Action Movies and Sci Fi stuff. The dialogues and sound effects should be crisp and clear. So 70% movies and 30% Sports. Also since I do not have any Analog out in the TV, would like some solution on that part. Should I go for D to A converter(Any quality issues?)? Or buy some cheap 2.1 system like Edifier C2XD that support optical in and Headphone out. This can be used with my Laptop or PC later on as I will buy proper Audio system later on.

2. Router: I use Beam Fiber here in Hyderabad so RJ45 WAN Port is a must. Basically I want to hook up my HDD so that I can share it with my laptop and TV so USB support is must. I also want HD streaming between my Laptop and TV, is it possible directly or do I need to do it via router. Router should have high speed to support HD streaming, just in case. Budget is around 6K.

3. The Audio system is tricky one, I plan to spend big on it but in stages. First AVR then the speakers. My budget is 100k to 150K, but that does not mean I will spend that much. I need good value for money stuff, and will never go for brands like Bose and JBL types. Again the usage will be 70% Movies and 30% sports. Room size is not fixed since I live in rented apartment so it is subject to change. Since this will be my first Audio system I am not sure how to express my requirements as of now, may be you guys will help me out with that.

Thanks in advance guys. really appreciate it.:signthankspin:

 

[haisaikat]

How far do you intend to place your router away from your TV? IS a wired connection possible between them, if yes then you can have a good router in less than 3K. However if you intend to connect via wifi dongles then the search has to be broadened.

Also for laptop streaming to TV you can do directly (I suppose you mean without wires) if you have wifi adapter in both and you install some software like this on your PC Virtual WiFi Router - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com so that TV can connect to wifi shared by your laptop directly.

 

[chelseafc]

Thanks for replying haisaikat. My TV and Laptop both have WiFi. I also have 3M HDMI so I can manage with that. The main requirement would be USB HDD sharing on the network. I tried Asus RT N13U but it did not work with my Beam Fiber. Please suggest something that is effective with USB 2.0 HDD sharing. I do have USB 3.0 HDD, do routers with USB 3.0 exist?

 

[GeorgeO]

I dont think a HDD connected to a router will show up as a drive on a laptop.You will need to connect it to a networked device like a computer or networked media player or a NAS

 

[haisaikat]

I have not seen routers with USb 3, but please do check on google. In general router USB's do not yield the same performance of read-write as compared to hooking drives directly to PC USB mainly due to the fact that the internal hardware is not so scallable for high speed data transfer that USB 3 permits, so it is not a problem to get a USB 2.0 enabled router.

If you do not intend to setup a Gigabit wired lan in your home you may go for TP-LINK TL-MR3420 3G/4G Wireless N Router - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com which is a good model in that price range and its USB can also be used for HDD sharing I guess along with USB modem (dongle) support in case of emergency. However be aware that normally they do not read NTFS (most of them) so HDD has to be FAT32

For auto discovery on windows 7 try below and see if your HDd in router automatically maps as a device (not drive) in windows
Enable & Disable Windows 7 Network Discovery

You can anytiome access the HDD by typing the \\<IP - Router> in run

 

[nikebofod]

yes,you will need to connect it to a networked device like a computer or networked media player or a NAS

 

[Nishant06]

yes,you will need to connect it to a networked device like a computer or networked media player or a NAS

Not necesarily. Look for dlink ac1200 on croma website. With discount coupon you can get it for 4500. It has cloud capability so you can share your HDD over network. Cheers!

 

[chelseafc]

Thanks GeorgeO, haisaikat, nikebofod and Nishant06. By cloud capability do you mean creating my personal cloud or using DLink's cloud services? I don't want to use my Internet's bandwidth while using Dlink's cloud. I am sorry to ask such a stupid question but i have no knowledge of this stuff. Also advice something for the Headphones I really need then this weekend, I am desperate to watch a movie on my new TV. Will the RCA out and 3.5 MM connector cable work for my setup? Thanks all for helping out.....

 

[chelseafc]

Hi Guys, after a bit of research I have narrowed down the AVR and the headphone to these:
1. Razer Tiamat
2. Denon AVR-2113CI

The issue is that prices in India are insane. But I am getting a good price at Amazon. I have one confusion though, will I get any warranty of these products here in India if bought through Amazon US? Thanks is advance....

 

[gauthamnaidu]

I dont think a HDD connected to a router will show up as a drive on a laptop.You will need to connect it to a networked device like a computer or networked media player or a NAS

Hi.. I have been trying to do the same.. I have my laptop (win 7 ultimate) and desktop (win 8 ultimate) networked.. I can stream movies or copy files from either.. My question is how to open the files on the 5500 directly.. When I try using Allshare(after installing it in the comp) it shows me few shared folders which are different from the folders that I have shared.. Can anyone help regarding this.. It would save the copying to pen drive and playing it on the tv.. :-D how lazier cna I get... Cheers

 

[UrbanNomad]

Hi.. I have been trying to do the same.. I have my laptop (win 7 ultimate) and desktop (win 8 ultimate) networked.. I can stream movies or copy files from either.. My question is how to open the files on the 5500 directly.. When I try using Allshare(after installing it in the comp) it shows me few shared folders which are different from the folders that I have shared.. Can anyone help regarding this.. It would save the copying to pen drive and playing it on the tv.. :-D how lazier cna I get... Cheers

Assuming your TV supports DLNA and TV, laptop, Desktop are networked, then install a media streaming software there are plenty ( Plex, Serviio, MB3) I tried all and ended up with Serviio Serviio media server on the system where bulk of movies are shared, after installation add the location of the movies to the serviio library, turn on TV, it should detect serviio and enjoy the movies.

 

[gauthamnaidu]

Assuming your TV supports DLNA and TV, laptop, Desktop are networked, then install a media streaming software there are plenty ( Plex, Serviio, MB3) I tried all and ended up with Serviio Serviio media server on the system where bulk of movies are shared, after installation add the location of the movies to the serviio library, turn on TV, it should detect serviio and enjoy the movies.

Thanks mate.. Will try today and keep you posted..

 

[dheerajjotwani]

U can use a router with usb port. Attach a hdd and run minidlna server on it. Its as simple as it gets. U can share this hdd via samba and then stream over wifi to a tab, laptop etc. Be careful while choosing the router and be prepared for a little Linux based diy to set it up. .. Once done it works well.

tapped on Note II cdma

 

[sappguru]

I bought Samsung 51" Plasma PS51F5500AR but did not find a port for audio output. I need to connect it to wireless headphone which has option to connect using single or L-R two connector pins.
Has anyone tried to connect external speakers or headphone to this model of Samsung? :sad:

Per Samsung website, here are the ports -

Component In (Y/Pb/Pr) 1
Composite In (AV) 1 (Common Use for Component Y)
Digital Audio Out (Optical) 1
Ethernet (LAN) 1
HDMI 3
RF In (Terrestrial/Cable Input) 1
USB 2
IR Out 1

 

[haisaikat]

I bought Samsung 51" Plasma PS51F5500AR but did not find a port for audio output. I need to connect it to wireless headphone which has option to connect using single or L-R two connector pins.
Has anyone tried to connect external speakers or headphone to this model of Samsung? :sad:

Per Samsung website, here are the ports -

Component In (Y/Pb/Pr) 1
Composite In (AV) 1 (Common Use for Component Y)
Digital Audio Out (Optical) 1
Ethernet (LAN) 1
HDMI 3
RF In (Terrestrial/Cable Input) 1
USB 2
IR Out 1

It seems unlike other TVs this model does not have stereo out (analog). So you would need to buy this Digital Coaxial Toslink Optical TO Analog R L 2RC RCA Audio Converter | eBay in order to leverage the Optical out port.