Replacing old DVD player.. thoroughly confused with sound options..

Scam · 4 Sep 2007 at 12:36

Rrrright. Currently we have a JVC RX-774VBK amp/receiver which we used for radio, tv, and DVDs (5.1). This was combined with a Pioneer DV-606D DVD player. These are both American, and used to run off a power adapter. However we've recently moved house, and just because the way the room is setup we can only power the amp/sound system (it's nowhere near the TV/DVD)

So i was looking at getting a new DVD player (Philips DVP5960 for example), however i've just noticed that the Pioneer DVD player we have has built-in decoding for Dolby 5.1, DTS and all that good stuff. Now i'm a bit confused as i thought it was the JVC receiver that did all that.

We want to still be able to have 5.1 for watching DVDs, but not being particularly experienced in home theatre setups i'm a bit confused as to what was 'powering' our 5.1. I dont really know what the deal is with having 5.1 on DVD players that dont decode it for you? I guess you have an amp/receiver that decodes 5.1? So, does ours? :confused:

Now i'm starting to think maybe it's worth keeping the Pioneer DVD player (it seems quite good) and just buying another power adapter? Would this be the sensible thing to do? :confused:

If anyone could explain exactly how our setup worked that would be great

Metallifux · 4 Sep 2007 at 12:46

How was your DVD player connected to the amp? If it was just by 1 cable either coax or optical then your amp has been doing the decoding. if it was 6 cables, one for each channel then the DVD player was doing the decoding.

Scam · 4 Sep 2007 at 14:02

Metallifux said:
How was your DVD player connected to the amp? If it was just by 1 cable either coax or optical then your amp has been doing the decoding. if it was 6 cables, one for each channel then the DVD player was doing the decoding.

Unfortunately i couldnt tell you, this is the half the problem! My Dad set it up yonks ago but does not live with us anymore so i'm left to figure it all out

I'm confused as to whether the amp actually decodes 5.1? Am i getting muddled in my terminology now? lol.. I certainly couldnt tell you if we were using coax or optical :\

Here's the amp.. http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL005040&pathId=5&page=1&archive=true we have a huge box of leads so i'm sure i could hook it up either way (that'd be fun to figure out, lol).

Is it better to let the amp or the DVD player decode? I'm leaning towards getting a power adapter for the DVD player and wiring it all up. Afterall the DVD player works so there's no real need for a new one, and surely getting the Philips would be a downgrade anyway? What kind of adapter do i need? The one we have (currently powering the amp etc.) is massive but there seems to be lots of small ones out there :confused:

Metallifux · 4 Sep 2007 at 14:32

First 4 words on the link to the amp were "This Dolby Digital Receiver" so it's a good bet the dvd is connected by coax and the amp is doing the decoding. As for which is best for decoding amp or DVD, I'd always go for the amp as more than likely it will have better dacs.

Scam · 4 Sep 2007 at 14:59

Metallifux said:
First 4 words on the link to the amp were "This Dolby Digital Receiver" so it's a good bet the dvd is connected by coax and the amp is doing the decoding. As for which is best for decoding amp or DVD, I'd always go for the amp as more than likely it will have better dacs.

dacs?

So i'll have no problem getting 5.1 with any DVD player i get (talking about the Philips really)?

I guess now i need to decide whether it's worth getting the Philips or not, if that's the case. The Pioneer seems to be a great player although it's very old (i remember soldering it to make it region free :eek:

). I cant find it for sale anywhere else so i dont really know how much it's worth and what kind of quality it is compared to the Philips? :confused:

So.. £20 power transformer or £40 Philips DVD player i guess is the question!

Metallifux · 5 Sep 2007 at 07:17

DAC = Digital to Analogue converter. I'm amazed that you can competently solder a dvd player to make it region free but then are lost when it comes to connecting it to an amp. Never mind. Your choice is now purely based on cash. I would however point out that the Philips can playback xvid files which is never a bad thing.

Scam · 5 Sep 2007 at 10:33

Metallifux said:
DAC = Digital to Analogue converter. I'm amazed that you can competently solder a dvd player to make it region free but then are lost when it comes to connecting it to an amp. Never mind. Your choice is now purely based on cash. I would however point out that the Philips can playback xvid files which is never a bad thing.

Well i had to get a friend help me solder. It's odd. I've just never had much experience setting up home cinema stuff as it's always been 'there' already setup. Having never had the cash or need for my own i've never had the need to set one up really!

Now, i've just got a reply from my Dad (who's kit it 'really' is) and he says;

I will look in more detail when I am back but as I recall the amp does not have a decoder, it just has the separate inputs for the decoded 5.1. So you need a DVD player that has the decoder built in.

Hum. I'm thinking playing the safe bet and getting another transformer for now. Can anyone confirm for sure whether or not our amp has a decoder? I will look at the back in detail when i have a chance (i'm rushing off out now) and perhaps take a pic? lol..

Cheers!

One More Solo · 6 Sep 2007 at 18:15

Post some pictures of the back and how it's all connected and I'm sure someone will give you the definitive answer.

Scam · 10 Sep 2007 at 12:32

Hi guys. Sorry for the late response but i've been away all weekend. Here's a pic of the back of the JVC amp. As i said, it's not all hooked up yet (recently moved house, only just getting round to it). If anyone could tell from that whether it just accepts decoded 5.1, or whether or not it'll be able to decode 5.1 itself..? :confused:

The DVD player has outputs for component video, 2 channel and 5.1, by the way.

Much appreciated

One More Solo · 10 Sep 2007 at 13:42

By the looks of it it only accepts decoded 5.1 which it then amplifies, doesn't look like it can decode to 5.1 itself?

Scam · 10 Sep 2007 at 15:18

One More Solo said:
By the looks of it it only accepts decoded 5.1 which it then amplifies, doesn't look like it can decode to 5.1 itself?

That's what i'm thinking. If anyone else could just confirm that too, that'd be great

. If that's correct, then i'm gonna stick with the old DVD player, as it does the job well enough, and (more importantly) decodes 5.1. It's always been a very nice setup anyway. Now i need to make sure i buy a good enough transformer so the whole thing doesnt blow up, heh.

Corasik · 12 Sep 2007 at 15:20

No digital inputs on that amp, so its totally reliant on the DVD player doing the decoding. These days only a few high end DVD players bother including Dolby/DTS decoding, Although I believe its actually fairly common for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray to include a 5.1 Analog output.

If your old player works. There is probably very little good reason to upgrade, unless your trying to add DTS for example. My DVD player outputs Dolby Digital, DTS, and SACD from its 5.1 analog outputs. That said I dont bother, as my processor handles the digital output from the DVD player and does all the decoding at that point. But you dont have that option unless you change the amp as well.