Best way to set up TV, Wii, PS3, NTL, Speakers

bibbly

hi there,

I recently bought new speakers for my TV and now my head is wrecked.. this is probably strait forward, but I cant get it right..

i have a Wii (with scart plug)
PS3 (with HDMI)
NTL ( connected with A HDMI)
Surround sound (have an optical cable (which cost an incredible 64euro)
HD TV with (optical, 2 X HDMI, 2X scart, and then normal plugs (red, white, yellow)

i dont know how to set it up, I thought i could just plug my Optical cable into my TV and back to the surround sound speakers, and bobs your uncle everything would work through the speakers, but no joy..

what is the best set up? will i need to keep plugging wires in and out to use the PS3, and NTL to get surround sound?? NTL is only HD in 2 channels so i am willing to use any other cable (scart, etc) if needs be..

thanks in advance.

The Ritz

Surround sound (have an optical cable (which cost an incredible 64euro)

The key to getting assistance here is to tell us what your "surround sound" is - do you have a separate AV receiver and Speakers that came together as a package or do you have an all-in-one system with the dvd player and amplifier in one box ? Make and model is the thing to tell us here.

€64 is pretty outrageous for an optical cable, right enough, so if you ever need another one there's no need to pay that kind of money for it - a bog standard optical cable from the like of Maplins will do the same job.

So notice to all posters: The OP is looking for help with his set-up here, not a commentary on the price of his cable, who sold it to him, where he could have got it cheaper, etc. etc. Lets keep it on topic, please, and give him a hand.

Thanks

Ritz.

bibbly

Sorry i should have clarified that it is a home Theatre..

Samsung HT-TZ225R/XEU Home Theatre Kit



DVD Features:

• Black.
• DOLBY digital, Dolby prologic II , Dolby DTS.
• 5.1 channels.
• Supports region 2.
• Playback compatibility DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG.
• DivX playback.
• Photo playback.
• HDMI output socket.
• Upscales to 1080p via HDMI.
• 1 SCART socket.
• PAL progressive.
• USB host.
• Remote control.
• Size (H)7, (W)43, (D)27.5cm.
• Weight 3.2kg.
• Remote control requires 2 x AAA batteries (included).

Home cinema system features:

• 850 watts.
• 145 watt subwoofer.
• 141 watt centre speaker.
• 4 tallboy speakers, 114 watts each.
• Built in radio tuner with RDS.
• Passive amp.
• Built in Dolby Pro Logic II decoder.
• Dolby digital.
• DTS surround sound.
• USB host with CD ripping features.
• Separate remote control included.
• Remote control requires 2 x AAA batteries (included).
• Size of subwoofer (H)32, (W)18, (D)38cm.
• Size of centre speaker (H)5.9, (W)30, (D)5cm.
• Size of surround speaker (H)102, (W)24, (D)24cm.

The Ritz

If I've got the model right, this http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200904/20090408141413906/AH68-02161F-ENG.pdf is the user manual, so see page 11 for the layout of the back panel of the unit.

You have the abiity to route two sound sources into your Home Cinema unit - one analogue (red and white sockets) and one digital, using an optical cable. You need to decide which of the three sources (Wii, PS3, NTL) you want to have running with surround sound and connect these to the unit. If it was me I'd connect the PS3 by optical, remember to set up the PS3 to output sound over the optical, not HDMI, and the Wii using a scart -> Sound and video cable (available in Maplins, Philips shop on the end of Georges Street or Peats, other places too I'm sure, doesn't have to be mad expensive, it has scart one end and three plugs on the other, red and white for sound, yellow for video, connect the red and white to the Samsung unit, the yellow video to your television). I'd go with the NTL box straight to the TV.

When you choose the Wii, set the Samsung to play sound from the AUX in sound, when you go with the PS3, set the Samsung to play sound from Optical digital, see page 25 of the manual.


Ritz.

Plascebo

If you run the NTL (or in my case SkyHD) straight to the TV how do you get the NTL to run through your home cinema?

Say for example you run NTL (Sky) through the optical to home cinema, how can you get the PS3 to run through the home cinema (Panasonic SC-PT470 in my case, has the same options for connections as above Sammy)?

Idleater

Plascebo wrote: »

Say for example you run NTL (Sky) through the optical to home cinema, how can you get the PS3 to run through the home cinema (Panasonic SC-PT470 in my case, has the same options for connections as above Sammy)?

You can't unless you get an 2->1 Optical connector because your PT470 is only listed with 1 optical input.

You could use the scart or the aux input to take the RCA (Red + White) connectors from the Sky box which would give you stereo and the possibility of psuedo surround sounding it with ProLogic.

Plascebo

Thanks for that nereid.

Asked the guy in the shop when I was buying it about the possibility of a 2->1 optical connector and he said he never heard of it! (t'was in Powercity).

Would I better off connecting the tv with optical and letting the sky play through the cinema system via tv?

Idleater

Plascebo wrote: »

Asked the guy in the shop when I was buying it about the possibility of a 2->1 optical connector and he said he never heard of it! (t'was in Powercity).

Good aul sales staff. If you are near a maplin they have them, but they are available on the internet, or plenty of other shops around.

If you do use a splitter, then you will get very odd results if both devices are on, but you won't do any damage I think.

Plascebo

Cheers nereid, will be looking into purchasing one of them. Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

Update: just ordered one off Amazon for €8 incl. postage... thanks again nereid.