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Can I just purchase speakers?

I have an aspire DVD/Kareoke, etc DVD player attached to my 42" Mag HD Plasma. I bought a cheap home theater in the box this week and it was basically a DVD player with six audio outputs, a powered sub woofer and 5 speakers. I noticed when I was unhooking my aspire that it too has all the same outputs on the back. I hooked the new speakers to the old aspire and it worked. So I wondered if I could go cheaper, by just buying a subwoofer/speaker set without the new DVD thrown in. Has anyone seen sets of speakers sold without the DVD or receiver?

Second, I could get sound out of the home theater speakers when playing a DVD but not when playing the TV. I have an HD cable box with component outputs. The cable video outs went to the TV, I hooked the cable audio to the DVD player via an optical cable. I hooked the DVD video out to the TV using component cable and of course the audio out to the sub woofer on the home theater. When I couldn't get sound from the cable box I took it back to Best Buy until I figured all this out. I got to thinking that maybe to get the sound from the cable box to the TV via that optical cable maybe there was a menu setup on the TV that I was supposed to configure for home theater?

This is all new to me and I must admit that the instructions that \\came with the TV and the Home theater are severely lacking.

Reply to
m_corbelli
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Yes, zillion choices, sky is the limit for price. You can buy speaker packages of your choice for sure.

The digital audio coax cable is proper one to use from cable box. If it is plugged into DVD player, the player should have an input switch to direct the audio out to the speakers. You have to choose source of audio between DVD and cable box. Right? Good luck, Tony

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Reply to
Tony Hwang

Optical IS digital audio. The orange rca jack is also digital. It's known as a SPDIF (pronounced spi, dif) output. Just make sure your Cable box is set to output the audio through the optical out. These two outputs are the only way to recieve 5.1 or more audio. If there is a menu on the reciever make sure the TV audio input is set to digital, through the optical input or possibly PCM Streaming setting.

Reply to
Fyrman

No, it's an optical cable. You plug it in the optical port on the back of the cable box and a red light gets transmitted down it's length. Is this the same thing?

Reply to
m_corbelli

I had bought a 3' optical cable at Best Buy for $22. Later that day, I saw an RCA 6' optical cable at Wally Mart for $4 so I bought it and took the Best Buy cable back. Do you think the RCA for $4 is good enough?

Reply to
m_corbelli

Hi, Yes. In a way Toslink(optical cable) is immune to external electrical interference. Has higher band width than copper. Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi, Only difference maybe build quality but if it works, it works. I don't believe in such things as high priced Monster cable as such. We're not talking about equipping space shuttle which is different case. Tony

Reply to
Tony Hwang

For the most part with optical, you either get a signal or you don't. Plain and simple. Like with anything, quality makes a difference but with the system you have, (and not that there's anything wrong with it!), the cheaper cable will work just fine.

Reply to
Fyrman

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