Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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A few months ago I made a post asking how I could get multiple sound inputs into my crappy all in one surround sound kit. xaos posted a nice cheap method iirc, but I totally ignored such advice and blew my christmas bonus (and then some) on an entry level 5.1 home cinema setup instead...
I settled for the following:
Onkyo 507 AV Receiver/Amp
Gale Gold Monitor fronts
Wharfedale Diamond 9 rears
Wharfedale Centre
(no sub yet, still shopping around for one...)
Now my PC is situated in a similar area to where the rears have been wired to, so I figured whilst sorting trunking and drilling holes - I might aswell run my PC into the amp aswell using a DVI to HDMI adapter, and using a digital coax cable for sound.
Assuming this is the most efficient way of sending sound/video to my TV - I should be able to view my 'acquired' 1080p films on the TV, but I was also considering buying a bluray optical drive for the PC rather than a stand alone bluray player. This could save me around £50, but are there any downsides to doing this rather than buying a stand alone? Real estate is a little tough to come by on my TV unit, so getting a player in the PC would be preferred from that point of view.
Regarding software, will stuff like VLC be fine for watching the BR films - or would it be worth spending some cash on software?
I'll happily buy a standalone if using the PC risks any sacrifice to viewing pleasure, but for reasons mentioned above - getting an optical drive in the PC is the preferred choice.
Cheers
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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noshua
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Registered: 19th Nov 08
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I can't comment on any of the hardware but as for playing blu-ray films you can use 'media player classic' or PowerDVD. Both are more stable than VLC for blu-ray.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by noshua
I can't comment on any of the hardware but as for playing blu-ray films you can use 'media player classic' or PowerDVD. Both are more stable than VLC for blu-ray.
Ah sweet, MP Classic comes with the K-Lite stuff if I remember right?
Will I have any trouble sending DTS/Dolby to my AV receiver, or should it transmit down the digital coax without problem?
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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noshua
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Registered: 19th Nov 08
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Like I said, I don't know anything about home cinema mate, sorry! Someone else should be able to advise you though.
MediaPlayerClassic doesn't come with any codec as far as I know - I think MediaPlayerClassic HC may do though.
edit: MPC is available here; http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/
I have it setup with CoreAAC (click) and CoreAVC (click). CoreAVC is paid though I think, you can get it for free via the 'usual' websites.
[Edited on 29-12-2009 by noshua]
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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I use cccp and mpc and it passes dolby across to my amp.
Proper blu-ray's are a different matter though, loads of content protection so not sure exactly what that will pass to where.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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Cheers noshua / John.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Rob R
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Registered: 31st May 03
Location: Kent
User status: Offline
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Richer Sounds are doing the Sony BDP 3360 standalone blu-ray player for £79 at the moment. If for whatever reason you wanted to watch a blu-ray in another reason it's a bit easier to move a single player compared to your whole pc
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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Yeah saw that when I went to pickup my amp/speakers - bargain, just need to find room for one in my unit 
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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