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Cross-posting from my "Home theater using powered (active) speakers?" thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3262931 Can anyone recommend a 32" 1080p HDTV with line-level analog audio outputs: - which are always active - which carry audio from all sources (including digital inputs like HDMI) - are volume-adjustable via remote control (including after the internal speakers are disabled) ? I recently bought a Sony Bravia KDL-32S5100 but found that though the RCA audio outs do carry all source audio (including HDMI sources), there is no way to control the volume level of the RCA outputs. This won't work for my setup so I'm looking for something else... Thanks
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Feb 5, 2010 19:24
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subx posted:I don't know that any newer TV's do that? I think it's always a constant-volume output, and expected that the volume will be controlled by whatever you are outputting too. I think it's assumed that you are outputting to a home theater receiver. My problem is that the speakers I want to use are powered and that connecting the TV to an audio receiver just gives me the same problem -- the preamp/line outputs of every receiver I've looked at are also a fixed volume level. It's an endless cycle of "connect this output to a separate receiver to control volume".  I guess my best bet at this point is to head to Best Buy or Frys or something and just start playing around with the sets on display and hope for the best.
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Feb 6, 2010 23:16
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I just picked up the LG 55LW5600 from Fry's to take advantage of the $1099 sale. Lots of positive reviews here and elsewhere. Great! Except... Right off the bat I am noticing audio sync issues - specifically, audio coming from my surround speakers noticeably prior to the corresponding video onscreen. I've got a Motorola HD cable box (Comcast) and an Xbox 360 both hooked up via HDMI to a Sony HT-SS360 surround receiver, which is then connected via HDMI to the TV. As far as I can tell from the manuals, AV sync/delay can't be adjusted with HDMI sources, so I'm at a loss here. I've seen posts regarding gaming input lag, but this affects everyday TV watching. Has anyone else experienced this issue with this set or have any ideas about what to try next? I'd hate to have to return it and get hit with the 15% restocking fee, but the sync issue is a deal-breaker.
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Dec 10, 2011 03:13
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As far as I can tell, the TV only allows adjustments for audio delay, which doesn't help considering audio is not being handled by the TV and audio is already ahead of the video. Like you said, I think that applies only when you are routing audio thru the TV. I broke out the receiver manual and under AV Sync, it says: Sony HT-SS360 manual posted:A/V SYNC (Synchronizes audio with video output) I tried Game mode still running through the receiver and it didn't help. I've tried disabling all the other settings like TruMotion, local dimming, energy save, etc. Didn't help either (and even if they did what's the point of the fancy TV with none of the fancy features). I did, however, confirm that connecting the devices directly to the TV seems to do the trick (no lag when listening through the internal TV speaker), including using the normal video settings on the TV. So I guess now I need to see about using the TV to route audio to the receiver? Can I do this (optical output) and still get 5.1 audio? I seem to remember seeing comments elsewhere that the optical out only carries a stereo signal or is mated only to the COAX input or something like that. Trickstand fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Dec 10, 2011 |
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Dec 10, 2011 04:23
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I was afraid of that. I read somewhere else that the optical out will pass audio in the format it's received, even from HDMI sources. But knowing what a merciless bitch HDCP is that didn't sound right to me. I guess I'm confused about how most people set up their surround sound systems. I went the receiver-is-the-hub route specifically because my last HDTV (Vizio 42") optical out was only mated to the coax input. (An aside, I never had any audio sync issues with the Vizio LCD, same audio setup) I have no idea what the HDMI spec on the receiver is; the spec sheet doesn't say anywhere. But, the receiver is from 2009 and according to Wiki the 1.3 spec was released in 2006. So, I'd have to assume the receiver is at least 1.3 compat. I'm assuming the auto lip sync feature in the 1.3 spec would account for my receiver not allowing audio delay adjustments on HDMI sources (because it would be unnecessary). I'm seeing other people posting about the same issue with other receivers connected to this TV. Multiple users with the same problem, but no solutions yet... EDIT: After further troubleshooting it's only getting murkier. Noting your suspicion about the set-top box (Motorola DCX3400), I went back to the Xbox 360, which is my only other HD source. Played a DVD, sync seemed fine, even with all the fancy settings on including TruMotion. Then, I played a TV show from Netflix - severe sync issue. I played another TV show from Netflix - sync was fine. I went back to the first show but this time hooked the Xbox directly to the TV via HDMI and using the internal TV speaker the sync was perfect. This is consistent with other TV shows watched on the STB: some have severe sync issues, some minor, and some seem to be dead-on. It's incredibly difficult to troubleshoot a problem when the results are inconsistent!  Considering I have sync problems on 2 separate sources -- problems which disappear when the devices are connected directly to the TV -- I'd say it's safe to say that the culprit is the receiver, or at least the relationship between the receiver and the TV. The only thing that's changed in my setup is the TV, though, so it's hard to blame the receiver when I never had a problem until now. I don't mean to derail with a long troubleshooting discussion but considering the 55LW5600 seems to be a hot item lately I figured others would want to know it may have some 'issues'. Trickstand fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Dec 10, 2011 |
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Dec 10, 2011 05:07
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Josh Lyman posted:I checked Fry's ads and don't see anything like this? For what it's worth, I am probably going to return the 55LW5600. The sync issue is really annoying, but even aside from that I'm not blown away by the picture quality. This set needs some major calibration before the image looks good (it is bad straight out of the box), and even after it's tweaked I still favor my 4 year old Vizio 42" LCD which is hardly tweaked at all.
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Dec 11, 2011 23:32
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Kingtheninja posted:The 42" LG LED at best buy is going for $550. After checking it out on the site, the reviews are horrible. I'm looking for something else in the similar size/price area but not sure which brands are decent and which ones to ignore. EDIT: sorry I thought you said LCD, not LED. Vizios I own are LCDs. Don't know about the LEDs, but I'd still check out the brand. Go look at sets in person -- TV reviews on the internet are ... largely misguided, to put it mildly. From the BB 42LV4400 reviews: samboslice posted:Picture wise its great you just have to be sure that if your getting an HDMI cable that its capable of the 120HZ instead of some that can only transmit 60HZ. Now the sound isnt the best, but you shouldnt expect it to be top notch since LG is not as advanced as lets say "Samsung" or "Sony."  (18 of 22 found this review helpful) Trickstand fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Dec 14, 2011 |
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Dec 14, 2011 00:50
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I just spent an hour+ at Fry's looking at TVs. I won't buy a TV from there again, but their showroom tends to be set up well, relative to other non-specialty stores. High-def content connected via HDMI and (supposedly) delivered via fiber. I don't know if I believe the fiber part, but it's better than watching standard-def crap over analog like you often find at Best Buy or Walmart or wherever. Walking around, the Samsung panels tended to catch my eye as having better picture quality, at a glance. Vibrant, sharp image with good motion and decent color fidelity. Assuming every TV in the joint was working with completely hosed picture settings (100% likelihood), the fact that the Samsung panels were generally better looking leads me to believe that either they are more forgiving and idiot-proof, or that their 'standard' or 'vivid' presets tend to be superior to other brands. I was also impressed with the Panasonic TC-P60GT30. It was sitting next to the Samsung UN60D6000S, and both sets looked pretty good in their own ways. The Panny had superior motion (plasma), great color accuracy in THX mode, and its picture clearly suffered less from lag than the Samsung. The UN60D6000S was definitely more bright and vibrant (LED-LCD) and 'impressive' (that said, the glossy screen on the Samsung seems to me to negate much of the brightness advantage over the GT30, which has a matte screen). For an LED-LCD panel the color and edge fidelity was quite good. I found myself going back and forth on which set looked better. I watch a lot of sports, and thankfully the channel was tuned to ESPN showing Sportscenter. Both sets looked way better than I was ever able to get my LG 5600 to look. Again, the Panasonic had the advantage reproducing the fast motion while the Samsung had more vibrant colors and an overall sharper image (though some loss of fidelity on background objects, such as team logos on benchwarmer jerseys). I'd recommend taking a look at either of these models/series if you've got a decent budget ($1000-2000) and are looking at larger panels (46"+). I'm finding it's much harder to find a decent large screen TV than one that's 42" or below. Almost every panel 42" or below looked at least decent, and it's likely you'd be able to find something pretty nice on a smaller budget, even with certain 'off'-brands.
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Dec 21, 2011 09:29
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Panasonic TC-P55GT30 sells for just over $1300 with free shipping from Amazon. Worth a look (see my comments a few posts ago about the 60" version).
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Dec 22, 2011 01:40
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I am one of the 5600 complainers. I was really underwhelmed by the picture quality. The amount of calibration needed to get a decent image was nuts, and football looked like rear end no matter what. With the right content it looked pretty good, but I'd only recommend the set to someone who watches mainly Blu-Ray content or really, really wants passive 3D and will use it a lot. I think the price point on this set has a lot of people biting on it (~$1000 for a 55", razor-thin, smart, 120Hz set with passive 3D... yeah it sounded good to me, too) and convincing themselves that the picture looks good after the fact. Maybe I'm just pickier than most? It's not a terrible set but unless passive 3D is a must-have you can do better for about the same money.
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Dec 22, 2011 23:13
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Does anyone here actually use the motion smoothing tech on their TVs (TruMotion, Clear Motion, etc.)? Seems most turn it off, but I actually like to leave it on at a lower level. On my LG, though, I noticed that when watching networks with a transparent logo at the bottom right corner of the screen (ABC, Bravo, etc.), the graphic would tweak out and scramble when an object 'passed behind' while TruMotion was enabled. I don't know if this is a shortcoming of LG's tech or if it's simply inherent to the frame-interpolation process. Anyone have any experience with this one way or the other?
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Dec 23, 2011 06:46
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:I'm still mystified as to who thinks this looks good. This being the HDTV Megathread, I have NO doubt that this argument has been brought up multiple times, so I won't further it beyond asking if anyone has a link or something that explains the reasoning behind this. I'm not being sarcastic, I genuinely want to read more about this new fad of smoothing out the tv's output, so as to give everything more frames. I haven't met anyone who actually prefers it. I'm in the minority, though, of people who actually use it during everyday TV watching. The trick is to find a set which lets you customize the de-judder:de-blur ratio to make the effect more subtle and useful. I found on my LG 55" LED-LCD (since returned for other reasons) that setting the de-judder to about 20-25% and and de-blur to around 80% generally provided smooth, lifelike motion. It wasn't flawless and occasionally suffered from some jerkiness, and had a hard time dealing with transparent broadcaster logos in the corner of the screen, but I could leave it on most any 30fps material and not be distracted. I figure 30fps video is intended to look more "real" anyway, compared to film, so I'm not jarred by increased realism in the motion. With toned-down settings it doesn't seem "soap opera-y" to me. Definitely don't use it for 24fps film content.
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Jan 19, 2012 02:30
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Primoman posted:Double Edit: I'm actually being convinced to go with DLPs instead. Cheaper, better image quality (just not as deep blacks, but the tradeoff is reportedly worth it), and they come in crazy Godzilla sizes: http://www.hhgregg.com/mitsubishi-73-3d-1080p-120hz-dlp-hdtv/item/WD73640  Also the specs say it doesn't do 1080p, only 1080i max. Kind of a bummer considering the 73" screen size. I've never seen a rear-projection TV that looks good, even new ones, but don't know about this model specifically. There's a good reason (or two) this technology is out of style (if it was ever in style). You get a lot of screen for the price, but you will trade image quality to get it.
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Jan 28, 2012 04:59
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