What kind of dvd player should I get and how should I connect it?

[Pubear]

Hello there, my name is Mike and I'd like to say that I'm super excited that I've stumbled upon this site!

I had a quick question about my what future purchases I need to make to put a smile on my face.

My old dvd player went out so I decided to spend the money I was going to spend on a dvd player on a home theater system. It's not high quality by any means but I still want to get as much out of it as I can. (surround sound does things to my insides )

The system I bought is an RCA RT2870. I am still in the market for a dvd player. (right now I'm using my ps2.) When I do get a dvd player for it, what sort of things should I take into consideration, how much am I going to need to spend on one that is capable of bringing out the full potential of the RCA, and with a low quality bundle system like the RT2770 is it worth forking out the cash for coax? Even if the cable improves the quality only a little I'm more than happy to make the investment but I don't want to spend that kind of money on a cable that's going to make no difference whatsoever.

Any other helpful advice you could give would be great.

 

[penpitt]

I couldn't find much info on the receiver that comes with your setup but it does look like it has component inputs. I would look for an inexpensive upconverting dvd player.All of them will provide surround sound. Here is a decent one for for about $70 although it may be cheaper through a place like amazon.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9237569&type=product&id=1218065493982

Component cables are inexpensive but nice quality through monoprice.com. You would still need to run separate audio cables from the dvd to the receiver.

 

[Pubear]

Thank you penpitt. That dvd player is right in my price range. I still need to know whether or not it is worth switching to coax for audio or if the rca's I'm currently using are going to provide the same surround quality. I've heard that rca's only provide one channel for the rear speakers shared by both the left and right but I've learned to double check everything I "hear."

 

[penpitt]

It looks like you would have to use the digital coax from the dvd to the receiver. I see only 2 rca plugs on the back of the dvd player which I believe would require your receiver to process it back into a 5.1 mix. I may be wrong on that because I have never used rca plugs for home theater audio, just optical and now HDMI. Here are some links to both digital coax and component video from monoprice.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10235

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hello there, my name is Mike and I'd like to say that I'm super excited that I've stumbled upon this site!

I had a quick question about my what future purchases I need to make to put a smile on my face.

My old dvd player went out so I decided to spend the money I was going to spend on a dvd player on a home theater system. It's not high quality by any means but I still want to get as much out of it as I can. (surround sound does things to my insides )

The system I bought is an RCA RT2870. I am still in the market for a dvd player. (right now I'm using my ps2.) When I do get a dvd player for it, what sort of things should I take into consideration, how much am I going to need to spend on one that is capable of bringing out the full potential of the RCA, and with a low quality bundle system like the RT2770 is it worth forking out the cash for coax? Even if the cable improves the quality only a little I'm more than happy to make the investment but I don't want to spend that kind of money on a cable that's going to make no difference whatsoever.

Any other helpful advice you could give would be great.

Welcome

I am not familiar with your system, sorry, and its capability. But, if it is capable of Dolby Digital audio or DTS audio input from a digital source, you should get a DVD player with a digital output.

The RCA red and white audio out is only stereo which your system would need the Dolby pro logic/II capability to get 5.1.

 

[audiohonic65]

What about going in for Blu-ray? You can do a market hunt for something suitable for you in this case. As I keep hearing these days that CD's/DVD's are going to be obsolete soon.

 

[manofsteel2397]

a digital cabe would make a difference in sound and you can get them for cheap at monoprice or blue jeans cable totally worth the extra dollar or 2

 

[BMXTRIX]

It's worth asking as well...

What is the make and model of the TV you are connecting this to?

If you have a HDTV with HDMI inputs, then I would recommend that you consider a Blu-ray player which will play (and upconvert) DVDs but will also allow you to rent/buy Blu-ray Discs and it will also play your CDs if you want.

If you are simply interested in a DVD player, then upconversion to HDMI makes sense only if the TV has HDMI inputs available. You would run HDMI right from the DVD/BD player straight to the TV, then you would run the digital coaxial (or optical) to your RCA surround system.

Monoprice.com is the place to get your cables from. Very high quality for not a lot of cash.

 

[Pubear]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the replies.

I was actually unaware that blu ray players also played dvds. Now that I know that I'll most likely get bluray just so I won't have to buy it later when it becomes the main form of digital media.

My tv isn't even worth mentioning. I doubt i'll get component cables because I doubt I'd notice any difference. I'm not sure of the brand and I don't feel like running downstairs to check but it's CRT so I'm pretty sure there's no point in worrying about video right now.

As far as audio goes I'm completely bypassing the tv and connecting all audio directly into the receiver. (aside from actual television(which I never watch))

P.S.
I finally sat down and read the instructions to the receiver, which I usually do a couple days after setting up electronics , and come to find out the receiver actually comes with a digital coax cable for the audio. BUT I think I'll probably buy a higher quality one anyway. I'm not sure what the actuall specs of the cable are but it looks pretty flimsy.

 

[JerryLove]

If your TV has Component or HDMI in, then get an upconverting DVD player (or blueray) and use one of those connections. For your intents and purposes at this point, they are interchangeable, so I would use the one that is most convenient (if your AVR is a component switch but not HDMI compliant, go that way).

If your TV does not, your connection options are, in order of quality, [SVideo, Composite]. You will not need upconversion on a standard def TV (one using these two connectors).

If you have only two speakers, you are find to run audio over your L/R connectors.
If you are running surround then, if you are using HDMI (doubtful) to your AVR, you are fine. If not, run digital (coax or optical is irrelevant) to get surround modes.

Personally, if budget allows, I second getting either a BluRay or a good Upscaling HDMI DVD (since the cost is similar to lousy DVD players) and thereby having some future proofing.

 

[tonydahose]

i am a complete newbie here so check to make sure i am right. since you like gaming (the ps2) why not get the ps3 which would let you play better games and it plays blu ray and it should have all the connections you need in the back(quessing on this).

edit: if it doesnt have the right connections to hook up to your tv or stereo i am sure they make adaptors that will.

 

[Pubear]

i am a complete newbie here so check to make sure i am right. since you like gaming (the ps2) why not get the ps3 which would let you play better games and it plays blu ray and it should have all the connections you need in the back(quessing on this).

edit: if it doesnt have the right connections to hook up to your tv or stereo i am sure they make adaptors that will.

I have a ps3 hooked via hdmi to my hi def upstairs. this is my basement living room where I don't spend a lot of time which is why I'm not dumping a ton of money into it.

At the moment I'm most concerned about getting accurate 5.1 out of my receiver. And it seems the general consensus has been that, considering my current options, digital coax or optical would be my best solutions. I've already decided to go with coax because of the fragility of optical.

I've decided to go with bluray so that I won't have to buy a new player in two years. I doubt I'll get a high quality one because I have the ps3 upstairs.

THANK YOU everyone for your quick responses!

 

[BMXTRIX]

I have a ps3 hooked via hdmi to my hi def upstairs. this is my basement living room where I don't spend a lot of time which is why I'm not dumping a ton of money into it.

At the moment I'm most concerned about getting accurate 5.1 out of my receiver. And it seems the general consensus has been that, considering my current options, digital coax or optical would be my best solutions. I've already decided to go with coax because of the fragility of optical.

I've decided to go with bluray so that I won't have to buy a new player in two years. I doubt I'll get a high quality one because I have the ps3 upstairs.

THANK YOU everyone for your quick responses!

No problem...

Make sure you don't get suckered into buying an overpriced Monster cable or many of the other overpriced store brand models.

For digital audio use this:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2680&seq=1&format=2

They have other cables at Monoprice to fit the EXACT need you have, but you will not only get great pricing, you will get an extremely high quality product.