Uncomplicated DVD/Blu Ray/CD player advice?

[GaryL]

My Integra DPC-8.5 refuses to play music CDs any more. Still does DVDs and SACDs but not music CDs. No clue as to what is wrong but I do need a new player that will do Blu Ray and regular DVDs as well as music CDs.
My receiver is a Sony STR-DG1000 and I just bought a new Samsung TV that has created another issue I am trying to work through. I remain an Analog guy in this digital world and need a bit of guidance without getting too technical.
The TV has 2 HDMI-ins and one Toslink Optical out on it. One HDMI has to go to the Spectrum TV box so I have just one HDMI input left and the single optical output open. I just don't understand all the connection possibilities going between the TV, receiver and any new DVD/Blu Ray/CD player I might buy. If it would help I could certainly post pictures of the back of my receiver so one of you connection wizards might draw me a picture of what wire comes out and where it goes in. Sorry for being the dummy but at 70 years old I have analog RCA jacks down to a science but I am lost after that.
On the other side I still have my Sansui G-9000 running a Luxman PD-121 with SME arm and a Denon DL-103 MC with a Denon AU 320 matching transformer and Altec 19s. No new tech there but still great sound.

 

[Trebdp83]

You are between a rock and a hard place at this point. I’m guessing you were using multichannel analog connections for SACD and DVD-Audio. The Sony’s processing abilities and HDMI connections are obsolete. To keep it as simple and familiar as possible, I’d consider a Sony STR-DN1080 receiver and a Sony UBP-X800M2 universal disc player.

You could spend more on Sony’s next level receiver and player but I doubt you would see or hear a difference and I’m coming from a don’t spend it if it isn’t necessary point of view. The STR-DN1080 and UBP-X8002M have HDMI and HDCP specs compatible with the TV. You would simply have one HDMI cable going from the the player to the receiver, one from the Spectrum box to the receiver and one from the receiver to the TV.

As for new features, you will have 4K blu-ray and HD blu-ray added to your list of playable discs and the player and receiver can handle multichannel DSD from SACD and MLP from DVD-AUDIO via HDMI. You will also benefit from any HDR features in the TV when playing 4K discs. You will also be able to use the ARC feature to get audio from the TV’s Smart apps to the receiver without using another cable, namely the optical cable. ARC can be messy though when used with different brands so an optical cable connected as a backup is not a bad idea.

 

[GaryL]

Thanks T, Just what I did not want to hear. To make a long story short, I just bought the Sony STR-DG1000 from a buddy very cheap because it had the HDMI and Optical connections in the rear. I was using an older Yamaha R-V901 surround receiver that I loved but with an older TV and both had the RCA and S-Video connections. It worked great for DVD/Blu Ray movies. The new TV with such limited connections tossed me into a tailspin. Seems I can't hook this to that or that to this and now I have to scrap the older units and buy all new.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well you could just use a Sony bluray player like the one suggested that wouldn't cost all that much that can play most discs for not that much money now and use the current avr, you'd just be short of some of the possibilities a newer avr might bring. You did say the replacement Sony avr was cheap, tho, no not a big loss if you update it.

 

[GaryL]

Yup and thanks for the reply. I am just so damn adverse to this throw away garbage where I now have 3 perfectly good receivers that don't have any internal issues but unfortunately they lack the connectivity to whatever new pieces I purchase. I bought my Sansui G-8000 & 9000 back while I was in the USN during Vietnam and they still kick butt on anything I have found since but purely in analog. Sure, I know there are much better units today but my ears have gone south while the new stuff might have gone north and I just can't hear that. I have 2 completely different system, one for straight up stereo through Altec model 19s powered by the Sansui receiver and another for surround audio/video with the Altec out front and the rest as center, rears and sub. What a royal PITA it is getting all this stuff wired for sound these days.

 

[Trebdp83]

Sadly, Oppos are gone and used models come at an extreme premium. Getting a used Oppo with the needed disc playback types available and 7.1 analog outs would cost more than the suggested Sony player and receiver. I use to have an analog setup using 7.1 analog outputs for audio and component connections for video. Loved it. Using all HMDI connections now in a 4K setup and love it but digital issues are far more frustrating and not so easily solved as those with analog.

You could get the Sony UBP-X800M2 and connect it to the TV via HDMI and send audio directly to your current Sony receiver from the coaxial digital port or from the TV’s optical out port. Both would limit audio codecs available because of bandwidth but would work.

 

[GaryL]

"Both would limit audio codecs available because of bandwidth but would work". And therein is where I get lost.
Where video is concerned I think I would prefer the best quality but with the audio I doubt at my age I could hear much difference at all. I already bought what I think I need to do all the conversion stuff fro analog to digital and then I found out I got slapped again because I need about 12 electric outlets to plug all these gadgets into.
Too bad I can't post pictures because all my files are too large for the server. They all have plug end transformers that cover at least 2 of the plugins on my power strips.

 

[lovinthehd]

Just need to resize your pics, in Windows Paint there's a resizer....I usually use 30-35% or so.

Yeah number of plugs does add up depending on your gear. What is all the gear that adds up to 12 outlets?

What particular tv do you have now?

 

[GaryL]

TV is a Samsung 700 series 65". All the gear is plugged into two APC battery backups that each have 4 battery outlets and 2 that are only surge protected. Too damn close together for all the little transformers if I have to use the converter gadgets from HDMI to optical or RCA or some other way. 2 TTs, 2 receivers, 1 sub, 2 CD players and 2 DVDs right now regular and Blu Ray plus the TV, cable box, modem and router.
I will try the window paint but probably not an option on this Chromebook I use. LMAO, 21 years in and I still want to be in the 1990s.

 

[lovinthehd]

TV is a Samsung 700 series 65". All the gear is plugged into two APC battery backups that each have 4 battery outlets and 2 that are only surge protected. Too damn close together for all the little transformers if I have to use the converter gadgets from HDMI to optical or RCA or some other way. 2 TTs, 2 receivers, 1 sub, 2 CD players and 2 DVDs right now regular and Blu Ray plus the TV, cable box, modem and router.
I will try the window paint but probably not an option on this Chromebook I use. LMAO, 21 years in and I still want to be in the 1990s.

There are separate programs for resizing too, or you can use a photo hosting site and post links here.

Yep, that's a lot of gadgets to feed

 

[Trebdp83]

What kind of speaker setup is in use? 5.1?

 

[GaryL]

I can get past the plugging issue if I use the jumps in the rears of each receiver. Speakers are 5.1 with Altec 19s in front, B&Ws in the rear and a CV for the center plus the sub.

 

[GaryL]

I will play around with resizing tomorrow and I am sure I have a program to do it. Actually my camera has a setting to make pics smaller I think.

 

[Trebdp83]

Oh, ok. So, not two separate systems? Sony front pre outs to Sansui AUX and Altec 19s connected to Sansui?

 

[GaryL]

Oh, ok. So, not two separate systems? Sony front pre outs to Sansui AUX and Altec 19s connected to Sansui?

No, I have the Sansui, a CD player and both TTs as a completely separate system going directly to just the Altec 19s. On the other side I have the Sony receiver with the Integra SACD/DVD player and a smaller Sony Blu Ray player and trying to get this side hooked to the TV. This side runs the Altec 19 as fronts and the rest of the surround speakers and sub. I had a pal build me a switch box for the Altec front speakers that allows lines from both receivers coming in and the switch is labeled Music or TV. The Altec speakers are the only things shared by both systems but never being powered by both at the same time via the switch. I had all of this working perfectly until I bought the new TV that has no RCA audio outs, just HDMI Ins and an Optical out. That caused me to buy the used Sony receiver that has the HDMI and Optical ins and outs that my old Yamaha did not have. Welcome to my nightmare, explaining this is much easier than getting it all connected. The Stereo music side is and always has been connected and working fine so no changes are needed there. The AV side is where I can't seem to get the TV and DVD players working for watching movies from discs or from the TV. I have cables, I have cable conversion boxes that switch HDMI and Opticals to both HDMI/RCA and optical or even S Video ins and outs but I am the dummy with this stuff which is why I am here.
Most times I just watch the TV alone and simply through the Spectrum cable box with only the TV speakers. No systems involved or even turned on. When I want the surround speakers for watching movies, either recorded on the spectrum box or from DVD discs is where I have the issues.
T, your initial first response was the most direct and perfect solution. Buy a new Sony receiver and new Sony all format player and be done. That would cost me a lot and also cause me to scrap a number of the units I have that all still work fine if only I could get them connected. My new TV is the problem with just 2 HDMI ins and only one optical out and no RCA or S Video connectivity. Wish I had paid more attention when I bought that model TV and researched the rear connections.

 

[Trebdp83]

Ok, thanks for the clarification. Wasn’t sure how you were sharing the 19s with both systems. Yours is the second situation I’ve read about lately that has you in a pinch because Samsung ditched the breakout ports for a composite or component video connection. You don’t need them until, well, until you really need them.

So, one thing you can do at the moment is get the player suggested or even the Sony UBP-X700 if you do not need DVD-AUDIO disc capability. You would connect any new player to one of the TV’s HDMI ports and the Spectrum player to the other. Then, run an optical cable from the TV to your current Sony receiver’s Video 1 IN optical port. In the TV sound settings, you would set it to output audio from the optical port. You would set the HDMI incoming signals to bitstream and also set the outgoing optical audio to Dolby Digital. Sadly, Samsung also did away with their DTS Neo 2:5 audio setting and it may not be an option on your TV.

After setting things up in this manner, you will be set for audio playback of everything but SACD. The TV simply cannot accept or pass on a multichannel DSD signal and I’d leave the job to the Integra using the multichannel analog outputs to the Sony’s multichannel analog inputs. You won’t have a video connection for the Integra and this is only an issue if audio settings need to be adjusted for DSD. I think this proposed setup will work and not break the bank. You will also not need any converters. You will need two HDMI cables, one optical cable and six RCA cables for the Integra if you don’t already have them.

Now, you can try connecting the Sony HDMI output to the TV and see if you can bring the menus up. If so, you may be able to do a few more things but I won't go into those unless you are able to get a picture from it in the first place. But, there could be a few more options. Work arounds can be troublesome, but draining a bank account for new gear is far more so.

 

[GaryL]

Thanks again T. I will be playing around with this during the rainy week coming up. I'll try the options you recommend and see what happens if I can get a video and audio signal path from the DVD to the TV. The stereo music side is all set from separate CD & TTs so just the TV and DVD movies with surround is where my issues get funky. I do have every cable known to us with this gear so no issues there other that where to plug them into and out of. Then I think its all a matter of setting between the Sony receiver and the TV/cable box setup. Sound quality for the DVD and recorded movies is not that demanding but a nice picture would be great. At this point with all the info you provided I think I just need the time to get behind all the gear and do some fiddling with wires which is not as easy as I would like because I have to move lots of furniture and rugs to do it. I probably will buy another more current receiver and player if I can't get what I have working.

 

[Trebdp83]

Forgot to ask if you tried the Spectrum app in your TV. You should have access to all of your subscribed channels via the Smart app and could free up an outlet and HDMI port if you use the app. Just something to try.

 

[GaryL]

Forgot to ask if you tried the Spectrum app in your TV. You should have access to all of your subscribed channels via the Smart app and could free up an outlet and HDMI port if you use the app. Just something to try.

I have so much finger fiddling to do with all of this new to me gear I have not even messed with it all yet. I am being dragged, kicking and screaming, because we just finally got Spectrum Cable here after years of dial up internet which was useless. Now I have a real internet connection with WiFi and a DVR and a new TV and a new to me AV receiver and scrambled eggs in my head. We still don't have any cellular signal but I am learning lots of new stuff most of you all have had for years. I sure did not remain in this analog state by choice and going digital was just not an option until a few months ago.

 

[Trebdp83]

I hear you. It is a lot to process for anybody over a good period of time. Taking it all in at once could make one’s head spin. There are many friendly, intelligent and helpful folks around here ready to help with all kinds of situations.