My visual home media control & entertainment centre project

[nplima]

wow... if we make an extra effort we can fit all the holy wars into this single thread

So far... LCD vs. plasma screens, Apple vs Dell

any takers on American car design vs. European car design?


Back on topic: how does the touch screen add-on work? does the operating system "see" it as a standard mouse/pointing device inputing coordinates to the computer?
thanks!

 

[dogtanian]

wow... if we make an extra effort we can fit all the holy wars into this single thread

So far... LCD vs. plasma screens, Apple vs Dell

any takers on American car design vs. European car design?


Back on topic: how does the touch screen add-on work? does the operating system "see" it as a standard mouse/pointing device inputing coordinates to the computer?
thanks!

LOL, thank goodness for that.

Well as far as i'm aware the touch screen kit does just see it as a pointing device... although to be honest I am just guessing really. One would assume that when you touch a location on-screen, the pointer will go there.

And oh btw, American car design is cr4p... mwuhuhahahaha!

 

[Killyp]

LOL, thank goodness for that.

Well as far as i'm aware the touch screen kit does just see it as a pointing device... although to be honest I am just guessing really. One would assume that when you touch a location on-screen, the pointer will go there.

And oh btw, American car design is cr4p... mwuhuhahahaha!

Nah the yanks have designed some great cars, but they are more rare in the US than the UK.

The Europeans have built some crap cars too though mind you...

 

[wolverinewizard]

I thought I'd jump on board and agree with some of the other posters as well; I think the big weak spot in the setup is the sound. Spend a little more for proper speakers, and a decent receiver that will take in the new HD audio codecs as well as multi-channel PCM. That way you'll be able to truly appreciate Blu-Ray movies on your otherwise impressive setup.

 

[dogtanian]

I thought I'd jump on board and agree with some of the other posters as well; I think the big weak spot in the setup is the sound. Spend a little more for proper speakers, and a decent receiver that will take in the new HD audio codecs as well as multi-channel PCM. That way you'll be able to truly appreciate Blu-Ray movies on your otherwise impressive setup.

I heard the PS3 wasn't great for the full range of audio codecs.

The Sony G800 sound stand I should point out has no satellite speakers whatsoever and still has 5.1 sound drivers but projects the sound through different zones. It retails for around 500 quid or a thousand of your (currently weak) american dollars... Any other suggestions for around this price range?

 

[Killyp]

For 500 quid you can get yourself a decent pair of stereo speakers and a surround sound amp, which you can then add on a subwoofer + extra speakers later (will provide MUCH better sound than anything you'll hear in any cinema).

 

[Rhosfelt]

There are some big debated going on over the surround sound system, and I'd like to add my two cents in..literally

If you are looking for a cheap upgradable system look into the one I have The Logitech Z-5450. I know some of you think it's a cheap small speakered system but it is amazing. Logitechs have always made great speakers, and I get virtually no feedback in the wireless rear speakers. Even with my motorola razr and sitting next to them I really never got the weird interference most phones give to speakers. Maybe I got lucky, but I love theses speakers.

Plus the sound is amazing, great quality, and super loud. The hub is a great addition, and the great thing is the front speakers are just wired normally so you can upgrade those if you'd like (which most sound is from anyways) The back speakers are not upgradeable but that is because of the wireless, however I relaly don't think you'd need to upgrade them.

Seriously if money is an issue look into them, I probably won't need to get another system until they are really outdated, I mean it's great for a big room or even outdoors when we host parties.

 

[Killyp]

There would be little point in upgrading the front speakers as the amplifier uses very heavy EQing to compensate for the speakers. If anything, 'upgrading' the speakers to something which would normally show an improvement (no matter how nice they are) would result in worse sound quality...

 

[Rhosfelt]

There would be little point in upgrading the front speakers as the amplifier uses very heavy EQing to compensate for the speakers. If anything, 'upgrading' the speakers to something which would normally show an improvement (no matter how nice they are) would result in worse sound quality...

They do have some EQ settings, and I know that they are designed perfectly.. IE movies sounds horrible on any setting but movies, and music sounds horrible on anything but the music setting. And you can adjust the simple things, fade, balance, bass, treb.

I am at college right now and I miss those things terribly my little creatives sound like crap.. and every time I come home I play some music through them. I'd like to think they are the best speakers for the price. Especially if you can find them on slickdeals.net like I did right after christmas, paid probably $290. Best late present ever.

 

[Killyp]

Nah I don't mean the customisable EQ settings, but the amplifier actually has an 'irremovable' EQ built in which corrects for the speakers' uneven response. Loadsa speakers do this, particularly active ones, which is why the speakers should not be changed...

 

[dogtanian]

For 500 quid you can get yourself a decent pair of stereo speakers and a surround sound amp, which you can then add on a subwoofer + extra speakers later (will provide MUCH better sound than anything you'll hear in any cinema).

And if I didn't have the extra £500 and looking for some sort of surround sound for gaming and blu-ray? What would be a good choice? I would love to have an amazingly professional set-up that sounds amazing but I don't have the money and still want some sort of surround sound effect.

 

[Killyp]

For gaming, I'd recommend the Logitech systems. They're the best computer/multimedia speakers out there.

Not sure what you mean by 'Blu-Ray'. You won't hear the difference between Blu-Ray and a DVD on Logitech speakers...

 

[wolverinewizard]

I heard the PS3 wasn't great for the full range of audio codecs.

The Sony G800 sound stand I should point out has no satellite speakers whatsoever and still has 5.1 sound drivers but projects the sound through different zones. It retails for around 500 quid or a thousand of your (currently weak) american dollars... Any other suggestions for around this price range?

The PS3 works great in decoding the audio codecs. The only new codec that it cannot do is DTS-MA, but it can decode Dolby TrueHD onboard and send it via PCM. My only complaint is that it won't bitstream the advanced codecs over (standard Dolby Digital and DTS will bistream just fine, however).

Good luck with your new system!

 

[dogtanian]

The PS3 works great in decoding the audio codecs. The only new codec that it cannot do is DTS-MA, but it can decode Dolby TrueHD onboard and send it via PCM. My only complaint is that it won't bitstream the advanced codecs over (standard Dolby Digital and DTS will bistream just fine, however).

Good luck with your new system!

Well that went over my head... I'm not down with codecs particularly

Thanks by the way. Should be fun, been experimenting with remote buddy on the iPhone which would be a useful controller. Bit laggy but looks great, shame about the speed.

 

[callmemike20]

Isn't samsung and sony LCD's produced in the same factory? I believe I heard that somewhere.

 

[Killyp]

No, only the LCD elements are made in the same factory. The LCD display only determines the quality of certain aspects of the image (such as backlight evenness, contrast ratio, motion smoothness, although these can be 'manipulated' by the software driving the screen). Pretty much every other aspect of the image is determined by the software powering the machine.

Bit of a simplification but it's true...