home cinema setup with hdmi/optical in

[megah0]

I am somewhat of a newbie when it comes to home theatre.

I was running a simple amplifier with a pair of decent speakers that handled my TV and my PS3, however long time hexite and friend Leon gave me a spare 5.1 surround sound DVD system and speakers, a goodmans microdvd1980. It has an optical port, and I assume it is an optical out as I can't get it to play nicely with my PS3 (I do not have the instructions).

However watching my DVDs in 5.1 and my blurays in plain old stereo has got me wishing for something that will play nicely with my PS3.

My budget is so small that its an insult to call it a budget really, £100 maybe a little bit more.

Any suggestions?

[stavroshamster]

If its a DVD surround sound system its almost certainly an optical out I would think, so no good for you're PS3. I could be wrong though.

Are you looking for an all-in-one solution or a standalone unit which you can attach existing speakers to?

You could certainly pick up the latter for around £100, Richer Sounds have a few on offer around that price.

Bear in mind that the lossless HD audio you get with blurays will only output via HDMI, if you use optical then it will be plain old dolby 5.1 (which might be fine for what you want). You wont get HD audio on a cheap receiver as they don't accept audio via HDMI, only video - you are looking at least £200 minimum for HD audio.

I think you will struggle to get an all-in-one system for £100 new (and it will be crummy if you can), but you could try ebay for second hand.

[DeludedGuy]

I'm not entirely sure whats the problem...what do you mean it doesnt play nice? I assume you have connected the optical out from your PS3 to your Optical in on your DVD Theatre system, it should work, unless your DVD Theatre system thingy can not decode the signals from your PS3.

And I am guessing what you are looking for is an AV reciever that handles HDMI Video and Audio, but those are expensive, cheapest ones ive seen are £220+ and £270+ for a decent one.

[megah0]

Thanks for the replies.

I can only assume that the optical connection on the goodmans thingy is an optical out not an in.

An all in one unit would be preferable, the speakers I use with my seperates system are a little on the large side and have since found a home in my patio/dining room.

I guess I will have to keep scouring ebay.

[DeludedGuy]

If you are sure the Optical out from your PS3 works you could just get a cheap AV reciever from richer sounds, like those Sonys for £120...they have two optical ins, and then you could connect it all up.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/.../sony-strdh500

[megah0]

I'll be giving my local branch a ring tomorrow!