Upgrading TV

cfrizz

Hi fella's,

Mark would like to gift me with a new TV to replace my still excellent looking 32" CRT Sony XBR TV.

Now I have no plans to get a new prepro, I like my Sunfire gear. I may eventually upgrade my DVD player once I can find one that can do both DVD-A/SACD. If they don't make them, I will keep what I have now.

It would be going where my tv is now on a 36" wire rack shelf so that limits the size of the screen. And NO I'm not tossing that either!

So my question is how would the new TV be hooked up to my current system so that I get the best out of it for now. I assume the new TV would be able to access my WiFi so that I can watch Netflix from it and maybe access the web.

I have always focused more on music than on the video side. But I may now need a quick education on the this side of things. Please keep it simple, understandable and in plain English.

Thank you for your assistance.

nooshinjohn

My Oppo bdp93 might fit the bill for you Cathy. PM me if you like.

cfrizz

How wide are the bezels on the 40" TV's? Would I lose some of the picture due to the poles on the rack?

Thank you John, I will keep this in mind if it happens.

Willow

Bezels on new tvs are quite small. On my new 4k samsung they are at an inch. You will need to be sure your tv can output 5.1 some only do 2ch. Then run optical out from tv to receiver, sit back and enjoy.

rpf65

Bezel width depends on manufacturer. You will probable have to go less than 40 inch screen. Samsung tv's for instance are about 36.5 inches wide for 40 inch tv's. Guess you could slightly modify your rack with a little sawzalll work to squeeze a 40 in if you wanted to.

From what I've been reading, most of the smaller screen tv's aren't HDCP 2.2 compliant, which means you wouldn't be able to view 4k content. May or may not be important to you, but something to consider.

HDMI or to toslink is the most common method to connect tv's to HT systems currently.

cnh

rpf65 is right. That 36" shelf limits your options. The biggest you could go is 39" if the bezel is thin! There are some sets that size out there but not many. Math-wise. A 32" 3-4-5 aspect set has about a 19.2" picture height. A 39" would have close to that same height so you'd be getting a 16-9 wide screen with the same height as your 32" give or take .1 inches. so your picture images would be more or less the same but wider, for info.

I'm assuming that your Sunfire has NO HDMI ins, right? So you'd have to consider coax or toslink to the sunfire from a player so equipped. Might also want to look for an older player that has 5.1 or 7.1 audio outs on the back? Assuming the Sunfire may have multi-channel inputs?

So you'd wire the BDP (Universal Player) to the TV with an HDMI and then tell the BDP to send the audio either Coax/toslink or Multi-channel out if so equipped.

If the Sunfire has HDMI you're fine!

cfrizz

You are correct, my Sunfire doesn't have HDMI. Right now I have the TV & cable box hooked up to the Sunfire so that I can get 5 channels via the Sunfire through the Vid 1 button.

My Pioneer DVD is connected via 8 channel inputs for SACD & an optical from the DVD to the DVD optical on the Sunfire for DVD-A. Attached is the back of my Sunfire.

Tell what I can do if I upgrade my tv.

nooshinjohn

You can also use the optical out from the tv into the Sunfire, along with the RGB connections from the TV to the pre. This should be a decent work around.

cfrizz

Cool, thank you Skip & John!

txcoastal1

nooshinjohn wrote: »

You can also use the optical out from the tv into the Sunfire, along with the RGB connections from the TV to the pre. This should be a decent work around.

You may have to buy a HDMI to RGB conversion cable or converter box to go from TV to Sunfire. They are cheap, some come with analog audio also in case you don't go optical from TV or cable box.

rooftop59

I ran blu Ray/hdmi setups without an hdmi capable receiver for years. For blu Ray I ran the hdmi straight into teh tv for the pic, and multi analog outs to the receiver. If you are just doing DVD, optical into receiver is fine. Repeat for other sources. If you run out of hdmi inputs on to, buy an hdmi switch from mono price. I used one for a while and it worked fine.

As an aside, I would highly suggest getting a blu Ray player, even if it's cheap. For someone with your ears and setup, the different will be easily noticed and appreciated. It's like going from 320 Mbps mp3s to CDs, or CDs to good hi Rez files. It's NOT subtle. Just keep your current player for sacds and such, and use the BDP for video. The sonys in my sig or something comparable can be had for well under a $100, and for non videophiles like us they work great!

deronb1

Why run any video to the Sunfire? Hdmi from sources to tv and optical out from tv to sunfire. My vizio decodes dolby dig through opt out. This will also allow you to not always have to use the sunfire when you watch tv.

cfrizz

Ok, so to see if I have this right I would have to buy the two different cables seen below. The first is the HDMI to RGB for Video Does the RGB go in the in or the out side on the Sunfire and the second is the Optical for sound same question for this as well.

If this isn't right, please post the correct cables I would have to get. Thanks.

deronb1

Why are you wanting to run video through the Sunfire?

txcoastal1

deronb1 wrote: »

Why are you wanting to run video through the Sunfire?

This is true. Sorry Cathy just run all your HDMI sources from DVD player, cable box, or anything else. Then run optical from TV to Sunfire.

Was trying to watch football and give you stupid answers at the same time.

cnh

I agree. As I understand it, most BDPs will only deliver 1080i over component outputs and 1080p over the HDMI. So, you should go HDMI for picture. Or, bypass the Sunfire and go BDP to TV.

Everything else above is good!

cfrizz

Right now, none of my gear has HDMI. A new tv would be the first thing that does, and I'm not replacing all of my gear at this time, so I have to use the Sunfire for all connections. I just need to know the correct way to do so. Thanks for all the help, I'm pretty clueless in this HDMI world.

cnh

You can hook everything up to the Sunfire as usual except for the HDMI from the BDP to the HDTV. Then multi-channel in for sound from the bluray player to the Sunfire. If you have other items that need a video feed, I suggest you get a TV that has some extra component ins that can be routed from the Sunfire.

txcoastal1

If you don't have any HDMI gear then leave everything connected to the Sunfire as is then go back to what i recommended first (RGB to HDMI), so your user functions don't change.

Are you currently using Netflix, and what are you using for that source?

cfrizz

I don't have a BDP, I have a Pioneer 47A, the first Universal player to do DVD/DVD-A/SACD.

I'm watching Netflix off of my pc. I would use wifi to watch it on the TV as suggested by Skip.

As far as the tv goes, I'm partial to Sonys, but what other brands would you recommend in a 32" model. That would have all the connections that I need to go from the tv to the Sunfire.

Nightfall

This thread is confusing. She's talking about getting a smart TV and watching Netflix on it. She has no gear with HDMI. You'll likely connect your new TV to your Sunfire with optical or toslink, nothing else will change. I've never seen a TV with HDMI out and analog outs on TV's is hard to come by anymore. If your Sunfire doesn't have optical or toslink there are inexpensive DAC's out there that can fix the issue for you.

cfrizz

Hi Nightfall, fortunately I do have optical for DVD, Vid1, CD, & Sat. So I would use the optical for sound and the RGB cables for the picture, with no HDMI cable involved, correct?

cnh

Remember that a 32" 16/9 HDTV is going to give you a picture size comparable to an older 27" tube set-except in a WIDER format. You might not like going with that smaller image. It might be worth trying to track down a 39" set that WILL fit into your space.

That said. As a cheap option, most VIZIO sets have ONE component set of INS, at least TWO HDMI ins, a toslink and analog audio OUTS, and a USB port. Pretty much everything you need to hook up what you have in the way that you're used to.

As far as streaming something like Netflix, you don't have to worry about resolutions because the TV will stream at 1080p over the wireless network. I use Chromecast because my bedroom set is older and not that "smart". lol

txcoastal1

Correct Cathy, keep it simple. Just replace the RGB or analog from your current TV and get the HDMI to RGB cable for the new TV

Optical will be for the audio to your prepro

rpf65

cfrizz wrote: »

Hi Nightfall, fortunately I do have optical for DVD, Vid1, CD, & Sat. So I would use the optical for sound and the RGB cables for the picture, with no HDMI cable involved, correct?

Correct

Nightfall

RGB is a PC video connection. If you're talking about the multi colored RCAs those are called component. No HDMI needs to be involved until you upgrade your pre/pro. Just know that component inputs are limited to 1080i and optical is limited to lossy Audio.

I just looked on Amazon quick and the Vizio E32 actually has analog outs. Maybe you can find a TV with analog out.

txcoastal1

txcoastal1 wrote: »

Correct Cathy, keep it simple. Just replace the RGB or analog from your current TV and get the HDMI to RGB cable for the new TV

Optical will be for the audio to your prepro

Obviously if the TV has RGB then just use RGB cable, but don't let that limit you to TVs with RGB connections , when you can use the RGB/HDMI cable

deronb1

Kathy, what about cable? Do you have dish, TW, directv or comcast?

rpf65

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-32-class-31-5-diag--led-1080p-smart-hdtv-black/5555039.p?id=1219653084723&skuId=5555039

This should work for you.

Willow

Cathy, should you need an optical cable, I have a couple lying around I'd gladly send to you.

PM me

rooftop59

Here's a 39 incher that will fit your space. Its a Vizio, but they make really solid tvs at this point, and are extremely competitive in the budget realm. Its only 720p, but I'm one of those folks that doesn't think it matters until you get to a larger tv. Both of mine are 720p, and I think you and I share the non-videophile card, so I think you would be happy with this. And at this price, your brother could throw in the BDP!

http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-D39h-C0-39-Inch-720p-Model/dp/B00SMBFF0O/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1449428868&sr=8-7&keywords=39+hdtv

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDPS3500-Blu-ray-Player-Wi-Fi/dp/B00TYFCJ8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449429104&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+bdp