Need a 5.1 system or something to compliment my 2405 monitor

[digitalduck]

Ok, here is my problem. I just bought a Dell 2405 monitor so now ill probably use that instead of my tv in my bedroom to watch dvds. However, the problem is this. I can either use the pc dvd player or the stand alone player to watch them in. If I use the pc dvd player I can use the old 2.1 speaker system I have now but I would have to get up to do any volume adjusting if need be, plus i dont have any way of controlling the dvd since I wouldnt have a remote for the pc.

Now if i use the stand alone dvd player and just use component cables to the monitor then I cant use the pc speakers, but then I have a remote for the player and a way to control the dvd but now way to listen to it.

So do I buy a new set of 5.1 for the pc with a remote to solve the problem of the volume control and still have the problem of no way to control it, or do I use the standalone player and think of some other way?

1. I dont want to buy a new set of bedroom hometheatre speakers, if its speakers, they will be for the pc since i want to use them for games too.

2. Using the standalone player would be easier since I already have a remote, but then can I somehow run the new speakers to it? Then that way I wouldnt have the sound of the pc fans as well.

3. Also, which connection is going to give me better quality, DVI through the pc to monitor or component through player to monitor? I would assume DVI, but who knows....


That is my problem... I would have around $100 safely to spend on the speakers or whatever since i just bought this monitor so what do you think? Im open to options.... maybe just a remote for this little 2.1 system I have? Something from radio shack or something..who knows....

Thanks

 

[aniruddha23]

Viola. Your PC now has a remote Clickity

besides I have noticed that DVD movies don tend to skip using the standalone players.

P.S. What soundcard do u have?

 

[digitalduck]

Right now its just a Creative sound blaster live 24bit... man, I dont need it to control my whole PC just the volume and dvd

 

[aniruddha23]

Its worth it just for bieng able to watch/control not just DVD's but also to watch regular videos mpg/dvx etc.

I also use it often to listen to songs and all when I am working on my laptop. overall a pretty worthwile investment.

The interface is really nice and front row ' ish.

Even better if u have a TV tuner card to go with ur 2405 cos with the additionnal software u have a full fledged tivo in ur system.

too much digression. thsi should work unless someone has a decent 5.1 set for u with a wireless remote.

EDIT: Also u dont have to worry abt changing the component input on your monitor manually. its all right there.

 

[digitalduck]

So would this remote operate the dvd program as well as the speaker volume? So I could get this remote which newegg has for cheap and then a 5.1 system. That might do it.... any other ideas? What about which one woudl be better between the component standalone player or DVI through the PC? Which would give better results... probably so close its too close to tell..

 

[alcoholbob]

Spending money on PC speakers seems like a crappy solution just because you switched movie watching on the PC. The solution in general is to either move the PC, or move the home theater speakers. A set of $700 Klipsch ALX 5.1 PC speakers would barely pass off as home theater speakers with the poor off-axis performance and beaming, so if $100 is your total budget, I wouldn't even bother looking for 5.1 PC speakers if you are used to the quality HT speakers.

 

[digitalduck]

I know, but IF I watch movies in my bedroom which happens occasionally its either watch them on my small 19" or on my 2405 so id rather do that. However, having any 5.1 si going to be better then the 2.1 altec lansing I have now so while I agree with you and while im used to my HT setup down the hall, I dont mind taking a hit considering ill still be taking a big step up from what I have and that I dont have a way to control anything right now..

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: aniruddha23
Viola. Your PC now has a remote Clickity

besides I have noticed that DVD movies don tend to skip using the standalone players.

P.S. What soundcard do u have?

A big :thumbsup: for the Firefly. I have one, and it's the best PC remote I have used. Very responsive, nice-sized buttons, batteries last a long time, and best of all it works without crashing, which is more than I can say for the ATI unit I had previously.

You should get a tuner for the PC. You can watch DVDs, and TV, in 5.1 sound, and you'll get better quality than the stand-alone player if you fuss with it.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

you can get a z5500 for $240 at the moment.

comes with a remote.

 

[digitalduck]

The Firefly easily controls dvd applications as well as speaker volume? Thats one of the things im looking for....but again like i asked up above, what about quality between using component through standalone player or dvi cables through pc dvd player? which would produce better results? I suppose it wouldnt matter...

 

[Markbnj]

I think DVI through the PC will produce better results if you tweak it. The part that reads the discs is more or less the same. From there, unless you have a good upscaling DVD player, your options are less limited on the PC side. For example, if you have a fast machine you can use something like ffdshow to perform upscaling to 720p or better. And component just doesn't produce as high quality an image as DVI, which sends a digital signal directly to a digital panel.

And yea, you can control the various media players with the Firefly. Beyond Media comes with it and is pretty good by itself. For some other players you might have to program the Firefly's buttons. If I recall correctly it works with WinDVD.

 

[digitalduck]

Hmm...WinDVD, but not NVDvd? Just out of curiousity because using windows media player wouldnt give me near full screen when watching dvds but using nvdvd gave me better results since it gives me more options. Im not sure what the aspect ratio was when watching it through nvdvd but basically it took up more of the screen, which on a screen that size it looked better. Ive heard of ffdshow in another post but dont know much about it yet. Forgive my ignorance when it comes to HD monitors since im kinda new from only having one for about 3 days, but since the 2405 is 1080p (?) are dvds maxed at 720p what would "max" out a monitor like this? high HD content or future HD dvd or what?

 

[Markbnj]

Nothing that is forseen in the HD world, that I am aware of, will max out a 2405 in terms of resolution. 1080p is the current pinnacle of HDTV resolution, and you really only find it in HD-DVD titles and Playstations, as far as I know. Since the 2405 can display 1200 progressively scanned lines, you're all set. Bear in mind, though, that it isn't a particularly speedy panel. I think it's a 16ms display. The Sceptre 1080p 37" in my family room is an 8ms, and I think most of the other 1080p LCD TVs are also in that range.

Standard DVDs have at most 480 lines of resolution, interlaced. People often remark that standard NTSC TV looks like crap on modern, hi-res LCDs. Viewed from the appropriate distance, you shouldn't perceive any more or fewer lines with NTSC on a 2405 than you would looking at it on an old analog set. The difference, though, is that the old analog set can display any color in the visible world for each pixel in those lines (dot, in the analog world). The 2405, being digital, can only display a finite range of color, and it does make a visible difference, especially when you add mpeg compression/decompression into the mix.

An upscaling DVD player using something good like Faroudja for an algorithm, can do a great job of scaling up 480i NTSC to 480p, 720p, or even 1080p for some new high-end players. You can get something of the same capability using a third-party filter like ffdshow in your directx pipeline, along with a DVD codec and player. But ffdshow does suck up the CPU, and it is very complicated to configure. There might be some other choices.

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: Astrallite
Spending money on PC speakers seems like a crappy solution just because you switched movie watching on the PC. The solution in general is to either move the PC, or move the home theater speakers. A set of $700 Klipsch ALX 5.1 PC speakers would barely pass off as home theater speakers with the poor off-axis performance and beaming, so if $100 is your total budget, I wouldn't even bother looking for 5.1 PC speakers if you are used to the quality HT speakers.

I kinda agree with this, but I can't say that 700 dollar PC speakers are not going to sound very outstanding. I'd have to say that if you know what you're doing you can just get a home theater system and hook it up to your computer instead of getting PC speakers to watch movies. Because if you think about it, you can get a 5.1 500w system for under a hundred bucks while Altec Lansing will offer speakers for 70 bucks and give you 2.1 specifications - but then again, the sound quality and controls will be different, so take your pick, play the target market game, or choose what you like. Don't forget that the X-fi soundcard exists, also.

 

[Smackem]

get house speakers and hook ur computer up to that


it will be more expensive, but they will be more versatile. Like someone else was saying. Comp speakers kinda suck

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: fire400

Originally posted by: Astrallite
Spending money on PC speakers seems like a crappy solution just because you switched movie watching on the PC. The solution in general is to either move the PC, or move the home theater speakers. A set of $700 Klipsch ALX 5.1 PC speakers would barely pass off as home theater speakers with the poor off-axis performance and beaming, so if $100 is your total budget, I wouldn't even bother looking for 5.1 PC speakers if you are used to the quality HT speakers.

I kinda agree with this, but I can't say that 700 dollar PC speakers are not going to sound very outstanding. I'd have to say that if you know what you're doing you can just get a home theater system and hook it up to your computer instead of getting PC speakers to watch movies. Because if you think about it, you can get a 5.1 500w system for under a hundred bucks while Altec Lansing will offer speakers for 70 bucks and give you 2.1 specifications - but then again, the sound quality and controls will be different, so take your pick, play the target market game, or choose what you like. Don't forget that the X-fi soundcard exists, also.

That 5.1 system won't be worth listening to

 

[digitalduck]

Ok, so throw some options at me? BB has a KLH 5.1 system for $100 (yeah, i know) but i just trying to get some more sound in my bedroom AND a way to control it... thats the problem... if we think we have that controlled with the Firefly, then i have to worry about the speakers and comp speakers are a lot cheaper and smaller.....

 

[Velk]

Originally posted by: Markbnj
An upscaling DVD player using something good like Faroudja for an algorithm, can do a great job of scaling up 480i NTSC to 480p, 720p, or even 1080p for some new high-end players. You can get something of the same capability using a third-party filter like ffdshow in your directx pipeline, along with a DVD codec and player. But ffdshow does suck up the CPU, and it is very complicated to configure. There might be some other choices.

I'd recommend videolan client for that, it uses ffdshow and runs as is without a lot of fiddling or installing codecs and will certainly produce better results over time than a dedicated dvd player. The downside is that a computer is obviously a lot more expensive than a DVD player, so the cost benefit assumes you have a decent one already.