[AzNightmare]

I'm looking for something less than $500 and around 40". The way my place is designed, I'm pretty much constricted to that TV size.

I'm leaning toward Samsung, and people have told me they're better than LG. Sony seems to be out of my budget.

I'm not sure if it's better to go 720p Plasma or 1080p LED?
How practical are these kind of specs that I see in the brochures, like 60hz vs 600hz?

The only thing I watch on TV is Canucks, and I may get a PS4 in the future.


I also heard about openbox.ca. Is that an online only store? Or can I physically go there and check out what they have? Are all their stuff there refurbished?

[fsy82]

Openbox.ca Lowest prices on TVs, Laptops, Tablets and more in Vancouver (http://www.openbox.ca/?limit=all)

[Manic!]

Smallest Plasma is going to be 42 inches. Look at Panasonic for a Plasma. Best TV's out there.

[jdmhaze]

GF and I bought a 55" 1080P LED LG from openbox and have been very happy with it.

[Traum]

Damn... 40" is considered a "small tv"... I wonder what people would say about the 20" CRT I had back in my dorm days...

[TOPEC]

There is no point in getting anything less than 1080p, i say go with a 40in led if ur limited to that size.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Gucci Mane]

openbox is good, usually have really good deals. as others have said, theres absolutely no point in getting anything brand new that isnt 1080p. plasma is pretty much the best for color reproduction imo, blacks are actually black.

[nabs]

at that size get a Plasma... especially if you mainly watch sports it will make a huge difference. You'll get much better results with a plasma, I would look into Panasonic or Samsung. oh yeah and 1080p.

[AzNightmare]

Damn... 40" is considered a "small tv"... I wonder what people would say about the 20" CRT I had back in my dorm days...

Lol, you're comparing small to puny.
Considering even computer monitors are 20+ inches now...
Posted via RS Mobile

[AzNightmare]

So I'm leaning toward the Samsung 39" (UN39EH5003)
http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN39EH5003FXZA
I don't think this one's a "SmartTV", but what's the deal with Smart TV?

Is it so I can use my TV to go online or surf the internet or something?

[SoNaRWaVe]

that is correct. there's like facebook, twitter, youtube and all those apps built into the tv so you can surf and/or watch vids online. imo, not worth it considering all you really do is watch canucks. i also find that the devices that can connect to smart tv are buggy or poorly designed. but thats just what i've experienced so far.

[TOPEC]

if u can go without the smarttv apps, then i say just skip it.

my tv had those apps, and have many times have i used those apps? ONCE, just to try it out the very first time i turned on the tv and went WTF this shit is soooo slow.

those smarttv thing is just a marketing gimmick

[AzNightmare]

So I ended up getting the Samsung 39" TV.
Seems like it doesn't offer many options in hooking it up with a sound bar though.

I bought a Sharp HT-SL50 sound bar, and it says that it's easy to hook up with a ARC TV.
Just needs 1 HDMI cable.

Except the TV I have doesn't have ARC feature.
Does that mean there's no way to hook it up via HDMI?

Note: My TV only has HDMI and RCA outputs. (no optical or 3.5mm audio jack)

[Manic!]

So I ended up getting the Samsung 39" TV.
Seems like it doesn't offer many options in hooking it up with a sound bar though.

I bought a Sharp HT-SL50 sound bar, and it says that it's easy to hook up with a ARC TV.
Just needs 1 HDMI cable.

Except the TV I have doesn't have ARC feature.
Does that mean there's no way to hook it up via HDMI?

Note: My TV only has HDMI and RCA outputs. (no optical or 3.5mm audio jack)


Just use a Y cable RCA to 3.5 mm. $ shop should have them.

[AzNightmare]

Is there actually any real difference between hdmi or rca for audio?

I'll give the Y adapter try, but wondering if there's still a possible way to hook it up via hdmi without using the ARC feature?
Posted via RS Mobile

[Manic!]

Is there actually any real difference between hdmi or rca for audio?

I'll give the Y adapter try, but wondering if there's still a possible way to hook it up via hdmi without using the ARC feature?
Posted via RS Mobile

It has one HDMI input and one out. So you could plug your source into the bar and then use the HDMI out to the TV. I hope you didn't pay more than 80 bux for it.

[AzNightmare]

Y adapted didn't work...
Needed to do some CEC setting. Nothing about it online or in the manual.

I paid $85. But going to refund it.
Too much headache trying to get this to work.

Not sure if it's also my TV that sucks.
No audio jack. No optical, etc.

I don't need the best of best or home theatre.
All I'm trying to do is simply hook up a TV with a sound bar. Sounds simple...
Posted via RS Mobile

[JesseBlue]

85 bux for the adaptor? the sound should come out at the same time as the signal from the hdmi...i have the same setup except with a small stereo system...

maybe its a setting in the tv or the soundbar...

[TOPEC]

Is there actually any real difference between hdmi or rca for audio?

I'll give the Y adapter try, but wondering if there's still a possible way to hook it up via hdmi without using the ARC feature?
Posted via RS Mobile

Hdmi can pass through digital audio

[AzNightmare]

No, I meant the sound bar I bought was $85.
I refunded that one and bought a very basic one now, and still having problems.

This new one simply connects using RCA cables. (red cable to red, white cable to white).

Pretty straight forward. It's either the TV has some kind of setting to toggle regular audio and external (sound bar/speaker) audio,
Or my RCA ports on my TV are busted.

Anyone familiar with a 5003 LED Samsung Tv??
Posted via RS Mobile

[TOPEC]

I was simply answering ur question hdmi vs rca audio...

Can u provide the full model number to ur tv? Or a link to the manual? Quick google search yields 5003 with no hdmi out or rca out?
Posted via RS Mobile

[Manic!]

What are you using as a source?

[AzNightmare]

I was simply answering ur question hdmi vs rca audio...

Can u provide the full model number to ur tv? Or a link to the manual? Quick google search yields 5003 with no hdmi out or rca out?
Posted via RS Mobile

Oh, I was basically wondering was I losing much if I decided to connect my audio with RCA vs HDMI.
I know for video, it seems to make a big difference, but not sure if audio made that big of a difference.

My TV is Samsung "UN39EH5003" LED TV

39" 5003 Series Full HD 1080p LED TV - TECH SPECS | SAMSUNG (http://www.samsung.com/ca/consumer/tv-video/tv/led/UN39EH5003FXZC-spec)

http://quickshipwarehouse.com/ebayimages/newimages/UN39EH5003Inputs.jpg

Manual:
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201308/20130813135609404/[UE4003-ZC]BN68-04466A-01ENG-0812.pdf


What are you using as a source?

Sorry... I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "source"



This is my first flatscreen TV, and pretty much first time hooking it all up myself. So new with the terminology and the compatibility of things.

I build computers though, so I'm not a complete tech noob...
I can probably figure it out as long as I get a bit of guidance in the right direction. But at this point, I'm not sure if it's just a simple audio setting in the TV I'm missing.

[nabs]

Yeah u got no outputs on there man... you can't hookup a sound bar. All I see are inputs.

You need a TV with some sort of Audio output whether it be Optical/RCA/Coax or HDMI to work with your soundbar.

There is however another way of setting this up... your shaw box/telus box/dvd/blu ray player's audio output can be plugged directly into the soundbar. you can take the HDMI to the TV and then use the Audio outputs concurrently plugged into your soundbar. I believe that may be the best solution for you.

What are you mainly going to use your TV for?

[nabs]

If you need step by step directions or help actually installing it, just PM me your number and i'll guide you through it, or pop by to do it for you.

[AzNightmare]

Yeah u got no outputs on there man... you can't hookup a sound bar. All I see are inputs.

You need a TV with some sort of Audio output whether it be Optical/RCA/Coax or HDMI to work with your soundbar.

There is however another way of setting this up... your shaw box/telus box/dvd/blu ray player's audio output can be plugged directly into the soundbar. you can take the HDMI to the TV and then use the Audio outputs concurrently plugged into your soundbar. I believe that may be the best solution for you.

What are you mainly going to use your TV for?
damn, didn't realize the difference between input and outputs... Just thought outputs were "female" ports. lol

I just ordered internet and cable at my place, so Telus is going to install it next week.
So if the digital box is the best route, I'll have to wait until next week then.

I'll be getting a blu-ray player (or maybe a PS4), down the road, but no rush yet.

I'll be mainly watching movies and hockey.

[Mike5.0 cammer]

If you're not going to use the PS4 for gaming than don't waist your money you can get a Samsung smart Blu-ray player that'll do every thing the PS4 dose for half the price and make sure your Blu-ray player has built in Wi-Fi. Also check flyerland.ca you can enter the player you want and it'll give you the lowest prices then print it out and take it ti Best Buy or Future shop and they'll beat it, and make sure it seas .ca and not .com on the page as .com will be American and Canadian stores can't match the price.

[TOPEC]

mystery solved

[AzNightmare]

If you're not going to use the PS4 for gaming than don't waist your money you can get a Samsung smart Blu-ray player that'll do every thing the PS4 dose for half the price and make sure your Blu-ray player has built in Wi-Fi. Also check flyerland.ca you can enter the player you want and it'll give you the lowest prices then print it out and take it ti Best Buy or Future shop and they'll beat it, and make sure it seas .ca and not .com on the page as .com will be American and Canadian stores can't match the price.

If you don't mind, can you educate me about blu-rays as well?...
What would the built in Wi-Fi do? I assume the PS4 has that feature as well?

I'm not sure if I'm fully committed in owning a console yet.
I haven't had one since PS1 since I'm a PC gamer.
I'm in no rush to get a blu-ray player, but I'm waiting to see if my buddies are going to get a PS4 first,
and then I figure I might just get "2 birds with 1 stone" if I decide on a PS4 then.

I can probably hold out until Boxing Day sales for the blu-ray, or next year for a PS4.

[nabs]

damn, didn't realize the difference between input and outputs... Just thought outputs were "female" ports. lol

I just ordered internet and cable at my place, so Telus is going to install it next week.
So if the digital box is the best route, I'll have to wait until next week then.

I'll be getting a blu-ray player (or maybe a PS4), down the road, but no rush yet.

I'll be mainly watching movies and hockey.

No problem, let me know if you need a hand.

If you're planning on getting PS4 then don't worry about getting any other blu ray player. WiFi is so that you can access smart options on the blu ray device such as netflix and other channels. You will also be able to update the firmware of the bluray player. A lot of blu ray movies nowadays come with Online features where it will download an update featurette, or have something that will be unlocked later on in the near future and stuff like that. It will download recent trailers so you don't have to keep watching the boring old ones as well before the movie is played.

[AzNightmare]

No problem, let me know if you need a hand.

If you're planning on getting PS4 then don't worry about getting any other blu ray player. WiFi is so that you can access smart options on the blu ray device such as netflix and other channels. You will also be able to update the firmware of the bluray player. A lot of blu ray movies nowadays come with Online features where it will download an update featurette, or have something that will be unlocked later on in the near future and stuff like that. It will download recent trailers so you don't have to keep watching the boring old ones as well before the movie is played.

Would I need a smart TV to access the netflix and other features?
I don't have a smart TV.

[nabs]

No. Bluray players have smart functions as well. However if you are planning on getting a PS4, it already has all those smart apps built into it as well.

[AzNightmare]

So I got my cable tv installed.
Sound bar is working just fine when I hook it up to the audio outputs from the PVR box.
Now my only issue is that I have a Samsung TV, where I can put in a USB stick into the TV and play mp4 video files.
It seems whenever I play videos off the USB stick, the sound bar doesn't work.

I'm wondering is it because I have my sound bar connected via the PVR box output,
and the USB stick is being played directly from the TV...
bypassing my audio connection with the PVR box?
:suspicious:

The PVR Box has a USB port as well, but no idea what's that for.

[TOPEC]

the PVR box's usb is used by ur tv provider, so its useless to u

ur sound bar will not have sound if u use USB to play movies on ur tv because again, back to the first problem, u have no outputs on ur tv that can output sound/video

[AzNightmare]

the PVR box's usb is used by ur tv provider, so its useless to u

ur sound bar will not have sound if u use USB to play movies on ur tv because again, back to the first problem, u have no outputs on ur tv that can output sound/video

hmm... just as I thought then.

:okay: Pretty big deal breaker, as I do plan to watch a lot of movies with the USB stick.

Contemplating to refund now, but I got the TV at an awesome price
(price matched a sale and bought at superstore no tax day).

:considered:

Is there any converter or some method to make this work or am I SOL with this TV?

Another option: Are there blu-ray players that can play video files directly from USB stick?
So then I can plug my sound bar to the blu-ray player's audio output.

[Renxo]

sounds like you shouldn't of cheaped out on the good stuff.

[AzNightmare]

... Or should have went cheaper.
:suspicious:
Many people told me Samsung was the legit brand to buy.

Yet pretty much every other brand, less expensive or bigger with the same price, offered some sort of audio output option.

In fact.. Even the 32" of the same Samsung series offers audio output... :fulloffuck:
Posted via RS Mobile

[nabs]

hmm... just as I thought then.

:okay: Pretty big deal breaker, as I do plan to watch a lot of movies with the USB stick.

Contemplating to refund now, but I got the TV at an awesome price
(price matched a sale and bought at superstore no tax day).

:considered:

Is there any converter or some method to make this work or am I SOL with this TV?

Another option: Are there blu-ray players that can play video files directly from USB stick?
So then I can plug my sound bar to the blu-ray player's audio output.

Yeah, there are blu ray players that play off of USB sticks. It's actually better than plugging it into your TV tbh.

Blu Ray players have faster processors = no lag time. This is one of the many options you can go with, you don't need to return ur TV lol. There are no converters that can make your TV have outputs but you can get media drives that plug into the TV such as a blu ray player that reads USB and Memory Cards and stuff like that.

[TOPEC]

... Or should have went cheaper.
:suspicious:
Many people told me Samsung was the legit brand to buy.

Yet pretty much every other brand, less expensive or bigger with the same price, offered some sort of audio output option.

In fact.. Even the 32" of the same Samsung series offers audio output... :fulloffuck:
Posted via RS Mobile

u prob bought the lowest of the low end model, thats y ur missing all the in/out ports

the 32" prob a higher end model compared to urs, but smaller in size

u asked for a basic tv in the very beginning, thats y it didnt matter how many in/outs the tv has, ur only criteria was that it has to be 40" or less cause of size restrictions. now u want to do this and that which ur tv doesnt support, u bought the wrong tv bro

[AzNightmare]

Yeah, there are blu ray players that play off of USB sticks. It's actually better than plugging it into your TV tbh.

Blu Ray players have faster processors = no lag time. This is one of the many options you can go with, you don't need to return ur TV lol. There are no converters that can make your TV have outputs but you can get media drives that plug into the TV such as a blu ray player that reads USB and Memory Cards and stuff like that.

That's all I needed to hear... then there's hope.
How much is one of those type of blu-ray players?
Please link me so I can research about it.

u prob bought the lowest of the low end model, thats y ur missing all the in/out ports

the 32" prob a higher end model compared to urs, but smaller in size

u asked for a basic tv in the very beginning, thats y it didnt matter how many in/outs the tv has, ur only criteria was that it has to be 40" or less cause of size restrictions. now u want to do this and that which ur tv doesnt support, u bought the wrong tv bro

Being a first time TV shopper, I guess it was bound to happen.
I didn't know a basic tv could be so basic...
considering my old tv's my parents had came with output ports.

But to be honest, as basic as tv's go, I'm still choked there isn't at least an audio or RCA output,
considering just about every other tv in the store had at least one of those options,
and I'm pretty sure my TV was not the lowest end of all TV's, despite it being an entry model.

[TOPEC]

what exactly is the tv model and how much u paid for it? what is the return policy from where ever u bought it from? there might be better options out there

[AzNightmare]

39" 5003 Series Full HD 1080p LED TV - TECH SPECS | SAMSUNG (http://samsung.com/ca/consumer/tv-video/tv/led/UN39EH5003FXZC-spec)

I paid $460 with tax and environmental fee included.

At this point, I rather just look for a blu-ray player that can play off usb sticks.

Think it will be easier than backtracking and getting a new TV.
Posted via RS Mobile

[AzNightmare]

Just wondering if something like this would be able to help me?

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/532435378_1/Promotion-price-wholesales-Digital-Optical-Coaxial-to-toslink-Analog-Converter-Adapter-Coaxial-Optical-RCA-R-L.jpg

[nabs]

Just wondering if something like this would be able to help me?

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/532435378_1/Promotion-price-wholesales-Digital-Optical-Coaxial-to-toslink-Analog-Converter-Adapter-Coaxial-Optical-RCA-R-L.jpg

No it won't, because you don't have any outputs on your TV. Convertors are for converting one type of signal to another, eg. HDMI -> RCA Audio and Video. They don't change the direction of the input/output.

[AzNightmare]

No it won't, because you don't have any outputs on your TV. Convertors are for converting one type of signal to another, eg. HDMI -> RCA Audio and Video. They don't change the direction of the input/output.

Damn... I'm getting so confused with the input/output thing.
How do I know when I'm supposed to be using input or output?
Trying to understand the direction of connecting things.

Is HDMI input or output?

I want to connect a Blu-Ray player with the Sound Bar.

Blu-Ray has Coaxial "Digital Out"
Sound Bar has RCA Input.

Should one of these work?? Not sure which direction I need.
http://images.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/81271.jpg

http://images.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/68841.jpg

[Speed2K]

TL/DR, except the last few posts, input=stuff that will play on your tv (i.e. Blueray, Xbox, etc...); output=picture or sound from your tv that will be sent to another source (i.e. Sound bar, Receiver, etc...).

[Speed2K]

Simplified answer to your question is you should be able to connect the blue-ray player via optical out to the sound bar (unless you bought the cheapest of the cheap stuff, then I'm not so sure :/ ).

[AzNightmare]

I made a diagram so it's more easier to explain.

Which setup is using the correct converter (yellow box)?

http://i41.tinypic.com/29o6gly.jpg

(Don't know why "Paint" washed out all the colours when I saved it as a jpg)

[nabs]

setup 2 is correct.


easy way is to think of the way the audio signal would flow. which way do you want it to go from... in this case, HDMI is one directional, so for Video it is correct (Blu Ray to TV)

you want your audio to Flow from the OUTPUT of the Blu Ray player INto the INPUT of the converter. Then you want it to flow OUT of the OUTPUT of the converter INto the INPUT on the sound bar.


(btw if that's the convertor you got, i would use the TOSLINK (fiber) connection from the OUTPUT of the BluRay, INto the INPUT of the converter, it's a little more expensive, you can probably find something for cheap on Monoprice though, You get that extra little bit of digital quality)

[AzNightmare]

(btw if that's the convertor you got, i would use the TOSLINK (fiber) connection from the OUTPUT of the BluRay, INto the INPUT of the converter, it's a little more expensive, you can probably find something for cheap on Monoprice though, You get that extra little bit of digital quality)

In this scenario, would coaxial or toslink make a difference, since the end product is being converted to the inferior RCA input anyway?

On Monoprice, the difference between the two cables is only ~50 cents, so I could go either way.
It more so affects which blu-ray player I should get... since some of them only have coaxial or toslink connection.
Also, all my components are going to be very close to the TV, so I'll probably be using a 6 feet cable at most, maybe even 3 feet.
I think I read somewhere that the length of the cable could make a difference.

[nabs]

Go toslink. You'll be able to use it in the future

[Manic!]

I made a diagram so it's more easier to explain.

Which setup is using the correct converter (yellow box)?

http://i41.tinypic.com/29o6gly.jpg

(Don't know why "Paint" washed out all the colours when I saved it as a jpg)

Save it as a .PNG or a.BMP

[AzNightmare]

So my setup works great now.

I'm thinking of getting a gaming console.
But not sure how I'll hook it up since both of my HDMI ports on my TV is used. (1 for the blu-ray player, 1 for the PVR box)

Is it possible to use a HDMI splitter?

example:
http://kjglobal.co.uk/acatalog/thor_l_1.jpg


The thing I'm wondering is, when I turn on my TV, I can choose source:
HDMI 1.
HDMI 2.

But if I use a splitter, would a HDMI 3 appear in the selection menu?

[nabs]

You can get a selector. That splitter cable will also work.

It will not show an HDMI 3... Basically if you plug the splitter into HDMI 1 port in the TV, then the two sources (eg. Your bluray and your gaming console) will be played in that selection. New gaming consoles (ps3/ps4/xbox1) have built in blu ray players so I would say you can remove the blu ray player out of the system completely.

If you want to save money however, I would suggest removing the blu ray player completely, OR depending on how hard it is to get to the back of the TV or how often you play, you can just switch the HDMI cables over.

The splitter may have a switch or a button on it to select between either of the outputs though, you can't run two sources (signals) at the same time through it.

Good luck... as always PM me if you run into any issues :)