Recommended surround sound for TV?

[Main Street]

This is not the be all, it's cheap and has a good sound for the price.
There are 3 hdmi inputs on the TV. Direct connections from say a digibox to a tv are better.
and it's no problem to run the hdmi cable from a digibox to the tv direct, instead of to the amp.

There is a Viera Link, HD AVI control with the panasonic tv.
"It's future proofed"  is another sales hype.

Speakers don't really change, style excepted and afaiac it's the speakers that matter most in these systems.
You start at finding the speakers you want and work backwards from there.
If you want to do an experiment, avail of where you can test and listen to different headphones from Sennheiser and work your way up from the crappy ones to the 100, to the 595, to the 600.

[Ulick]

This is not the be all, it's cheap and has a good sound for the price.
There are 3 hdmi inputs on the TV. Direct connections from say a digibox to a tv are better.
and it's no problem to run the hdmi cable from a digibox to the tv direct, instead of to the amp.

There is a Viera Link, HD AVI control with the panasonic tv.
"It's future proofed"  is another sales hype.

Speakers don't really change, style excepted and afaiac it's the speakers that matter most in these systems.
You start at finding the speakers you want and work backwards from there.
If you want to do an experiment, avail of where you can test and listen to different headphones from Sennheiser and work your way up from the crappy ones to the 100, to the 595, to the 600.

But then you will have to run a seperate optical audio to the amp which causes all sorts of problems with the Sky digibox not to mention the extra wire. By future proofing, I mean accommodating other devices which this devices doesn't do (it has no practically no inputs and no HDMI). Plus, as I say, you are relying on the TV to do the audio decoding and send the signal to the speakers which will probably be a compromise on quality.

Also disagree that you should start with the speakers. The place to start is figuring out what the system will be used for e.g. if it's only for watching DVDs the best option is probably the home theatre system, but if you are building for an entertainment system which is "future proofed" (e.g. I haven't watched a DVD or listened to a CD in a few years and I expect most people will be downloading direct to multimedia boxes soon) then it's best to go for an av receiver with enough features to accommodate a range of devices.

[mick999]

If you want to have a really future proof AV Amp ... This is the one that you need :

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055902741

Onkyo TXSR-608 AV 7.2 Receiver
Ok Boardies - it is finally here - the most awaited AV receiver for the last 12 months is in stock!

It's 3D ready HDMI 1.4 and a pretty serious looking piece of kit.

For a start, you get six of the latest HDMI® 1.4a inputs for simple hook-up of all your high-def sources.

HDMI 1.4a also brings compatibility with the new 3D video format, as well as an Audio Return Channel from your display back to the receiver (ie TV audio via your 7.2 / 5.1 speakers

It is launching at £449.95

[Main Street]

This is not the be all, it's cheap and has a good sound for the price.
There are 3 hdmi inputs on the TV. Direct connections from say a digibox to a tv are better.
and it's no problem to run the hdmi cable from a digibox to the tv direct, instead of to the amp.

There is a Viera Link, HD AVI control with the panasonic tv.
"It's future proofed"  is another sales hype.

Speakers don't really change, style excepted and afaiac it's the speakers that matter most in these systems.
You start at finding the speakers you want and work backwards from there.
If you want to do an experiment, avail of where you can test and listen to different headphones from Sennheiser and work your way up from the crappy ones to the 100, to the 595, to the 600.

But then you will have to run a seperate optical audio to the amp which causes all sorts of problems with the Sky digibox not to mention the extra wire

.
Connecting a sky digibox to a separate amp is similar to connecting it to the Panny 'all in one'.
The only difference is you run the hdmi /scart cable to the tv.
I can't imagine what problems you are talking about.

By future proofing, I mean accommodating other devices which this devices doesn't do (it has no practically no inputs and no HDMI). Plus, as I say, you are relying on the TV to do the audio decoding and send the signal to the speakers which will probably be a compromise on quality

You are not relying on the tv for audio decoding.
For a digibox and say a computer, the audio is directed from the digibox/computer to the 2 dig input on the Panny 'all in one'.
The hdmi video is sent directed to the Panny tv, which has an outstanding video decoding system.
No matter what av amp I would have, I would connect the video signal direct to the tv if possible.
The Panny  'all in one' can take 2 extra digital audio inputs.
a digibox and  either a multimedia box or a computer. If a multimedia box is used then a computer can be connected to analogue stereo input on the 'all in one' which is suitable for music and most downloaded decoded films.
Some people just want effective simplicity which satisfies their needs, the Panny TV & 'all in one' is controlled with one remote and has a good sound..

Also disagree that you should start with the speakers.

Then you are different. Imo the speakers are what define the quality to your ear. Try out my suggested experiment sometime to find out the differences in listening to the same audio system but through different headpieces.
Even the difference between the higher end Sennheiser 595 and 600 is  quite noticeable.
Whatever you have in your audio system, you listen to it through the speakers.
Once you understand and appreciate the differences with speaker component quality, you can build up the rest of a system with little difficulty.
Thats why I say the speakers are the starting point.

[JUst retired]

The only good speakers are wooden boxes.I have a pair of Akai jet Stream and I would`nt swap them for all the plastis Bose in the world.

[Radda bout yeee]

I was wondering about speakers for my PC.
I have a laptop which will play HD movies for me on my LG 23" 1080p TV in my bedroom. However the sound will only come through the laptop which isn't great. I was thinking about buying speakers for the laptop so as to station the speakers nearer the tv to give better sound. Does anyone know what the best option would be - the room isn't very big and i don't want the dearest on the market but i'm not afraid to spend a bit.

[Croí na hÉireann]

I was wondering about speakers for my PC.
I have a laptop which will play HD movies for me on my LG 23" 1080p TV in my bedroom. However the sound will only come through the laptop which isn't great. I was thinking about buying speakers for the laptop so as to station the speakers nearer the tv to give better sound. Does anyone know what the best option would be - the room isn't very big and i don't want the dearest on the market but i'm not afraid to spend a bit.

The cheap option would be to get a 3.5mm Stereo Jack to 2 RCA Phono Plugs Cable and play the sound through your telly.