Belkin AV20000-06 PureAV Digital Optical Cable (6 feet) Review

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(More customer reviews)As an owner of five of these cables that are hooked up to my sound system, I thought I'd write a quick review for two simple reasons. First off, I initially decided to write my review because the only-other-review (at the time I'm writing this) is for 1-star?!? I'm hoping the law of averages washes-out the 1-star review simply because this is NOT a 1-star product...The only way to beef-up the number of stars this product deserves is to speak up, so I am! :-)
That said, my second reason for the review is so I can let other prospective buyers out there know that the quality of the cable is Excellent. In fact, I'd compare the craftsmanship to that of a Monster-branded cable at a much more reasonable price! Belkin has stayed in business all these years because they are a top-maker of A/V and Computer cables and it shows here.
If you're looking for a High Quality Optical Cable at an Affordable price, then Belkin's definitely a solution worth your consideration. Happy A/Ving!!

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The Belkin PureAV Digital Optical Cable is ideal for DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound home theater setups. It uses polished optical terminations and optical fiber to transfer digital signals, which prevents electromagnetic and radio frequency noise, leaving you with greater sonic accuracy and a more detailed, natural sound. The precision-molded, corrosion-resistant connectors help produce a natural-sounding midrange, and the cable is manufactured to stand up to extended use.

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Monster MC 1000HD-2M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (2 meters) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am an electrical engineer with many years of experience networking digital data and with large video installations. This is a total ripoff. You don't need a mega-expensive HDMI cable. HDMI is an encrypted digital signal (basically an encrypted version of the digital DVI signal from a computer monitor), and as a digital signal, it either works or it does not. Buy an inexpensive HDMI cable. If your HDMI cable does not work properly, you'll have significant video problems and you will know it right away. There will be no subtle difference with a $100 cable over a $10 cable. Save $90.
If you think you need the highly durable cable, then buy three of the inexpensive cables. You'll still be money ahead and if you break this one, you'll have two spares.
Some people feel that they "see the difference". This is an "emperor's new clothes" argument when it comes to digital signals. As long as the data arrives at the far end, it does not matter if the 1 has been carried in hand-wound Norwegian copper wire surrounded by argon gas. As long as the circuits can tell that 1 from a 0, it won't make any difference at all. None.

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Samsung BD-UP5000 1080p HD-DVD Blu-Ray Disc Combo Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I picked up a BD-UP5000 when limited quantities appeared in mid December 2007 and have been quite happy with the unit. It's my first venture into HD disc playback and having a single box to play all DVD formats was essential. This player delivers excellent picture and sound quality (including exceptional SD DVD upscaling). Less than 10% of HD DVD and Blu-Ray titles have only a TrueHD track which will output as 2-channel stereo. Most discs have other tracks that can be selected: Dolby Digital, multichannel PCM, DTS, etc. So lack of multichannel TrueHD isn't as big an issue as it may seem. Still even one title that limits you to 2.0 is frustrating. Lockups and strange behavior when loading and playing some discs is frustrating, but from what I've read most players go through growing pains and the content providers are at least part of the problem because they can influence the way the player behaves with custom menus and features.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion. SD DVD quality is amazing. You need HDMI/HDCP video as the analog components are limited to 480p based on licensing constraints. The HDMI output supports 1080p60 and 1080p24 as well as other more common rates. 1080p24 is noteworthy since it sends a film to the display at it's native frame rate of 24 frames per second without introducing a 3:2 pull-down sequence. However, the display must be capable of receiving 1080p24 AND have a refresh rate of 72 or 120 Hz to completely eliminate motion "judder".
The 5000 will decode Dolby Digital and DTS encoded sound tracks to multichannel PCM and ship them out via HDMI. Or the player can be placed in "audiophile" mode which sends the undecoded bitstream to the receiver for decoding there, again via HDMI. Some audio tracks can be sent to the receiver via S/PDIF optical or coax connections, but not the higher bandwidth tracks such as multichannel PCM. You must have HDMI for those or use the 7.1 analog outs. The "reencode" mode converts all audio formats to DTS, allowing you to get multichannel audio to your receiver via S/PDIF optical/coax if HDMI isn't an option.
The 5000 has had a rocky start and is still somewhat unstable and lacks key features. While it was announced the first part of 2007, it didn't ship until mid December 2007. Many of the disc compatibility problems have been fixed by a firmware update released in mid January 2007, but there are still some discs that have problems. The 5000 suffers from random lockups requiring a power cycle and lacks support for the advanced audio formats: Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD HR/MA. In addition, standard definition discs are always stretched to 16:9 even for 4:3 content. Most TVs and displays can't unstretch the image without reducing the size as well.
A Samsung engineer working on this product indicated they are aware of the problems and missing multichannel audio support. He said they are planning a major firmware update in the May 2008 time frame. Speculation at AVS Forum (the 5000's user thread is 3000+ plus posts!!!) is that Samsung relies on Broadcom to supply DSP firmware, so it may really Broadcom we're waiting for. This makes sense since the BH200 has the same audio format limitations and uses the same chip. Firmware updates can be done via an ethernet connection to the 5000, or you can download an ISO CD image from Samsung's web site and burn an undated disc from any PC or Mac. (Mac update procedures are not documented but work fine: use Disk Utility or Toast Disc Copy to burn the image file; do not use Finder's burn mechanism.)
Samsung announced the BD-UP5500 at CES January 2008 with availability in the May 2008 time frame. The 5500 is not a true replacement for the 5000 since it does not have the Reon upconverter, nor does it have multichannel analog outputs. Price should be lower than the 5000. This might be an option for some, but the lack of the Reon/HQV is a big deal for me since there are many more SD DVDs than Blu-Ray and HD DVD combined. Those that have a separate audio processor may also need the multichannel analog audio outputs. The 5000's true replacement will be the BD-UP6500 due out late in 2008.
Blu-Ray Java and HDi allow content providers to "enhance" the viewing experience with additional material on the disc and/or downloaded from the internet. Personally, I just want to watch the movie as the producer/director intended. The 5000 is currently Blu-Ray BDJ 1.0 with a promise for 1.1. The 5500 will have to be BDJ 1.1 based on Blu-Ray specs/timetable. The 5000 (and 5500) will never be BDJ 2.0. The 6500 should be BDJ 2.0. The 5000 is supposed to support HDi but haven't tried it.
If you want a single box solution that can play most of the HD DVD, Blu-Ray and SD DVD discs, and can live with the limitations at least until firmware updates are available, the BD-UP5000 is worth serious consideration.
Your only other choice is the LG BH200, but it doesn't have the Reon HQV upconversion or multichannel analog audio outputs. Other than that, the 5000 and BH200 have essentially identical features with similar prices: $750 for the BH200 on Amazon, currently.
However, if you need onboard decoding or bitstreams of Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD MA, Blu-Ray and HD DVD playback and can't wait for firmware updates, you'll need to look for separate Blu-Ray and HD DVD players.

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Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll start by saying I'm not an Audiophile. I just wanted a decent mid-range receiver that does all the latest lossless audio formats and has 7.1 channels so it's ready to take advantage of BluRay as that format evolves. So my primary focus is on a system that plays audio for movies and video games as it's primary function. Currently I have this receiver setup in a 5.1 configuration since that's the type of receiver it replaced. I have more speakers on order to expand it out but to be honest, right now if you're building a home theater from scratch, you only need 5.1 . The 7.1 specs aren't really supported yet and DVDs and Playstation/Xbox are all 5.1, so if you're starting from scratch save some money and setup for 5.1 first and expand as support grows.
I used the automated speaker calibration feature to setup all the channels. This is where you place the provided mic at ear level at three different listener positions. The receiver then sends out tones which will drive you and your dog nuts for about 15 minutes while the entire process goes on. Once it was done however, I was/am very pleased with the results.
I've heard some people ask about humming, i can detect no humming. I have some WiFi equipment close by which is 2.5 ghz and so far have not heard any humming. Some other people have said the Receiver runs hot to which I would ask those people, is this your first receiver? They do run hot ! This one runs no hotter than the old one i replaced from a different manufacturer so as far as I'm concerned, the heat issue is normal. I have it in a small component rack that's enclosed on the sides and back with a door on the front, it's got maybe half an inch space around the sides and 2 inches of space on top and so far everything is good.
The back has tons of inputs, but the primary reason I waited for the 606 over the previous model is the number of HDMI ports, the next generation audio/video cable which is a requirement for full resolution BluRay playback. They're rev 1.3a to support all the latest audio formats as well (none of which are currently supported by the discs themselves yet though). The receiver will pass through a 1080p signal from a BluRay or other high def video source. If you feed it a standard def 480i video source, it will upscale it to 1080i or 720p. It does a decent job but i would say upscaling isn't the receivers strong point, it does an acceptable job though. But lets face it, Onkyo doesn't build TV's, their bread and butter isn't video, it's audio.
I'm pleased with the performance and the styling of the receiver, it's just very basic and sleek. No built in graphical user interface and all that other nonsense that receivers 3x this price but no more times the performance come equipped with. This receiver for a mid end system for movies and video games just really can't be matched in terms of performance per dollar spent.
I have matched this receiver with some Polk Audio speakers. Specifically i have a Polk CSi3 center channel and six Polk RTi4 bookshelf speakers (all of which you can find at great prices here on Amazon where I ordered them from) and I am very very happy with the results. The Polk speakers like the Onkyo 606 receiver are over achievers for their price point, so they match together extremely well.
The only thing I have left to say is buy it, I wouldn't hesitate recommending this receiver to anyone looking for a solid movie/video game home theater experience.

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As part of the second generation of Onkyo high-definition-capable receivers, the TX-SR606 is at the forefront of affordable home theater. The key is to have the most capable version of HDMI. The TX-SR606 provides high-definition video and audio processing for four source components—another first for Onkyo at this level. From Blu-ray Disc players to gaming consoles and cable/satellite boxes, you have everything in the digital realm covered. Apart from 1080p video, the TX-SR606 can upscale all video signals to 1080i, regardless of the connection, for output via HDMI. Onkyo's own RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) also gives you inter-operability with the displays and playback components from other leading brands. And with an expanded version of Audyssey's room correction technology, the TX-SR606 maintains the fullness of surround sound audio quality at low volume levels. The TX-SR606 offers all-round excellence rarely seen at this level.

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OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio Review

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(More customer reviews)Just to add my vote, this is an excellent DVD player. I use it with an older Sony LCD tv (XBR1, only goes to 1080i), and compared the picture, using a standard widescreen DVD, with my older Panasonic progressive scan Panasonic dvd player (480p output). The picture with this one is clearly superior.
As others have said, the whole thing reeks quality and attention to detail. A good quality HDMI cable is included, as well as standard video/audio cables in case you need them for troubleshooting. The packaging is a class above the industry.
If you want something for watching standard DVDs with a good HDTV, consider this one or the 981HD model.

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Harman Kardon AVR-254 7x50W 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with HDMI 1.3a Repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)I spent several months researching my new receiver for my home theater. I spent countless hours hanging out on the avsforum, read everything I could about receivers. I was looking for a receiver that would have the following features:
- at least 2 HDMI inputs
- great sound quality for music as well as movies
- HD audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA) support
- would cost $650 MSRP or less
The choice is clear:
- Onkyo 606 or 705
- Yamaha 663
- Sony 820 or 920
- HK 254
- Pioneer 1018
- Denon 1909 or 988
I didn't even try the Onkyos, because I was afraid of the overheating problems and the humming noise reported on many units. Plus, they are downright ugly. The Yamaha had only 2 HDMI, and did not pass BTB/WTW, the Sonys are notorious for having the worst sound quality (unless you tap into the really high end models) across the board, so I didn't consider those either.
I was then left with the HK, Pioneer and Denon receivers.
I first bought the HK 254. All the users on avsforum swore by the HK sound. Well, they were right. The sound is nothing short of outstanding. The GUI is light-years ahead of the competition too. And finally, it is by far the slickest looking receiver of all.
Now, on the negative. HK is notorious for releasing products that haven't been thoroughly tested, and that don't work properly until the firmware update is released, and even at that point, it doesn't always work right. Well, they got that right too...
1 - the fan noise on 2 different units was unbearably loud, and not only was it loud, it wasn't a constant noise: it was pulsating. Crappy quality control from HK, can't afford more than $2 on a decent fan!
2 - if you connect your PS3 to the HK receiver using HDMI audio out + Linear PCM (the only way to take advantage of the HD audio codecs), here's what happens: you get sound drop outs that last for several minutes in many bluray movies (There Will Be Blood is a good example). Also, in GTA IV, you cannot hear the dialogs from the person you talk to on your cell phone. When I say "you cannot hear the dialogs", I mean: there is NO sound at all, it's not that the volume is low.
3 - the surround sound never "locks" on the one you want, it always reverts to Logic 7 eventually, and even if you can sometimes get it back by cycling through the surround sounds, it doesn't always work and it is a major hassle.
4 - it can't pass HDMI video with video processing turned OFF (it's always on!), and it won't pass BTB/WTW either.
I don't want to go into the details of all these bugs, but they completely kill all the enjoyment you could get from the unit. I exchanged my first unit, thinking I got a lemon, but the 2nd unit showed exactly the same problems, all of them. I finally returned the unit, disgusted with HK's quality control.
I then tried the Pioneer 1018, the Denon 1909 and the Denon 988. All 3 of them performed flawlessly, without a single hickup.
The Pioneer worked great but sounded a little weak, lacked punch and attack compared to the HK. It also had a very annoying bright blue LED that you can't turn off, and the worst remote I've ever seen.
The Denon 1909 and 988 were very similar, the 988 having a very slight edge in terms of SQ for music, but lacked the extra HDMI input and didn't have the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume features. The 1909 was the only receiver I tried that could maintain the surround field perfect at any time and any given volume.
I ended up keeping the 1909, because of its great sound quality and of its superb handling of surround field, thanks to the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume. Oh, and did I mention that it just works? ;)
After my disastrous experience with the HK, I wouldn't touch that receiver with a 10ft pole. If you consider this unit, wait until HK comes up with a firmware update, and make sure that it actually fixed all the problems. For more info about these problems, visit the avsforum dot com forum, and search for "Official Harman/Kardon AVR x54: Problems and Solutions Thread".

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The Harman Kardon AVR-254 7x50W 7.1-channel home theater receiver with HDMI 1.3a repeater is an affordable home theater system that gives you more bang for your buck. 7.1-Channel A/V receiver includes HDMI' switching and audio/video processing. With 350 watts (50 watts x 7 channels) at your fingertips, movies will put you into the heart of the action. This is upscale video without an upscale price. The AVR-254 is Harman Kardon's most affordable receiver and allows you to upscale incoming analog video signals to high-resolution 720p output or select two HDMI' inputs for audio processing -all with a Simplay HD'-verified, single-wire connection to an HDMI-equipped display. And the sound? Pure Harman Kardon audio, with the clarity possible only with EzSet/EQ' technology and our high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier design.

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Tripp Lite A102-02M Digital Optical Audio Cable with 2 Toslink connectors - 2M (6ft) Review

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(More customer reviews)Digital audio cable (or TOSLINK, as it is also commonly known) is a very common interface in my home entertainment system. My aging Sony A/V reciever only has 4 optical ins/outs and my system of components using the cable standard easily doubles that. I've purchased optical cable switchers and have a lot of optical cable running in the back of my media center. In that regards, I have a number of makes and models of cables, from minimalist and very delicate in build quality to quite robust (and perhaps to the point of overkill). This Tripp Lite cable fits squarely in the middle...a nice solid cable that feels good, but not indestructable. I plugged it in and it works just fine.
Why does build quality matter? TOSLINK, a glass fiber based optical cable standard, is nice, thin and robust in its transmission speeds--but it is susceptible to breaking by overtwisting or sharp impact. If you're comfortable using thin cheap optical cabling because your system is sealed and the cabling rarely accessed, go for it. But for many of us, your system isn't in 'lock down mode' and you may have an intermittent need to rewire or get back there in the "rats' nest" on occasion. For that reason, I recommend this product as a good compromise between cost/quality...it will take the knocks/use (within reason) without breaking the bank.
In short--you don't need the more expensive solutions by Monster or Belkin (which I own and respect). Just evaluate your scenario/circumstances and buy accordingly.

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Tripp Lite Lite Toslink Digital Optical Audio Cable A102-02M Cables

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Yamaha RX-V365BL 500 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I generally like Yamaha products but this receiver has one huge flaw. The HDMI outs do not support audio sound. I ran separate optical audio outputs from cable box and CD player. The one HDMI out on the reciever only worked with DVD not Cable box or DTV inputs. So don't plan on running a separate TV from the HDMI out on the reciever. The sound quality is good and the functions are easy to learn with the exception of the scene feature. Really not that well explained. I like the reciever and was able to work around the HDMI issue but think that this is a huge oversight on Yamaha's part. I hope this review is helpful.

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Yamaha RX-V365BL 500 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using this for 2 weeks now, and it's my first blu-ray player (no PS3). The good stuff: Excellent look, not too loud, amazing picture and sound. Working ethernet and USB port. (I haven't had to download any firmware or code updates, but I'm sure it'll work fine.)
Operations: No fan noise, no noise while playing, but during menu & loading, you hear some track-seeking which is audible at 10'... nothing offensive, though. I just noticed last night, after my 5th blu-ray a little flicker in in the bottom center of the screen during the credits of Juno... not sure if it's a bad disc or a player having a problem. It was repeatable, and the disc seemed clean. Lastly, the load time, eject time, etc seems just fine. Not instant or as fast a nice DVD player, but not noticably slow. I've heard alot about slow disc-loading, and if it is a problem on other players - it's not a problem on this one. Lastly, sometimes when you click on a menu instead of pausing, the screen with show a "progress-bar" for 2-4 seconds while the next manu loads, which isn't completely kosher, but doesn't bother me.
The so-so stuff: I'm giving this 5-stars because it's near-perfect at what it's designed to do for it's price, but it's not perfect. One reason to get a mid- to lower-cost player is to (duh) save money... if you're someone who has an older receiver that doesn't decode the two new DD and DTS formats, and (probably) doesn't decode multi-channel PCM, this player isn't for you. It only has stereo-out analog RCA plugs, not 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs.
That means you can't bypass your receivers pre-amp to play the newer audio formats and let the blu-ray player decode them. My old Receiver (which I used the player with for a week) only decoded DD 5.1 (no DTS, and only 2-channel PCM to 48khz). This player lets you send a PCM stream to your receiver from an internally decoded DTS 5.1 signal, but this didn't work for me... as my player can't receive 5.1 PCM streams, it only saw it as 2-channel. At least the player lets you downsample 96khz PCM to 48khz, so that I at least got sound (Golden Compass only has DTS 5.1 or DTS HD Master).
With my new receiver, all formats work perfectly, all bitstreamed.
Some people perhaps are holding off for new receivers because they don't want to connect through the player's analog RCA 5.1/7.1 connectors - but this is probably mis-information. What you want to avoid is taking digital sound, converting it to analog, then back to digital, then back to analog... don't worry - you wouldn't be doing this. Basically you would be doing all your processing in the player digitally, then once it is sent out through the pre-outs to the receiver you'd bypass the receiver's processing and it would go straight to the amplifier (which is of course analog anyway).
So my conclusion for thos people with older (but good) receivers - this blu-ray player won't save you any money. The best savings would be to pay a little more for a player with 5.1 analog outputs and continue to use your existing receiver.
-Kevin Moore
Natick, MA

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Experience the Blu-ray difference with the SAMSUNG BD-P1500. You'll get incredibly detailed images with brilliant color in full high definition 1080p resolution. It's the only media capable of delivering true 1080p performance on an HDTV set. Its Anynet+ technology lets you control all your SAMSUNG AV devices from just one remote. The BD-P1500 lets you have it all. It's backward compatible with earlier formats. watch your current collection of DVDs or listen to audio CDs with the highest-quality sound available. 1080p resolution - Enjoy lifelike, vivid visuals and crystal-clear details with full high definition 1080p resolution when playing Blu-Ray discs HDMI keeps it simple by using a single cable wire to deliver the sharpest, richest images possible. Conveniently and easily transfer high-definition video and audio from your DVD player to your HDTV and other digital devices using a single cable. HDMI version 1.3 transfers deeper color and higher resolution, and handles new, compressed audio formats. Control it all with one remote - Anynet+ delivers streamlined, one-touch control over all your Anynet+ compatible devices such as the TV, AV receiver, and home theater Playback Media - BD-ROM / DVD-ROM / DVD-R / DVD-RW / AVCHD / audio CD Playback Formats - VC-1 / MPEG2 / H.264 DVD Upconversion DTS Decoder BD Profile - profile 1.1 USB 2.0 (for SW upgrade only) HDMI CEC Composite Video Outputs Component Video Outputs HDMI Outputs Optical Digital Audio Outputs Analog Audio Outputs - 2-Channel Built-in Ethernet connection - RJ45 USB Port Picture in Picture Dimensions - 16.9 in. x 3.3 in. x 10.8 in. Weight - 8.6 lbs.

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