possible home theater set up

[Bob Craft]

We finally purchased a new living room and was wondering if I could use my existing JVC stereo equipment that in the past was only used for cd's and ocasional radio listening for tapping into a new 30 something inch TV and some speakers as a home theater setup. The reciever has surround sound and is in great shape and I hate to get rid of the stuff I have now only to have to buy new. I would love to put what I have now into my new cabinet and just get some nice small wall mounted speakers and possibly a subwoofer.

[SafeWatch]

If it has Dolby Digital Surround or better (THX, DTS, etc.) then it could certainly be used for a home theater. However, it is probably not going to have video switching (not absolutely necessary) and digital decoding of any sort (like the above-mentioned - THX or DTS.)

It will probably give you a decent surround effect through Dolby Pro or something similar - but it's not going to be a true surround. And, I'm sure it's not going to have better than a 5.1 surround.

If you have a Sub out, then make sure you get a good powered sub - the center of a good home theater.

Good luck!

[BobF]

A side note: you won't get surround sound if you route the sound thru the tv first. You will get sound out of all the speakers, but it won't be surround sound. For that you need to connect the source directly to the receiver.

[SafeWatch]

That actually depends on the TV and other peripherals the sound must pass through - if they are HiFi capable, you can get surround sound (only Dolby Pro, but still surround.)

[stereoguy]

If the front of the receiver is labeled "Dolby Digital" then you have current technology. If it says "Dolby Surround" or "Dolby Pro Logic" and has no digital inputs on the rear, I would -highly- recommend replacing it for use in a home theater. $300 will get you a reasonable new receiver, and you can find serviceable units for under $200 if you look hard. If you can pony up $500 or more for a Denon/Yamaha/Pioneer/etc you will be in very good shape.

Subwoofers make a world of difference in home theater. Get one if at all possible. If you want to throw several $1ks at speakers, Magnepan makes some very slick on-wall speakers.