Sound Bars

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sampedrena
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby sampedrena » Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:29 pm

Very interested in this thread - as I am really struggling to hear some of the programmes on TV. This is most noticeable when using the IPTV box - some of the channels seem very quiet and so do some of the items available via the Video Club. My question is this: would a Sound Bar actually allow me to make the sound louder - as at the moment (when watching IPTV) I have the TV at 100% volume and use the IPTV handset to adjust the sound on a day to day basis. On some things however, it is impossible to hear properly even when I put the IPTV up to max as well. I just am not sure if sound bars can only make things clearer or can actually make them louder too.

Any advice would be much appreciated, including how easy they are to fit. Many thanks.
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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:54 pm

More info needed for anyone here to really give you an informed answer...ie TV Make n Model.....IPTV Box make model and how its all connected upetc as what you have explained you are experiencing is very very odd to say the least.....

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sampedrena
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby sampedrena » Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:50 am

Hi there first tango
The TV is a Samsung - not sure of model number, but it's an F or G and is about 3 years old. The IPTV box is a MAG 254 and it connects to the TV via an HDMI cable. I hadn't realised there was any different way to connect it to the TV - sorry.
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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:03 am

You definitely should not be having the audio issues that you are experiencing......when I used to use an android box I always left the volume at 75% and just used the TV Remote volume setting. Maybe there is something amiss with your TV'S audio out put....hard to say from here.I would go into the Audio settings on your T.V and check what its set to. But if all working correctly a sound bar such as the one El Cid suggests earlier in the thread would enhance your audio massively.

Have a read here and see how yours matches up

https://success.highfive.com/hc/en-us/a ... o-Settings

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby Chunky Monky » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:59 pm

I have a J series Samsung TV and the HW-J450 soundbar and woofer.

https://goo.gl/YP3GLF

Believe me, you can play these things at levels that will rattle the cat's teeth!

casita-bonita
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:02 pm

I appreciate that these things can give you loads of sound from the front but how good are they at faking actual rear speakers for surround sound?
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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:21 pm

In a word "POOR" even the top of the range struggle to emulate a 5.1 or 7.1 system. Simple physics means they are in the main a pale imitation of the true immersive surround sound experience

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:25 pm

That's what I thought would be the answer. I'll stick with my proper cinema amp and according to my wife too many speakers for the time being then.
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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Wed Sep 13, 2017 5:30 pm

Obviously you could set up to have both especially if you watch a lot of blu ray or 4k discs and content, I'd personally use what you have already got set up and get the optimum results at your disposal......but in normal TV viewing a decent sound bar works a treat, also I feel far more comfortable with Norris from Corrie coming from in front of me rather than behind me ....that would be very alarming (other dodgy characters would have a similar effect) :lol:

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country boy
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby country boy » Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:17 pm

We have a 40" Samsung flat screen and a samsung soundbar, it is a very good improvement to the telly speakers; there is also a bass woofer thingy separate which I have turned down a bit as it is very powerful.
One thing I would say however that having the bar has not entirely removed the annoying "too loud" background music in some programmes (Why do they do that?). It is definitely better however, also you can choose the tone of the sound track. We run on "voice" mainly as we don't like too much base.

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby Chunky Monky » Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:30 pm

country boy wrote: We run on "voice" mainly as we don't like too much base.
I quite agree, as stated above, we have a similar setup. I would like to have seen an option where the background could be dialled back or the voice raised to suit.

casita-bonita
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:16 pm

firsttango wrote:
casita-bonita wrote:That's what I thought would be the answer. I'll stick with my proper cinema amp and according to my wife too many speakers for the time being then.
Obviously you could set up to have both especially if you watch a lot of blu ray or 4k discs and content, I'd personally use what you have already got set up and get the optimum results at your disposal......but in normal TV viewing a decent sound bar works a treat, also I feel far more comfortable with Norris from Corrie coming from in front of me rather than behind me ....that would be very alarming (other dodgy characters would have a similar effect) :lol:
Don't see that there would be any advantage to that setup. May as well buy a crappy car to drive to the village and use the merc for special occasions only. Anyway I'd never get the additional hardware signed off by the wife.
She wouldn't even let me run speaker cables to the back of the room for the rear speakers. After much searching I found a wireless widget that does the job adequately.

Don't think, but i could well be wrong that broadcast TV is in 5.1, so you're safe from norris creeping up behind you. At least none on the broadcast IPTV that I get, even from iPlayer etc are. Movies on the other hand are often available in 1080p with 5.1.
Last edited by casita-bonita on Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bob

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby El Cid » Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:56 pm

You’re not wrong, almost no normal free to air tv broadcasts are in 5.1 surround. The last one I heard was Wills and Kate’s wedding which was fantastic. The bbc don’t even do the last night of the proms in 5.1 which is a disgrace. I remember listening to their experimental stereo broadcasts in the 50s. They haven’t moved on much in 60 years.

I have no problems with placing all the speakers because when I built our house all the wiring was designed to be under the floor or in the walls with cavities to hide the speakers, both inside and outside.

Sid

casita-bonita
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:04 pm

You're lucky to have been able to do that. When my house was built I doubt the wind up gramophone had even been invented, let alone 7.1 surround sound :lolno:
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Bob

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:28 pm

Yes agree Sid pretty poor show that a World class broadcaster such as the BBC are so far behind The Likes of Netflix and Amazon with their programmes in 5.1 and 7.1 and more recently Netflix have added Dolby Atmos to its repertoire, not experienced it yet but looks like something that will roll out over the coming months.
Casita Bonita - Don't quite get your "drive a banger to the shops and keep the Merc for special occasions" I've known absolutely loads of people who do or have done just that, I'm guilty of that myself when I was living full time in the U.K.
My Norris reference was just a light hearted comment but back when we first moved here way back I had a JVC surround sound system that always seemed at one time or another scare you with a voice of who ever popping out of one of the rear speakers when you least expected it.......early days of surround sound technologyand bulky heavy bits of equipment, the Sony 36" CRT was massive and literally took 3 people to lift it :lol:

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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:00 pm

Tongue in cheek way of saying if I have a cinema system which does all I need audiowise, why would I install an additional inferior system for lower quality sound sources. Personally I'd rather drive the merc all the time, although in the real world my missus hates driving the merc so we take the smart out mostly. Hmmnn sure there's a lesson in there somewhere.
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Bob

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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:12 pm

Errrrr thats exactly what I said to you in my post " I'd personally use what you have already got set up and get the optimum results at your disposal"..

casita-bonita
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby casita-bonita » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:19 pm

Indeed you did... :thumbup:
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Bob

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firsttango
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Re: Sound Bars

Postby firsttango » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:35 pm

I spent most of last night debating on whether to take the Bugatti Chiron or the Clio to Supersol today.....then I woke up....Clio it was :lol:


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