Agreed Chris.

TV sound is rather poor.
OK for just watching TV shows News and stuff.
A soundbar is a cheap addition to a great TV.
Eventough i`m using THX 5.1 on a daily basis.

---

With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

I must have posted about this somewhere, but blowed if I can find it, so in the interim I'll post this, before I get my wrist slapped and it is moved to where it should be :-))

We recently bought last year a Samsung Flat Screen TV to replace the 12 year old Panasonic 27" CRT set that had served us well. After researching the Which? magazine, we chose the Samsung UE40H6400AK which got an overall Best Buy score of 79% for a 40" in 2014. It is a Smart TV, HD freeview, 3D, and a pretty good sound output. I can confirm that it is an excellent TV and shopping around we managed to get it for £437 + two pairs of powered 3D glasses, as against a list price of £500.

Although the sound was categorised as above average, and it is, everyone said to get a sound bar, but at an average of £150 I was initially very dubious. Again the Which? report recommended the Yamaha YAS-93 as a Best Buy at 79%. It turned up today and is installed and by heck it does make one hell of a difference to an already very good TV. Needs a bit of setting up though.

The functions on it that I particularly like are the learning function that lets you use the TV remote for all the usual things like volume, mute, and power, plus it has 7.1 surround sound + stereo and Bluetooth. The best bit is Univolume that sets a standard sound level for all channels including adverts. In the UK that is worth it for that function alone!!! But it was another £150 on top of the TV cost. I have tried a music DVD through it and turned the volume up, and the built in sub-woofers give a very nice depth that drowned my living room out :-)

It's nowhere near a home cinema system, but I can recommend both items on personal experience for upmarket day to day viewing.

I'm sure it's a nice set Chris S, being Samsung and all, as to the sound bar, it does I guess make up for the lack of a cabinet for good speakers(the WD-57731 is 18" deep and over 4' wide), like is in My 57" 2006 Mitsubishi WD-57731 HD TV, of course being that old it has 1394 ports and not usb ports(drat and double drat, maybe a 1394 to usb converter would work), but on the other hand all I need is a subwoofer and My sound system would be complete, It's already able to pass THX sound tests. And the colors are nothing to sneeze at either.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

We have three Samsung flat screen TVs in the house. The 65" 3D HD TV connected to the U-verse wireless box and an OLD Bose DVD and sound system. The sound system is 2.1, (two stereo speakers, and a sub-woofer), but the DVD is S-Video. Since the Bose DVD cannot be used with the 65" TV; we purchased a Sony Blu-ray player. Though OLD, the Bose sound system still sounds AWESOME! The TV and the Blu-ray are SMART and have Wi-Fi.

Next we have my parents' 40" Samsung HD TV, in their bedroom. To that we added a Visio sound bar. The sound bar truly completes the TV. The TV's sound is flat without it.

Then we have my 32" Samsung HD TV in my bedroom. I also have a Super-VHS, a Panasonic Blu-ray, and a Toshiba DVD-Recorder. To connect all this; I have a four position AV Switch Box. U-verse box connects to the first switch, Blu-ray to the second switch, and DVD-Recorder to the third switch. (HDMI of U-verse to Input 1 on TV and HDMI of Blu-ray to Input 2 on TV.) (Auxiliary ports on U-verse box connect to input of DVD-Recorder.) The output of the Switch Box goes to the Super-VHS; and, the audio output of the Super-VHS goes to a set of Altec Lansing ACS-44, 2.1 Computer Speakers. (This concoction of electronics allows me to record from DVR to DVD.) The OLD computer speakers still sound GREAT! (Hey, if they worked on the computer for StarCraft...)

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

We run the sound from our flat screen
TV in to my sound card on the Media
computer, then it goes put to a 5.1
sound system. Very good sound......

---

A good all round compromise.

Plus you have better programing than us!




Edit:
Your news programs are still news programs....

---

I simply have Time Warner Cable w/a DVR and a DVD player/VHS Recorder, though I don't play any of My old VHS tapes and I will eventually get rid of the VHS/DVD unit and it's tapes and get a Blu Ray/DVD player/recorder...

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

A good all round compromise.

Plus you have better programing than us!

Speak for yourself, CT... We have EXCELLENT programming through U-verse. Starz, Showtime, Encore, BBC-America, TNT, FX, CW; all in HD. Plus regular local channels, and more. U-verse U-300 package is all we need. :-)

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Speak for yourself, CT... We have EXCELLENT programming through U-verse. Starz, Showtime, Encore, BBC-America, TNT, FX, CW; all in HD. Plus regular local channels, and more. U-verse U-300 package is all we need. :-)

Wow! You gotta' be very wealthy!

---

A good all round compromise.

Plus you have better programing than us!

Speak for yourself, CT... We have EXCELLENT programming through U-verse. Starz, Showtime, Encore, BBC-America, TNT, FX, CW; all in HD. Plus regular local channels, and more. U-verse U-300 package is all we need. :-)

What? No cable TL? ;)

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Speak for yourself, CT... We have EXCELLENT programming through U-verse. Starz, Showtime, Encore, BBC-America, TNT, FX, CW; all in HD. Plus regular local channels, and more. U-verse U-300 package is all we need. :-)

Wow! You gotta' be very wealthy!

Our U-verse bill is $148 a month; and $61 of that is our 45 Mb Internet Package. So, we're paying $87 a month for HD TV services with the U-300 Package. (Taxes and Fees included.)

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Our U-verse bill is $148 a month

Holy smokes, you are wealthy!

---

Our U-verse bill is $148 a month

Holy smokes, you are wealthy!

I pay about $83 a month for HD cable tv w/a DVR and 15/1 internet. Any problems happen here get fixed quickly...

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Our U-verse bill is $148 a month

Holy smokes, you are wealthy!

I pay about $83 a month for HD cable tv w/a DVR and 15/1 internet. Any problems happen here get fixed quickly...

Do you get the movie channels that we get on U-300??? For what Comcast charges up here; we're paying less and getting more for the $$$. If the merger of Comcast/Time Warner goes through; I hope they give you better service, better packaging, and better prices... However, be prepared for fee increases - Comcast is FAMOUS for this. That's why we left for U-verse. We didn't even have any movie channels with Comcast; and we were paying more than our current U-300 Package.

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Okay, I'm getting ripped off by AT&T. I think the internet part of my bill is $50. The whole bill is about $153, for U-Verse 200 non-HD and no premium channels. DVR and one extra box.

In the living room, I have a Sharp 27" CRT TV. The DVR sits on top of a VCR/DVD recorder on top of the TV. The DVR is wired into one set of inputs on the TV and the combo into the other.

The second set of outputs from the DVR runs to the kitchen where I have an Emerson 22" HDTV. That also has a cheap Blu-Ray connected by HDMI. The BR is smart and wireless.

The other box is in my bedroom with a 24" (I think) HDTV, but it only gets used while I'm getting dressed in the morning.

If either of the HDs goes out, I have my grandmother's 19" or so gathering dust in the study. If the Sharp quits, I have my father's in the basement.

The stereo with its 5-disc CD player and turntable probably haven't been used since Christmas 2009.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Our U-verse bill is $148 a month

Holy smokes, you are wealthy!

I pay about $83 a month for HD cable tv w/a DVR and 15/1 internet. Any problems happen here get fixed quickly...

Do you get the movie channels that we get on U-300??? For what Comcast charges up here; we're paying less and getting more for the $$$. If the merger of Comcast/Time Warner goes through; I hope they give you better service, better packaging, and better prices... However, be prepared for fee increases - Comcast is FAMOUS for this. That's why we left for U-verse. We didn't even have any movie channels with Comcast; and we were paying more than our current U-300 Package.

I get a lot of channels, though movie channels I don't watch, so I can't answer that totally. I can say I can't get El Rey HD(Movies), History Chan 2 in HD, FYI, Smithsonian, Nat Geo, Nat Geo wild, Spike, DIY, COOK, etc, etc as these aren't in My package, if I wanted to spend more, I could, I choose not to. I can see traffic status live on TWC Community(214, 164 and 84, all in 1080i HD) for all of Southern California, plus too many others to mention, like the SCIence channel, HGTV, CNN, HLN, CN, DSN, CSPAN, CSPAN2, CalCh, CSPAN3(can't get this one), DXDHD, VOD(Video On Demand), VOD(Music On Demand), Disney Family OD(Pay I think), There are too many to list since the highest channel number is 1999... Oh and I don't watch VOD, since some is pay and some is free.

I didn't say what you get is better or worse, only that I spend less than you do, you get what you want from a monopoly service just like I do, yours runs on more complicated infrastructure than cable, cable doesn't need channel bonding.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Okay, I'm getting ripped off by AT&T. I think the internet part of my bill is $50. The whole bill is about $153, for U-Verse 200 non-HD and no premium channels. DVR and one extra box.

In the living room, I have a Sharp 27" CRT TV. The DVR sits on top of a VCR/DVD recorder on top of the TV. The DVR is wired into one set of inputs on the TV and the combo into the other.

The second set of outputs from the DVR runs to the kitchen where I have an Emerson 22" HDTV. That also has a cheap Blu-Ray connected by HDMI. The BR is smart and wireless.

The other box is in my bedroom with a 24" (I think) HDTV, but it only gets used while I'm getting dressed in the morning.

If either of the HDs goes out, I have my grandmother's 19" or so gathering dust in the study. If the Sharp quits, I have my father's in the basement.

The stereo with its 5-disc CD player and turntable probably haven't been used since Christmas 2009.

The secret to U-verse is Promotions, David. Every year when the promotions lapse, my dad calls in to U-verse billing and complains about the high fees. Every year, they extend Promotion Packages to him.

Call them up and say you're not happy with what you're having to pay. See what promotions they'll extend to you. See if you can get upgraded to U-300 with a Promotion Package. See what Internet Packages are available. Perhaps you can get a better bundle with U-300 and a faster Internet Package.

Never hurts to try... :-)

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Being old school I have a pair of B&W 2 way monitors driven by a classic Advent 300 receiver and a small M&K powered subwoofer coming out of the Advents preamp. It is larger than a soundbar and is hard wired but it sounds pretty good vs any soundbar I have heard. I guess it it all comes down to your expectations. And yes the speakers in 50" Panasonic plasma are horrible.

---

U-verse finally has run a wire to my neighborhood. Back last summer in 2014 sometime ago. Cable TV? Live to far away for that. Antenna? Live in a low spot. I could count all the channels on my fingers. Don't know if any more or less come in now that it has gone digital. Do have Directv and all the goodies it has to offer. All channels except pay per view and seasonal packs. The bill is not a problem. Just equipment rentals. My dad works for a directv call center. Free programming is one of the perks. If I want to keep a program I recorded on the DVR. I just play it back and port the sound and video to my computer hard drive. Then I usually go back and edit out the commercial.
I'm using a Samsung 26" HD Plus TV for a monitor. It has 1200 lines instead of the usual 1080. If is slightly future proof. It has vga, dvi, hdmi, hd cable component and coax hook ups. That's about it now for this post.

---

I have mixed emotions on sound bars. I have a 47inch VIZIO tv connected to a VIZIO 5.1 sound bar. I already had a sound system tune up disk so I added a Radio Shack sound meter. My first complaint was that the center speaker was so hot that I couldn't balance it out. I called the factory and got the response "there is no problem and that's how it should work. It sounds better that the speakers that came in the TV so I am living with it for now. One of these days I may try to crack it open and see if I can alter it and turn the volume on the one speaker.

The other issue is much of what I watch isn't mixed to use the rear speaker. This can be shocking because when you watch something like Back to the Future III, you are surprised by sounds that come from off the screen that come out of the rear speakers. Maybe more movies will be mixed to use all the speakers in the future.

The reason I bough the sound system is because the house is very hot sound wise. The walls are mostly dry wall and the floor is tile. It had such a bad echo before the furniture was moved in that you had to speak in a muted voice to be understood. The sound bar helps this problem by allowing for stronger base. Without the sound bar, the best solution was to turn the volume down as low a you could to reduce the echo.

---

If I ever win the lottery then I'll buy a bigger house and get a 72" curved screen set

If that happens here, we will get more staff!

---