loki
23-02-2009, 12:08
A quick question for the AV experts of BD. I have got a couple of LAN parties to organise this year and we have decided that we want to extend this out to be multi format and to have a greater emphasis on Consoles as well. (FIFA Ladder, Rock Band Rock Out etc)
In terms of visual output this will be done via a HD Projector or via a 32 " LCD TV. With this the sound quality is going to be pap. What I want is to have the sound from the PlayStation 3 or X360 output via optical to an amplifier. Now this is where the trick is because I want to achieve this at the lowest cost possible.
So I see my options are as follows
1) New 5.1 home cinema with system with optical in. Downside of this is that it will be relatively bulky, at a minimum price of around £150.00 Can I justify spending that if it will only get used 3 or 4 times a year
2) Amp and Seperates system. See above and potentially more expenesive
3) One of the LAN Servers is used purely for the Intranet but is relatively powerful. Now I am thinking that a more viable option would be to get pretty cheap sound card with Optical in and get a set of half decent 5.1 speakers for it. The cost of this would be a lot lower certainly if you hunt around the Bay etc for speakers.
Does anyone have any experience of using a PC as the sound system for their console and how do they find it ?? have I missed any glaring options. I want to keep the cost of this to an absolute minimum as well as having something that is relatively portable to move around.
In terms of visual output this will be done via a HD Projector or via a 32 " LCD TV. With this the sound quality is going to be pap. What I want is to have the sound from the PlayStation 3 or X360 output via optical to an amplifier. Now this is where the trick is because I want to achieve this at the lowest cost possible.
So I see my options are as follows
1) New 5.1 home cinema with system with optical in. Downside of this is that it will be relatively bulky, at a minimum price of around £150.00 Can I justify spending that if it will only get used 3 or 4 times a year
2) Amp and Seperates system. See above and potentially more expenesive
3) One of the LAN Servers is used purely for the Intranet but is relatively powerful. Now I am thinking that a more viable option would be to get pretty cheap sound card with Optical in and get a set of half decent 5.1 speakers for it. The cost of this would be a lot lower certainly if you hunt around the Bay etc for speakers.
Does anyone have any experience of using a PC as the sound system for their console and how do they find it ?? have I missed any glaring options. I want to keep the cost of this to an absolute minimum as well as having something that is relatively portable to move around.