Hiya can anyone help please?

Can you get a dolby sound system for your tv without it playing dvds?  Just the sound system on it's own.  I thought i was pretty good on electronics but this is baffling me :D

Thanks in advance
Paula

What surround sound?!!

Yes you can....we have one. You just buy the surround sound system.

I think that is what you are asking about anyway!!!!

Home cinema systems play dolby using the coded signal within the DVD for surround sound in its various forms including 2.1. If you are watching freeview I don't think they transmit the dolby signal, however home systems or some come with their own version of Dolby clone but its not the same quality.
What system do you have?

Yep thats what i meant, you said it better than me :-)

Ok now system wise, here goes, got a Samsung HD TV with Sky HD and a Samsung DVD.  I don't really want to swap the dvd player because we've only just had it.

Our last tv had Dolby Surround sound but this one hasn't and the sound is rubbish!

Paula

Cool thanks. I've not got Sky so I have no idea about it to be honest. I'm more into high end home Hi-Fi systems.
The thing is Dolby does not really give you great sound quality by its self. You need a good speaker setup to start with and it sounds like you're not happy with the sound from the TV.
Don't panic about the DVD player, I'm sure its fine and if you were to plug it into a home cinema system you would be very happy with it.
By the sounds of it your tv is new. Have you tried looking through the settings for any audio controls. Some have speech or music mode and so on and you might find a better setting.
To be honest my Panasonic TV sound is so so even though it was fairly expensive. I have a little home cinema system that I bought my father which he likes. Its an all in one job, dvd come surround sound setup. Its ok but being a little old does not upscale the signal.
Apart from the tv settings to get a far better sound you need to channel your sky box and dvd through a third party component like a system or seperates.

Depends how much you want to spend!!  We have a seperate amp that powers the speakers.  We bought a mission surround sound system from ebay for £150, the sound is fantastic!!  We used to have a cheaper system that just plugged into the back of the dvd player but to be honest, the sound was not great!!  It's the same with most things, you get what you pay for!!

Which? have just done a home cinema system review of 41 systems ranging in price from £50 to over £500.
Their 'best buy' is Panasonic SC-PT550 @ £280.
If you dont want to spend that much £100 buys a Philips HTS3154, which performed better than some Sony and Pioneer systems costing over £400.
There is so much choice out there it is sometimes better to take the advice of the Consumer Association, they do all the testing and offer impartial advice.
I have bought 'best buy' washing machine, TV, video, cordless phone system, vacuum etc, etc on their recommendation and shopped around to get possible price, sometimes on highstreet others on the net.

Thanks everyone ;-)

We've decided to go the amp way after reading all your advice.  In the long run it'll be better even if it means spending a little more.

We're now researching the web for what we like etc and what reviews there are.

Paula ;-)

Hi Paula

If it helps I would look for a BADA dealer in your area. http://www.bada.co.uk/
They offer a buy and try at home and return which means you can compare different setups within your home environment.
The trouble with sound systems is what one likes another hates. Also your room environment will make a difference due to reflections i.e. empty rooms and rooms filled with furniture and size.
Depending on your budget try the new amps from Yamaha. Their flag ship DSP -Z11 is expensive but very good. Its a 11.2 system with all the features you would ever need.
I don't know what speakers you have but again a BADA dealer will let you buy and try then return. As speakers are your last point in a system and dictate the final sound its worth having a good look around. You can even get wireless speakers now which means no cables to your rear units.
Denon, Marantz, Onkyo and a few others produce good amps too.
I had a small Hi-Fi company back in the 90's where we built high end speakers (transmission line and a new forest filter speaker system which is still the only one ever built which was for sale for and please sit down £35000)and again depending on your budget there are some fantastic companies out there like Absolute Sounds which offer high end units but you would be looking at a huge sum.
I can't recommend a speaker company as there are so many but the likes of Mission, Kef and Tannoy all produce the run of the mill speaker system and I remember the guys at Tannoy were very friendly at the shows we attended.

Hi Paula,
I can highly recommend a Yamaha amp (have no experience with any others) which is what we have.  Comes with dolby and many other great features.

Sarah.

Thanks Sarah ;-)

Yamaha are the make that we've been most looking at today, so i think thats probably what we'll go for.  Ohh for a bit of decent sound, LOL

Paula

Glad to help.  You will get addicted to watching films though!!

Sarah.

Can't wait 8-) 

With our old tv it had a sound system built in and we had the speakers placed round the room, but this is just flat sound a big difference.

Paula