Is surround sound truely worth it to a gamer?

[quote name='Trakan']HDMI out from PS3 in to the receiver, HDMI out from the receiver in to the TV.[/QUOTE]

After that... when you cut on your PS3, hold the power button down until the 2nd beep and it will automatically configure the connection, and then you're have an opportunity to fine tune the display and audio settings.
 
Congrats on the new system. Your going to enjoy another level of gaming and movies you havent heard outside the theaters. Im pretty sure everyone has told you what you need so far so the only thing I can add, to make sure everything is working alright, is to make sure that when you start your games, make sure that all the speaker indicators on your reciever are lit, as in 5.1 is running. Not sure how sony does it, but I know my Yamaha and my old Pioneers had lights that showed which speakers were in use on the front of the reciever. And make sure that you turn your xbox/ps3 into digital output modes from their respective menus because I have seen many an issue with people forgetting that on these forms.
Beyond that just pop in a game that has a lot of location specific audio. Personal faves of mine is MGS or something I just recently played, Arkham Asylum. I like these more than FPSs because Explosions and gunfire sound great but get lost sometimes in the action, some good stealth makes hearing a noise behind you that much more noticeable.
 
Thanks guys I got it running! Two questions though. First I am not getting much volume from the two back speakers, these dseem like if anything the most important two. Is there a way to configure it so they put out more sound then the others? I have been monkeying around with the settings and manual but cant find a way.

Second question, if I don't need the optical digital cord to hook things up whats the point in buying it? Better sound quality ?

O one more question, , should i not be testing using downloadable titles like fat princess?
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']How do I hook this up then? Itried following the instructions as did my wife but it didnt work? I also tried running one hdmi wire from the receiver out to my tv hdmi in slot one and then an hdmi wire from the ps3 to tv hdmi slot 3 but that didnt work either . So what wires are supposed to run where? Sorry we are so ignorant with this stuff.[/QUOTE]

What part didnt work? Sound, video, both? Because I know in my setup Im bypassing using the reciever to output video because its only pass through HDMI, so my PS3 and Xbox wouldnt work with only an HDMI cable. The way I set mine up is I used the HDMI to plug each of my game systems directly to the TV, then just use optical to hook up to the reciever.

Note, I used the pass through method of my reciever and got screen hiccups for some reason which is why I dont even HDMI my reciever. Fortunately I had 2 optical inputs.
 
Everything works, I just dont feel like the two rear side speakers are kicking out enough volume. The three in the front put out a ton but the two side ones are so quite that they get drowned out
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Thanks guys I got it running! Two questions though. First I am not getting much volume from the two back speakers, these dseem like if anything the most important two. Is there a way to configure it so they put out more sound then the others? I have been monkeying around with the settings and manual but cant find a way.

Second question, if I don't need the optical digital cord to hook things up whats the point in buying it? Better sound quality ?

O one more question, , should i not be testing using downloadable titles like fat princess?[/QUOTE]
You want to the volume to be roughly equal from each speaker. Your receiver will allow you to adjust the volume for each channel individually (the manual will explain it somewhere). There should be a test tone that makes this process easier. Keep in mind that the amount of sound you here when playing games or watching movies will depend on the way it was mixed. Some movies don't use the rear speakers much.

The optical cable was suggested should you want to connect other components to your receiver, like a DVR or pre-HDMI 360. You could use it for your PS3 as tankass is doing, but it shouldn't be necessary unless your receiver is effecting the video output in some way.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Everything works, I just dont feel like the two rear side speakers are kicking out enough volume. The three in the front put out a ton but the two side ones are so quite that they get drowned out[/QUOTE]

Good to hear that everything is working (for the most part). You can always adjust the volume of each speakers through the setup that should be explained through the manual. One thing to remember is that the rear speakers output I think about 10% or something of the sound in a movies audio mix, if that, so dont be worried if stuff doesnt come blaring out of them in movies. Games are a little different, like I mentioned before, sneaking games like MGS are a little better for locational sound just because FPS or other games with lots of action have a tendency to have the action in front of you so the surrounds wont work as hard as the fronts anyway, although all of them will be pretty loud.
I know my reciever came with a cool microphone that you plug in and leave in the middle of the room and it automatically sends signals to the speakers to adjust it perfectly for your room, but I never used a sony reciever. You can always get a testing disc, I know some movies come with em, that helps test too if your not sure if they are loud enough. The one included with Halo 3 was pretty classic with the sarge and grunts helping you adjust color and sound.
 
When we do cutscene audio reviews at work, we go to a sound room with 5.1 at reference volume. It's pretty crazy, and our game sounds amazing.

However, I still usually only do PS3 through TV speakers as it's HDMI (didn't want to get an HDMI audio cable), and 360 through my 2 stereo speakers. Maybe I'll get a home 5.1 setup at some point, but it's not even on my radar. I guess part of it is, living in an apartment, I wouldn't be able to turn it to near reference volume. It's like getting a Dodge Viper to drive 2 miles to the grocery store.
 
[quote name='ViolentLee']
However, I still usually only do PS3 through TV speakers as it's HDMI (didn't want to get an HDMI audio cable)[/QUOTE]
???
 
I'm guessing he means his receiver doesn't have HDMI inputs and he didn't want to get an optical cable to hook the PS3 up to it. Seems silly either way.
 
like someone else noted. all speaker channels are not supposed to produce the same sounds.
the sides in a 5.1 are more for location specific sounds. the front sound wall is the primary source of sound.

edit -
also if youre watching a movie and you can distinctly hear one speaker over the others its wrong.
they should all blend.
 
Don't use Fat Princess to test your surround sound. If you have any FPS game, that would be an ideal choice. I always notice a ton in Battlefield 1943 if you have that.
 
Yeah, and to test the level of speakers use the test tone, or put in a CD and put the receiver on the setting to send the sound to all 5 speakers and see if the volume is about the same on each.

It won't be during games, movies, TV etc. as surround sound is designed to have specific sounds in each speaker that relate to the action. Most of the sound is going to be from the center and the fronts, the rear speakers will just have sound effects coming from that direction (crowd noise for sports, bullets wizzing by, footsteps coming up behind you, some music etc.) so they're not going to be as constantly noticeable on most things as the fronts.
 
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