Audio lag problems unnoticed before

Here is an odd thing. Ever since I have installed my Philips HTS3544 and discovered that the digital audio from TV broadcasts needs to be synced with the video I started to notice that the audio lag is present in many programs even when I simply view them on my Sharp SH12U. Even on the analog channels! There is a chance that somehow this is a problem with the television, but I don't think so. Apparently, home theaters really amplify, so to speak, the lagging by channeling the sound through surround speakers.

Next stop: Canon SD750

This camera gets amazing reviews. If I ever could ever convince myself that it is OK to own a camera that does not use regular AA/AAA batteries... I have a suspicion that rechargeable batteries are better for the environment. But what is better for sanity? When my camera dies on me I can put fresh batteries in. End of problem.

Anyway, what really surprised me (unless I became misled) is the fact that you have to take the batteries out of SD750 in order to charge them. Major inconvenience! On the other hand, the AC adapter is supposed to work overseas with only a jack adapter.

Audio lag fixed. Sort of.

I find the documentation for my home theater a little confusing. Nevertheless, I discovered that I just have to press the Audio Sync button on the remote and then use the volume control on the remote to change the delay value. Here is something important that I can no longer verify. It seems as if this value is set to something other than 0 (zero) by default. Probably 100, right in the middle. Therefore when you first connect the TV or whatever other digital input you have there is a lag. I pretty much had to set it to 0 to get good syncing. It is still not perfect, however. And I hope I don't have to adjust it again.

HDMI cable - cheap and dirty

My Sharp LCD does is only a 26 inch unit, so I do not really gain much in terms of quality because of using the upconversion feature in the home theater. However, it was nice to get rid of a bunch of wires!

It has been noted by many that retail stores are running a very successful scam, selling HDMI cables for no less that $30-$40. I got mine at Buy.com. It's a 6 inch Belkin cable, which means that I still managed to get a decent brand. It only cost me ten bucks. It works perfectly. I just cannot yet figure out why I don't have an easy way to disable the sound input from the home theater to the television. After all, the home theater is perfectly capable of rendering the sound using its own speakers!

Regardless, this is a total 'buyer beware'. Do not pay $50 or so for a cable that you can get for $10 or $20. It's just wrong!

Digital audio sync problem

This is not necessarily a problem with my HTS3544, but this issue somewhat limits the use for digital audio inputs - the video signal is not synced with the digital audio. My Philips home theater has a sync setting, but I am not sure if it is only meant to be active while playing DVDs. I think that the TV should have some syncing mechanism. What's worse, it appears that the amount of correction needed changes from time to time. In my experience, the video and audio became so out of sync that I had to eventually resort to using my TV's speakers.

Philips HTS3544 home theater

And finally the quest is over! I have a home theater. Philips HTS3544! The manual is both for Philips HTS3544 and HTS3555. I have not idea what the difference between the models is. I connected the digital audio out from my TV. Bear in mind, that digital out is only possible for digital channels. This means that I get true Dolby sound for a good number of channels.

The sound is amazing. I never really care as much about sound, but this is the kind of thing that when you get it, it's difficult to go without it. My concern was that it would be too loud, but the sound is spread over all the channels, so when you close the door in the room not much of it escapes, while inside you have a real theatric experience. For $159 at Target, not bad at all! There is no hissing or anything unpleasant about the sound.


You can really watch all the movies you have with a totally different feeling. HTS3544 is also quite slim, it does not look like an antiquated piece of equipment. There is an iPod dock which can also be used for some Philips mp3 player I never heard of (GoGear). You can control the functions of the iPod and if you connect the dock to the television with a video cable you can watch pictures or videos on the screen. I actually was not able to achieve that, because I don't have a single picture on my iPod. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be possible to view iPod's menus on the TV screen.

There is an MP3 port and I was able to get excellent sound from it. The only complaint is that the button on the remote toggles between AUX and Digital In. Takes a few seconds to switch from one to the other.

There is one valuable option. You can indicate whether your TV is NTSC or multi-system. I have a bunch of PAL DVDs. My old DVD recorder (also a Philips) could play them, but the TV was unable to display them properly. A TVs problem, primarily, but very inconvenient.

I ordered a Belkin HDMI cable from Buy.com for $10. When I get it I will be able to test upconversion. I cannot emphasize it enough that you do not have to pay $40-$60 for a cable at your local BestBuy or what have you. This is just a total scam. For a short cable you don't even have to have a real brand. I got a 6 inch Belkin, so this should be just fine.

One thing I have to try is playback of DivX disks.

So far, I was unable to make my Philips universal remote to work with this home theater... I was hoping that Philips products would work together...

DAVHDX265 - no digital audio in either.

I understand how a lower model of the Bravia home theater line does not have digital in. As it turns out, DAVHDX265 does not have it either. It also makes me wonder why Costco carries the lowest model of the line, but that's a different story altogether.

Really, is it that unreasonable to expect a digital audio port in a home theater system? I could have gotten a Philips HTS3151D for $90 as an open box. I really like these Philips home theaters. But this digital in issue keeps coming up. I do not want to get something that will intimately not do the job for me.