# Please advise on Sound Bar Purchase and Setup to use with TiVoHD



## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

Hi - I am thinking about adding a Soundbar to my very basic setup. I have a TiVoHD connected via HDMI to my Samsung LCD TV (circa 2009). I also have a DVD player (standard not Blue Ray) connected via HDMI.

I have been reading about Soundbars and I am hoping to add one to enhance the very basic sound quality of the TV. I do not have the room for a full home theater setup, nor do I want the expense of one.

I have narrowed down my list to a few sound bars in the $200-$300 range, but it appears that I can't program the TiVo remote to control the volume on my leading candidate - Vizio VHT215. Basically, I went to the TiVo settings menu and under "AV" there is no listing for Vizio. Thus, it appears to me that the sound bar would not be able to be controlled by the TiVo peanut remote. All I really want to be able to just use the TiVo remote that everyone in the family is used to. I don't have a Harmony remote and if I need a second remote just for volume, I think my wife will kill me. 

So a few questions - first, do people have the Vizio model and what do they think of it? Second, can the Vizio be setup with the TiVo remote - am I missing something? Finally, any other recommendation on Soundbars to fulfill my requirements above?

Thanks.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

You'd probably be better off with the Boston Acoustics TVee Model 25 soundbar; I just put one in for a client that just needed something simple - but that sounds good. 
I also just bought one off WOOT (refurbed) last week for $140 for myself - but you should be able to find one online for less than the $300 they sell for at Best Buy.

This one does NOT even come with it's own remote - because it learns the IR codes from ANY IR remote itself. You can program the volume/mute & input selection with your existing (Tivo) remote - OR the TV remote itself. It has an optical, & a L/R phono & 3.5mm stereo analog inputs. You can simply run 1 optical cable from your LCD TV to the soundbar & you're all set; the (audio) inputs would automatically change when you switch them on the TV itself.

http://www.bostonacoustics.com/US/P...ics_US)&SubCatId=Soundbars(BostonAcoustics_US)


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

I have no personal experience with sound bars but had a friend by one when she got her first HD TV earlier this year. She ended up getting a Panasonic Plasma, blu-ray player, & sound bar. Apparently having them be one brand allows her to use the TVs remote for all three devices. 

So I would check and see if Samsung makes one that would be controlled by your TV. A 2009 TV might be too old but you never now. 

Good luck,


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I have 2 Vizio sound bars. They are great for the money, and have an awesome sound, but unfortunately I have never been able to control them with my Tivo remotes. I was actually surprised at the sound that comes out of these sound bars, thats why I got the second one. I usually dont buy anything other than Sony products when it comes to TV's, but the speakers on flat screen TV's are horrible these days. The Vizio sound bars were cheap at Walmart, and the reviews were really good on them. At Walmart you can return almost anything even without a receipt, thats why I went for them. If you're looking for a sound bar you can control with the Tivo remote, you probably need to look at another brand.


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## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

Thanks for the recommendation on the BA TVee25. I will take a look at that one, but it may be a bit large. Samsung does make a soundbar but the reviews that I have seen are terrible. The Vizio seems to get the best all around reviews (especially for the money). I really can't buy it though given the need for two remotes. That is very unfortunate.

Any other ideas?


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

jjberger2134 said:


> Thanks for the recommendation on the BA TVee25. I will take a look at that one, but it may be a bit large.


Go to a Best Buy & look at it for yourself; I think you'll find it's NOT that large in person. The soundbar itself is not that big, & also has wall hanging slots, if you would need that.
Matter of fact, I was surprised how small the sub is - & even MORE surprised by just HOW much bass that little cube puts out! I turned up the volume on it only about 1/3; it definitely is capable of rattling the floor!  
Obviously you can also be confident that something made by BA is NOT going to be junk, either. 

Also another soundbar brand that works (learns) ANY other remote: (but I believe these are slightly larger than the BA's)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036ORATQ...&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&ref=asc_df_B0036ORATQ


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

jjberger2134 said:


> Thanks for the recommendation on the BA TVee25. I will take a look at that one, but it may be a bit large. Samsung does make a soundbar but the reviews that I have seen are terrible. The Vizio seems to get the best all around reviews (especially for the money). I really can't buy it though given the need for two remotes. That is very unfortunate.
> 
> Any other ideas?


Why not get a tivo glo remote and use the learning feature to mimic the volume up and volume down from the vizio sound bar remote.


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## swerver (May 18, 2012)

poppagene said:


> Why not get a tivo glo remote and use the learning feature to mimic the volume up and volume down from the vizio sound bar remote.


That's what I was just going to say, the tivo slide remote can learn commands from another remote. Not sure if that works with the regular remote.


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## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

poppagene said:


> Why not get a tivo glo remote and use the learning feature to mimic the volume up and volume down from the vizio sound bar remote.





swerver said:


> That's what I was just going to say, the tivo slide remote can learn commands from another remote. Not sure if that works with the regular remote.


Hmm...interesting idea. Currently, I have a standard remote and I don't think that it is programmable. This is something that I can look into. Do you know if the GLO is programmable to any IR device or just specific ones from a list?


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

jjberger2134 said:


> Hmm...interesting idea. Currently, I have a standard remote and I don't think that it is programmable. This is something that I can look into. Do you know if the GLO is programmable to any IR device or just specific ones from a list?


The tivo glo should be able to learn from any IR remote. In the case of learning from a device, you need to learn both the volume up and volume down seperately.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

poppagene said:


> The tivo glo should be able to learn from any IR remote. In the case of learning from a device, you need to learn both the volume up and volume down seperately.


It can learn most but not all. I've had a couple of IR frequencies it would not learn.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

poppagene said:


> Why not get a tivo glo remote and use the learning feature to mimic the volume up and volume down from the vizio sound bar remote.


OK, so now instead of *just* spending $$$ on the BA soundbar, he has to then spend *more* $$$ on a new Tivo glo remote (w/a Vizio bar) - & this makes more sense because???


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## Torgo (Dec 31, 2001)

I've been looking at soundbars as well, and my concern w/ the Vizio brand is that it seems that almost weekly one of the dealsites is selling refurbished Vizio soundbars.
I realize refurbs are fine, but when you see a lot of a specific brand/model, I wonder if their failure rate is higher than others...

(Like I said..just a concern, I'm sure we'll hear about everyone who has one that works fine for the next week..TCF style)


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## swerver (May 18, 2012)

dishrich said:


> OK, so now instead of *just* spending $$$ on the BA soundbar, he has to then spend *more* $$$ on a new Tivo glo remote (w/a Vizio bar) - & this makes more sense because???


Well, if you have a tivo you should have a slide remote anyway, it's great. Also it's only $40. How much extra is that BA setup again? It's just an option anyway, he can decide what makes the most sense for him. :up:


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## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

Torgo said:


> I've been looking at soundbars as well, and my concern w/ the Vizio brand is that it seems that almost weekly one of the dealsites is selling refurbished Vizio soundbars.
> I realize refurbs are fine, but when you see a lot of a specific brand/model, I wonder if their failure rate is higher than others...
> 
> (Like I said..just a concern, I'm sure we'll hear about everyone who has one that works fine for the next week..TCF style)


I wondered about that myself when I bought mine, I noticed the same thing about all the refurbs listed everywhere. I dont know if all soundbars are this way, it was the first issue I had ran across when I got the first one, but the Vizio soundbar will only work if you have a PCM output on your DVR or TV. You know where you go into the Tivo and change the Dolby output to PCM. My TV's do not have that option, so if I'm just using the TV with like an antenna and no Tivo, then the soundbar is completely useless. I wonder if this resulted in a high return rate of these soundbars. That was just my guess about it. So far I've had good luck with mine, but like everything else, that could change in a matter of hours.


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

dishrich said:


> OK, so now instead of *just* spending $$$ on the BA soundbar, he has to then spend *more* $$$ on a new Tivo glo remote (w/a Vizio bar) - & this makes more sense because???


A used glo or slide remote on ebay or amazon isn't a lot to get a remote that works for the purpose. You should'nt have to limit the soundbar you buy by what works with the remote that came with your tivo.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

dishrich said:


> OK, so now instead of *just* spending $$$ on the BA soundbar, he has to then spend *more* $$$ on a new Tivo glo remote (w/a Vizio bar) - & this makes more sense because???


Well, I can't speak to the sound bar issue, but in general one can obtain a better system by spending more money. It is not always true, but one usually gets the quality for which one pays. Certainly in the case of the glo remote, I can say I have never found a better dedicated remote and almost never found a better remote of any sort - including some very expensive universal remotes. It's well worth the money just for its performance, suitability for use with any sound device aside. I think it likely the OP would be pleased with the glo remote, regardless of what sound bar he might decide to purchase.


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## takeshi (Jul 22, 2010)

dishrich said:


> OK, so now instead of *just* spending $$$ on the BA soundbar, he has to then spend *more* $$$ on a new Tivo glo remote (w/a Vizio bar) - & this makes more sense because???


"Makes sense" is subjective. If the OP thinks the BA is too big (and therefore not relevant) and wants to stick with Vizio and one remote then it makes sense. Don't just assume that your preferences are universal.



Torgo said:


> I realize refurbs are fine, but when you see a lot of a specific brand/model, I wonder if their failure rate is higher than others...


If you're going to use refurbs as an indicator if failure rate then you need to consider the volume of the company's sales -- not just the number of refurbs.



swerver said:


> Well, if you have a tivo you should have a slide remote anyway, it's great.


Yet another subjective matter. I have a Tivo and have no need for a slide remote. Be careful using "you" where you should be using "I".



lrhorer said:


> Well, I can't speak to the sound bar issue, but in general one can obtain a better system by spending more money. It is not always true, but one usually gets the quality for which one pays.


In general but I wouldn't recommend operating solely on price. Shop on whatever happens to be better (one of those highly subjective words) for you considering needs/preference/budget/etc. In addition to not always being true there tends to be a curve instead of a linear relationship where the return on investment diminishes as price increases.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I have a Sony soundbar from four years ago that works very well. It handles, DD, DTS and 7.1 PCM. It has worked very well. I'm sure they have a newer one now and it might even handle DD+ or better. That is my only complaint. Most soundbars don't handle the advanced codecs, it would be nice if mine at least handled DD+, but that was not an option several years ago with the sound bars.


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## Torgo (Dec 31, 2001)

Well, for $38 shipped after rebate this is worth a shot
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=WxHRncoD05Y-MQPh35kbI2oGFeevifZtsA


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Roxio currently has a deal on the Tivo Glo remote for $15.94 including shipping:

http://slickdeals.net/f/5216556-Tivo-C00210-Glo-Remote-8-49-7-45-USPS-Shipping-15-94


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Torgo said:


> I've been looking at soundbars as well, and my concern w/ the Vizio brand is that it seems that almost weekly one of the dealsites is selling refurbished Vizio soundbars.
> I realize refurbs are fine, but when you see a lot of a specific brand/model, I wonder if their failure rate is higher than others...
> 
> (Like I said..just a concern, I'm sure we'll hear about everyone who has one that works fine for the next week..TCF style)


FYI - refurbs may just be customer returns or open box items that were never damaged or defective. The major downside of refurbed products is that they have a limited warranty (usually 90 days or less). Quality speakers tend to have warranties of five years or better last time I checked. Then again, the deal at Tiger Direct is pretty sweet for the money. I've never auditioned a soundbar but I suspect the sound quality isn't anywhere near what I'm used to in a home theater system. Audio quality is highly subective and truly in the ears of the beholder. If you've listened to an item and it sounds good to you and the price is right then I say go for it.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

mr.unnatural said:


> Roxio currently has a deal on the Tivo Glo remote for $15.94 including shipping:
> 
> http://slickdeals.net/f/5216556-Tivo-C00210-Glo-Remote-8-49-7-45-USPS-Shipping-15-94


Well worth it for any TiVo owner, if you ask me. I have not tried the slide remote, and I am given to understand it is pretty nice, but $15 for a glo remote is an outstanding value.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

mr.unnatural said:


> FYI - refurbs may just be customer returns or open box items that were never damaged or defective. The major downside of refurbed products is that they have a limited warranty (usually 90 days or less).


Yes, but most failures, including refurbs, are either going to be inside that 90 days or else outside the ordinary warranty. There is of course a chance the refurb will fail 91 days after purchase, but given the lower cost, it is not usually much of a risk.



mr.unnatural said:


> I've never auditioned a soundbar but I suspect the sound quality isn't anywhere near what I'm used to in a home theater system.


Yeah, me either, but some people cannot afford the cost or the space, or both.



mr.unnatural said:


> If you've listened to an item and it sounds good to you and the price is right then I say go for it.


Agreed.


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

lrhorer said:


> Well worth it for any TiVo owner, if you ask me. I have not tried the slide remote, and I am given to understand it is pretty nice, but $15 for a glo remote is an outstanding value.


The slide is smaller and heavier. There are trade offs with the glo. Both have streangths and weaknesses. If the poster wants a remote that is nearly identical to the tivo peanut and can work with the vizio soundbar, the glo remote is the way to go.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

Torgo said:


> Well, for $38 shipped after rebate this is worth a shot
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=WxHRncoD05Y-MQPh35kbI2oGFeevifZtsA


You DID notice this one does NOT come with any subwoofer...


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

What good is a soundbar without a subwoofer?


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## rlcarr (Jan 18, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> What good is a soundbar without a subwoofer?


Also, the person who recommended the BA soundbar talked about connecting the soundbar to the TV with an optical cable.

The OP should know that with a Samsung TV (certainly for 2009, maybe now as well), the TV's sound output is only old-fashioned stereo (not even 2.1) if the sound source is from outside the TV.

In other words, if a TiVo, blu-ray player, etc. is feeding audio (even full surround) to the TV, all the TV will output -- even over optical -- is plain old stereo. The only time the TV would be outputting more than plain old stereo is if the TV is receiving the signal (so if the TV was tuning an OTA or clear QAM signal then it would output full surround over optical).

If the OP wants the soundbar to extract 2.1 from a surround signal (rather than just working with plain old stereo) he will have to connect the TiVo, blu-ray, etc. to the soundbar, rather than driving the soundbar from the TV.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

rlcarr said:


> Also, the person who recommended the BA soundbar talked about connecting the soundbar to the TV with an optical cable.
> 
> The OP should know that with a Samsung TV (certainly for 2009, maybe now as well), the TV's sound output is only old-fashioned stereo (not even 2.1) if the sound source is from outside the TV.


But since the soundbar *itself* is ONLY 2.1 - what diff does THIS make???  

And to correct you...while the TV's sound output is "old fashioned" stereo - it STILL has the same base information in that same (PCM) signal. The soundbar simply routes the base freqs to its subwoofer - so you are ARE, in fact, still getting the base information needed to run the sub properly. I assure you with this setup, there IS very much bass information there...


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## rlcarr (Jan 18, 2003)

As for why it could matter -- I would imagine (hope?) that a 2.1 channel audio system would make intelligent use of 5.1 (or 6.1 or...) sound information to produce the best 2.1 output it can. And such an input signal would give it more information to work with than a two-channel input signal.

Anyhow, here's what a Samsung 2010 manual for Series 750 TVs says:



Samsung said:


> When the receiver (home theater) is set to on, you can hear sound output from the TV's optical jack. When the TV is receiving a DTV signal, the TV will send 5.1 CH sound to the home theater receiver.
> 
> When the source is a digital component such as a DVD / Blu-ray player / cable box / STB (Set-Top-Box) satellite receiver and is connected to the TV via HDMI, *only 2 CH audio will be heard from the home theater receiver.* If you want to hear 5.1 CH audio, connect the digital audio out jack from your DVD / Blu-ray player / cable box / STB satellite receiver directly to an amplifier or home theater


And discussions in Samsung TV forums have said exactly the same thing. If you want more than two channels of sound to be fed into your soundbar/surround system/etc., you have to feed the sound in directly from the source and not via the TV.


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## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

Well, I am the OP. After much debate I decided to go with the Vizio VHT215. It should arrive tomorrow, and I hope to have a few minutes to connect it by the weekend. I considered other brands and makes such as the above mentioned BA Tvee unit as well as units from Samsung, LG, Sony and Yamaha.

I don't know why, but I like the reviewers at CNET. The CNET review of the Vizio was very positive. I was going to go with the Yamaha YAS-101 as that unit is well regarded and doesn't have a separate sub (its built in). In the end, I decided on the Vizio. I did read tons of reviews from other places as well, and it seems that different places push different types of models and different reviewers certainly lean towards certain brands.

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/vizio-vht215/4505-7868_7-35054128.html

Only time will tell if I made the right choice, but I am just looking for a unit to help generate better sound than the built in TV speakers. I didn't want to spend a lot for a full fledged home theatre (small house, kids sleeping when I want to listen, wife won't all too much "noise"). Thus, this brought me to the budget sound bar category. My only real concern is the fact that I need a different remote to control the volume. If this becomes a problem I will spend the few extra dollars on the TiVo GLO remote or maybe a Harmony that can handle everything.

I am planning on leaving all my HDMI connections in place and then connecting an optical cable from the TV to the soundbar. I think that will work, but maybe I will get even better sound if I go HDMI to soundbar and then HDMI to TV. Not sure if that will work though. I do not think I have ARC on my TV.


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## rlcarr (Jan 18, 2003)

Good luck! Please tell us how it works out. Also, if you use WiFi I'm very interested in hearing if the wireless subwoofer interferes with your WiFi at all.


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## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

rlcarr said:


> Good luck! Please tell us how it works out. Also, if you use WiFi I'm very interested in hearing if the wireless subwoofer interferes with your WiFi at all.


I know! This is one big concern of mine. I have read some models are more prone to this issue than others. My FiOs router is in the basement on the left side of the house and the room this setup will be is on the first floor on the right side. In reality the units will only be 50-75 feet apart. Hopefully, they won't interfere.

If there is interference, I may have to go with a model with a built in sub, like the Yamaha YAS-101


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

rlcarr said:


> As for why it could matter -- I would imagine (hope?) that a 2.1 channel audio system would make intelligent use of 5.1 (or 6.1 or...) sound information to produce the best 2.1 output it can. And such an input signal would give it more information to work with than a two-channel input signal.


No, a *2.1* soundbar isn't going to give you any better sound, than just feeding in a regular L/R stereo signal. The soundbar WILL get the bass info it needs from the regular L/R audio - whether it comes from the optical or L/R (analog) input jack. There IS a reason why these bars are priced accordingly - but by the same token, there are people that don't care about having any sort of "surround sound" coming out of their TV's.



> And discussions in Samsung TV forums have said exactly the same thing. If you want more than two channels of sound to be fed into your soundbar/surround system/etc., you have to feed the sound in directly from the source and not via the TV.


Again *only* if you are using an actual 5.1+ surround "bar" - which a 2.1 bar is NOT. These 2.1 bars such as the BA's & Vizio's, were NOT meant to give any kind of "surround sound" effect at all - their only purpose is to give you better quality (stereo) sound. If you want to step up to "surround sound" per se, then you need to step up to an actual "surround soundbar" then. In which case, I would then agree with your statements.


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

Skiop the harmony remote. Its annoying, expensive, and just too cumbersome.just get the TiVo glo or slide and call it a day.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

I got the VSB200 from tigerdirect and it came in last night. Hooked it up to the TV with SPDIF and it sounds a LOT better than the built-in speakers on the TV.

Unfortunately, it locked up twice in a few hours and cold booting the bar was the only way to get it running again. I will try to figure out the flashing LED error code tonight.


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## jjberger2134 (Nov 20, 2002)

rlcarr said:


> Good luck! Please tell us how it works out. Also, if you use WiFi I'm very interested in hearing if the wireless subwoofer interferes with your WiFi at all.


I have had my new soundbar installed now for about 1 1/2 weeks. So far, everything is working as it should. No Wifi interference that I can tell of.

I set it up with a Digital Audio cable from the TV to the sound bar and left all of my HDMI connections (from TiVoHD and DVD) to the TV. Everything works very well. My wife and kids still use the normal TV sound (and don't even bother turning on the sound bar). When I watch I lower the TV volume to Zero and turn on the sound bar.

Sounds much better than the terrible built in TV speakers, especially the bass sounds. Overall, I am generally happy with this device.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

The Vizio VSB200 turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. Without heavy modifications it will only run for about 20 minutes before it goes into thermal shutdown even at low volumes. The air vents are microscopic and even though you can see where the circuit board was designed to have some heatsinks they cheaped out and didn't install them. It's a seriously urine deficient design.

If you pop the speaker grill off and then remove the cover plate over the circuit board so the darn thing can breathe it seems to be okay. I'm going to install my own heatsinks and cut out about 90% of the cover plate before reassembling it.

It also can't handle anything but PCM over the SPDIF input. Since my LG 55LW5600 doesn't have any option to set the output format that's another problem. I'm getting around it for now by forcing my Media Center PC to output in WMV format, but Netflix etc from the TV is out.

OTOH is does sound better than the speakers in the TV.


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## jilter (Oct 4, 2002)

If a deal comes up again for the Tivo Glo remote, I hope someone will post it again. Misseditbythatmuch.


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## bhiga (Oct 20, 2006)

We bought a number (6 or 7) of Vizio VSB200's for work once.
Three of them broke after the first time we used them.
I'm pretty sure they died because the (analog) input level was too high.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

I'm using the SPDIF optical input.

Yesterday afternoon was a good example. I forgot to switch from heat back to A/C and the house got up to 80. Even with the speaker grill and faceplate off it overtemped and I had to pause my show and and cool off the output amps with an ice cube several times until the ambient temp was back down to 78. With it fully assembled I've had it shut down in about 20 minutes even with no input signal at all.


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## spock (Jan 8, 2004)

I purchased a Glo Remote to work with my Vizio soundbar, but was unable to make the Glo Remote work with it. The remote acts like it learns the code, but it doesn't work. I am sending the remote back.


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