Can the tv be used as the center channel?

[pdawg17]

A buddy of mine wants to put together a system but can't do it all at once...can his tv be used as the center and if so, how would it be set up with the receiver? Other than obvious sound problems, are there any other "inconveniences" with using the tv in this way?

[This Guy]

It will sound worse having the tv as the center channel than as having just two speakers in the front. Wait till he has enough money then buy the matching center channel to your mains. Obviously the TV won't sound very much like the left and right speakers, but they don't even have the volume. Think about it 5-10 watts of power on two small speakers, is that going to keep up with your receievers power and much larger speakers? I don't think so. Don't even bother with it.

[Woochifer]

Just don't do it! If the center speaker is not a decent match with the mains, then you're better off with the center channel switched off altogether. TV speakers are typically below the quality of even HTIB speakers (and those are already pretty bad), so they are poor candidates for center channel use. Most TVs nowadays can accept external audio inputs, and you can use a center channel preout, if available and plug it into the TV. But, I can only imagine that it would sound absolutely horrible. Bad speaker mounted inside of a resonant cavity with inadequate amplification -- no thanks.

[mtrycraft]

Other than obvious sound problems, are there any other "inconveniences" with using the tv in this way?

No inconveniences as long as it has audio inputs.

[pdawg17]

So if the center is turned off with a 5.1 movie the dialouge will just come from the two front speakers?

[CyberStoic]

So if the center is turned off with a 5.1 movie the dialouge will just come from the two front speakers?


Pdawg;

Yes, the dialogue comes from the 2 front speakers. I think all receivers these days, will allow you to turn on or off the speakers you have/do not have. If you have 2 speakers (fronts) then you set the receiver so that these are on and turn all others off. Most of the receivers out there will decode and play the 5.1 soundtrack in stereo. My Onkyo receiver has a couple of DSP modes that will simulate surround using only the left/right speakers (called "Theater-Dimentional Mode"). Other receivers have similar features. My Onkyo also lets me turn up the dialogue if it is not clear enough just coming through the left/right.

This would be a good start, and then your friend can piece together the rest of a system when money is available.

[Quagmire]

A buddy of mine wants to put together a system but can't do it all at once...can his tv be used as the center and if so, how would it be set up with the receiver? Other than obvious sound problems, are there any other "inconveniences" with using the tv in this way?
Yes, there are other "inconveniences" associated with using the TV as the center channel. Namely, that the relative volume of the TV as a center channel compared to the rest of the system would need constant adjustment unless you only used the TV in conjunction with the surround system. If you ever changed the volume to watch television programing without the surround system, you'd have to reset it back to the original level to be in proper calibration for use with the system. On some TV sets this is simple because the set gives you a visual readout of the volume level, but on other sets the volume changes without benefit of this kind of visual feedback.

Also, in order to properly use the TV as a center speaker (an oxymoron, I realize) you would need to use up one of the TV's inputs with a preout center channel feed from the receiver, not just the usual stereo left and right. On some sets with limited inputs, this could prove to be problematic. Bottom line... as other have said is just don't do it. You're better off just to set the system up with a "phantom" center channel speaker than to try using the TV as the center speaker. Just go into the speaker setup menu on your receiver and you will find a place where you can set the center speaker to "none" "off" "phantom" or some other designation which means you don't have a center speaker in your system. Best of luck to you and your buddy.

Q