I'm getting ready to hook up a new A/V system and I've got a few questions about how to get the best signal quality and which type of connectors I should use.

First, generally what is the correct order for the best signal of the following? HDMI, Optical, Component, Composite, S Video, Digital Coaxial, & Cable connector. In other words, which should I use primarily, secondarily, etc. Also, does optical only support sound signals and not video signals?

I have the following equipment I wan to connect:

Panasonic TH-58PZ700U 1080p plasma TV with 2 HDMI inputs/1 output, 2 Component inputs/1 output, 1 Composite input/1 output, 1 S-Video input/1 output.

Onkyo TX-SR 805 Receiver with 3 HDMI inputs/1 output, 3 Component inputs/1 output, 3 Digital Coaxial inputs, 2 Digital Optical inputs/1 output, 1 game/TV input (it has both S-Video and composite jacks),

Oppo DV-980H DVD Player with 1 HDMI output, 1 composite video out, 1 S-Video output, 1 Component Video output, 1 coaxial digital audio output, 1 Optical Digital Audio output, 7.1CH Output.

Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu Ray Player with 1 HDMI output, S Video output, Component video output, 5.1CH Audio output, Digital audio output, optical output.

DirecTV Plus HD DVR with one HDMI output, S-Video output, Component output, Optical output, Coax output.

Sony Playstation 3 with 1 HDMI output, 1 Component output, 1 S-Video output.

I want to run everything through my receiver with the best possible signal quality. What inputs/outputs should I use for each device?

Thank you in advance for any advice/help!

It is not so cut and dry.

Often what should be best for audio and video is HDMI...

But in practice?

Often a legacy digital audio connection and component cables can be better. It is generally said to try each source toi find what is truly best to your eyes.

On the HDMI audio? There can be oddities and knowledge needed to make it work right, so the legacy digital audio connection provides the solid, qirk free connection we are all used to, so it becomes better by the fact it always works and give predictable results for most owners.

I'd start out using HDMI video/audio through your receiver for all sources. You have four components and four HDMI inputs on the Onkyo. For peace of mind, you may want to try attaching each component directly to the TV and seeing if there's any difference in picture quality.

For audio, the Blu-ray player (and the PS3, if you use it for BD playback) need to be connected to the receiver using HDMI if you want to hear the high quality lossless tracks. Optical connections are limited to legacy DD and DTS. With the Oppo and the satellite box, you can use either HDMI or optical/coax for audio. DD and DTS 5.1 are the best you are going to get regardless of how you connect them up. For the sake of simplicity, I'd use HDMI for everything, unless you find a problem with it somewhere. EDIT: If you play DVD-Audio or SACD discs on your Oppo, you will need to use an HDMI path to the receiver for that audio as well.

In general, HDMI provides the best connections for both video and audio. Component video connections can also handle HD signals. The other video connections are much lower quality and should not be used. With audio, optical and coax are fine, but do not support multichannel PCM or the new high bit rate codecs. Regular 75 ohm cables are just fine for analog audio - both the red and white stereo pairs and multichannel analog connections. But, with your equipment, you probably don't have any need to consider those audio options.

Thank you BIslander. That helps. I have 4 sources but only 3 inputs on my Onkyo 805 Receiver.

Which of these should I not hook up as HDMI and if I don't put it on HDMI, what type of connector should I use?

Thank you again for your help!

If it were me, I'd not hook up the DVD player through HDMI, and use the PS3 for movies... it upscales pretty nicely.

The Oppo upscales really well (better than the PS3 which does do a good job). I have a pretty huge DVD collection. The controls on the PS3 are kind of awkward to use. I don't want to leave the Oppo out of the mix.

But thank you for the advice.

You do not have 5 sources, you have 4. Hook them all up via HDMI to the Onkyo and then run a single HDMI output to the plasma.

You do not have 5 sources, you have 4. Hook them all up via HDMI to the Onkyo and then run a single HDMI output to the plasma.

Sorry. I stated it wrong in the above post. I should have looked at the back of my receiver. The manual says it has four HDMI inputs but there are only 3 HDMI inputs. I have now edited it to reflect what I have.

Sorry. I stated it wrong in the above post. My receiver has only 3 HDMI inputs. I have now edited it to reflect what I have.
Run the satellite box to the TV directly using HDMI for video and run optical audio to the receiver. Or, if you prefer, use component video from the satellite box to the Onkyo.

You definitely want to use the Oppo for DVD playback as it does the best job of upscaling.

Would it be a bad idea to use Component cables for the PS3? If it will support 1080p over component this might be a solution.

Also, what sort of optical cabling would I need if I ran the satellite box to the receiver using optical audio? Would something like this be a good one? http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022901&p_id=2764&seq=1&format=2

Thanks again for the help everyone!

Would it be a bad idea to use Component cables for the PS3? If it will support 1080p over component this might be a solution.

Also, what sort of optical cabling would I need if I ran the satellite box to the receiver using optical audio? Would something like this be a good one? http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022901&p_id=2764&seq=1&format=2
That cable is probably overkill. But, sure, it'll work just fine. The danger with over-engineered optical cables is stress on the connectors.

What will you use the PS3 for? If you plan any Blu-ray playback, you really need to use HDMI because of the audio. If it's just for sources with legacy audio and no video upscaling requirements, you have some other choices.

Meanwhile, your satellite box is the one component that doesn't have any special audio or video requirements, making it a good candidate for a direct HDMI run to the TV or a component video path to the receiver and an optical audio connection.

Or, get an HDMI switch from monoprice. I have one that cost $30 and it works perfectly every time.

Thanks a lot BIslander. Your advice makes a lot of sense. Would this be a good cable? http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022901&p_id=1419&seq=1&format=2

The PS3 will mainly be used for gaming. Since I already have a Blu Ray player (unless I need to play some Blu Ray 2.0 material -my Panasonic Blu Ray player doesn't support the 2.0 spec but the PS3 will soon.)

That cable looks fine.

Great. Thanks again!

Hi People

I have bought the P-1400 and have been very impressed with its performance and picture quality particularly after I loaded the firmware on to it.

Just a question I need help with though....

I have it connected to my Yahama HTR-5840 Amp...i bought this amp about 2 or so years ago and therefore it does not have any HDMI inputs to decode the new sound formats. At the moment I have the P-1400 connected to it via Fibre-Optic Cable. Although today while I was cleaning i noticed both the P-1400 and the HTR-5840 have 5.1 Channel inputs at back. Will this give me better quality sound or should I stick with fibre optic?

Thanks

Elijah

today while I was cleaning i noticed both the P-1400 and the HTR-5840 have 5.1 Channel inputs at back. Will this give me better quality sound or should I stick with fibre optic?

5.1 analog will give you lossless uncompressed PCM and TrueHD tracks, which are better than the lossy tracks over SPDIF.