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Mom Needs Help w/HT Set Up

post #1 of 22
12/8/07 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Ok guys, I've been reading through the HT Set Up 101 thread but I'm still confused. Hopefully one of you kind gentlemen will help answer some of my noob questions.

Here's a list of my gear:

Toshiba 46 " DLP (to be replaced soon with a 56" Sony or Samsung set)
Dish VIP622 HD DVR
Panasonic S97S upconverting DVD player
HK635 receiver (no HDMI input, don't plan on replacing anytime soon)
PS3 80 gig
Xbox 360 Elite (pending purchase in the very near future)
Ascend 340SE fronts, center and CBM-170 surrounds
Hsu VTF-2 MK 3 sub (on order)

Here's where my confusion comes in. I don't quite understand which components to connect to my receiver and the correct cables to use. My set only has one HDMI input so I'm going to order the 3X1 HDMI switcher from Monoprice tonight. Would that be the correct switcher to purchase?

Now since my receiver has no HDMI input I still need to run AV cables to my receiver in order to carry the sound from all of my components to the speakers right? If so then I should use coax cable, correct? In other words, do I connect all of my components to my set via the switcher than run an audio cable from my set to the receiver or do I need to run audio cables from each component to the receiver?

So sorry for the noob questions. I could get one of my friends to install everything but then I wouldn't learn anything. Thanks in advance!
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post #2 of 22
12/8/07 at 5:53pm
1) it looks like you have 4 hdmi components (i *think* the 360 elite has hdmi, not sure though), so you will need a 4X1 switcher. you'll connect all your components (to the switcher), then run one cable from the switcher to the tv.

2) you'll need to connect each of your components to your avr (either via coax or optical). not sure how many of each your receiver has, you may have to use some of one and some of the other.

good luck! get your hdmi cables from monoprice as well.
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post #3 of 22
12/8/07 at 6:10pm
Hold the phone! What's the big deal about HDMI? It will be of no benefit to you. HDMI connections are only necessary if you want to carry hi-resolution (HD-DVD or Blu-ray) bitstream audio to your receiver. Aside from that, it is only a convenience because it can carry both audio and video on a single cable. Since your receiver cannot accomodate HDMI sources, there is no need for a switcher or anything else. HDMI connections will become a consideration when you decide to upgrade your receiver. A direct HDMI connection (or switched connections from an HDMI switcher) isn't likely to give you any better video quality than a component or DVI connection. Use the switcher in your receiver.

It's very simple: Your receiver is the center of the universe. Connect ALL source components into it, including video. Then run a single video connection (DVI or component) into your TV. The TV is merely a video monitor and does not require any audio connection. The receiver does all the audio and video switching, and all of your sound comes from your speakers. Make all of your connections using coaxial cable.
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post #4 of 22
12/9/07 at 7:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

Ok guys, I've been reading through the HT Set Up 101 thread but I'm still confused. Hopefully one of you kind gentlemen will help answer some of my noob questions.

Here's a list of my gear:

Toshiba 46 " DLP (to be replaced soon with a 56" Sony or Samsung set)
Dish VIP622 HD DVR
Panasonic S97S upconverting DVD player
HK635 receiver (no HDMI input, don't plan on replacing anytime soon)
PS3 80 gig
Xbox 360 Elite (pending purchase in the very near future)
Ascend 340SE fronts, center and CBM-170 surrounds
Hsu VTF-2 MK 3 sub (on order)

Here's where my confusion comes in. I don't quite understand which components to connect to my receiver and the correct cables to use. My set only has one HDMI input so I'm going to order the 3X1 HDMI switcher from Monoprice tonight. Would that be the correct switcher to purchase?

Now since my receiver has no HDMI input I still need to run AV cables to my receiver in order to carry the sound from all of my components to the speakers right? If so then I should use coax cable, correct? In other words, do I connect all of my components to my set via the switcher than run an audio cable from my set to the receiver or do I need to run audio cables from each component to the receiver?

So sorry for the noob questions. I could get one of my friends to install everything but then I wouldn't learn anything. Thanks in advance!

Hello:

Initially, I don't know how many HDMI sources you have, but you might want to go with the 5x1 switcher just to give you some expansion room is you only need 3 now. I have the 5x1 and it works great.

I have all my devices feeding video via HDMI to the switch then out to the display. I don't know enough to agree or disagree with FILM. I like HDMI just because it's easier to work with then component cables.

I run TOSLink cables from all my devices to my receiver.

monoprice will have everything you need.

Splotto
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post #5 of 22
12/9/07 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by filmnut View Post

Hold the phone! What's the big deal about HDMI? It will be of no benefit to you. HDMI connections are only necessary if you want to carry hi-resolution (HD-DVD or Blu-ray) bitstream audio to your receiver. Aside from that, it is only a convenience because it can carry both audio and video on a single cable. Since your receiver cannot accomodate HDMI sources, there is no need for a switcher or anything else. HDMI connections will become a consideration when you decide to upgrade your receiver. A direct HDMI connection (or switched connections from an HDMI switcher) isn't likely to give you any better video quality than a component or DVI connection. Use the switcher in your receiver.

It's very simple: Your receiver is the center of the universe. Connect ALL source components into it, including video. Then run a single video connection (DVI or component) into your TV. The TV is merely a video monitor and does not require any audio connection. The receiver does all the audio and video switching, and all of your sound comes from your speakers. Make all of your connections using coaxial cable.

This pretty well nails it. There's no point in using any HDMI at all in your situation.

Still, there are choices... For the video, you can go with composite, component or S-video. For audio, you can go with composite, coax or Toslink optical.

The biggest caveat here is that you cannot get true surround sound with a composite (red and white) audio connection. For this, you MUST use a Toslink optical connection or a digital coax connection (HDMI too, but the 635 doesn't have that).

You can mix and match all this, too, but typically you'll only have ONE audio and ONE video path from your source components to your receiver. For instance, you might want to use S-video with Toslink optical for your DVD player.
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post #6 of 22
12/9/07 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys, looks like I have a little more homework to do before I hook everything up. I was able to at least get the the 340 fronts and center hooked up last night. Rears will have to wait until I get my carpet installed in two weeks.

We wanted to watch a movie last night to try out the 340s. My boys' PS3 is hooked to the set via HDMI. I had an optical cable sitting around so I ran it from the PS3 to my receiver but wasn't able to get any audio. Don't know where my error was but I finally gave up for the night but will try again today after work. Any suggestions?
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post #7 of 22
12/9/07 at 1:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

Thanks guys, looks like I have a little more homework to do before I hook everything up. I was able to at least get the the 340 fronts and center hooked up last night. Rears will have to wait until I get my carpet installed in two weeks.

We wanted to watch a movie last night to try out the 340s. My boys' PS3 is hooked to the set via HDMI. I had an optical cable sitting around so I ran it from the PS3 to my receiver but wasn't able to get any audio. Don't know where my error was but I finally gave up for the night but will try again today after work. Any suggestions?

I am not familiar with your receiver but I would check that the PS3 has it's AUDIO OUT set to TOSLink (it's under SETTINGS....AUDIO SETTINGS).

Then make sure you have the receiver set on whichever input you used for the PS3.

Splotto
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post #8 of 22
12/9/07 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Splotto. I did change the audio setting on the PS3. I think my mistake is that on the HK receiver I didn't assign the PS3 to the optical input. Will see if that's what the problem is when I get home.
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post #9 of 22
12/9/07 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

Thanks Splotto. I did change the audio setting on the PS3. I think my mistake is that on the HK receiver I didn't assign the PS3 to the optical input. Will see if that's what the problem is when I get home.

Best of luck. Should work fine.

Then you just connect all your TOSLinks to the receiver and assign the various inputs. Not knowing your receiver I don't know if you can rename the inputs so your display shows the useful name. i.e. connect the PS3 to the VID1 input and rename it PS3 in the system.

Keep us informed.

Splotto
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post #10 of 22
12/10/07 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
Success! With your help I finally got audio when using the PS3. Watched Meet the Robinson's and Cars last night and about 30 min. of Pirates 3 (couldnt' stay awake). All I can say is wow! The sound from the Acends is so detailed, waaaay better than my old crappy Sony speakers. I didn't even have the surrounds hooked up and the audio was still incredible, especially with Pirates and Cars.

But I digress. One of you recommended using coax versus toslink. Right now I'm running audio for the PS3 via toslink. Can someone explain why coax would be better or vice versa? I still need to get cable for my sat receiver, DVD player and TV. Thanks.
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post #11 of 22
12/10/07 at 10:52am
cool! glad you got it working!

re: coax vs. optical. really no difference. i think that the suggestion was to use either, but if you run out of inputs for one type, use the other and you'll be fine...
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post #12 of 22
12/10/07 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccotenj View Post

cool! glad you got it working!

re: coax vs. optical. really no difference. i think that the suggestion was to use either, but if you run out of inputs for one type, use the other and you'll be fine...

Got it, thanks!
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post #13 of 22
12/10/07 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

Got it, thanks!

Also glad you're "up and running."

Coax vs. Toslink is mostly a matter of convenience -- the results are the same. And if you avoid the "high price" cables, the cost is about the same. There are some companies that pray on ignorance and charge a lot more for optical and HDMI cables. I recently heard that the "official optical cable" for the PS3 costs over $100. This is just a Toslink cable and there are plenty of places that sell these for under $10.

I recently won a bet with a guy at work who didn't believe I could buy a good HDMI cable for $7. Thanks to my winnings, the next one will only cost $6.75.
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post #14 of 22
12/10/07 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tatanka01 View Post

Also glad you're "up and running."

Coax vs. Toslink is mostly a matter of convenience -- the results are the same. And if you avoid the "high price" cables, the cost is about the same. There are some companies that pray on ignorance and charge a lot more for optical and HDMI cables. I recently heard that the "official optical cable" for the PS3 costs over $100. This is just a Toslink cable and there are plenty of places that sell these for under $10.

I recently won a bet with a guy at work who didn't believe I could buy a good HDMI cable for $7. Thanks to my winnings, the next one will only cost $6.75.

Tell me about it. The optical cable I had sitting around was purchased at Best Buy over a year ago before I began reading up on HT. I'm shocked at how reasonable you can get the same thing at Monoprice for much less.

I've always hated being taken advantage of especially being a female. No offense to females on this forum, it's just that interest in HT and audio is usually a guy thing. Yes, I too was considering the cute little cube speakers that shall remain nameless for fear of starting a debate. My ex being a DJ I guess I had been exposed enough to better quality gear that I didn't think the sound was very good so I started doing some research on the internet. I ended up buying speakers that may not appeal so much to my female counterparts in terms of decor however on the upside I've scored major mom points with my 3 teenage sons.

Still a little confused about the component vs HDMI debate. I just got off the phone with Monoprice and they recommended hooking up all my HDMI enabled sources that way rather than component for the best PQ. What do you guys think?
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post #15 of 22
12/10/07 at 4:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post


Still a little confused about the component vs HDMI debate. I just got off the phone with Monoprice and they recommended hooking up all my HDMI enabled sources that way rather than component for the best PQ. What do you guys think?

Mom:

I prefer HDMI just because it's easier to work with.

In my family room my equipment sits on the other side of the fireplace from my tv. Fishing the component cable was a PITA. The HDMI cable is much easier to work with.

Splotto
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post #16 of 22
12/10/07 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
I think may go with your advice Splotto. Not a huge price difference between component vs HDMI on Monoprice so I figure why not if it's going to be easier. The additional cost really comes from having to buy the splitter but then again if I decide to upgrade my receiver in a year or two, I'll be set.
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post #17 of 22
12/10/07 at 5:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

I think may go with your advice Splotto. Not a huge price difference between component vs HDMI on Monoprice so I figure why not if it's going to be easier. The additional cost really comes from having to buy the splitter but then again if I decide to upgrade my receiver in a year or two, I'll be set.

I have the monoprice 5x1 hdmi switch in my HT room and I am very happy with it.

I would avoid the 4x1. There are several threads here about issues with the 4x1. While they may have been solved by now (I did not keep up with the news once I got the 5x1) I can't say for sure.

Splotto
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post #18 of 22
12/11/07 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDMom View Post

Still a little confused about the component vs HDMI debate. I just got off the phone with Monoprice and they recommended hooking up all my HDMI enabled sources that way rather than component for the best PQ. What do you guys think?

In your case, I'd skip the HDMI completely. This is only because your receiver isn't HDMI capable and (IMO) the receiver makes a better switching device than the TV.

If you wanted, you could use your TV as the switch and connect everything to it, then run a single audio line to the receiver for audio.

There's really a zillion ways to hook this up and it mostly boils down to your own preference. HDMI is a nice convenience because it's the only way to do both audio and video with a single wire. But, it's definitely not necessary. In theory, the video might be better using HDMI because it's a digital signal. In practice, I'd be surprised if the difference was noticeable.

Also... if you upgrade your receiver in a couple years, it will likely have all the HDMI switching built-in, so you won't need an external box. In short, I wouldn't get too hung up on the HDMI stuff. I run HDMI on my DVD-R, but everything else is composite and S-Video.
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post #19 of 22
12/11/07 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tatanka01 View Post

If you wanted, you could use your TV as the switch and connect everything to it, then run a single audio line to the receiver for audio.

unfortunately, that is unlikely to work... i can't think of any displays that pass a 5.1 signal other than from it's antenna source... i fully admit i might have missed something along the way here...
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post #20 of 22
12/11/07 at 3:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccotenj View Post

unfortunately, that is unlikely to work... i can't think of any displays that pass a 5.1 signal other than from it's antenna source... i fully admit i might have missed something along the way here...

If true, I learned something today!

Seems like I see a lot of displays with Toslink outputs these days -- I'm just assuming that implies all the surround formats... maybe not.

In any case, I'd still use the receiver as the center of the system. In fact, I wish they made all these high-end HDTV's without all the switching / tuner / audio stuff. It'd save a lot of $$, and all I want is a single video input.
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post #21 of 22
12/11/07 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccotenj View Post

unfortunately, that is unlikely to work... i can't think of any displays that pass a 5.1 signal other than from it's antenna source... i fully admit i might have missed something along the way here...

Yep, my Sharp LCD is like this. I tried running a hdmi cable from my laptop to the tv and then a digital coax from the tv to my receiver. And it was a no go. It wouldn't even output a stereo signal. I though something had to be wrong so I contacted Sharp and they told me that the tv wasn't designed to do that.
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post #22 of 22
12/12/07 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericm83 View Post

Yep, my Sharp LCD is like this. I tried running a hdmi cable from my laptop to the tv and then a digital coax from the tv to my receiver. And it was a no go. It wouldn't even output a stereo signal. I though something had to be wrong so I contacted Sharp and they told me that the tv wasn't designed to do that.

Thanks for the clarification. That was one of the questions I asked at the beginning of the thread, whether I could run everything to the my DLP and then run a single cable to the receiver for audio. I read this couldn't be done so ordered several toslink cables from Monoprice. Speaking of Monoprice, they're awesome. I placed my order yesterday afternoon and my items are on the UPS truck as we speak.
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