basic cable connection to HT receiver (1 Viewer)

[Patric mccaff]

Greetings, and thanks for some useful information. What is the best way to feed a basic cable line through the HT receiver? I'm pretty sure I need to buy a TV cable converter but when I search for them on the internet I get numerous sites trying to sell the illegal descramblers. Is the converter the only/best way? If it is, does anyone know where I can get a cable converter? thanks

 

[Lew Crippen]

It might be helpful if we understood what you are trying to accomplish. Maybe I’m just dense, but I’m having a hard time trying to understand why you would want to connect in this fashion.

 

[Patric mccaff]

Please forgive the vagueness of the question. My goal is to have the video and sound from my dvd, vcr and cable individually connected to the HT receiver. The HT receiver would then route the video (of the selected component) back to the TV. The sound will come through the HT's speakers. I'm a little confused how to connect the cable.

 

[RichD Davis]

I suppose the confusion is why you would have cable, but no cable box. You would get that from the cable company, and I believe you would need one. You could then run the video and audio signal (how depends on the box and whether it is a digital or analog signal, and what connectors the box has) to the receiver, and then from there to the TV.

In any case, you would be connecting the receiver with a composite, s-video, or component video connection to the cable box, not plugging the coaxial feed directly into it. Channel switching would be accomplished through the box, and not the receiver.

Is this what you are after?

 

[Bhavesh P]

One way requires that one of your components has a set of audio outputs. Some TV's have audio outputs as a set of stereo RCA jacks on the back but VCR's also have this incorporated into their design.
If you have audio outputs on your TV, then just run it directly to your receiver. But feeding the coaxial cable through your VCR before it goes to the TV will also allow you to connect the audio outputs from the VCR to the receiver. That way, when you watch cable TV or videocasettes, the audio will be heard from your home theater speakers. The only setback is that you have to use the tuner in your VCR to change channels.

 

[Johnny Ayala]

One more thing...if you decide to run the cable through the TV, then out to the receiver, remember that you won't be able to get the Digital sound offered on some cable channels, but Im sure you ned a cable box just to view these channels anyway. Good Luck

 

[JamesCB]

Let's see if I can understand this.

You have cable tv, but no cable converter box? That is what I also have (basic cable is included with my rent). I run the coax (cable) from the wall to the VCR then out to the TV. The TV does the cable conversion. Then audio out from the TV to the receiver. I'm sure all TV's (within the past 10-15 years anyway) will convert a cable signal. Using the VCR to change channels is not necessary (unless you don't have the audio outputs on the TV).

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Three soultions:

1) Get a cable box with audio/video outs (available from the cable company). Run these out to the receiver, then video out to the TV.

2) Route cable to VCR, VCR A/V out to Receiver, then Video out to TV. Requires you to tune via the VCR.

3) Run Cable to the TV, then run audio out on TV to Receiver. This requires audio outs on the TV (turn off TV speakers), but allows you to tune via the TV.

 

[Patric mccaff]

thanks for your help. I'll get the cable box from the cable company.

 

[JamesCB]

Is this standard cable or "digital cable"?
It has been my experience that the converter box for standard cable does not have audio/video output jacks. Digital cable does.
The difference is the standard cable can be converted by box or the TV, but the Digital cable needs conversion prior to the TV and therfore will have audio/video outputs.
So, getting the box may not get you what you want (if we're talking about standard cable). Keep us posted.