Need help with some connections (1 Viewer)

[Jacqueline C]

Hello, I have never had a HT but recently got a HDTV (Panasonic CT 36 HX42) for my birthday. I therefore just bought a DVD with progressive scanning (Onkyo DV SP300) and plan to get an Onkyo hts 650 HT system, although I haven't actually bought it yet. I will also want to connect my Playstation 2 and my vcr. My questions are these : Is it right to connect the dvd to the tv with a component cable, and the dvd to the reciever with either coax cable or optical(both the reciever and the dvd have both options) so that I can get a progressive scaning image but Dolby digital or DTS sound?

Please note BTW that I don't have the special HDTV reciever yet as I am waiting for those to come down in price but hope to have it in the future. The tv has inputs for 2 sets of component cable. The reciever from what I've read doesn't have component inputs/out puts but has a lot of s video cable and composit cable ins and outs.

Can I then connect the TV to the receiver with the red and white RCA cable or S video cable ( and if there is a preference which one?) so that I can listen to regular tv stations on the speakers connected to the receiver?

Should I connect the vcr to the receiver with s video and then connect another svideo from the receiver to the tv?

Should I connect the PS2 (which has a cable with composit plugs on one end and a type of computer-like connector on the other end) to the front composit cable input of the tv and hope that the connection from the tv to the receiver alows me to play games on the ps2 and hear it through the speakers? or should I plug only the yellow plug of the PS2 into the tv and plug the red and white ones directly into the reciever? (BTW I'm not sure that last connection would reach but I suppose they sell longer PS2 cords).


Lastly as far as speaker wire is concerned, (since I've read on this forum that I should not use the wire the Onkyo comes with) what do the terms "zip wire" and OFC mean in this context?

Thanks in advance to any who reply. I am a novice as far as home theater is concerned, although I've had a long history of hooking up vcr's and such. Partially what is confusing is I've read you can't mix cable types.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hello J. Welcome to HTF!

It's perfectly fine to connect the video straight to the TV with component cables, and a digital-audio connection to the receiver. Many people do it this way.

(You should only run the video through a receiver if you have 2 or more of that type of cable. 2 Component, 2 SVideo, 2 Composite.) And since that Onkyo has no component inputs - your solution is obvious.)

A lot of people quickly run out of HD inputs to their TV and receiver. Think about this:

- CATV box with HD output
- Progressive Scan DVD player
- Game system with progressive output (Xbox)
- Sat system with HD output

Most TV's and receivers only have 2 HD/Component hookups.

To solve this, I created a thread on HD Video Switching which shows some external video switch box's designed for HD signals. At $200 they are not cheap, but it sure beats trading in a $800 receiver for a $4,000 unit just because it has 3 component inputs.

TV to the receiver with the red and white RCA cable or S video cable

You should always use SVideo over composite. This is a 20% improvement in picture.

Generally, you only run video TO the tv, and audio to the receiver. You CAN take the audio output from the TV and connect it to the AUX input on the recevier, but a more typical use is to use the VCR as the tuner/source of sound.

Speaker Wire: just order a spool of 12 ga Sound King wire from www.partsexpress.com.

"Zip Wire" - this is slang for AC power cords like you find on your lamps. If you had a spool of this and made a small cut between the 2 wires, you could then pull the wires apart (un-zip them) with your hands.

OFC - Oxygen Free Copper. Look at the pennies in your purse. Some are bright, some are dull-brown. The dull-brown pennies have oxidized on the surface. OFC speaker wire is melted and formed into wires in a chamber with neutral gas pumped in. This prevents oxygen from being present while the copper cools. The surface of the wire will still oxidize over time, but not as fast.

Every 2 years or so I trim the ends off of my speaker wires and re-connect as a part of an annual house-cleaning. Make sure to leave a foot of slack on your speaker wires for this.

And no, you do not have to make all 3 front speaker wires the same length.

MORE ADVICE:

- Put your receiver on the lowest shelf in your rack.

- Put the device you touch the most (DVD/PS2) on the higher shelves. They should flow in order of most->least touched.

- Bundle power cords to one side of your rack.

- Let the interconnects flow down the middle of your rack. You dont have to bundle them, but a few pieces of velcro can neaten things up.

Good Luck.

 

[Jacqueline C]

Thanks Bob. Especially for the link to the accessories store. I had almost decided to go for 16 ga monster cable but this looks like a good deal and 12 ga is much better. I won't get a chance to put your suggestions in play until my HT system is delivered, but I'm buying the cables in the mean time so I'll be ready. One thing I'm not clear on. Why put the receiver at the bottom? Shouldn't the part that gets the hottest have the more space to breath? I was actually planning to put that to the side by itself. Thanks again for your knowledgeable recommendations, you've been very helpful.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Shouldn't the part that gets the hottest have the more space to breath? I was actually planning to put that to the side by itself.

Yes, you do need space to vent, but heat rises. And the top of a audio rack acts like a blanket with no place for the heat to go. On the bottom, the heat "sees" all the open space in the rack above it and flows away.

Putting the receiver at the bottom has these advantages:

• All those heavy speaker wires flow out with minimal drop. This reduces stress on the jacks.
• The speaker wires can flow way from the other wires to keep interference to a minimum.
• Wireing the other components is a lot easier when you dont have to fight through all those heavy speaker wires.
• Putting the massive receiver on the bottom shelf helps anchor the rack and prevents it from being top-heavy (Yes, I do live in earthquake country).
• You never touch the receiver in day-to-day use, so why put it at the most convient height, and put the DVD/Game system down where you have to bend over/crouch to insert disks?

Some more advice:

- Buy enough wire to run 3 sets of wires to the rear of the room. The rear-center speaker is becoming popular for DolbyEX systems.

- Go to Radio Shack and get familar with the dual banana plugs (xxx-308). These things are great if your speakers have the same spacing. (Test one before buying a 5 sets). The dual plugs stick out a lot for behind the receiver so they sell single-bananas (xxx-306). If your speakers/receiver have those spring clips, look at the pin-connectors (xxx-309). It's very important to do a neat wireing job with speaker wire. One strand of copper poking out can cause a short and over-heat/damage your receiver. These plugs make it simple to do a neat/clean wire job with thick 12 ga.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jacqueline C]

Thanks I appreciate your help.