Setting up my new HTiB (1 Viewer)

[TalkingPie]

Hi, all.
Like a typical newb, I bought a system without much of any research or prior knowledge. I'm mostly ok with this, as this setup is replacing a JVC stereo hooked up with coaxials to a 27" Toshiba. This is all mid-90s vintage, so I think that I'll be happy with any properly-functioning 5.1 HTiB, as long as I can hook it up properly.
I bought this system: LG BH7520T
to be hooked up to this TV: LG 42LS3400
I plan on hooking up my Sony media box (assuming it's not rendered reduntant by the USB and Wifi functionality of my new system), which has coax and HDMI out. No cable/satellite and the system handles Blu-Ray and DVD (right)?
Oddly, I've found no reviews online of this thing whatsoever. Can this all be hooked up properly? As far as HTiB goes, does this look like a reasonably decent setup? Paid $400 CAD for it.

 

[schan1269]

Your Sony Media Box(I'm not familiar with it...) can not be connected to the LG HTiB. (well, it can just for audio...but that is useless)
You will need to send its HDMI to the LG, then as long as the TV and HTiB both support ARC(you have their owners manuals)...you don't need any further connection.
But, if BOTH do not support ARC, you need a tos-link from the TV to HTiB.

 

[TalkingPie]

Thanks for your reply. FYI: the Sony Media Box is similar to an Apple TV. I think that between the home theater's USB port (for my external hard drive) and its ability to connect to the internet for Netflix, I won't need the Media Box anymore, so it might not be an issue.
I'm curious, though, how I'd go about hooking this all up properly if I had a cable/satellite connection. Surely a new TV must be able to connect to cable and a home theater system without too much trouble, no?
The home theater manual specifically states that it does support ARC. The TV manual makes no mention of it, but does mention HDMI-CEC and something called Simplink which allows you to control the home theater with the TV remote via the HDMI connection. Whether this includes ARC capability as well, I don't know, but suspect not.
I'll have to research what a tos-link is.

 

[schan1269]

Tos-link is Toshiba link, similar to SP-DIF (the same cord works for both)
SP-DIF is Sony/Philips Digital InterFace(or something like that)
Anyway. The "Optical output" on your TV is a tos-link/SP-DIF...
Or more "correctly"....
SP-DIF is "the cable", tos-link is "the connector".
At one time they were "competing"...now they play nice.
Edit:
Yes, I know my explanation between TL and SPDIF is not "accurate"...but it has been what? 20 years since it mattered what the difference was???

 

[TalkingPie]

So it seems that I should exchange either my TV for one that is ARC capable, or my HTiB for one that has HDMI inputs.
Alternatively, how would I connect a second device? Device into second HDMI In on the TV, then toslink to HTiB, which inputs back out to the TV? Would that work? It seriously seems to me that the combination of this TV and home theater will be a headache.
Guess I should've researched ahead of time after all!

 

[schan1269]

It isn't really a headache. You will have to do what "everybody" did before ARC(by the way, ARC requires you to use the HDMI-CEC...which LG calls Simplay...which is HARDLY simple...).
Connect the HTiB to the TV with a HDMI.
Buy a tos-link(Amazon has them for $5) and connect the TV back to the HTiB. Simple press the button on the HTiB to whatever they call the tos-link(they probably call it the "generic term"...digital input)
I do that and I have a Hitachi 42" plasma and an Onkyo TX SR707...both of them are before ARC.
In this room I have...
Onkyo TX SR707 running the show.
Hitachi 42" plasma. (and yes, we use OTA, so this TV has a tos-link back to the 707, before this Hitachi I had a "HD capable" set that had to have an outboard digital tuner, which was a Samsung T415...I think, bought the Hitachi, sold the Samsung tuner)
Atari Flashback.
Wii.
Sony BD player.
Belkin Bluetooth receiver (FZ something or the other)
Technics 5 disc changer(from back when "tos-link was new")
Acer Revo(essentially a "home theater PC" designed specifically to connect to home theater...essentially it is Netflix, Apple TV, Vudu, Hulu, Pandora, Slacker, DLNA...and "everything else you can imagine" rolled into one)
Directv HD-DVR.

 

[TalkingPie]

That does sound pretty simple. I appreciate the explanation. Using the toslink, I'd still keep my 5.1 signal (for whatever few channels that offer it)? I ask not for now, but I might upgrade to satellite in the future, and would rather get things sorted out while I'm still able to exchange TV/home theater if necessary.
Out of curiosity, how did you manage to hook up so many components? Do you have that many inputs on your TV/receiver? Some kind of switcher?

 

[schan1269]

When you get a HD "set top box"(makes no difference if it is Dish Net/Dir/Com/TW) that will take the place of the tos-link from the TV.
Every TV I can think of, anything you connect via HDMI is relegated to 2.0 when it exits the tos-link back to the HTiB. There are "some" TV that relay 5.1 from HDMI inputs, but they are so few and far between it is pointless to look(and the ones that do that are often the "sumo priced" models)
The only issue(and I've never had to do this) you might run across is the HDMI and tos-link not both working at the same time...
Meaning you'd have to use the component video(the "other" HD cable) with the tos-link. Yes, there are threads about various cable boxes(although I don't think Dish Net or Directv have this problem) shutting off "all the other outputs" when you turn on the HDMI.
The only time I run into problems with Directv...and it is an annoyance more than it is a problem...
In this room with the Hitachi. I also have an older 7-8 year old 7" LCD "travel TV". The HD-DVR is also connected to it. I use that when I listen to the Directv "sonic" radio channels. The DVR will give me a "polite warning"* about that display only being 480i. There is a 50/50 chance it will screw up the internal video settings in the DVR(meaning it will uncheck the 480P, 720P, 1080I etc...) and when I turn off the little LCD and turn the Hitachi back on...I'll occasionally need to go back and re-check the other screen resolutions again. It only takes about 15 seconds to re-set the other resolutions...so yeah...it is annoying, but it is the price I have to pay to use a tiny little 7" LCD to look at the Sonic stations...instead of wasting the 42" plasma to do it.
*about that warning...
First time I saw it I was like..."Why does the DVR care? And also, how does the DVR know over a composite cable?"

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by TalkingPie /t/322556/setting-up-my-new-htib#post_3953515
Out of curiosity, how did you manage to hook up so many components? Do you have that many inputs on your TV/receiver? Some kind of switcher?

This is the biggest difference between most HTiB systems, and a full system based around a full-featured A/V receiver. Most mid-level A/V receivers nowadays have at least 4-6 HDMI inputs (some even more) as well as additional digital audio inputs and some legacy analog connections like component video, but they are starting to disappear as well.

The most inputs I've ever seen on a HTiB system (that wasn't built around a real A/V receiver like the systems from Onkyo and Denon) is 2, and the vast majority of HTiB systems have zero video/HDMI inputs and maybe one or two digital audio inputs (sometimes none at all).

TVs were never intended to be the hub of a system that requires switching both HD audio and digital surround sound audio formats (of which there are MANY). This is the main purpose of an A/V receiver - it contains all the codecs and processing power for both audio and video, and provides a simple way to switch between any of your sources. Ideally, all sources are connected to the receiver, and only a single HDMI cable runs from receiver to TV. The TVs speakers are disabled, and the TV becomes nothing more than a monitor.

Yes, this presumes you use the receiver/speakers all the time - most of us do, that's why we spend the money on the system. The ability for recievers to pass audio to the display even when turned off (standby passthrough) is becoming more common, and makes it possible to use the TV speakers from time to time.

For someone new to home theater, thinking in terms of everything being connected to the display is a very common misconception - we always think to get a TV with lots of inputs, but they largely become useless once a surround sound system is introduced. ARC helps alleviate this problem, but the "ideal" solution is to get a decent receiver and use that as the hub of your system.

Best of luck!

 

[TalkingPie]

Thanks for the informative reply!
You know, after spending several hours researching and contemplating exchanging part of my system, I came across a section in my HTiB's manual referring to two HDMI inputs. This conflicted with the spec sheet, which didn't indicate any HDMI. A bit more searching yielded a Polish site (of all things) that showed a diagram of the jacks at the rear of the unit (I haven't actually taken delivery of the system yet). It apparently turns out that there are in fact 2 HDMI inputs! Zoom in on 2nd diagram. So basically I worried for nothing, but thanks to the info I got here, I did learn a little about home theater.

 

[schan1269]

Yeah somehow I missed the question of "all these inputs"...
This is how it is hooked up.
Onkyo TX SR707 gets the HD DVR, Acer Revo and BD player via HDMI.
The Wii and Atari Flashback(which this isn't even stereo) are both connected to the TV first(I rarely play the Atari with surround sound...it is a "nostalgia thing"). This is because these are analog.
The TV sends OTA, the Wii and Atari Flashback to the TX SR707 via Tos-link. (The Wii gets moved from room to room...hence the main reason it is connected to the TV...it is easier to get to. One side benefit to the Hitachi plasma. It has an internal "blender". When playing the Atari and its single, non-stereo, audio connection. The TV "blends" it into both channels anyway. It also sends it that way out the optical to the receiver...so the receiver receives a "fake stereo" signal...that it can then manipulate to surround sound. Hence, with this TV...I have no reason to connect the Atari to the AVR)
The Belkin FZ Bluetooth music receiver is connected to the CD analog.
The Technics is connected to an optical paired to the CD input(which there "is" conflict, but Onkyo has "digital preference" built into their receivers...and most other manufacturers followed suit. It means if the Technics is off...the Belkin is the audio source. If you turn on the Technics, it being optical...overrides the signal)
Additional connections...
HD-DVR component video/analog to the Hitachi. For when we are watching things that don't need the AVR involvement. (refer to my above post of cable boxes...Directv and Dish Net allow "multiple connections"...many cable boxes disable this ability)
HD-DVR composite video only to the 7" LCD.
But this is all possible cause the TX SR707 has 6 HDMI in back and 1 in front(this is used for the occasional Ipad 1/2 or Android phone that has mini-HDMI). It also can take the analog(composite, s-video and component) and add it to the HDMI...although I don't currently use that ability...cause the Wii and Atari are connected to the TV instead.

 

[TalkingPie]

So I've received my home theatre and TV. All is set up and working well (although I did have to exchange the HTiB after about a week because it was randomly shutting off). I've omitted my Sony Media Player, as the HTiB does everything it used to do.
I'm now thinking I'd like to hook up an antenna to get local TV channels. The problem with this is that the TV has absolutely no Audio Out jacks whatsoever. So what are my options for getting sound to my HTiB when watching TV? As near as I can tell I have to go through the trouble of getting a digital tuner, HDMI converter and hook that up via HDMI cable to my HTiB. Or I can just switch to the TV's internal speakers when watching TV, which is much simpler but obviously far from ideal.
Do I have any other option I'm missing?

 

[Jason Charlton]

This is where the SIMPLINK/ARC part of the discussion comes in (see posts above).

In theory, if the TV is connected to the surround system via HDMI, then the audio that comes in to the TV from your antenna SHOULD be able to be passed "upstream" via HDMI to the surround system.

Follow the instructions that begin on page 59 of your TVs manual as well as the short mention on page 19 of the surround sound manual.

Based on the manuals, this should work.

If you are unable to get this to work, and the TV indeed has no audio outputs, then you're stuck with requiring an outboard tuner that can be connected to the surround system directly.

 

[schan1269]

Yep, that TV does not support ARC...nor does it have any other form of audio out(can't believe there are TV made this way).
So, your only choice is to buy an outboard tuner. Luckily all of them have toslink and coax.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by schan1269 /t/322556/setting-up-my-new-htib#post_3958958
Yep, that TV does not support ARC...

It certainly seems that way, but the manual is (not surprisingly) vague and confusing in the language. Could be in part that the same manual is used for no less than 5(!) different series of display (LS3400, LS3500, LS3510, CS460, and CS560) so it's very difficult to discern if all the documented features apply across the board or not...

That being said, page 59 of the manual does seem to indicate that there can be a "Speaker" option in the SIMPLINK menu that, when selected, will utilize the external speakers instead of the TV speakers. Whether or not this feature is included in the OPs display remains to be seen.

I would say there is a *chance* it can work. I too, find it hard to believe that a display without any audio outputs would also not support ARC. Absurd if it is, indeed the case.

 

[markuscs13]

Good day..
I have a samsung ht-e355k dvd home e system and a lg 42lk430 tv
My satelite is a pvr decoder.
So there is a hdmi cable from the decoder to the tv
And then a hdmi cable between the home entertainment system
The dvd plays sound through the system but the decoders channels do not play throught the sound system..
Help please

 

[markuscs13]

Forgot..tried simplink but dvd says no arc..

 

[schan1269]

If you don't have ARC, you don't have ARC, period.
Connect a toslink. Does your DVD/HTiB have a toslink? You own it, you should know.
Edit:
No your HTiB does not have an optical input. If you just bought it, return it for one that does.
Edit 2:
Your HTiB does have an analog(didn't read which type, cause I didn't invest that much time). You can run the red/white of your PVR into the red/white, or into the 1/8th...whichever it has.
Edit 3:
Even if the TV did support ARC, you were only going to get 2.0PCM anyway...which is the same sound quality you'll get by doing "Edit 2:"
Edit 4:
If you want 5.1 off your PVR, you need a different sound system.

 

[markuscs13]

Ill take it back..the people here in south africa are so helpfull :-X and dont know the equipment they are selling..But wil do some research today and get a beter system...
Thanks for the advise..