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Cable Setup - Please advise

#1
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8/15/08 at 5:47pm
  • Joined: August 2008
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I am looking for some advice on what cables I need and how to use them.

I am hanging a Panasonic TX-42PX60U above my fireplace and need to make sure I have all the cables I need for when it is hung.

The TV has 2 HDMI slots. I will be getting a new receiver with 2 or 3 HDMI slots and will only add a digital cable box and a DVD player.

How should I hook all of these up? - HDMI cable from cable box to TV and then TV to receiver? Do I need any audio cables or will video and audio run through the single HDMI through everything?

My current DVD player isn't an HD player right now, but I will upgrade to one in the future - so for now, should I run component cables from my DVD player to my TV and Audio cables to my receiver? Once I get a new player, do I go HDMI to my TV and then HDMI to my receiver?
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#2
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8/15/08 at 5:56pm
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Re: Cable Setup - Please advise

What I am thinking is that I need to connect the cable box to the receiver via HDMI and receiver to the TV via HDMI. So there is 2 HDMI cables needed and takes care of my TV audio and video.

For a non HD DVD player, should I feed component cables from my DVD player to my TV for video and from my TV to my Receiver for the Audio?
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#3
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8/15/08 at 5:57pm
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Re: Cable Setup - Please advise

Sorry, one other question - if I won't have my speakers setup for awhile but have my receiver, I will need to let my TV play the audio - so can I leave the HDMI cables plugged in to the receiver or will the sound be off on the TV itself trying to be played through the receiver to speakers?
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#4
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8/17/08 at 10:52am
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Re: Cable Setup - Please advise

Hi Matt.

My advice would be this:

- Run 2 HDMI cables to the TV from the receiver location. Good cables can be bought from www.blujeanscables.com

- A bonus would be to run a HD rated component set to the TV as well just for future expansion.

This should work for now and give you options for the future just by playing around with the other end of the cables behind your receiver.

WIRING:

I would plug the HDMI straight to the cable box, but run optical to your receiver. This way you use the TV speakers for casual TV watching, but turn down the TV speakers and fire up the receiver for 5.1 shows.

You can use the component cables for the DVD player - but upgrading to a BluRay or a PS3 now would be nice so you can just use that other HDMI cable.

RECEIVER OFF:

If you feed HDMI to the receiver, then 1 cable to the TV, you now have to check your receivers features. Some will NOT pass along audio, some will. Some will 'remember' the last input and pass-through that cable, some will not. You basically have to read the fine print.

(This is why I suggest running HDMI straight from each source, then optical to the receiver so you have control of things.)

Hope this helps.
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#5
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8/18/08 at 10:20am
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Re: Cable Setup - Please advise

one little note... are you sure you want to hang the TV above the fireplace? From what I've read, its is generally a bad idea since a fireplace generates heat and soot, both of which are bad (i.e. shorten the life of) electronic components. Plus you can't really hide the wires in the wall since it is insulated as a chimney. Another downfall is that it puts the eyeline of the TV too high, and causes uncomfortable viewing over extended period of time...

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#6
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8/18/08 at 1:47pm
  • Joined: December 1998
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Re: Cable Setup - Please advise

Quote:
Originally Posted by craig_curtis
one little note... are you sure you want to hang the TV above the fireplace? From what I've read, its is generally a bad idea since a fireplace generates heat and soot, both of which are bad (i.e. shorten the life of) electronic components. Plus you can't really hide the wires in the wall since it is insulated as a chimney. Another downfall is that it puts the eyeline of the TV too high, and causes uncomfortable viewing over extended period of time...
Not to hijack this thread, but this is what I was thinking as well. The other problem with a TV above the fireplace is that this will create much higher viewing area than would be considered optimal.

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