Please help with Denon AVR4311(CI) 3d and 65 Inch Panasonic Plasma 3D TV (Hook up's) (1 Viewer)

[jayeF]

I have a new AVR-4311CI and a new Panasonic P65VT25. Bought 5 of the new 17.4 Gig Monster HDMI THX cables and I have the new BD-700 Panasonic 3D Blu Ray Player. I also have the new Direct DV-21 3D satellite cable box. I hate to ask you stupid question but. If I hook up HDMI (1) from TV to the in HDMI on the AVR and then run a HDMI cable fromAVR out to Hdmi in on the Satelite box do I always have to have the AVR on to hear the TV. The reason why I ask this is because my wife does not like to use the AVR she just likes hearing the TV. When I am watching a movie or TV I like using the AVR sound. I have 4 HDMI jacks on the back of the TV. If I run the HDMI from TV to Satellite box I only have one HDMI input on the box. I will then have to use an optical wire from Sat box to AVR. On the Blu Ray 3d I think I have to have thast come from HDMI (2) on TV straight to the 3D Player then take the 2nd HDMI out on the player and runthat into the in HDMI on the AVR. I am totally mixed up because the AVR is 1.4 3D ready and swithable. I want to make sure I can see and hear the 3d in all cases. I spent 149 dollars per HDMI cable and I don't know if I need that many. Can someone please help me? I have invested over 6,000.00 and have not yet to see any 3d with my glasses. Thank you so much.

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[Southpaw]

If you don't mind me asking how did you obtain a 4311 already? I thought they weren't out until October.

 

And to help with your question, the way I did mine to get sound from your sat box to the TV without the AVR is to run HDMI straight to the TV. Then run an optical cable from your sat box to the AVR. When your wife wants to watch something without the avr, all she needs to do is have the tv on the correct hdmi source. When you want to watch something through the avr, same hdmi source for the tv, now you just need to find the correct input on your avr that you ran your optical cable to.

There might be a better way, but I set mine up like this and it works good.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Jaye,

 

A few thoughts:

 

1) Return the overpriced Monster THX cables and get some excellent, more than capable, and much cheaper cables (like these) from Monoprice.com. Buying expensive Monster cables is throwing your money away, IMO.

 

2) With the money you save on reasonably priced cables, get a good universal remote like one from Logitech's line of Harmony remotes. These remotes are "activity" based and are easy to set up, and more importantly, easy for EVERYONE to use. Macros handle all the input selection, power on/off, etc. for each activity you set up - like "Watch TV", "Watch Movie", "Listen to CD", etc.

 

3) When describing your system and its connections, it's much easier to comprehend if you think in terms of signal flow. The audio and video signals flow OUT of the source (cable, satellite, blu-ray, etc.) and INTO the reciever (or television). Your Satellite box has no "HDMI In" - it's a source, so it only has outputs. Similarly, your TV is meant to display images that come IN from a source, so it has video INPUTS, not video outputs.

 

4) Jason described one way to hook up the system to watch TV without the receiver. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that when you use the receiver for audio, you will need to make sure the TVs speakers are muted or the volume is all the way down. You won't want the TV speakers competing with the surround sound speakers.

 

Also, when using the audio output from your TV as described above, you will not get full digital 5.1 audio. The TV will downmix any digital input to 2.0 stereo before being output. Consequently, the best you will get from your receiver is Dolby ProLogic simulated surround sound for your satellite service. To enjoy digital surround sound from Satellite AND watch TV without using the receiver requires a different approach to hooking up your equipment.

 

Contrary to what many people believe, hooking up a system that is intended to be watched with AND without a surround sound system, and trying to get the best possible surround sound quality is actually much more complicated that just hooking up everything through the receiver. If you need more help with this, let us know.

 

[Trigger38]

There should be an option on the receiver to pass audio through to the tv. I have a denon 1910 and have this option, i never tried it, but its there...

 

[DennisSoundEngr]

To pass thru audio and video via the HDMI cables, use the HDMI control within the Denon and set it to ON.