Hook Up Questions

Jame pc · 05-25-2005, 11:24 AM

I just got my 32" Sony HDTV and have a few questions regarding wiring:
Is it better to use a DVI (on HD tuner) to HDMI (on TV) cable rather than the composits?
The HD tuner has digital and optic audio but the TV doesn't. Shoud I go from the DVD to the Tuner with composite and digital audio then to the TV with DVI/HDMI and stereo rca's? Or go directly from the DVD to the TV with composits and stero RCA's? What would be the pro's and con's of each?
I can't use my 10 year old Kenwood Surround receiver as the "switching station" as it doesn't have all the needed hook ups.

Why would a new model Sony HDTV not have Digital or Optical Audio? Is it not much better then stero RCA's? Or just need to spend a few grand for a set that does?

Thanks for any help!

James

Ted Lee · 05-25-2005, 02:16 PM

> Is it better to use a DVI (on HD tuner) to HDMI (on TV) cable rather than the composits?

generally, using dvi (or hdmi) is best. also, to run hd, you cannot use the composite connections - at a minimum you need to use the component connections.

> The HD tuner has digital and optic audio but the TV doesn't. Shoud I go from the DVD to the Tuner with composite and digital audio then to the TV with DVI/HDMI and stereo rca's? Or go directly from the DVD to the TV with composits and stero RCA's? What would be the pro's and con's of each?

the only way to transmit 5.1 audio (dolby digital/dts) is via the digital connections. those typically are run to a ht receiver using either the digital or optical cable (there's no difference between the two). if you use the stereo rca's, you will not be hearing true surround sound. it sounds like time to upgrade your kenwood.

> Why would a new model Sony HDTV not have Digital or Optical Audio? Is it not much better then stero RCA's? Or just need to spend a few grand for a set that does?

i'm seeing more tv's with digital connections, but it's still not the standard. especially on a 32" tube you won't see that kind of feature ... at least not yet. i guess the argument is that if you're cool enough to have a hdtv, then you're going to have a receiver that can handle the digital connections.

Charlie Campisi · 05-25-2005, 02:29 PM

Quote:

i guess the argument is that if you're cool enough to have a hdtv, then you're going to have a receiver that can handle the digital connections

Not to mention, just what are you achieving by running digital audio to your 2 channel cruddy television speakers anyway? The red/white stereo connection is good enough for the tv speakers, which most HT freaks wouldn't use anyway.

John Garcia · 05-25-2005, 03:55 PM

HDMI allows a single connection for audio and video for simplicity of hook-up. Unfortunately, the cables also cost a lot more than decent component and stereo RCA interconnects.

Digital audio on TVs is very rare because 1)99.99% of them are stereo only, and 2) it's a more expensive connection to utilize than RCA. My dad's new LCD has a digital audio connection, but that is because it has a built in decoder and amplified outputs for some small satellite speakers. It's basically useless though because you can't drive any decent speakers this way and a receiver will give you a TON more functionality.

For a direct view CRT the benefit of HDMI/DVI is generally not quite the same level as with a fixed pixel (LCD, LCDP, DLP, plasma, etc...). Component is usually good enough.

Jame pc · 05-25-2005, 05:09 PM

Thank you all for your replies.

Quote:

Not to mention, just what are you achieving by running digital audio to your 2 channel cruddy television speakers anyway? The red/white stereo connection is good enough for the tv speakers, which most HT freaks wouldn't use anyway.

Well maybe I have it wired incorrectly. I have the component and stereo RCA's going from the HD tuner to the TV. Then the stereo RCA's from the TV to the receiver. When I want to hear the sound through the receiver, I turn it on. I don't want to always have to listen to audio through the receiver. That's why I thought a digital in/out on the TV would be nice, not for the TV speaker's sake but for the receiver's. I'm open to other wiring suggestions!

Thanks again!
James

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Charlie Campisi · 05-25-2005, 05:27 PM

Any reason you can't have the HD box output audio to both the tv and the receiver? In other words, why run the audio through the tv and then to the receiver? That'd be what I'd change.

John Garcia · 05-25-2005, 05:50 PM

The HD box almost certainly has an optical or coaxial digital audio output to go to your HT receiver (there's no reason to pass this signal through the TV), then you can also keep the stereo analog connected to the TV for the times you don't want to use the whole home theater. The digital audio connection between the HT receiver and the HD box will also allow you to playback any Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcasts on the HD box in true surround.

ScottHH · 05-25-2005, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Well maybe I have it wired incorrectly. I have the component and stereo RCA's going from the HD tuner to the TV. Then the stereo RCA's from the TV to the receiver.

You say your Kenwood is a "Surround receiver". Does it support Dolby Digital (aka AC-3 in the early days)? Or does it only do Dolby Pro-Logic. If you tell us the model number, I'm sure you'll get the answer quickly.

If it does anything more than Pro-Logic, the stereo RCA's are NOT delivering all the information you need. If it does Dolby Digital, it should have an optical and/or coaxial audio in. You should connect both the DVD player and the hi-def receiver to the digital audio inputs of your receiver so that you can listen to real surround sound.

Quote:

Why would a new model Sony HDTV not have Digital or Optical Audio? Is it not much better then stereo RCA's? Or just need to spend a few grand for a set that does?

FYI: Coaxial and optical audio are both digital.
Digital audio allows you to transmit the information for discrete surround sound. Stereo RCA's transmit two audio channels.

Your HDTV has stereo speakers, not 5.1 speakers, so there is no need to feed a 5.1 audio signal to the TV. An HDTV with a tuner should have a digital audio OUTPUT so that you can feed that 5.1 digital audio signal to your receiver, and all of your speakers. I haven't looked too hard, but I've never heard of a TV with a coax or optical digital audio input.

John Garcia · 05-25-2005, 06:43 PM

Samsung has a few models with optical input and built in decoder for DD/DTS, as I mentioned in post #4. I had never seen this before either, until my I went over to hook up my dad's new LCD.