[Remfisher]

I have just upgraded to a 46"HDTV after 36 years of SDTV. Problem is, I have several components and I am kinda lost in hooking everything up. The TV has 3 HDMI inputs and 2 Component inputs. I have an Onkyo home theater system. It does not have HDMI in/outs. It has 3 component inputs and one output. I have a nintendo wii, and a regular dvd recorder/vcr combo. What is the best way to wire these things together for the best picture, sound, etc... ? Thanks for any help.

[Al.Anderson]

As you might expect, there's a number of options. Depending on your preferences - a big one is do you always want to (or mind) always turning on your receiver when you use your TV.

Assuming that you'll say you don't mind using the receiver all the time, the standard way of hooking these up is fairly straightforward. Run the DVD and Wii to the receiver using component for video. Then run the reciever to the TV also using component.

You won't have to worry about HDMI until you dive into an HD player. As nice as they are, don't worry, you'll get a great picture just using the component connection for your DVD. Component is just as good as HDMI for video in all cases but upscaling, and even then the best picture depends on your specific hardware.

Back to the connection, this time for audio. Run a digital coax or optical from the DVD to the receiver; it doesn't matter which one you choose (coax cables are cheaper). If your DVD doesn't have either of these (only has the stereo red/white), strongly consider upgrading. A standard DVD with coax and/or opt is very inexpensive (< $75) and would be worth the money. I forget whether the Wii has anything more than a stereo connection. If it does use it, if not connect via stereo.

You didn't provide model numbers, so that's the best I can do.

[Remfisher]

Thanks for your help. I have all the options you spoke of. I don't have a problem turning on my receiver each time I use these things(My wife has a problem with noise). The wii has regular stereo outputs. Will component cables work with the stereo outputs?

[Remfisher]

One more question. What about audio from the wii to the receiver?
Thanks again.

[Al.Anderson]

Bear with me on this reply …

I suggested you run the DVD and Wii video to the receiver first because it simplifies day-to-day switching (though it uses more cables during the set-up). The reason going through the receiver for video is nice is that you can leave the TV on one input source and only switch through the receiver. Otherwise, when you switch from DVD to Wii you’d have to switch both the receiver (for sound) and the TV for (video). (I’m going to change topics, but I’m coming back to this.)

I did a quick check and the Wii supports both a composite video connection and a component video. I think it comes with composite; so if you haven't already, go get the component, you should see a slight difference on your screen. (And to be clear, this is a Wii component connector; not just a standard component cable. It has a proprietary connector on the side that connects to the Wii.)

As far as audio, I think the Wii only has the stereo connections; and that'll work fine with either video connection.

Some receivers only output the same kind of video signal as what comes in. So if you wind up using the composite connection to the receiver for the Wii, and the component connection from the DVD to the receiver -- you may *have* to run both a component and a composite connection cable from the receiver to the TV.


(Okay, back to switching through the receiver.) If you have run both composite and component because your receiver doesn’t convert the composite video to component – then switching through the receiver isn’t worth as much. In this case, you can simply run the video from both the DVD and/or the Wii directly to your TV. (And run the audio to the receiver).

I hope that helps. But in case I didn’t answer the audio question. Run the stereo (red/white) from the Wii to the receiver. Run a coax or optical from the DVD to the receiver. Do this no matter what you do with the video.