Noob needs a little advice

Re: Noob needs a little advice

Lets help you out on the terminology.
Amplifier - amplifies a low level signal. Usually has 1 or 2 inputs and speaker outputs. The only adjustment is the gain.
Pre-amp - A control center. Has inputs for CD, DVD, etc. Sometimes has processing ability like upconverting all video inputs to component and/or HDMI video.
Receiver - Pre-amp with an amplifier section built in.

Not that I have seen.

You have a TiVo, why watch live TV? Yes, you can split your cable and run it to both your TV and the TiVo. Connect the audio and video output from the TiVo to your receiver. Your TV should also have an audio output that you can connect to another receiver input. As for surround sound, it depends on your TiVo and cable package. Analog cable will give you nothing more than Dolby Pro Logic surround. If you have an S3 or HD TiVo, then you will get some Dolby Digital from the digital and/or HD channels.

Depends on your location. Most cable companies broadcast local channels in the clear in HD. Your TV needs to have a QAM tuner to pick it up. The S3 and HD TiVo's also have QAM tuners but they will not work with in the clear QAM channels since they do not appear in the channel listing provided by the cable company and they are subject to changing frequencies at any time. For an HD or S3 TiVo to work properly you must subscribe to at least the digital tier from your cable company and use one or two cable cards. Your new TV will also be able to tune in OTA digital channels with it's built in ATSC tuner and a proper antenna. If you want that feature as well as cable, then you need to get a TV with separate inputs for each. Most have a single input that requires going to the menu and making the switch and rescanning for channels. That can take 10 to 15 minutes.

The switch from analog to digital TV next February does not impact cable. Only people who use an antenna to receive their TV signals. Cable and satellite providers are making the switch due to market demands for more HD channels. Cable has limited bandwidth on that cable and is working to get rid of analog channels to free up room for digital channels and HD. Satellite companies are putting up more satellites in different locations and making users go with larger and larger dishes. My DirecTV dish now points at 5 satellite locations. It's a lot larger than the little 18" dish I started out with in '97.

There is no such thing as component audio. There's analog audio (the red and white connections) and there is digital audio (the orange coax connection and the optical connection). Your receiver is just a video switcher. Like I mentioned above, some upconvert composite video or s-video to component video and/or HDMI video.

And I don't like to do this but your question should have gone in the Basics section or the receiver section. The Projects section is where we discuss you basement renovation as a whole. Speaker and screen placement, furnishings, etc. It also covers the DIY crowd like me who build speakers, subs and projector screens. But not that it's here, we can roll from this into discussion of your plans for the basement. TV size, speakers, etc.

-Robert