A few questions about my new setup. (1 Viewer)

[AdamS]

Hey everyone... I'm new to Home Theater. I just recently purchased a Toshiba 65H83 HDTV and I'm loving the picture.. I have a few questions though.

1) The component cables given to me by the comcast guy.. Are they good enough or should I get different cables?

2) I have four things that use component video.. HDTV box / DVD player / playstation 2 / gamecube.. Since the TV has only 2 component inputs, should I get a component video switcher? and which one?

3) assuming I get a component video switcher.. I will probably need to extend the audio cables for the ps2/gamecube since all 5 cables are bound together so there's not much slack.. My reciever is kind of old (3-4 years) and probably doesn't have optical inputs (have to check when I get home) What way would be best to extend the reach of the RCA audio cables. A friend told me normal RCA cables and couplers.. are there certain ones to stay away from?

4) Where's a good place to look for a cabinet for my components? HDTV box / gamecube / ps2 / dvd player is all I'm looking to put in the cabinet.

5) I'm not looking to spend too much right now.. My reciever is old, its prolly not that great but I'm fine with not so great audio right now (I live in apartment and would not be nice to neighbors to play loud audio anyways..

6) the screen I got was not the one with anti-glare built in... A friend of mine said I should get a "screen protector" for my TV.. is this a must have? if so where should i get one and how much do they run?

Thanks for any help!

Adam

 

[Ted Lee]

1. what kind did he give you? you don't need really fancy cables, but at least get some decent ones (like the AR they sell at best buy).

2. somewhere there was a good post about low-cost component switching, but i couldn't find it. do a search and see if you can find it. some people say you can simply use regular switch-boxes, but there may be an issue with it's bandwidth....but i don't know.

3. your only real option is to extend the cables using "barrel connectors" - they're the ones that join two male leads.

4. just about any b&m store will have a decent selection of cabinets. ikea is another nice option. the only question is what kind of quality you want and how much you want to pay -- sky's the limit on this stuff.

5. n/a

6. glare-screens usually *degrade* the picture quality, so if your not worried about damaging the screen, leave it off.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Here is the link to Inexpensive HD Video Switching thread. There is a LOT of discussion, but I tried to keep the top section current.

Some of the better switchers accept BOTH optical and coaxial-digital from each input and give you both options on the output side. (Yes, it converts coaxial to optical, and optical to coaxial). One of these might solve your 'slack' problem.

Cables - a subjective issue. My advice would be to get a HD rated custom-cable for the HDTV box. This might mean 1 cable directly to the TV, or 2 cables to go to the switch box, then from the box to the TV.

The game systems and other sources are not pushing 720/1080 video so your existing/basic component cables should be fine.