Hello, new guy here - got questions (1 Viewer)

[FarmerBrown]

Hi everyone. This is my first post and I want to introduce myself. I'll be 70 years old next October so, as you can imagine, much of this stuff is foreign to me. I live out in the country (I have been farming for the past 8 years) and have gone without a TV for several years now. I'm a retired mechanical engineer and my life-long hobby has been tinkering with electronics, so this stuff is not THAT foreign. I suffered a stroke two years ago and my thought process is all messed up and I have the trembles. You folks would laugh if you could see how long it takes to type these posts. So please speak slowly to me and I may be able to follow your advice.


My son and daughter bought me a wonderful gift a couple of weeks ago and I'm experiencing some difficulty in setting things up. I now have an LG 47LE5400 television, an LG LHB335 Blue-ray Disc Home Theater System and a Direct-TV dish and receiver (it's not HD and it's not a recorder). Whew! I feel like a rich man!


My son installed the TV and set up the Home Theater System (HTS) for me when we first got everything. The Direct-TV guy installed the dish and hooked up the receiver the next day. The TV is wonderful although I have some set-up issues that have to be worked out - like a blurry picture sometimes. But like with new electronics we must live with them for a while to work out the bugs. The disc player works fine with the TV when I have a disc inserted and with the radio functions.


Here's my problem:

I cannot get the HTS to work when I'm watching TV. The only sound I can get is via the TV and not the HTS. Of course during the initial installation we discovered that the components did not come with any HDMI cables so we used some RCA type RGB cable that I had out in the barn. I purchased an HDMI cable yesterday and I still cannot get the HTS to "hear" the TV. I have searched the forums here for the past two hours and did not come up with a solution to my problem. However, I did learn that I may need to use the Direct-TV receiver AUDIO OUT and connect it to my HTS AUDIO IN. I will try this after I complete this post.


All I want to accomplish (at least for now) is to be able to watch the TV with the sound turned off on the TV and all sound coming through the HTS speakers.


Any suggestions? Thanks, Orville Brown.

 

[Al.Anderson]

The biggest mistake most people make is they connect their sources (DVD players, satellite TV boxes, etc) directly to the TV. If possible you want to connect the Direct-TV box directly to the receiver using HDMI, and then connect the receiver to the TV using HDMI - that's all you'll need for both DVD and TV.

If the Direct TV box doesn't have an HDMI, or you don't want ot bother mucking around, you can also connect the Direct-TV box to the receiver using an optical connector. In your case the only drawback to using the dual connection (Direct-TV video to TV, audio to receiver is that you'll have to do more remote gymnastics when you switch from TV to DVD. (If you use the HDMI exclusively, the TV will always be set to receive on that channel.)


If the Direct-TV box doesn;t have either an HDMI or an optical connection, you can run a stereo (R/W) cable to the receiver - but that's a lower grade connection, and you should contact your Direct TV company for an upgraded box.

 

[David Willow]

Also, your new HD TV will display all of the flaws with your SD picture. So when you say it is blurry sometimes, that is not a surprise. To get the most out of your setup you should get an HD box from DirecTV.

 

[FarmerBrown]

Thank you for the good advice. Since I first posted my question I scrounged around in the barn and found a box stuffed full of connection cables. I have installed a R/W/Y cable between the receiver and the DVD player. And, like you said Al, I have to perform some fancy remote gymnastics to get things to do what I want. I did not use the Yellow connection for video but now I'm thinking that I should use it so that ALL of my new equipment will be directly from the receiver. I'll go and experiment.


I'll contact Direct TV to see what options I have for a new receiver that has optical or HDMI connections. But I'm afraid that I'm getting into more money than I have. Boo Hoo.


Thanks again for the prompt replies.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Orville, the yellow cable may simplify control, but it will give you a worse picture. I don't get cable, but from what I understand most cable companies will give you an HDMI or at least a component/optical box free. (It won't have HD, but both HDMI and component will provide a better picture even with a non-HD source.)


Might as well state the connection hierarchy:


Video: (1) HDMI and component are equal; but HDMI allows the DVD player to upscale the video (this is only important if you have a tube TV of any sort; otherwise the TV upscales anyway), (2) composite


Audio: (1) HDMI (but only if you are playing Bluray and your receiver can handle HD audio), (2) optical and digital coax (coax is usually an orange jack). For most applications these are the equivalent. But optical can handle longer runs and is less prone to interference when run in midst of a lot of other cables; while the coax cable is cheaper and not as susceptible to damage when bent. (3) stereo (R/W).


In general HDMI provides the best ease of connection; although some people experience handshaking problems.