Help with components please (1 Viewer)

[bachelod]

Greetings all. First, let me thank you all in advance, in looking through this forum i can see that there is a great community of folks here willing to help out. Here is my situation, and any help would be much appreciated.

Sharp Aquos LC42D65U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
- Great LCD tv, 5 hdmi but of course crap speakers - got it for 800 shipped no tax from amazon so i cant complain
Samsung HT-Z520 Home Theater System
- Needed a wireless system
Digital Cable box with hdmi out as well as component
Xbox 360

From what i have read, i cant use the hdmi for both audio and video from the Samsung, so i have to use an optical cable for audio, and hdmi for video.

Have read the instruction manual 10 times over, but i am still not able to figure out how to hook everything up. I know i cant get 5.1 from the cable, thats fine, but i do at least want to use the theater system for cable. How would you all hook this system up? Here is what i believe i need to do:

HDMI from Cable to Samsung
HDMI from Samsung to Sharp
Optical from Samsung to Sharp
Component from XBOX to Samsung? cant use hdmi becuase the pass through on the Samsung is taken up by the cable box. Should i use component cable from Cable box to Samsung, since cable most likely will not be in 5.1?
Also, it is a pain in the butt using the Samsung remote and getting the cable tv to work, i keep going from remote to remote changing sources and finally i just mash buttons to get the screen. DVD is no problem but of course that is becuase its built right into the Samsung and going HDMI to the TV. I hope i have given enough info for you all. Any help would great!

Thanks

 

[bachelod]

Greeting all and thanks in advance for any help you can offer, looks like a really helpful community, and i thank you for giving us non audiophiles a hand. Here is my setup:


Samsung HT-Z520 Home Theater System
Sharp Aquos 42 inch lcd (got if for 800 from amazon shipped no tax. Great tv but of course crap built in speakers)
Digital cable box
Xbox 360

After reading what little info i could find on the Samsung, I know that i have to use HDMI for video, and optical for sound. The Samsung has an HDMI in, and an HDMI out.
My Sharp LCD has 5 HDMI, optical, 3 or 4 component, DVI blah blah.
Cable - component and 1 HDMI
XBOX - HDMI and Component

I would like to have my xbox and home theater go surround sound. I know that most cable broadcast isnt 5.1, but i would like to get my cable going through the Samsung as well. What would be the best way to put this all together? FYI using the samsung remote is a pain, i have a terrible time getting the cable to actually work. Called Samsung tech support, but after 20 minutes with Bangalore, i hung up. Crutchfield was much better. Anyway, here is what i presume i need to do?

Cable component to Samsung
Samsung HDMI out to Sharp, Samsung optical to Sharp
XBOX 360 HDMI to Samsung

Any ideas?

Thanks again all

 

[Stephen Tu]

Actually you can get 5.1 from cable, depends on the station, and the particular program as only some of them are 5.1. You should be able to get it from most HD stations.

It's a waste of time connecting HDMI *into* the Samsung, as it isn't processing the audio. Just connect all your sources with HDMI directly into the TV. So cable box -> TV, Xbox -> TV, DVD->TV. Any time you switch sources, you have to switch the input on the TV, *AND* the input on the home theater. A universal remote should be a consideration.

Now for audio, you have to connect the Xbox & cable to the Samsung. Since it only has one optical input, either you have to get an optical switch (manual ones about $12), or you have to give up on 5.1 from one of them, using analog RCA (red/white pair) into the aux in. There's no need to connect the Sharp optical, as presumably you are using the cable box as your tuner, not the Sharp internal tuner.

That home theater is somewhat limiting in the input department as you can see, which is why most of us here eschew most cheaper "HTiB" solutions incorporating combo DVD/receivers. Unless budget constrains you to this type of system, you might want to consider a receiver based system for easier operation, expansion in the future, and sound quality. Or maybe at least hunt around for a model with more optical and/or HDMI inputs.

 

[bachelod]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am ordering the optical splitter. What universal remote would you recommend?

 

[Stephen Tu]

Optical "switch", not a "splitter". Switch = multiple sources -> one input. Splitter = 1 source -> multiple inputs. Monoprice actually has one for under $6 + shipping, here. Good place to order extra HDMI or optical cables if you need them. Keep in mind this is a manual switch so any time you want to switch between the Xbox/cable box you'll have to get up. It's also pretty cheap construction; it's gotten some mixed reviews, some samples apparently have alignment issues and didn't work or broke after awhile. I guess for $6 can't expect too much. Other manual switches I saw elsewhere in the $10-20 range drew similar complaints.

If you want a remote controlled switch, that'll cost more like $50 (or get HTiB w/ more inputs).

Universal remote -- any Logitech Harmony model, the refurbished 670 is only $60 on Amazon on sale, that's a good buy. They are all pretty similar except for button layout. Some of the cheaper ones only have a 5 device layout. More expensive ones have things like color LCD screen, Li-ion battery + charging cradle.