How to wire this setup? (1 Viewer)

[nolo]

I purchased a home theater system in a box. It is the 5.1 samsung receiver with blu ray dvd built in.I just want to make sure I'm setting it up right. The components I have are tv, samsung receiver/blu ray, and cable box. I am going to connect the receiver/blu ray to the tv using a HDMI cable. Unfortunately, the receiver/blu ray does not have HDMI inputs. The cable box, however, has a HDMI output. What is the best way to wire this system? I could run everything through the receiver. I would have to run the video and audio from the cable box using component and optical (or RCA) audio. Would it be better to run HDMI from the cable box directly to the TV? I would then run optical cable to the receiver for the surround sound. Any suggestions appreciated.

I purchased the samsung HTBD2E

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Hi Jeff, for best results I would wire the system as follows:

1. Receiver HDMI Ouput ====> HDTV HDMI Input 1
2. Cable Box HDMI Output ====> HDTV HDMI Input 2
3. Cable Box Optical Output ====> Receiver Optical Input

You may also want to consider purchasing a Universal Remote such as a Harmony 880 to simplify switching inputs

Cheers,
Alon

 

[Six Star]

Alon...I thought I'd tag on to this thread, as it made me wonder if I've got my home theatre system wired up correctly, or at least to the advantage of all of its components.
I have:-
-LG 42" Plasma with 3 HDMI inputs + 1 optical audio output
-LG surround sound with 1 HDMI output + optical audio input
-Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray player with 1 HDMI output
-Shaw Cable HD PVR cable box with 1 HDMI output + 1 audio optical output

I have all three peripheral units connected to the TV, one to each of the HDMI inputs. I then have the TV connected to the LG receiver with an audio optical cable. I switch between component inputs using the TV's component selector. Am I correct with these connections? I'm certainly no expert, but everything seems to work just fine.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Mike:

If things are all working, chances are you're good, but just to be on the safe side post the model numbers for the LG components so people can double-check their feature sets.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Al.Anderson]

The usual problem with this configuration (going to the TV then the receiver) is that the TV only passes high-end audio for its tuner. So for all other inputs you get plain stereo. Since your receiver is a HTiB and is *probably* doing the BR decoding, and your only other input is the tuner, you should be okay. (But as Joe said, posting the model numbers is better.)

If you were to try and hook in another high end device, say a game system or another BR you'd then miss out on surround sound on those devices.

 

[Six Star]

Thanks Joe & Al.
Here are my LG model numbers:-

LG Plasma TV 42PG20 (Yes, 720p but with my eyesight, 1080p won't offer much of an advantage....or will it?)
LG HT receiver/DVD HT963TA

My cable box HD PVR is a Motorola DCT3400

At present, I am using my Pioneer Blu-Ray to play all movies, both Blu-Ray and 'regular' DVD's. I do not have a game system, nor am I likely to include one.