new HT, lots and lots of questions (1 Viewer)

[Steven Or]

This is my first post and I spent hours reading last night, you have a great forum. Thanks to all the FAQs my many questions are only half as many as last night.

I just upgraded my home theater. It now consists of:
Panasonic PT53WX52 projection TV
Denon 4802 Receiver
Denon DVD-1600
Sony Ex333ES 300 disc CD
Sony SLV-W51 VCR
Klipsch Forte II mains
Klipsch KV2 Center
Klipsch KG-5 side surrounds
Bose 2001 rear surrounds

I would appreciate any comments/opinions on the components.

Now for the questions:

1. I currently have 7 speakers hooked up, 2 on the side and 2 in the rear. Given that almost everything is in 5.1 is it worth having the extra pair? The 4802 seems to deal with them nicely but the 7 speakers leads to another problem. I also have speakers in another room. The Denon has multi-room capability but I either need to remove a set of surrounds or use another amp to power the speakers in the other room. I do have my old Denon AVR-3000 which I could use but have no idea how to wire. The 4802 manual does not show where to plug the 3000 into the 4802. Any ideas on how to do this? Is it worth it or should I remove one of the surrounds.

2. I bought Terminator-2 Ultimate edition. I watched in in DTS and it was incredible. However when I pushed the THX home theater button it sounded terrible. It cut out almost all the surround sound. Probably hard to diagnose remotely but any ideas on what the problem could be? I went through the THX setup getting all the speakers correct so that is not it.

3. I currently have all the video inputs going directly to the TV (HDTV cable box component 1, DVD component 2, VCR video 1, Denon receiver video 2 for on screen display). Is this the way to go or should I hook the video to the 4802 and then use the monitor out to go into component 1 of the TV. This will reduce all the switching on the TV but will I lose video quality by going through the Denon instead of direct wiring to TV?

4. This is a Denon specific question so hopefully someone will be able to answer. The component video out does not support on screen display. The S-video out does support on screen. Currently to use the Denon on screen display I need to swith the TV to video 2. Is there a way of integrating the on screen display in the the component ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Steven Or]

No one can answer even one of my questions?

 

[Mike_J_D]

Hi Steven,

Well sounds like a pretty nice package you got. If it were me I would not use the Bose. If you really want 7.1 save up and get another pr of Klipsch. Another thing is you need to buy a good sub. SVS is very popular on this forum. I will be recieving mine next week. Ok I will try and answer some of you questions.

1. To solve your other room problem I would, for now, disconnect the Bose. (Just a heads up the other 2 channels in 7.1 are mono.....as in not discrete like the other 5, so you don't actually need them but thats MY opinion). I am not 100% on the 4802 or the 3000. Is the 3000 just an amp or is it a reciever? Answer and I might be able to tell you how to do it. Ok onto ? # 2.

2. Ummm about that THX button. I wouldn't even mess with it. THX is just a audio/video certification. If it sounded good in DTS leave it there. I have had the same experience with a borrowed Pioneer. It sounded the same way...like dog crap. So hopefully that answers question 2.

3. Your good on the video hook up. I know it sucks to switch back and forth but I'm a firm believer in not using component switching. And as far as I know you cannot use component video for OSD. But I could be very wrong.

4. I believe I integrated question 4 into 3.. I hope this has helped. Welcome to the Forum. Enjoy your theater and get a sub....trust me you will rewatch all your movies again when you do. Mike

 

[Peter_Woo]

Steven,

I have the Denon 3803 and here's what I did..

Use the 7.1 instead of 5.1 (trust me, you will notice the difference). As for the multi-room, there should be pre-amp output from your Denon 4802 (should be for L and R speaker)use normal audio cable to connect from 4802 out to 3000 audio input and connect your speakers from other room to the 3000.

Good Luck...
Peter

 

[Michael Reuben]

And as far as I know you cannot use component video for OSD. But I could be very wrong.

You can, but only if the receiver or processor supports it. The new Lexicon MC-8 does so, for example, but the Denon 4802 apparently does not. If the receiver doesn't support it, there's no way to add it.

M.