Real Newbie needs how many cables and how to hook up? (1 Viewer)

[hofiveo]

Wow, alot of info and some i did not want to hear probaly. I am very new to this HT stuff so stick with me, please. I have old and some newer stuff. I just do not know what i need and how to ask? So here it goes.
Need help on wiring it together and what type of wire to use?

TV - Sony KV-36FS10 FD Trinitron Vega(OLD i know, people say it has good picture though). It has component video in and S-video in and regular a/v jacks. Has regular monitor and audio OUT a/v jacks. one cable connection.

Cable box - Scientifc Atlanta Explorer 2200 cable in/ out, one digital audio out jack(looks like one a/v connection), S-video out,
two audio a/v jacks out, one video out.

Sony RDR-VX500 vcr/dvd recorder - cable in/out, a/v in, a/v out, component video out/audio out, s- video out, digital audio out; coaxial and optical.

Sony STR-DA2100ES - which has all the above connections covered. just do not know what type of cord for best video/audio and where to make the connections to have it all work together with the receiver. I will be using Monster Cable cause i get them at cost from factory(DirectBuy Member only "Club"). Will do price comparison on THX series and M Series.

My rear speaker runs will be, one at ~43' and the other at~34'. have to go up/in wall a little behind tv, behind crown molding, down/in wall to connect speakers. what gauge wire recommended? The speakers are Infinity HTS Sat w/ 8" sub. Speakers and receiver were kinda a gift. I am looking forward to learning and upgrading these components in the future. I have alot to learn. I will eventually be building a home in the next 5-7 years with a dedicated HT room. I will be ready for a true experience then from learning here. Thanks for the replies. If need more info let me know. Mostly a Cable and DVD family for now.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Welcome to the forum Jonathan. This is all a little confusing at the beginning, so much so that I’m not actually sure of your question(s). You have already decided on Monster cable (which will just fine as you are not paying the marked-up price), so it seems that you only need to decide what type of wiring to use in connecting your speakers.

Here you can go two ways: one is pay a premium and buy high-end speaker wire with the marketing blurbs (oxygen-free, etc.) and the other is just get a spool of 12 gauge speaker wire from some place like Radio Shack along with some connectors.

Personally, I’ve not been able to tell the difference between top of the line and ordinary, 12-gauge wire—but there are many on this forum that disagree. Monster makes speaker wire, so if that is within your budget you can use that product successfully.

Optical cables for your digital audio are all pretty much alike. Digital coax is by its nature shielded, so most decent products will work.

On the connection front run a S-Video connection from your cable box to the S-Video input of your TV. Run the digital audio out to your receiver (you did not mention if this is optical or coax—but it makes no difference). If you wish to be able to listen to TV without turning on your receiver (things like news shows), also connect the A/V audio out (red and white) from your cable box to your TV.

Connect the DVD player to the TV using component cables (component out from DVD to component in on TV). Connect the audio from the DVD to the receiver using the optical audio out from the DVD player to the receiver (you can also use the digital coax if you prefer).

You will be good to go.

 

[hofiveo]

Thanks for the welcome and reply. My tv has one s-video in under #1(video in) with a/v jacks under that, Under #3(no #2) a/v jacks, and under #4 component with audio jacks. then OUT is monitor a/v jacks and the Audio var/fix audio jacks. I am limited to connections into tv.
I will be turning on receiver everytime watching tv or dvd(i want option to have tv speakers on/off). So can i run all video(cable box/dvd) to reciever then component from receiver to tv?
The cable box digital audio out is coax. my receiver has digital optical - tv/sat in, md/tape in/out, sa-cd/cd in; coax dvd in and sa-cd/cd in which all are assignable. so i can run digital coax from cable box to receiver and digital coax from dvd to receiver, right? Video 1 on receiver, run "audio out"(regular audio jacks) to "audio in" under component on tv?
This confuses me, maybe need some one to look at it, professional? Or does someone undestand this? let me know, please!