TV Speakers in Surround Sound (1 Viewer)

[Shaun_David]

Hi guys,

Tomorrow I should be getting my new TV and surround sound system. Now I was wondering if people use the TV speakers when they use there surround sound? Or should the TV speakers be off and just the surround sound systme be on? Please help me with this, and the best way to hook a system up.

Thanks
Shaun

 

[Colin-H]

I don't even have the audio wired into my TV, just the video. Basically my TV is a glorified monitor. If you have a decent 5/6/7.1 setup, the TV speakers are going to hurt much more than help. You're basically adding an artificial second set of mains, unless you set up your TV speakers to act as the center channel, but that's not necessary if you have a real center speaker.
As far as hooking things up, you definitely want digital audio from the DVD player/digital cable/satellite receiver going directly into the A/V receiver. (If you use digital cable, you will probably have to run analog lines into the the same input on the receiver as the digital audio from the cable box to get sound from the analog channels.) There are plenty of threads on digital coax vs. optical, all with pretty much the same conclusion: it's a matter of personal preference. Coax is a cheaper and more robust, but most receivers have more optical inputs.
Video-wise, for the absolute best quality, go directly from the sources to the monitor. For convenience, use the receiver for switching. (For example, I run s-video from my digital cable box, my DVD player, and occasionally a VCR to the receiver, then the receiver can switch the video with the audio.) If your receiver has an on-screen display, you're going to want to run a composite or s-video cable from the receiver to the TV even if you don't use the receiver for swtiching. I personally haven't dealt with high-definition video (yet...), so I don't have a basis for judgement there, though I do know that if your receiver isn't relatively high end, it probably won't be able to switch HD signals, so you're safer just going straight to the monitor.
As for specific video connections, a lot can be found, but basically, component video yields the best picture quality, followed by s-video, followed by composite video.
Hopefully this was a little help. I was a newbie to HT about four months ago, so this stuff is pretty fresh in my mind.
Finally, you should check out A Primer for HT Newcomers. It might be able to answer some of your questions.

 

[Shaun_David]

Wow thanks for all your help, that is exactly wwhat I was looking for. When all my stuff gets here I'll hopefully be able to hook it all up right
Once again thanks for your reply.
Shaun

 

[Tony-B]

I would personally turn off the TV speakers. Just like Colin, I only have the video going into the TV.