It’s been a nice holiday, we have the week off (yes! I started a job less than a month ago and I have a paid week off–I plan to remember this when the going gets tough), and I done be graduated with my MFA, which I need to post about.
But the big thought on my mind tonight is none of that… I’m back to the pleasant absorption of home theater setups… and am puzzling my way through the next set of tasks related to getting my entry-level HDTV configured with my entry-level home theater system, my nice old speakers, my new upconverting DVD player, and my mature but warm-sounding CD player.
I currently have everything kludged together with a mix of HDMI and RCA cables in an “HTS 2.1” hack pulled together the day before our parishioner open house (I wonder how many home theater systems stall at the rear-speaker stage?), but now it’s time to get some mojo going and get to that digital-experience, surround-sound, OMG-that-sounds-too-real Home Theater Experience. Because what else are the holidays about if not hearing people scream in full digital stereo?
Here’s my setup and what I think I need to do… though I have questions:
TV: Samsung LN-S3251D
Setbox: Motorola DCT-6412 III Comcast digital setbox/DVR
DVD player: Sony DVP-NS75H upconverting
HTS: Sony HT-DDW900
CD Player: Yamaha CDC-575
1. Setbox
Comcast RF in to setbox
Setbox HDMI to receiver HDMI
Setbox digital optical out to receiver digital optical in
For analog channels, setbox RCA audio out to receiver RCA audio in (is this truly necessary? If so, why don’t I need it now?)
2. HTS to TV
HTS HDMI to TV HDMI (um… no audio here?)
3. DVD player
DVD HDMI direct to TV (in theory, this could go DVD to HTS, but several sources have said I should go direct to the TV, which does have two HDMIs. Which is correct?)
DVD digital coax out to receiver digital coax in
4. CD player
I may be able to connect this with a digital optical cable. It’s currently connected with a cheap RCA cable, and I don’t want to drag it out just yet to find out what’s back there, but I’ll have to pull it out anyway when I work on the other components. If it has digital optical, that’s how I’m going (digital optical out to HTS digital optical in).
5. Speaker wire
16 gauge is fine for the front and center speakers (I have a pile of this on hand); 12 gauge is better for the longer runs to the rear speakers… but if I’m running the 12-gauge through our crawlspace, is it better to get in-ground wire? I’m currently using the cruddy 22 gauge included with the stereo, but not for long.
Ahhh, that felt good! I just wish I could hop in the car and go to Fry’s to pig out on geek cables. The Web will do, and I’m adjusting just fine, but there’s nothing like the chance to touch absolutely every single cable in the world before making my purchase.
Posted on this day, other years:
- Reflections on strategic plans that are neither strategic nor plans - 2009
- Navigating above Cloud-Level - 2009
- A few days off, Open Source Radio, and a note on comments - 2007
- Personal Goals for 2006 - 2005
- Testing Scheduled Entries - 2004
- Jeff Bezo's Blue-State Report Card - 2004
- Santa Brought Me RSS E-list Tracking - 2003
The lack of audio passthrough is a noted feature of your HTS, so you are going to have to run a separate audio feed. These systems attempt to do everything, so audio issue notwithstanding, deciding whether to run your STB HDMI through them is really more a style choice than a technical one.
I am aware that speaker cable is a highly charged issue of personal belief. IMHO, there are two important factors with speaker wire: Resistance, which is why 22 gauge isn’t so good for anything over about two feet; and Surface area, which is why you want stranded wire. Personally, I don’t think that the physics bear out the value of having extremely fine braided wire that costs $20/foot, but let your ears be the judge. Bottom line is that the 16 gauge is okay, if you don’t want to invest in 12 gauge, and what you put in your crawlspace is dependent on what your crawlspace is like. You definitely don’t want to use UF (weatherproof Romex for electrical use), but, if it is nasty in your crawlspace, you might want to consider running the 12 gauge wire through plastic conduit or tubing. Wiremold is handy for this, but expensive.
Ok, that explains the conversation I had at Radio Shack! The guy stopped and said, “but HDMI carries an audio signal.” I was stumped to explain myself, though when I said it’s a pass-through receiver, he nodded and said he understood. I also do not have separate audio from the RTS to the TV, and yet the receiver carries sound just fine from the setbox. I guess I’ll just throw a lot of cables at my system and see what works..!
For those wondering about a system without audio passthrough, in fairness to my HTS, at the time I bought it I paid $250 (it’s higher now), which is as far as I wanted to go at this point. š Anything else I really liked was a whole lot more. So adding a few inexpensive cables (bought on Amazon or using Radio Shack’s line) seems fine.
The Radio Shack guy agreed that 16 gauge is fine for most runs. I’ve realized the most confusing part of this is the “flow.” I can’t figure out the “in and out” of some parts of this. E.g. #2, HTS to TV. Why again am I getting sound from the receiver when the TV is muted if it’s not carrying audio?
O.k., I’m starting to grasp a fundamental fact: in an HTS configuration, the TV functions as a *display* device, and the *sound* is carried separately from the cable setbox or DVD player through the receiver and out through the speakers (in a “real” HTS, the sound would be decoded from the HDMI, but in a pass-through receiver it is simply carried directly from the setbox/DVD/CD player with whatever functionality the initial device provides). That may seem obvious, but I’m just really beginning to understand the flow here. highermath, do I have that right? In which case, as you note, I could go directly from the STB to the TV, though having just one small black cable to the back of our TV seems good, too. I’m also mulling through a STB-TV component setup to take advantage of the STB’s separate tuner (for the Samsung’s PIP functionality).
OK. You and highermath have convinced me.
I will NEVER attempt to set up my own home theater system.
Instead, I will fly Karen out to my house and pay her handsomely and ply her with California wines and goodies to do it for me. And we’ll bring Sandy in as well to bless the whole contraption!
It is great if the second tuner in the TV can handle the Comcast signal directly. If not, I believe that there are dual tuner STB/DVRs for cable. They are all the rage in the satellite world. This would be great if you want another layer of control complexity, as the ones that I have seen have one HD and one standard tuner, so you have to switch between them using the STB. This leads me to wonder if I shouldn’t consider a new career in remote control programming…
You are correct about the meaning of pass-through. Decoding and recoding the HDMI signal is expensive, and may require some licensing and certification, since full decoding opens the specter of piracy.
It is great if the second tuner in the TV can handle the Comcast signal directly. If not, I believe that there are dual tuner STB/DVRs for cable. They are all the rage in the satellite world. This would be great if you want another layer of control complexity, as the ones that I have seen have one HD and one standard tuner, so you have to switch between them using the STB. This leads me to wonder if I shouldn’t consider a new career in remote control programming…
You are correct about the meaning of pass-through. Decoding and recoding the HDMI signal is expensive, and may require some licensing and certification, since full decoding opens the specter of piracy.
The STB has two tuners, btw, though one HDMI. So I’m thinking of using the component cables for that part of the equation.
I really think there’s some business to be had in HTS consulting š
Dinah, I’d love to do your setup!