jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 So now that Christmas is past and I've got some gift-cash, I'm starting to look at my own home theater setup again. I've been making choices for the various components, and I noticed something. The TV I'm looking at supports HDMI, the DVD player supports HDMI, but the receiver does not. No HDMI inputs or outputs. This would mean I'd have to use component cables from the DVD to the receiver and from the receiver to the TV. From what I've read on other neowin threads this doesn't seem like a big deal since the picture quality is pretty much the same and the big advantage to HDMI is HDCP which isn't even used yet, but it got me wondering, how long will it be before home theater receivers begin to support HDMI? And how long will it be before HDCP gets adopted and I'll be forced to get a receiver with HDMI inputs/outputs? Any thoughts here? Should I not go overboard on the receiver since it'll need to be replaced in a few years, or should I not worry about it? what are the implications one way or the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 There are receivers that support HDMI already, such as the Yamaha 5990. It's not worth it, IMO. I'd rather run video straight to the TV for that little extra bit of assurance that the image quality is as pure as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 are you saying that in the case of HDMI you would run your video straight to the TV or that you currently run all your video straight to the TV and use your receiver solely for controlling audio sources? *edit* I just checked the TV I'm looking at (samsung TXR3079WH) and it does have enough video inputs (HDMI for DVD, component for PS2 & gamecube, composite for SNES & Dreamcast) so I suppose using the receiver for video switching is kind of redundant, no? the only problem would be routing the video for the game consoles to the TV and the audio to the receiver, since the consoles don't have separate outputs for video and audio...hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 are you saying that in the case of HDMI you would run your video straight to the TV or that you currently run all your video straight to the TV and use your receiver solely for controlling audio sources? I don't own a big setup. I would, however, run ALL my video straight to my TV when possible. Less middlemen means less possible break downs in quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ0943 Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 run the vid straight to your tv. Thats how i have mine hooked up. No loss in quality. Unless you wanna spend the big bucks but its just not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 so the question becomes, with these game console cables that don't split into separate video/audio jacks until the last 8 inches, how do I route the video to the TV and the audio to the receiver? I suppose I'd need some extension cables to get the audio to the receiver? I can't think of any other way. Another possibility occured to me, which would be to route everything in the following manner: DVD video -> TV (HDMI) DVD audio -> receiver (optical or coaxial...is one better than the other???) video game audio/video -> receiver (4 consoles, 2 component & 2 composite) So there would be two inputs into the TV, the DVD player (HDMI) and the receiver (component). I could then use the receiver effectively as a game console switcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 You could do that. Game Consoles never have the same quality output as a good DVD player or cable box anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goji Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 As others posted have the video go straight from the source directly to the TV. The only thing your receiver should be processing is the Audio. In the event that you do not have enough hookups in the back of your TV for say composite or RCA jacks, use your receiver to handle the "least" important equipment that you use. For sure, DVD players and current gen consoles should go direct to the TV for best picture. Using the receiver as a console switcher is a smart idea. Optical or coax... With coaxial your taking an analogue signal directly to an analogue processing source. With optical your changing over the analogue source to digtal or "light' then changing it over to analogue again. Thats the major difference that I am aware of. Honestly, you really cant tell the difference, its not huge so just pick one that works for you best. If your going to be stretching the cords for a long distance do not go optical, but coaxial. The optical signal does not carry far. Sounds like you'll have a great system there ;) GK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 Optical or coax... With coaxial your taking an analogue signal directly to an analogue processing source. With optical your changing over the analogue source to digtal or "light' then changing it over to analogue again. Thats the major difference that I am aware of. Honestly, you really cant tell the difference, its not huge so just pick one that works for you best. If your going to be stretching the cords for a long distance do not go optical, but coaxial. The optical signal does not carry far. Sounds like you'll have a great system there ;) GK Not true. Both Optical and Digital Coax start as digital and are processed as such. Technically speaking, Optical should fgive slightly better results, but most people can't hear it unless you have a very high end system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 As others posted have the video go straight from the source directly to the TV. The only thing your receiver should be processing is the Audio. In the event that you do not have enough hookups in the back of your TV for say composite or RCA jacks, use your receiver to handle the "least" important equipment that you use. For sure, DVD players and current gen consoles should go direct to the TV for best picture. Using the receiver as a console switcher is a smart idea. Optical or coax... With coaxial your taking an analogue signal directly to an analogue processing source. With optical your changing over the analogue source to digtal or "light' then changing it over to analogue again. Thats the major difference that I am aware of. Honestly, you really cant tell the difference, its not huge so just pick one that works for you best. If your going to be stretching the cords for a long distance do not go optical, but coaxial. The optical signal does not carry far. Sounds like you'll have a great system there ;) GK yeah, as bangbang said, both coaxial and optical are digital audio formats (i just finished reading an FAQ on them). But you are right that there's no real difference. I'll probably go with coaxial though as it sounds like an optical cable's fiber optics can get kinked if you have a rat's nest of wires behind your setup (which I will undoubtedly have). as for having a 'great' system, i can only say it'll beat the crap out of what i have now (20" tube TV with no inputs. i'm running everything through a source switcher and then running the single set of composite cables into an RF adapter. I can't wait to get a legitimate setup. i'll be posting soon with my initial set of component choices, asking for advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goji Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Ya my bad, both are digital, dont know what i was thinking there. Lets blame it on the eggnog shots ive been on the past weekend ;) Audibly you cannot hear that big a difference that is correct. Here is a post I would use to stress the ONLY major difference between the two: I personally use the RCA SPDIF. The only time I wouldn't is if I had the same brand name component on each side of the optical cable. There is a reason.The English to Frensh to English is part of the problem. Here is why. SPDIF has been the standard for years and basically everyone does SPDIF the same way. The TOSLINK protocol (Optical cable) although the standard is the same, the protocol is so loosley written that the equipment manufactureres can interpet the protocol and how portions of it work. That is why I would only use it if each component on each side is the same ie Sony to Sony etc. If they are different, I would use the RCA. I have never heard of anyone having any timing issues with RCA. That were transmission related that is. I have heard of TOSLINK problems. BTW, what type of TV and receiver are you going to be using? Once you get the system going you have to provide pictures, those are tradeouts for asking for help. :whistle: GK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 BTW, what type of TV and receiver are you going to be using? Once you get the system going you have to provide pictures, those are tradeouts for asking for help. :whistle: GK well (and this is fairly preliminary, mind you), i'm looking at the following components: TV: Samsung TX-R3080WH Slimfit 30" CRT HDTV. There are apparently some minor warping issues at the top and bottom of 4:3 images, so I might look around to see if I can find a similarly priced set (~$800) w/o that problem. Since my current set is only 20", I may even look towards an LCD model in the 26", 27" range if the price is good. DVD: Toshiba SD-4980 Progressive-Scan w/ HD Upconversion & HDMI. I don't know the ins and outs of DVD players, but this one has everything I'm looking for and it's only $100 Audio: Yamaha YHT-160 HTIB. Bought and installed one for my parents this Christmas and it sounded good. It's got all the inputs/outputs I need and for under $300, i don't really see any better buy for the price. Remote: One of Logitech's Harmony remotes. I've just started looking at remotes today, but Logitech seems to have a good product with their Harmony line. If you can recommend a model or different brand, be my guest. and then of course there's a TV stand, some cables, speaker wire, speaker stands/mounts, etc. but that'll come later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 All pretty good choices. Nothing extremely over the top, but a definite step up from what you have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 How would you guys compare the Sony KV-30HS420 against the Samsung TX-R3080WH?? The reviews on ZDNet look to be good overall and the Sony seems to have a robust feature-set and it can be had for up to $200 less than the Samsung.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 the HS420 is a decent set, but not comparable to the higher end Sony tubes. I'd stick with the Samsung. You get very little difference in picture quality between the two sets you're looking at and you get A LOT more physical set in the Sony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 How 'bout the newer Sony KD-30XS955? It's a step up from the HS420 and it's got slightly better reviews. It can be had for about the same price as the samsung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 28, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 28, 2005 How 'bout the newer Sony KD-30XS955? It's a step up from the HS420 and it's got slightly better reviews. It can be had for about the same price as the samsung. Much better set. Ginormous, but better than the h420 by leaps and bounds, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 29, 2005 Author Share Posted December 29, 2005 yeah, the 150lb weight is something to consider. the dimensions aren't a real issue, because i'll have to buy a TV stand to fit whichever TV I buy anyway, but at 150lb I obviously can't be moving it around much. but with J&R selling the unit at $847 after shipping (compared to $1200 MSRP), it's pretty hard to pass up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 29, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 29, 2005 Very good price from J&R. If you have two people to help you move it (yes, it takes 3 people to move it without killing yourself), you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 29, 2005 Author Share Posted December 29, 2005 also tracked down (what appears to be) a better DVD player, the Samsung DVD-HD850. Better reviews than the Toshiba at a similar price. any comments or experience w/ samsung dvd players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackwanders Posted December 29, 2005 Author Share Posted December 29, 2005 Another question: With CES around the corner and the flood of new products to inevitably follow, what do you think will be the lag time between CES and a drop in current product prices? Is this something that even occurs? If waiting until a month or two after CES will save me some dough, I'm certainly not above holding out, especially considering the budget I'm on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 29, 2005 Veteran Share Posted December 29, 2005 also tracked down (what appears to be) a better DVD player, the Samsung DVD-HD850. Better reviews than the Toshiba at a similar price. any comments or experience w/ samsung dvd players? HD950 is a better model. The 850 has had a lot of software issues with it. We get a lot of them returned. The Toshiba's only main complaint from the average consumer is the laggy remote control. Another question: With CES around the corner and the flood of new products to inevitably follow, what do you think will be the lag time between CES and a drop in current product prices? Is this something that even occurs? If waiting until a month or two after CES will save me some dough, I'm certainly not above holding out, especially considering the budget I'm on. Prices may drop one more time in February as companies begin to dump their left over stock, but I can't promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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