In need of Setup guidance

 

New member
Username: Siglar

Corona, CA United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Oct-06
Hey there,

I've recently purchased the following items, and I was trying to see what the best setup for me will be.

HDTV: Panasonic TH-50PX600U
Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR674
DVD/VCR Combo: Toshiba SD-V594
Dishnetwork: ViP622 DVR
Universal Remote: Logitech Harmony 890

I also have a speakers for a 5.1 audio system that will be integrated into all this (but I don't recall the brand of the speakers.)

Everything has HDMI connectors. I want to be able to watch Split Screen PiP on the TV. The TV has a seperate tuner, and the Dishnetwork HD box has 2 tuners and on OTA antenna. I live in the Los Angeles area, and can pull several channels from the OTA antenna, in addition to all the HD Programming that I will be getting from the Dishnetwork Receiver.

What I'm mainly looking for is what kind of connector (HDMI, Component, etc) should I use for each "run" and what those "runs" should be. Should I connect the DVD to the Onkyo Receiver, or directly to the TV, etc. My existing, non-HD setup, has everything running to my old Sony Receiver, so I'm used to always having that turned on.

Thanks a lot,

Jason
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 11384
Registered: Dec-03
Try this site.

http://www.ce.org/connections_application/
 

Bronze Member
Username: Drgroovee

Portland, OR USA

Post Number: 19
Registered: Sep-06
Hi Jason,

The dish HD-DVR that you have has outputs for two different TVs. The second of those two only passes out downconverted HD material. This shouldn't be a problem since the PIP window is pretty small and just about everything looks good at that size.

I would run HDMI direcly to your Onkyo from each your DVD player and HD-DVR. Run one HDMI back to the TV.

Run one set of component video cables and one set of analog audio cables from the HD-DVR (second Tuner output) to your TV.

This will allow for the fewest cables in your setup. HDMI will send all hi-def and 5.1 audio information to the Onkyo, which will be passed on to your TV. The second tuner output of the dish receiver will feed another input on your TV from which it can draw upon for PIP purposes. This will allow you to view DVD and TV or two different TV stations at once.

Bear in mind that your Dish DVR will offer you PIP anyway. You could skip sending HDMI to your Onkyo entirely and still get all of your PIP wishes. It just takes different cables:

Run HDMI out from your DVD player and Dish DVR directly to your TV. Run digital audio cables from each to the Onkyo. You won't need the component and analog cables now. Your Onkyo won't do any switching back and forth.

Frankly, I think it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Go with what sounds best to you.

Cheers,
Caleb Denison
Aperion Audio
Home Theater Guru
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