So I made the plunge, but this is a one-shot deal: my friendly installer will have to open up the wall to mount the 42" TV and I will have to decide what cables go where. Doing it after it's all mounted will be a nightmare.
Basically, what I have is a digital cable box, a VCR and a DVD player (progressive scan.)
How should I hook everything up to maximize the plasma's capabilities (HDTV) and also have flexibility for the future if I decide to add some box or other?
RCA jacks to the DVD player? S-video? Hook the cable box through the VCR (so I can tape stuff)?
You run all of the connections to a receiver with one video output from the receiver; probably should an HDMI output from receiver to plasma.
But in reality, just ask the installer to install in a way that allows cables to be swapped out. In Home Theater construction, this is done via use of a PVC conduit or pipe where cabling has pull tags on each end so yu can tie a new cable type to the old one and pull it through.
So I need a receiver? I know very little about threading cable through walls and the installer guy knows even less, (about proper cabling, not about running them through walls.)
The actual devices attached to the TV will be about 6 feet away from it physically, so any cables I get have to be long.
Just to be safe, how should I proceed? One RCA cord, one HDMI cord, one RF cord?
I really don't want to be stupid. I've hooked up many, many TVs and stereos in my time but this threatens to be difficult, if only because I will have regrets once everything is in.
It's difficult to be clear here, but I'll try: I do want the functionality of everything, ie. the DVD player plays through the TV to the best of its progressive-scan ability but the VCR is able to record off the cable box yet also play on the TV without being separate from the cable box, if that makes any sense. I guess it doesn't, but I'm definitely from the analog school and just not used to wrapping my head around digital TV stuff.
400dB could probably d...,
SouthWest Mi...
Too Many DBs...
Post Number: 1078 Registered: Dec-06
Posted on
Well, what would you budget on a receiver be? You don't need a receiver unless you want to hook speakers up and have a home theater system. Maybe all you need is an A/V switcher? It all depends on what you need.
Hmm .. . it's a tough one, but mainly what I'm concerned about is that once the installer guy goes away, how difficult will it be for me to add/subtract stuff.
I'm really not picky sound-wise but it would be great to get the best possible picture out of the TV with whatever medium I'm using, ie. DVD player or VCR.
What would be ideal is if all the video worked to the best of its capability and then after a few months, I could upgrade the audio to say, a wireless system, without having to call the installer guy to route cables. In other words, while he is in the wall, install everything that I might need for the future. Hope that makes sense.
400dB could probably d...,
SouthWest Mi...
Too Many DBs...
Post Number: 1080 Registered: Dec-06
Posted on
You could run some nice speaker wire and cables for a subwoofer system, then have outlets on the wall or wherever your receiver/amplifier/pre/pro/subwoofers/speakers would interface and put an A/V switcher there for now. I dont know if you're putting them in the wall or not, so...
Yeah you'd have to do a lot of planning though to get it right before running all the wires.
A/V switcher . . . okay, that makes sense . . . once I find out what it is! I assume basically it's an "outlet" that is all wired to the TV through the wall and I just use it as if it were the back of the TV. Yes, that makes a lot of sense.
I just bought a wireless home theater system (JWIN JD-VD609) so I'm well on the way to getting it together. I hope.
Okay, now that I see what an A/V switcher is, I don't think that's what I need . . . what I think I need is a panel that can be installed in the wall that has RCA, RF, S-Video and HDMI outputs. Inside the wall, they would be connected to the back of the TV. This way I would just have to plug whatever piece of equipment directly into the wall outlet and that would connect to the TV. Does something like that exist, and what would it be called?
I guess this is called a "wall plate." Unfortunately, it's proving very difficult to find one with all the connectors (Component, Composite, Coax, HDMI) on one plate. I guess I'll have to do several plates.