i'm FINALLY getting a big screen tv!! i have questions....

[ChadTower]

Coax is really just a term for a type of cable construction... it's not specifically related to the connectors on either end.  That's why you have multiple types of premade "coaxial" cables.

I suspect when we say "digital coax" (which is the same in terms of construction as a traditional RCA/composite), he's thinking a cable with RG6 connectors, as in what would come in from the cable provider.

[CCM]

okay so i did some messing around with my setup, and i have two bottlenecks.


2.) my tivo only has composite outputs and is an analog box.  its the not the fancy schmancy new tivo with hd...nope, its an older one.  ive tried digital cable box (comcast) with my tivo before, but the channel changing is all messed up and just doesnt work well together.


any suggestions for my crappy situation?

Do you still have Comcast cable?  Why not ditch the tivo and get the HD-DVR box from Comcast.  It would give you all the connections you need, give you the Concast HD channels, and the DVR functions close to a tivo.  I know the DVR isn't quite as fancy as an actual tivo, but with the comcast dvr you would only need 1 box to get everyting.

[ChadTower]

Why not ditch the tivo and get the HD-DVR box from Comcast.

Please, everyone, he must not understand the implications of what he said.  Don't hurt him.

Back away from the man's Tivo.

[CCM]

Well, I'm completely satisfied with the DVR functionality, does everything I need, but to each their own. 

It sounds like hulkster will need to replace his current tivo, and it seems like hulkster doesn't really understand all of this stuff completely, so it would be a much more simple solution for him to have 1 box that does everything...

[hulkster]

well first of all, id like to point out that im not completely ignorant, just mildly ignorant, but im catching on fast!  whoo!   

anyway, the reason i dont just ditch the tivo is because i have a lifetime subscription.  as in, when i got married, my wife and i bought a tivo ($100) and the lifetime service ($300)...that was our present to each other basically.  that was 3 years ago.  i have a series2 tivo with a lifetime subscription.  tivo is awesome and does lots more than the any dvr that the cable companies put out.  HOWEVER, its not as awesome anymore because as of like 2 years ago, they did away with the liftetime subscription and now charge a monthly fee...which is gay because you can get a cheaper (sometimes free) dvr from comcast now.  so tivo is not worth it now, but it was when i got it.

so all that to say, the tivo STAYS!     ive already paid for it, and its awesome, so it stays.  so yeah, back off my tivo!

my main problem here is my AV receiver.  yes its old, and yes its low end.  i bought it about 5 years ago.  it was a home theater in a box deal, and yes i know thats a big no-no and im supposed to know better, but that was all i could afford at the time.  its served me well up until now.  among other problems, im now seeing the drawback as it has no component inputs or anything which sucks...now...it didnt suck before i had an hdtv though....it just sucks now.  hence the need for another one. 

i do have some questions about the upconverting dvd player though.  my current dvd player is crap, and doesnt have component out.  again, its been fine up until now.  so im in the market for another dvd player.  i have plenty of dvds, but have ZERO desire to get hd-dvd or blu-ray so dont even mention that.  so i was guessing my next best thing would be an upconverting dvd player.  am i right?  ive seen some that are under $100 and that sounds good to me.  some of them have hdmi "passthrough"...i know thats probably sounding better than what it actually is just to get the consumer to buy it thinking its "hd" when really its not.  however, will that be good enough for my needs?  i have all regular dvds, and i want them to look good on my new tv.  so will an upconverting tv be good enough for me? 

again, a lot of this will depend on the cables i get to fully take advantage of all this, but im still in need of some advice. 

[ChadTower]

The next best thing is a modded Xbox with XBMC.  Look into that. 

[divemaster127]

The Toshiba SD4000 & SD5000 are both very good upconvert dvd players, they go to 1080i. 
dm

[hulkster]

The next best thing is a modded Xbox with XBMC.  Look into that. 

well i guess i could play my dvds on my 360, but that thing is so loud, id have to pump the volume up just to hear it!  not to mention that it scratches my game discs!  no way id put anything other than games into my xbox.  i know i could buy movies or whatever over xblm but...um....meh....i dont want to do that!  ha.  thats stubborn i know, but i just like the dvds, and the cases and stuff.  dumb?  yeah probably.  but oh well.

The Toshiba SD4000 & SD5000 are both very good upconvert dvd players, they go to 1080i. 
dm

my tv is 720p so the the 1080i does me no good.

[ChadTower]

well i guess i could play my dvds on my 360

I didn't say 360.  First Xbox.  Xbox Media Center.  Look it up if you aren't aware.  It's as good as Tivo.  I run both.

[hulkster]

well i guess i could play my dvds on my 360

I didn't say 360.  First Xbox.  Xbox Media Center.  Look it up if you aren't aware.  It's as good as Tivo.  I run both.

if i told my wife i wanted to buy a modded xbox she would chop my head off.  no more spending for a while for me. 

btw, the money for the receiver is another story.  ive got like $300 store credit at Staples (long story, dont ask) and i was going to buy something expensive, and then take it circuit city or walmart for store credit....then buy the receiver.

[divemaster127]

Those dvd's have three settings
480
720p
1080i
If possible use a good quality HDMI, it does make a difference, the RCA are good & around $20.00
dm

[boykster]

I don't follow AV receivers all that closely, but if you're going to use an AVR as your "central control" unit, look for one that switched HDMI, component, and composite video, that way you can accomodate all of your existing inputs.  Also, if budget allows, look for one that does up/cross conversion to minimize the number of connections TO your tv from your receiver.  Most receivers now will upconvert composite and svideo to component (not a great "up" conversion, but allow you to use component for transmission), and some even now will convert everything to HDMI.

I don't know too much about upconverting dvd players, as I use HTPC's for my dvd viewing pleasure.  Somebody mentioned a couple of toshiba units, from what I've read, thats a really good choice.  Otherwise, if budget is an issue, even an el cheapo dvd player with component video will blow away an old one with only composite / svideo output....

[ChadTower]

Given what he's talking for his budget he's not going to get anywhere near that type of receiver.  He'll be two tiers below it at least.

[hulkster]

I don't follow AV receivers all that closely, but if you're going to use an AVR as your "central control" unit, look for one that switched HDMI, component, and composite video, that way you can accomodate all of your existing inputs.  Also, if budget allows, look for one that does up/cross conversion to minimize the number of connections TO your tv from your receiver.  Most receivers now will upconvert composite and svideo to component (not a great "up" conversion, but allow you to use component for transmission), and some even now will convert everything to HDMI.

I don't know too much about upconverting dvd players, as I use HTPC's for my dvd viewing pleasure.  Somebody mentioned a couple of toshiba units, from what I've read, thats a really good choice.  Otherwise, if budget is an issue, even an el cheapo dvd player with component video will blow away an old one with only composite / svideo output....

well the receivers ive seen in my price range ($300-400) are decent enough for me....and have all the connections i need.  ill probably get a sub-$100 dvd player with component out and a $300 or so receiver that allows for component connections as well.  that will get me by until i can afford something better down the road. 

this receiver looks nice http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/onkyo-tx-sr605-av/4505-6466_7-32430579.html?ar=o&tag=pdtl-list

[ChadTower]

Better:

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/default.asp?sp=S&cat=REC&market=HOM

Excellent receivers, will do all you want, much less expensive.  I run one of theirs and love it.

Boykster, what about that panny you said you just switched to?  Wasn't that a "lower end" model that was outperforming even many high end models?

[CCM]

I have this one, it's a great receiver for the price!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=530504

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SA-XR55S-Theater-Receiver-Silver/dp/B0009E1YPW

[ChadTower]

I think that's the one I was just asking boykster about.

[boykster]

Yep, that's the one I have, but I don't think it does HDMI switching or upconversion of composite/svid to component.  I may be wrong however, as i only use the AVR as a digital processor/amp section, I don't even switch audio with it.  I have outboard video and audio switching gear that handles all of that.

Sonically, that is a KICKASS receiver...the rest of the features?  dunno..don't use em 

One place I ALWAYS look, but almost never buy, is Crutchfield's website.  They have TONS of info on the models they sell, and can be a great resource for making your decision.  their prices tend to be high, so I then go buy stuff elsewhere 

[boykster]

this receiver looks nice http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/onkyo-tx-sr605-av/4505-6466_7-32430579.html?ar=o&tag=pdtl-list

That covers the features I mentioned...HDMI switching, outputting analog sources (although it cross-converts 1080i to 720p - that's easy just set your xbox360 to 720p, I find 720p looks better anyway, esp for video games and sports) via HDMI, etc.  2 HDMi inputs, 3 component inputs, 5 svideo, coax, etc....looks decent.

Better:

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/default.asp?sp=S&cat=REC&market=HOM

while I agree the HK is probably a "better" receiver from an audio standpoint, the Onkyo is going to be more of a jack of all trades, handling the video side as well as the audio.  HDMI switching and cross converting is a great selling point when considering integrating "legacy" analog video with a new digital display.

[shmokes]

Check out Yamaha receivers.  They have a long history of excellent sounding receivers with far more features than any receiver in that price range has any business having.  My receiver is only about a year old or so, and is awesome, so I haven't shopped around in a while so I can't be much help with specifics, other than to say, avoid Harmon Kardon.  HK is a company that makes receivers for audio/videophiles with loads of money.  You will get a receiver with more capabilities, more inputs, etc., for a lot less scratch with another company.  HK makes great stuff, but it's not for a regular joe on a budget who isn't going to appreciate the difference in sound quality that they bring to the table anyway.

BTW, you know that Tivo just came out with a new $300 version of the series 3 that does HD, right?  It's just brand new -- as in just barely hit the shelves or maybe isn't even there yet, but is about to be.  I suspect that you cannot transfer your lifetime subscription thing over, though.  Shame.  It does cablecard, though, which is cool as it means that you just get a cablecard from Comcast and the Tivo box becomes your cable box.  No more IR blaster or any of that.  No more cable box, in fact.  And, while it ain't it's older brother, it's also not $600.

FWIW, my receiver, the Pioneer VSX-1015TX is brilliant, and THX certified, so it's clearly going to sound great.  It upconverts all lesser signals to component, so I only have to have the one cable going to my TV.  It doesn't do HDMI switching, though.  No HDMI inputs.  Since I bought mine, though, they came out with the 1016TX and it does HDMI switching.  It won't upconvert other things to HDMI, so you'd probably want to run component cables to your TV, too, but it will switch, and it can be had for under $400 shipped.  Great price for a THX certified receiver with all the features it has.  I can't vouch for the quality of the 1016, but if the 1015 is any indication it is a fantastic receiver for the price.  One sad thing is that they ditched the beautiful, classy look of the 1015 and went for buttons all over the place on the 1016.  Here are some links:

1015TX

1016TX

By the way, you sound like a dork when you refer to things as being gay when they aren't good.

[boykster]

stylistically between the 1015 and 1016 didn't they really just leave off the hinged door on teh front?  Either way, i agree, the older one looks better.

I keep all my gear behind closed doors though, so I don't really care much what it looks like.
 

[AtomSmasher]

Check out Yamaha receivers.  They have a long history of excellent sounding receivers with far more features than any receiver in that price range has any business having.  My receiver is only about a year old or so, and is awesome, so I haven't shopped around in a while so I can't be much help with specifics,

I'm also a fan of Yamaha receivers, I got one over a year ago and I'm still extremely happy with it.

I offer no help with the tivo's though, I still use an old directv tivo, which I will probably use for many more years simply because it gets free cable.  Don't ask me how, but somewhere along the way after I bought it, it was given free access to all of the channels.  I do still pay for directv for the tv's in the other rooms, but I don't pay for hbo, showtime, etc, which I get for free on the tivo.  I originally set it up with at&t home entertainment, who were a bunch of idiots and is probably why I get tv for free.  One thing I wonder is where do the bills for pay per view go     

[hulkster]

Check out Yamaha receivers.  They have a long history of excellent sounding receivers with far more features than any receiver in that price range has any business having.  My receiver is only about a year old or so, and is awesome, so I haven't shopped around in a while so I can't be much help with specifics, other than to say, avoid Harmon Kardon.  HK is a company that makes receivers for audio/videophiles with loads of money.  You will get a receiver with more capabilities, more inputs, etc., for a lot less scratch with another company.  HK makes great stuff, but it's not for a regular joe on a budget who isn't going to appreciate the difference in sound quality that they bring to the table anyway.

BTW, you know that Tivo just came out with a new $300 version of the series 3 that does HD, right?  It's just brand new -- as in just barely hit the shelves or maybe isn't even there yet, but is about to be.  I suspect that you cannot transfer your lifetime subscription thing over, though.  Shame.  It does cablecard, though, which is cool as it means that you just get a cablecard from Comcast and the Tivo box becomes your cable box.  No more IR blaster or any of that.  No more cable box, in fact.  And, while it ain't it's older brother, it's also not $600.

FWIW, my receiver, the Pioneer VSX-1015TX is brilliant, and THX certified, so it's clearly going to sound great.  It upconverts all lesser signals to component, so I only have to have the one cable going to my TV.  It doesn't do HDMI switching, though.  No HDMI inputs.  Since I bought mine, though, they came out with the 1016TX and it does HDMI switching.  It won't upconvert other things to HDMI, so you'd probably want to run component cables to your TV, too, but it will switch, and it can be had for under $400 shipped.  Great price for a THX certified receiver with all the features it has.  I can't vouch for the quality of the 1016, but if the 1015 is any indication it is a fantastic receiver for the price.  One sad thing is that they ditched the beautiful, classy look of the 1015 and went for buttons all over the place on the 1016.  Here are some links:

1015TX

1016TX

By the way, you sound like a dork when you refer to things as being gay when they aren't good.

yeah i know tivo just came out with the new model.  i plan on getting that....when they offer lifetime subscription transfers.  and while most cust. service reps will tell you its not possible or that they dont offer it.....on the tivo community forums, there are several accounts where people have been persistent enough and gotten it transferred for a price. 

in fact, i know its possible....because i had my hard drive on my tivo crash actually last year.  i called tivo and i had to buy a new box for $150 but "somehow" my lifetime subscription magically transferred to a new box.     so i know its possible, tivo just doesnt make any money from us lifetimers so they are trying to get people off of it.  however, if you tell them direct tv or comcast is offering a free dvr....they supposedly budge after that.  so ill wait till around christmas, and they will probably drop the price of the new hd tivo, and maybe offer some kind of deal for the lifetimers to switch. 

as for the receivers...i want the hdmi inputs on the receiver that i buy, so anything without is a no go.  ill just keep looking around till i see a good buy.

[ChadTower]

Modding a Tivo to think you have a lifetime sub is a 5 minute operation anyway.  I did that a long time ago on mine.  I still pay the fee but I didn't want to bother with the phone line requirement (DirecTivos pull their data off the sat feed).

[shmokes]

as for the receivers...i want the hdmi inputs on the receiver that i buy, so anything without is a no go.  ill just keep looking around till i see a good buy.

Look closer . . . the 1016 has HDMI inputs.

[boykster]

as for the receivers...i want the hdmi inputs on the receiver that i buy, so anything without is a no go.  ill just keep looking around till i see a good buy.

Look closer . . . the 1016 has HDMI inputs.

but it doesn't cross convert other sources so you can hook ONLY HDMI up to your tv...that's very convenient if you can swing it.

[shmokes]

Agreed.  That's what I'm doing now, except with component cos neither my TV nor my receiver have HDMI.  But, can you get a receiver that will convert everything to HDMI under $400?  For all I know, you can.  I haven't shopped for receivers in a long time.

[boykster]

Agreed.  That's what I'm doing now, except with component cos neither my TV nor my receiver have HDMI.  But, can you get a receiver that will convert everything to HDMI under $400?  For all I know, you can.  I haven't shopped for receivers in a long time.

That onkyo he posted a few posts up does, but its right at +/- $400, and I have no idea how it is sonically.  I'd be that the HK that chad posted, and the Pio's you posted, as well as many yamaha's will "sound" better than the onkyo, but it's a total package now when shopping for AVR's

I also use component video for everything because I have a 12x8 component video matrix switch I use to distribute sources throughout my house.  That beast doesnt yet exist for HDMI, and not all my set support HDMI.

[ChadTower]

I don't think the HK does a ton of cross converting as mentioned above... at least I don't think so, I don't use mine for that.  If it does I never noticed and should look into it.

[hyiu]

hey... seems like your problem is just managing the video....

how about this ??
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10112&cs_id=1011201&p_id=3027&seq=1&format=2&style=

this is a componment video switcher...
for like $30+....

you can have 4 video feed to your tv (with remote...)

and you can still use your old receiver for audio switching if you really want to...

that seems to be the cheapy way to enjoy right now....

I am doing a similar thing...
instead of a componment switch, I'm using a HDMI switch....
and a separate audio switch....
(only spending like $100+...)
so, no need to upgrade my 10 yr old receiver....

hope it helps....

[boykster]

as much as I dig monoprice.com, I wouldn't trust my component video switching to that box.  component video, especially HD requires very high bandwidth to not introduce any artifacts or video degradation. 

I would recommend a 4x1 switch from Inday

http://www.inday.com/rgb4x/rgb4x.htm

excellent product, good, but not bargain price.  good quality cables CAN be inexpensively built, switches cannot.

 

[ChadTower]

He's working off a 3 figure price range for the whole setup.  Stuff like that just isn't in the region he's sitting in.  The TV is "free" and he's using his existing receiver with a $20 component switcher... that should all still be a substantial improvement over what he has said he had.

[boykster]

He's working off a 3 figure price range for the whole setup.  Stuff like that just isn't in the region he's sitting in.  The TV is "free" and he's using his existing receiver with a $20 component switcher... that should all still be a substantial improvement over what he has said he had.

sure, but a $120 component video switch is cheaper than a $400 AVR (like the onkyo he posted).  I'm just saying I wouldn't trust my video with a $30 component video switch, unless I knew I could return it no questions asked. 

It's not like I suggested he go out and buy a $4000 Extron matrix distribution switch.....

[ChadTower]

You may as well have, though, since he already has the functionality in his passive switcher.  It's not ideal but it does the job in his price range.

[boykster]

I'm still thinking his best investment would be that Onkyo TX-SR605 AVR.  Lots of inputs, switches HDMI, crossconverts to HDMI, etc.  It even just squeaks into his $300-400 budget (at $399) and will take care of his major issues.

[ChadTower]

Depends on the speakers... I'm thinking if you take the speakers that likely went with that original receiver and plug the Onkyo into them you're going to get shredded paper cones in short order.

[hulkster]

hey guys.  thanks for all the good advice and stuff.  just a little update....i had about $140 of store credit to spend and instead of saving it to buy a receiver later on down the road, i bought an upconverting dvd player instead.  my old dvd player (6 disc changer that came with the HTIB) was about the size of my receiver and just plain sucked. 

so the new dvd player is super thin and is so much better than the old one.  i got it for $99 and i also bought the movie 300 along with some component cables.  all in all, not too bad. 

HOWEVER, i got it home, hooked it up (audio through receiver, video through tv since my receiver doesnt have comp. inputs) and started watching 300....and then i noticed the problem.  no surround sound!  so i thought to myself "no big deal, i just need to change the listen mode/sound modes on my receiver like usual".  yeah see....thats where the problem lies....as the LCD screen on the front of the receiver has completely gone out.  so basically i cant tell what im switching to, or what settings its got.  ive tried to push a few buttons to see if i can get it to produce surround sound but no dice.

so basically my only hope of getting a new receiver (as my wife wont let me spend any money on entertainment stuff right now...tv was free, dvd was store credit) is to sell my old 36" sony wega.  i dont even know how much i could get for it, but i know that i cant use it myself, so i need to sell it.  if i can get my receiver replaced, i should be good to go. 

[ChadTower]

Keep in mind that when upgrading the receiver you will probably expose your speakers if you don't outright blow them.   Those HTIB speakers are not going to stand up to an HK or Onkyo for very long and I'm assuming you have a passive sub which will also get beat around by the receiver. 

[NightGod]

I'm a bit confused why you keep running all these cables to your receiver. You should run everything to the TV and then run the TV's audio out to the receiver. If nothing else, it will tidy up a big chunk of the cable mess you very likely have going on. I've been running my system like that for the couple of months I've had my new TV and receiver (which I got for about $120 at Wal-Mart, I love when they swap out their display models, cut the price almost in half) and it works awesome.

[shmokes]

Please forget everything NightGod just said.  The only reason thing you should ever be using your TV's audio out for is if your TV has an internal tuner and you want to use your sound system rather than the TV's built-in speakers.

As for your current problem, keep in mind that you need to change the settings on your new DVD player to OUTPUT the correct signal.  If the receiver is only getting a stereo signal from the DVD player it certainly can't magically turn that into 5.1.  I'm not talking about choosing surround sound in a particular DVD's menu, but in the setup menu for the player itself.  If your old DVD player was giving you surround sound while plugged into the receiver the new DVD player will too, i.e., you don't need to change any settings on the receiver - just plug the new player in the same way the old player is plugged in and you're good to go on the receiver.  Your problem is in the new DVD players settings menu, I'm sure of it.