Home cinema - Cables?

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- - Cables? (http://www.homecinemabanter.com/showthread.php?t=55376)

I'm in the process of buying a new receiver and will need cables.
I'm replacing an old analog surround receiver so I have plenty of
analog cables but I'm pretty confused about what digital cables I
need.
I won't be buying the $200 plus cables nor will I be buying them from
the big blue store. I need a little help deciding what to order so
that I have the cables here by the time I get the receiver. Since I'm
ordering online, it's difficult to tell what I'm ordering unless I
know what the cable is called.

I need a couple of HDMI cables and the receiver is HDMI v1.3
compatible. The TV is version 1.2. Are the 1.3 cables backward
compatible?

Also I need an optical cables for progressive DVD. The DVD seems to
have an orange connector. Is that the RG6/U S/PDIF cable?

Is that the same cable I need for the sub-woofer (it uses a single
cable)?

Is there anything else I've missed?
Thanks for any help.

Mike

"Mike O." wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of buying a new receiver and will need cables.
I'm replacing an old analog surround receiver so I have plenty of
analog cables but I'm pretty confused about what digital cables I
need.
I won't be buying the $200 plus cables nor will I be buying them from
the big blue store. I need a little help deciding what to order so
that I have the cables here by the time I get the receiver. Since I'm
ordering online, it's difficult to tell what I'm ordering unless I
know what the cable is called.

I need a couple of HDMI cables and the receiver is HDMI v1.3
compatible. The TV is version 1.2. Are the 1.3 cables backward
compatible?

Yes, they are backwards compatable. Here are the enhancements for 1.3 and
1.3a (which is probably not important to very many installations right at
this moment, but could be later).

HDMI 1.3 Released 22 June 2006

- Increases single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbit/s)
- Optionally supports 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit xvYCC with Deep Color or
over one billion colors, up from 24-bit sRGB or YCbCr in previous versions.
- Incorporates automatic audio syncing (Audio video sync) capability.
- Optionally supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams
for external decoding by AV receivers.[8] - TrueHD and DTS-HD are lossless
audio codec formats used on HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. If the disc player
can decode these streams into uncompressed audio, then HDMI 1.3 is not
necessary, as all versions of HDMI can transport uncompressed audio.
- Availability of a new mini connector for devices such as camcorders

HDMI 1.3a Released 10 November 2006

- Cable and Sink modifications for Type C
- Source termination recommendation
- Removed undershoot and maximum rise/fall time limits.
- CEC capacitance limits changed
- RGB video quantization range clarification
- CEC commands for timer control brought back in an altered form, audio
control commands added.
- Concurrently released compliance test specification included

Also I need an optical cables for progressive DVD. The DVD seems to
have an orange connector. Is that the RG6/U S/PDIF cable?

You can use a RG6/U for S/PDIF digital coaxial cable since they are both 75
ohms. Obviously, it will need an RCA connector instead of the kind used for
TV connections. Some professional gear will use BNC connectors instead.

Some DVD players also output optical toslink, but I assume from your post
that is not an option with your player. Most audiophiles prefer S/PDIF
coxial cables instead of toslink (but it does not really matter).

Is that the same cable I need for the sub-woofer (it uses a single
cable)?

Subwoofer cable (from a receiver/preamp to the powered subwoofer) are line
level cables, and not the same as RG6 video cables. They are the same as
cables that would connect an analog audio signal from one compenent to
another, but are longer and potentially need better shielding. The only
exeception would be if your subwoofer accepted digital input (and your
receiver was able to output digital signal to the subwoofer) in which case
it would be the same as S/PDIF coaxial cables.

Is there anything else I've missed?

Not that I know of.

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:52:45 -0500, "Mark A"
wrote:

Yes, they are backwards compatable. Here are the enhancements for 1.3 and
1.3a (which is probably not important to very many installations right at
this moment, but could be later).

Thanks Mark.
I think I'm going in the right direction now.

Mike

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:02:39 -0500, "Tam/WB2TT"
wrote:

Before you spend big bucks on cables, check out Target, WalMart, Lowes, Home
depot, even Radio Shack. I bought a Samsung HDMI cable at a local audio
store for $35; not cheap, but not a Monster price either.

Thanks Tam. I've been looking at an online site called

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:02:39 -0500, "Tam/WB2TT"
wrote:

Before you spend big bucks on cables, check out Target, WalMart, Lowes, Home
depot, even Radio Shack. I bought a Samsung HDMI cable at a local audio
store for $35; not cheap, but not a Monster price either.

Oops that last reply got away from me....
I was looking online at www.monoprice.com.
Pretty wide assortment and the prices seem reasonable. Anyone have
any experience with them?

Mike

On Dec 16, 3:15 pm, Mike O. wrote:
On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:02:39 -0500, "Tam/WB2TT"

wrote:
Before you spend big bucks on cables, check out Target, WalMart,
Lowes, Home
depot, even Radio Shack. I bought a Samsung HDMI cable at a local
audio
store for $35; not cheap, but not a Monster price either.

Oops that last reply got away from me....
I was looking online atwww.monoprice.com.
Pretty wide assortment and the prices seem reasonable. Anyone have
any experience with them?

Mike

If you "search this group" on monoprice, you'll find 355 references
(including yours) and a _large_ majority are positive.

GG

"Mike O." wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:02:39 -0500, "Tam/WB2TT"
wrote:

Before you spend big bucks on cables, check out Target, WalMart, Lowes,
Home
depot, even Radio Shack. I bought a Samsung HDMI cable at a local audio
store for $35; not cheap, but not a Monster price either.

Oops that last reply got away from me....
I was looking online at www.monoprice.com.
Pretty wide assortment and the prices seem reasonable. Anyone have
any experience with them?

Mike

the thing to remember with cables carrying a digital signal - such as HDMI,
is that they either work - the picture gets through complete, or it doesnt -
you get very noticeable picture breakup.
it's not like with analogue signals where an inferior cable will give you a
bit of patterning or a slight fuzzyness - you either get the picture, or you
dont - and if you don't the cable is bust and you take it back for a refund.

--
Gareth.

That fly... is your magic wand.
http://www.last.fm/user/dsbmusic/

On Dec 15, 11:01 pm, Mike O. wrote:
I'm in the process of buying a new receiver and will need cables.
I'm replacing an old analog surround receiver so I have plenty of
analog cables but I'm pretty confused about what digital cables I
need.
I won't be buying the $200 plus cables nor will I be buying them from
the big blue store. I need a little help deciding what to order so
that I have the cables here by the time I get the receiver. Since I'm
ordering online, it's difficult to tell what I'm ordering unless I
know what the cable is called.

I need a couple of HDMI cables and the receiver is HDMI v1.3
compatible. The TV is version 1.2. Are the 1.3 cables backward
compatible?

Also I need an optical cables for progressive DVD. The DVD seems to
have an orange connector. Is that the RG6/U S/PDIF cable?

Is that the same cable I need for the sub-woofer (it uses a single
cable)?

Is there anything else I've missed?
Thanks for any help.

Mike

I had gread service with monoprice.com

For all single core coax style ports RG6U is your best bet, this
includes composite, component, subwoofer, spdif, etc. The old RG59 is
not as good as RG6.

For HDMI I just received some nice 22 gauge cables from them and they
are top notch. Since I needed 25 foot runs I went with the heavier 22
gauge wire (not that that matters anywhere except my psyche). I also
got an Svideo cable from them to not have any unused ports on the
projector.

On Dec 19, 1:12 pm, RickH wrote:
snip
I had gread service with monoprice.com

For all single core coax style ports RG6U is your best bet, this
includes composite, component, subwoofer, spdif, etc. The old RG59
is
not as good as RG6.

Good grief, I would be willing to bet that in a double blind test you
could NEVER reliably 'guess' the difference between modest plain old
audio cable (for audio) vs RG59 vs RG6. Yeah they're different at
1,000,000,000 Hz 100 feet long but for audio that's nuts. Belden 1505
(broadcast RG59) is better than some of the low end RG6.

For HDMI I just received some nice 22 gauge cables from them and
they
are top notch. Since I needed 25 foot runs I went with the heavier
22
gauge wire (not that that matters anywhere except my psyche). I
also
got an Svideo cable from them to not have any unused ports on the
projector.

Heavier cable always has lower loss and while it makes no big
difference in audio, it improves the digital video transmission.

GG