HD & HDMI Too many wires-- so little patience

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port


I have a nice set of Monster Component cables and a good quality HDMI-
HDMI cable, plus lots of standard RCA cables. I had folks tell me to
connect the TV HDMI to the Panasonic, and others to the Comcast DVR.

I divide my time evenly on the TV between HD, SD, and DVD.

Picture quality on SD is important, but the ability to get the best
possible HD picture and good surround sound ranks high as well.

Solutions from the gods?

Thanks.
-LG

On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:21:52 -0600, Lowell George
wrote:

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Presumably an input port. Yes? What other video inputs does it have?

Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Presumably an output port. Yes? What other video outputs does it have?

Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port

Only one? Is it an input or an output? What other video outputs does
it have?

Solutions from the gods?

Answer the riddles first.

Kal

In article ,
Lowell George wrote:

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port


I have a nice set of Monster Component cables and a good quality HDMI-
HDMI cable, plus lots of standard RCA cables. I had folks tell me to
connect the TV HDMI to the Panasonic, and others to the Comcast DVR.

I divide my time evenly on the TV between HD, SD, and DVD.

Picture quality on SD is important, but the ability to get the best
possible HD picture and good surround sound ranks high as well.

Solutions from the gods?

Thanks.
-LG

If you can stand another remote, go to monoprice.com and get a 2-port
HDMI switch and a couple more HDMI cables. Then you can switch between
the DVR and the DVD at will.

You will notice that HDMI cables at monoprice.com are a bit cheaper than
that Monster cable you've got.

In article ,
Kalman Rubinson wrote:

On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:21:52 -0600, Lowell George
wrote:

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Presumably an input port. Yes? What other video inputs does it have?

Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Presumably an output port. Yes? What other video outputs does it have?

Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port

Only one? Is it an input or an output? What other video outputs does
it have?

Solutions from the gods?

Answer the riddles first.

Kal

Kal, what HTIB can you name with an HDMI input? I can't think of a
single one.

Thanks for the reply. Answers below.


Kalman Rubinson wrote in
:

On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:21:52 -0600, Lowell George
wrote:

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Presumably an input port. Yes? What other video inputs does it have?


Inport port, yes.
Also SVIDEO 4-pin mini video 1/2 only, and 75-ohm



Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Presumably an output port. Yes? What other video outputs does it have?


Output port, yes
It's a Motorola DCT and has component, optical (is that video?), SVIDEO
(assuming here that's it's an outy) firewire.



Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port

Only one? Is it an input or an output? What other video outputs does
it have?


Only one- and it's an output.
Also SVIDEO, Component, and Composite.

BTW, I also have an SVIDEO cable.




Solutions from the gods?

Answer the riddles first.

Kal

On Feb 2, 11:21 am, Lowell George
wrote:
Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port

I have a nice set of Monster Component cables and a good quality HDMI-
HDMI cable, plus lots of standard RCA cables. I had folks tell me to
connect the TV HDMI to the Panasonic, and others to the Comcast DVR.

I divide my time evenly on the TV between HD, SD, and DVD.

Picture quality on SD is important, but the ability to get the best
possible HD picture and good surround sound ranks high as well.

Solutions from the gods?

Thanks.
-LG

Without more information I'd suggest using the HDMI between the
Comcast DVR and the TV.
Use the component cables for the HTIB = DVD connection to the TV.
Both HDMI (and DVI) and component can carry HD signals and both look
pretty much the same to most people. In theory, the HDMI should be a
little better, and you might see the difference. Since your only HD
source is the Comcast DVR, use the HDMI there. Component is plenty
good for DVD. If you run into one of those Digital Rights Management
issues between your DVR and TV, I wouldn't sweat it a second; just
swap the DVR and HTIB connections. Don't bother with S-Video unless
that's your only other choice, and then use it for the DVD player.
Composite is "right out". }

One thing to watch for, I've noticed that some will say they clearly
see the difference between the HDMI and component connections. What
I've noticed is that the Panasonic Plasma needs the contrast/
brightness/color set differently for the connection type (i.e. HDMI vs
Component), even if the connection is between the same two devices.
Happily, I can assign a different setup to each input type. After
tweaking each input setting, both look amazing.

Your mileage may vary, but the whole thing is really a lot simpler
than you imagine.

Dan (Woj...)

Ideally, you would have more than one HDMI input but you do not. Best
bets a

1. HDMI switcher to send out put from either the Comcast DVR or the
HTIB to the Sony HDMI input. Then, connect a digital audio output
(optical) to the HTIB so that you can enjoy 5.1 sound from the
DVR/Cable.

2. Do you have component video inputs on the Sony? If so, you can
eliminate the HDMI switcher by connecting the DVR to the Sony with
HDMI and the HTIB to the Sony with component cables. You would still
connect the digital audio as above.

Kal



On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:07:34 -0600, Lowell George
wrote:


Thanks for the reply. Answers below.


Kalman Rubinson wrote in
:

On Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:21:52 -0600, Lowell George
wrote:

Hi folks-

I could use some help with assembling and connecting a bunch of new
hardware I've got:

40" Sony LCD HDTV w/ 1 HDMI port

Presumably an input port. Yes? What other video inputs does it have?


Inport port, yes.
Also SVIDEO 4-pin mini video 1/2 only, and 75-ohm



Comcast DVR with HDMI port

Presumably an output port. Yes? What other video outputs does it have?


Output port, yes
It's a Motorola DCT and has component, optical (is that video?), SVIDEO
(assuming here that's it's an outy) firewire.



Panasonic Home-Theater-in-a-box w/DVD thingy with HDMI port

Only one? Is it an input or an output? What other video outputs does
it have?


Only one- and it's an output.
Also SVIDEO, Component, and Composite.

BTW, I also have an SVIDEO cable.




Solutions from the gods?

Answer the riddles first.

Kal

"...ditto..." Fred's solution. That IS the way.

Meanwhile STAY w/HDMI ~ grow your system w/HDMI-compliant toys.

WGD

"Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute" wrote in message
...
You wrote:

Solutions from the gods?

HDMI switcher. At least 3 inputs since you want room to expand.

dmaster ~

You said:

One thing to watch for, I've noticed that some will say they clearly
see the difference between the HDMI and component connections.

When all is said and one, and someone has the option of going ALL component
'or' ALL HDMI, which one wins (pic quality)?

Wayne

WGD wrote:
dmaster ~

You said:
One thing to watch for, I've noticed that some will say they clearly
see the difference between the HDMI and component connections.

When all is said and one, and someone has the option of going ALL component
'or' ALL HDMI, which one wins (pic quality)?

Wayne


You can't generalize that. There's a lot of hardware and software (or
firmware) involved in converting digital to component and/or component
back to digital (for digital type displays) - and then theres scalers
and de-interlacers and all that other stuff. If the source device has
better converters than the display device and the display is an analog
device, then component is probably better assuming there's no scaling
and/or de-interlacing. But then, if the display may have better
converters/scalers/de-interlacers, etc., in which case HDMI would
probably be better - even if the display device is analog.

The only way to be sure is to try it both ways (and all combinations,
especially if both devices have scalers and/or de-interlacers). You
really need two of each device so that you can do side by side
comparisons, but most of us don't have that luxury. If you do try all
combinations and settings, chances are you'll either see a big
difference with one configuration, or you'll be hard pressed to see any
difference.

If you _really_ have to make a generalization or just need a general
guideline, let the device with the newest technology do most of the work
- if your display is newer technology, use HDMI, but if your source
device is newer technology, use component. Which means that you'll end
up with a mixture of HDMI and component after a few equipment upgrades.
Of course, you'll likely have to make some compromises since you may be
limited by the number of each type of connection is available on each
device...