Help connecting my HT with no cable box?

[Lanes]

I have an Onkyo Ht-SP904. I'm connected by HDMI to my LCD TV - all works great. But I have my TV cable running directly to the TV because I can't get it to work running the cable into the receiver - which I think should then get the signal to the TV via HDMI, right?

I don't have a cable box - the receiver has an antenna input (coax), but connecting the cable there doesn't seem to work (unless I'm not setting something right?)

Shouldn't I be able to run the cable to the receiver, then have the signal go to the TV?

Thanks

 

[mudrummer99]

That receiver is not designed to have cable input into it. The coax input that you see and are probably trying to hook into is for an FM antenna. Most receivers do not have inputs for regular cable since it is costly and mostly unnecessary to have a cable tuner integrated into it since nearly all tvs have one built in. If you want to have the sound from your cable play through the speakers, your TV will need to have an audio out and you will have to run RCA cables from that audio out on the TV into one of the inputs on the back of the receiver.

 

[Lanes]

That makes perfect sense - thanks. I'll run audio cables back to the receiver. I won't get surround sound from cable programming then, though, will I?

 

[mudrummer99]

No, only HD cable sends surround sound, regular will get you stereo.

 

[Lanes]

OK. Another question: I do have a cable box, though I haven't been using it - if I do, does that get me the cable signal through the receiver and to the TV and, if so, will I get surround?

 

[MDS]

If you are not using a cable box you have two options for getting sound to the TV:
1. Analog audio cables: You won't get DD surround sound but the receiver can use a matrix decoder like PLII to turn the stereo into surround.
2. Optical digital audio (if the TV has it): The receiver will get the full DD surround sound signal and will just decode it and play it.

If you use a cable box:
You have the same options depending on what audio outputs the cable box offers. The DD audio signal will arrive via the coax (RF) cable from the cable company. If you use analog audio connections from the cable box to the receiver, the cable box will downmix and convert to 2 channel analog. If the cable box offers optical or digital audio outputs (most do), the signal will be sent untouched to the receiver and the receiver will do the decoding so you will get full surround sound. There is usually a setting in the cable box menu to tell it how to output audio. For example, mine has an option called 'digital out' and it can be set to Dolby Digital or other (which is PCM). Set it to Dolby Digital and use a coax or optical connection to the receiver and you are good to go for getting full surround sound from the cable box.

 

[Lanes]

Big help - thanks.

My cable box is a basic and old one - the only outputs are coax and rca audio/video. Do I need to get a newer box? Do I need to use a box at all?

My TV is new and has the works - including optical digital, I assume. But its about 25 feet from my receiver.

Am I better off to run optical from TV to receiver and leave the cable box out of it, or get an updated box and run my cable to it, then run optical or digital from box to receiver?

Thanks again

 

[mudrummer99]

A new box wouldn't be necessary, but if you decide to subscribe to digital cable or HD cable, if your TV is HD, the cable companies don't charge you to use their boxes (atleast none that I have do). Usually you get a lot more channels for not a lot more money, I think it's a $10 a month bump for standard to the lowest digital package and it doubles the channels that I have for my company plus I get the HD with DVR receiver and 10 HD channels for no extra charge (Time Warner Cable is pretty all right like that) I've had Comcast in the past and they charge like $6 or $10 a month extra for the HD channels (not a good deal to me since they only carry like 17 or so channels)

And the optical from the tv won't do much for you since your tv probably doesn't upconvert the audio signal (it may do it but not too many of them do). Also you will only get surround sound from HD channels since they are the only ones, to my knowledge, broadcast in 5.1, everything else is in stereo.