I'm new to HT and this is my first posting here, but did a lot of homework before purchasing my HT components. I tried to put together a good value system based on features, etc. And one that I would be happy to keep for many years. I will eventually get a HD/BD player but I'm waiting for that battle to settle out and the prices to come down first.
But the purpose of this posting is that I'm having trouble connecting it all together and getting it to work. I'm hoping the community will have some folks who are willing to point me in the right direction.
My components:
Denon AVR-887 A/V Reciever (and optional iPod Doc ASDR-1R) usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3251.asp
Samsung LNT-4661 LCD TV (it has picture-in-picture) bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8251447&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050025&id=1169512521541
Panasonic DMR-EZ475V DVD/VCR Combo (panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&catGroupId=75012&itemId=112150&modelNo=DMR-EZ47VK&langId=-1&displayTab=O&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702)
Motorola DCT6200 (Digital Cable Box from brighthouse See the Manual Here: michigan.mybrighthouse.com/uploadedFiles/Divisions/Mich_Content/__docs/DCH6200_User_Guide_537526-001-c.pdf)
PlayStation II
Karaoke Machine (w/only composite video out / stereo out (RCA))
Computers (an old dell desktop and a couple of newer laptops that I would like to use with the big screen / AV Receiver occasionally)
Right now I've got HDMI from the cable box to the TV (muted speakers) and digital audio via optical from the cable box to the A/V receiver. This works pretty well but the non-HD stations don't look very good at all.
The receiver is connected to the TV via s-video. HDMI would not show the on-screen menus. I also got the iPod Doc connected to the receiver (at the vcr 2 - just as the manual shows) but I never see the shuffle option on the on-screen menu and don't seem to be able to page through the list of songs to choose one to play. FYI: I don't know jack about iPods - it's my wife's.
I haven't even tried to connect up the DVD/VCR yet. How should I do this and with what type of connections should I use so that I can use the P-I-P capability of the TV and have optimal audio/video?
Thanks.
