Panasonice 54 G25 and hook up?

[vern1]

I am leaning towards a plasma vs LED (picture quality for sports/movies, no blurring/blooming) even though my room is bright during the day. The LED technology does not seem to have caught up with the plasmas picture quality yet. Thinking about either the Panasonic TCP54G25 or the Samsung PN50B860. Any thoughts on decision so far?



I have a Yamaha I bought a few years ago and B&W speakers (10 years old but still kicking it) with an SVS sub. I understand that with a HD PVR I can plug the HDMI cable into the monitor and the Sony Blu Ray also via HDMI into the monitor. My current audio-out on the non HD cable box goes into the audio component jacks in the Yamaha. When I upgrade the monitor and cable box to HD, will my audio hook up consist of an optical digital plug from the cable box to the Yamaha? And is this the best way to hook up the sound for my 5.1 system? There are no HDMI plugs on the Yamaha.



Many thanks!

 

[jostenmeat]

I have a Yamaha I bought a few years ago and B&W speakers (10 years old but still kicking it) with an SVS sub. I understand that with a HD PVR I can plug the HDMI cable into the monitor and the Sony Blu Ray also via HDMI into the monitor. My current audio-out on the non HD cable box goes into the audio component jacks in the Yamaha. When I upgrade the monitor and cable box to HD, will my audio hook up consist of an optical digital plug from the cable box to the Yamaha? And is this the best way to hook up the sound for my 5.1 system? There are no HDMI plugs on the Yamaha.



Many thanks!

Yes, you've got it. Monoprice sells optical cables for like $2 or something silly.

Even though the Yammy doesn't have HDMI, bluray still gets you higher bitrates via optical than your dvds will via optical. For DTSMA, it's about double (something like 768kbs to 1.5mbps).

I would consider buying this Tivo, instead of paying for a POS cable box every month.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67697

If I actually paid for TV programming (I don't, only OTA), I foresee myself buying a Tivo. I could use its OTA tuner, and I like having a DVR that actually works, with functions that work quickly. I can also remotely have it record shows, etc. You can also stream various things like Netflix or Youtube, I believe.

 

[vern1]

Excuse my ignorance but dont I need the combined cable box/PVR to get access to the cable? or are you saying just get a regular HD cable box (no PVR) and hook up a Tivo instead of a combined cable/pvr? Thanks

 

[vern1]

Sorry, one other question. If the blue ray hdmi plugs into the monitor and the optical digital goes from the cable box into the yamaha, how does the "sound signal" get from the blue ray player through the receiver for the 5.1 sound? Does that question make any sense?

I have this type of set up now (except with component video on the blue ray to the monitor and s-video from the cable to the yamaha) and it works but I could never really figure out why...

 

[jostenmeat]

Excuse my ignorance but dont I need the combined cable box/PVR to get access to the cable? or are you saying just get a regular HD cable box (no PVR) and hook up a Tivo instead of a combined cable/pvr? Thanks

I'm saying if you have the Tivo, you don't need any of two, the HD or SD box. (In fact, you can get very basic cable still without ANY of the above, using a cheap QAM card for instance). The Tivo serves as your cable tuner, OTA tuner, (much much much better DVR, though not tons of memory still), stream different things, etc. Best part? No more monthly box rental fees.

Sorry, one other question. If the blue ray hdmi plugs into the monitor and the optical digital goes from the cable box into the yamaha, how does the "sound signal" get from the blue ray player through the receiver for the 5.1 sound? Does that question make any sense?

You have to be more specific in your question, I'm guessing. But the sound signal gets there because the bluray player sends the receiver information.

Hey, I answered the question, right?

Most any component will output everything at the same time, shotgun. Except possibly with receivers. It's simple as reading a manual though. For instance, Onkyo will not send audio pass thru to tv speakers, if the receiver is already powering other speakers.

I have this type of set up now (except with component video on the blue ray to the monitor and s-video from the cable to the yamaha) and it works but I could never really figure out why...

Dunno what you are trying to impart to me.

 

[vern1]

You say that the blue ray sends the receiver the info but that really is my question I guess. The blue ray is not plugged into my receiver at all - it is only plugged into the monitor via the component cables. The only audio output that goes to the receiver, comes from the s-video cable out of the cable box