HDMI connectors

Sam, legally, your apartment complex cannot stop you from getting a dish.

 

Maybe so, but I'm not going to let some kid accidentally knock the dish down, either. This isn't a permanent residence and this paper is almost certainly not my destination paper, so I'll worry about this at my next stop.

Seriously, I believe that dish is better (my parents had it for a few years before opting for cable because of slightly better cost, less maintenance and less weather-related interruptions), but just putting everything together, the HD signal is a massive upgrade and the 1080i CRT has upgraded most of the other channels. I'll strive for perfection when I have more money and no need for a roommate ... or stop being a loner. :-\

 

OK. Here is what I would do based on what you've just told me. It'll make things less complex.

Run your optical from your HD DVR box to your surround sound system. If you have another optical input, run a different optical from your DVD player to your surround sound system. If you only have one optical input, you should have a digital coaxial input (it should be orange, possibly black circular input), which does the same thing. Use the digital coaxial from either your HD DVR box or DVD player. It doesn't really matter unless your going over 6-feet.

Run your HDMI cable from your HD DVR box to your TV. Don't worry about running your video stuff (HDMI or anything else) into your surround sound system. That actually downgrades the signal because it has to convert it. I'm guessing you only have one HDMI input on your TV. If so, then you have three options if you want to hook your DVD player and HD DVR up to your TV: a) buy an HDMI switch box for about 130 bucks and two more HDMI cables to complete the Y-shape; b) switch the single HDMI cable back and forth from your HDDVR box and DVD player for whatever one you want to watch; or c) waste 70 bucks on component cables for your video signal.

 

I know I'm not LB, but I can help. The only way to split the HDMI is if you buy an HDMI switch box. So you'll run an HDMI from the DVD player and a different HDMI from your satellite/cable box into the HDMI switch box. From the switch box you'll run another HDMI cable to your single HDMI input on your TV.

Think a Y-shape. Switch box is about 130 bucks, HDMIs run 60-150 depending on brand/quality and length.

 

Dredging this one from the depths ...

I bought a LG 20-inch LCD HDTV last week for my bedroom (I share a house, so I wouldn't have room for anything much bigger for a while to come). I hooked up my XBox 360 through the component cables, then used the HDMI that came with the XBox Elite to connect the HD DVR cable box.

Problem is, I'll get a delay in audio, sometimes as long as a second. Occasionally I can change the channel and then back, and it works, but that's not a sure fix. The only component cables I have go with the Xbox, and it isn't interchangable with other sources (it has its own pin connector at the Xbox end). And it sounds like the HDMI gives better video (I had it connected to the Xbox for a couple of hours before hooking up the cable box, and the difference between HDMI and component on the Xbox is slight but still noticible).

Ideas on how to fix the delay? And is it worth the extra cash to get an HDMI splitter and another cable if I can fix it?

 

From everything I've read the $100 HDMI cable is a gargantuan waste of money. I got one for $35 at Wal-Mart and it works fine. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would've ordered the $7 one online.

Link

 

I'm not technical in the least, but I had my HD and surround sound hooked up about six weeks ago. The technician stressed spending the extra bucks on a certain HDMI, and I did. I'm unable to verify any difference in what things would look like had I gone the cheaper route, but I'm happy with the quality we're getting, so I feel as though it was worth it.

 

Check Buy.com for an HDMI Cable price. It is much much cheaper.

 

I'm very suspicious of anything when I'm given the hard sell. The electronics stores spend more effort trying to sell you the $100 cable than they do the TV.

 

He can't say. It's an anonymous source.

 

To anyone getting an HDTV set:

Get it professionally calibrated. The adjustments you can make without going into the service menu (and you do not want to go there) will never allow you to see the best picture you can get.