Last post about setting up the new home theater

Not that I mightn't complain about the new home theater, but I now consider it set up, so future posts will be about interface inadequacy or something.

I decided to stop plugging things in and out until the new DVI cables arrived, and set up the disk player with a regular stereo connection, and used the TOSLink cable to link the cable box to the receiver.

This morning all the HDMI cables arrived, and it turns out that even with all the equipment in front of me and turned around so I could see the back, I had ordered the wrong cables.

Cable TV

I could have sworn I saw an HDMI socket on the back of the cable box, but it isn't there now. So I have connected the cable box with the composite video cables and the TOSLink audio to the receiver. This is on AV1, which is the input that's selected when you push the "TV" button on the receiver.

Broadcast TV

I don't currently watch this much, but if I were to downgrade my cable, or if there were a really good audio program on one of the broadcast channels that's not in HD on the cable box, I would like the option of watching via broadcast. Right now that audio isn't hooked up, so I can only listen through the TV speakers; if I get another TOSLink cable I'll be able to hook that to the receiver and listen to it from whatever other input has the digital audio connection.

DVD

The new Blu-Ray DVD player with the network connection was a pain in the neck when I didn't have the two HDMI cables, but "just works" when you've connected it via HDMI to the receiver. I don't have a Blu-Ray disk to test, but the surround sound was working fine with the DVD I played.

Computer

This I haven't tested, but it's hooked up to the receiver via a DVI-HDMI cable and a regular stereo audio cable. I don't know how much I'll be using this for, since the DVD player will play netflix watch now and youtube (untested). The firewire cable I ordered turns out to be the wrong kind, so I can't test what channels the cable box is putting out on firewire.

Not really done yet

So I still have to buy some more cables, and set up the fancy remote control to know about the new equipment, and tell netflix to send me blu-ray disks and run the program that sets up the receiver based on putting a microphone in your listening location. But it's definitely ready to start giving demos.

Related posts:

1. Setting up the new surround sound system
2. Hooking up surround sound, part two
3. Logitech Harmony Remote