Over the last couple of days, I have purchased the the following components:
Panasonic 50" plasma (TH-50PX60U) Onkyo 7.1 Surround Sound receiver (TH-SR604s) Sony upconverting DVD Player (DVP-NS75H) Polk home theater speaker system (RM6750TNM)
Coming soon...Cox HD cable box (possibly DVR??).
I am a total newbie when it comes to this kind of stuff. I know I have purchased good components, but I am a little confused as to the set-up I need to get the best audio and visual results. I have visited this forum many times and tried to absorb as much knowledge as possible, but I find myself drowning in that very knowledge. Here are my questions:
1) How do I set this system up (what connects to what)? I know HDMI cables are needed and possibly optical? or S-video? or even component cables might also be needed. I want to have the receiver be the heart of this set-up. System used only for music/dvd watching and television.
2) Which is better for connecting the speakers to the receiver--banana clips or spades or does it not matter?
3) My tv room has been pre-wired for 6.1 surround sound with 16 AWG 2 conductor wiring. My paperwork says I have one 16 AWG 4 conductor speaker wire and one 18/4 Shielded Cable installed for my subwoofer in one of the walls. Is this good wiring to use or do I want to use something else with my subwoofer?
4) If I decide not to get the DVR and instead just want to use my old-fashioned VCR (some model of Toshiba), how does that work into the set-up?
Your suggestions are GREATLY appreciated and welcomed.
I love this site for its usefulness. Hope to be able to gain some more knowledge from those who are much wiser than me when it comes to this stuff! Thanks!
1) HDMI from DVD and Cable box to receiver, HDMI out to TV from receiver. 2) Banana plugs 3)Wires are OK for speakers but an interconnect with RCA is used for the sub (sudwoofer cable) 4) DVR is the way to go.
Hi - I have almost the identical set-up (Samsung HL-S6167W DLP TV rather than Pan - but all else the same). I have everything hooked up exactly as you say and it's working fine except that I can't get the Onkyo SR604 on-screen menus to work. It says in the Onkyo book that the menus won't work if you only have HDMI connected and that you have to also use a video connection from the receiver to the tv such as component or S-video. I used an S-video but I'm still not getting the menus. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I can't properly program the receiver without the menus. Thanks!