Hi there… I am somewhat new to the home theater thing, so forgive me if I sound unknowledgeable. I would like to know the best way to connect these items in order to be able to watch (or listen to) anything (whether it’s a DVD, tv show, or simply listening to the radio) while getting the best picture and sound quality. I have 3 components: a plasma HDTV (Panasonic TH-42PX80U), a home theater in-a-box (Panasonic SC-PT760) that contains an upconvert DVD player, and an HD-DVR cable box (through Time Warner). Currently, both the cable box and home theater system are connected to the TV via HDMI cables. I also have a digital optical cable connected to the home theater system and TV (which I didn’t initially realize was necessary with HDMI, until I noticed no sound). However, I’m inclined to think I’m still doing something wrong because IMO, the picture quality of the DVD is terrible (real grainy, and you see it a lot worse the closer you get). This DVD player is supposed to upconvert to 1080p quality (though I know I won’t get that because my plasma is a 720p). Honestly, my 10-year old Sony had better DVD picture quality, and what I’m getting now is more comparable to what my VCR used to put out. I’ve adjusted the settings, but I’ve only seen a mild improvement.
So again, is there a better way to connect these? Are my expectations too high, or is the upconvert DVD player quality really that bad? Am I missing something (perhaps a cable somewhere), or am I just misunderstanding the whole concept of what a surround sound home theater system should be capable of doing? So many questions! I pray I’m doing something wrong because it would be a colossal letdown if this was as good as it gets. Any help (including specific cable connections) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
So again, is there a better way to connect these? Are my expectations too high, or is the upconvert DVD player quality really that bad? Am I missing something (perhaps a cable somewhere), or am I just misunderstanding the whole concept of what a surround sound home theater system should be capable of doing? So many questions! I pray I’m doing something wrong because it would be a colossal letdown if this was as good as it gets. Any help (including specific cable connections) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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Your setup with your HTIB is right with HDMI for video and Optical for audio. So you have the right idea, however, you can never expect a HTIB with up-converting DVD player is going to match that of alone DVD player. Stand alone player have better decode chip than with a combo. You got what you paid for.
Second, DVD disc can only display max of 480 not 1080…so the display will up-convert it to 720p, because that’s the way DVD is encoded…meant to display with 480 TV like your old TV. When you have Blu-ray or HD, you will be able to tell the difference.
Personally I bought a receiver with separate speakers set, so I run all the sources to the receiver and connect the TV to the receiver via HDMI. Less problem, less hassle and headache.