Was not an A/V Geek, but Need Help with my Home Equipment

August 5, 2007 11:08 AM

Is this an optimal setup for my A/V equipment?

I'm a bit of noob when it comes to A/V setup. I was wondering if you could take a look at what I got and see if I have it setup properly.

Equipment
TV: Toshiba 364A
Receiver: Kenwood VR-606
DVD/CD: Onkyo DV-CP802
DRV: Tivo Philiphs HDR212
Cable: Motorola DCT2224/1661/ACDEG
Speakers: Kenwood type from HIB package 5.1

Video Current Setup
Coaxial from wall plugs into IN cable receiver
Coaxial from OUT cable receiver plugs into IN of Tivo
Tivo OUT S-Video plugs into Video1 source IN on TV
DVD OUT Component (3 cables) plugs IN Video2 component source on TV

Audio Current Setup
Audio OUT from TIVO plugs IN Video1 Receiver via RCA left and right connections
DVD Digital Coaxial OUT plugs IN DVD Receiver via digital coaxial
TV Audio OUT plugs IN AUX Receiver via RCA left and right connections

Does this seem right? Any changes you would make in connections? Also the receiver has video inputs, what would this do and why would I use it?

Thanks!

posted by bleucube to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

You will benifit from using S-video from your cable box into your TIVO instead of the coax.

Other than that, I think you're fine.
posted by SweetJesus at 11:22 AM on August 5, 2007

The receiver has video inputs so you only have to change the source on that one device. Currently, when you change from TiVo to DVD, you have to make the switch on the receiver and the television.

The problem is that your receiver most likely has RCA (and maybe s-video) video connections, but does not have the component connection. Thus, it doesn't really do you any good to go through the receiver for your video connections anyway.

I'll look through the list in a bit more detail later, but my one tip is to program your TiVo remote to control the volume on the receiver. If you're like me, it's nice to have the single TiVo remote cover your basic functions - TV power and receiver volume.
posted by shinynewnick at 11:27 AM on August 5, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for the comments so far.

SweetJesus: I will check the cable box for S-video out.

Shinynewnick: I have a Harmony 880 programmed to turn on and off components based on setup. Looks like I don't need to use the receiver.
posted by bleucube at 11:40 AM on August 5, 2007