Advanced Home Theater Question

[NogginBoink]

I'm getting married in 2 months, so my current eighteen-button-presses-on-six-remotes-to-watch-a-DVD setup is no longer going to cut it.

I'm curious to know how to solve the video switching problem.

I, like all of you, have a number of A/V components. Some have composite out, some have S-video out, some have component out. When you add them together, what happens is that I must use the recevier to switch audio inputs, and use the TV to select between composite, component, or S-video in. That's two switching devices.

I want ONE device to switch BOTH audio AND video. And I want the result to automagically select the highest quality video signal... component, then S-video, then composite. I want my television to be a monitor.

Are there any solutions to this problem? I can't believe there aren't a hundred thousand other HT enthusiasts with the same problem... why is there no obvious solution?

 

[DurocShark]

HTPC.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but why not just an A/V receiver? That might not automatically select the signal for you, but it would handle the switching.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but why not just an A/V receiver? That might not automatically select the signal for you, but it would handle the switching.

Yep. You can plug almost anything in a contemporary receiver.

 

[lukatmyshu]

His problem is that a receiver will not (normally) be able to switch between different input-types. So while you can easily switch between s-video sources via the receiver, you can't do it if you have 1 s-video source and 1 component.
You're going to need a good programmable remote control. I have the Philips Pronto and it's pretty cool. Another good device is the MX500. You'll find lots of info on programmable remote controls at
http://www.hometheaterspot.com/ and http://www.avsforum.com/

 

[Gunbuster]

Find a smarter girl

 

[JulesMaximus]

Good luck with that...

I just trained my wife how to do most things with our home theater setup. Took a long time but it was worth it.

 

[amnesiac]

Screw all those fancy pants remote controls. They're expensive and not spouse friendly.

I have this:
Radio Shack 15-2116 remote

It has what's known as a JP1 connector that allows you to hook it up to your PC and program it without using the very limited flash memory. It uses the extra permanent memory which is FAR bigger.

Yahoo JP1 Group link for more info
Buy a JP1 Cable or kit here

If you need more help with it let me know.