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help me with a setup I'm doing tomorrow

QueBert

QueBert

Lifer
A friend asked me to help him set up his new home theater, nothing super fancy but I thought I'd run it by AT and see any suggestions.

Sony BRAVIA 52"
Denon receiver (not sure the model off hand)
Direct TV
BluRay Drive
5.1 speakers.

Now I don't do much HT stuff at all so this is why I'm asking, but basically here if how I'm thinking to set it up.

I believe the Denon has 2 HDMI, I will run the TV to it via HDMI, and the Direct TV to the reciever via HDMI, the Subwoofer to the reciever via optical. Now the BluRay if the DirectTV is HDMI & the TV is and both are going to the Reciever what should I do with the BluRay as far as hooking it up?


*EDIT*

I looked up info on Denon's web site, looks like the reciever has 4 HDMI, one for Monitor, one for DVD one for VCR and one for HDP. The TV is going to be mounted on the wall and the custom entertainment center housing it's going to be on can't be taken down easy once it's up so we're trying to run the cables tomorrow and get the TV up.
 
Well I think you could do:

Sony Bravia
Connect HDMI out from Denon to Sony Bravia HDMI input

Direct TV
Connect HDMI from Direct TV to Denon HDMI input #1
-If Direct TV outputs audio over HDMI and the Denon can pull audio off HDMI, then it's it
-If Direct TV or Denon do not do audio over HDMI, then connect a digital audio cable from the Direct TV to the Denon (either toslink or digital coaxial) and make sure the receiver is set up to use that audio along with HDMI #1

Blu-ray
Connect HDMI from Blu-ray to Denon HDMI input #2
-If Denon can do audio over HDMI, then that's all you need
-If Denon cannot, then connect a digital audio cable from Blu-ray to the Denon and make sure they're assigned correctly

Speakers
Run speaker wire from the Denon to each speaker

Sub
Run an RCA cable from the subwoofer pre-out of the Denon to the LFE in or other RCA input on the subwoofer

I have info on speaker and subwoofer placement in the sticky thread

Next comes setup for speaker distances, crossover settings, level matching

EDIT:
Now that you looked up Denon's site, what model number is it?
 
awesome reply thanks man, I'm not 100% on the model # I just looked at the pics of the back of a bunch and found one that looks very similar to me, I know he didn't get the most expensive, or the cheapest. He paid about $900 for it and the manual said it could handle HDMI 1.3b. I'm his computer guy and I think he has too much faith in me thinking because I'm good with his computers I can do his a/v setup no problem.

everything you said made sense and that was about what I was planning to do, I'm not 100% if the receiver supports audio over HDMI but I would assume for 900 bucks it should. I wish I would have written down the model # for the Denon, I know he doesn't know it and will be at work. so I guess I'll go over and try to finish it up. where the components will be I can always get to, the TV will be a problem but if all it needs is the 1 HDMI I'm golden there.

Thanks for the reply you have given me confidence. I know it's not a super high end setup, but I'm not an A/V dude really and he's trusting me to set up 5g's worth of equipment so I'm being a bit over cautious.
 
From the description, the Denon should handle audio over HDMI just fine.

Do you have any info on what speakers they are? (We could help you get an idea of what crossover might work well)

The Denon should also have an auto-calibration setup that should hopefully handle distance settings, level matching, and possibly even do a good job figuring out a good crossover frequency and equalization.

EDIT: oh, and do you know if he has all these necessary cables already, or are you going to need to buy them?
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
From the description, the Denon should handle audio over HDMI just fine.

Do you have any info on what speakers they are? (We could help you get an idea of what crossover might work well)

The Denon should also have an auto-calibration setup that should hopefully handle distance settings, level matching, and possibly even do a good job figuring out a good crossover frequency and equalization.

EDIT: oh, and do you know if he has all these necessary cables already, or are you going to need to buy them?
Click to expand...

I don't know the speaker brand off hand, they aren't Denon and he did pay a good amount for them. He has a selection of cables. He has more money than knowledge or sense, so the people at Best Buy (Magnolia home theater) sold him a CRAP load of Monster cables. He also has these Monster audio cable plugs that go on the end of the speaker wire and snap into place in the speaker instead of the circle thing you usually wrap the wire around (what I'm use to) he doesn't have a cable for the DirectTV, but he hasn't ordered that yet. He's also impatient so if needs another HDMI for the DirectTV (doubt it comes with one) he will probably go back to Best Buy and buy one.

They sold him 2 HDMI, a 3 meter and a 4 foot, so I got the TV/Reciever/BlueRay taken care or, and I didn't look closely but it was a single prong monster cable, which I guess would be cable for the sub. I will probably order him another HDMI off Monoprice and have it to him by the time tie DirectTV dudes come to set it up. He gave me $140 cash and said buy whatever other cables he might need tomorrow.
 
I am about to read your sticky thread I need to figure out where to place his speakers, his cabinet has doors and he wants to put the Sub in there, it's pretty big and powerful I would think even with heavy wood doors it would cause some rattle. I need to learn about audio placement, glad you wrote a sticky now I don't need to ask any questions.

Unless you have an opinion on the sub in a cabinet door, just one of the doors that swings open no lock or latch.

*EDIT* read your sticky, IMPRESSIVE. I might be spending more time in this forum so I can learn about A/V, you know your stuff. I learned enough to help me big time.

now hopefully his setup will sound a little better lol.
 
Inside a cabinet isn't the best place for the sub. Putting it in a piece of furniture is going to add complications like more vibrations, blocking air movement, resonances, etc.

I don't know how flexible he'll be on placement, but the "put the sub on the couch" trick would be a good start.
 
he has no idea where he wants anything, he told me it's up to me, basically the room has no door and only 3 walls. The wall unit takes up the whole front wall, there's a fireplace in the middle of it so putting the sub there won't work. I will suggest the couch thing, there's no couch yet but I'm sure he will have a big one in there.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello I have a question for you, I went back yesterday and got the model #'s the receiver is a 1708, I went to Denon's web site and the specs are a bit confusing

one page it claims it has 2 HDMI video inputs that support audio, on their site on another page it says video only.

I googled and it looks like it does support audio but only passthru, and unless I was misunderstanding what I was reading the BluRay player would be fine but the DirectTV receiver will need a TOS opitical cable.

the receiver isn't that good, the people at Best Buy lied to him which I find off because he was willing to spend more and they knew what his budget is.

my question, will I need, or should I get a TOS for the BluRay too? I'm NOT going to tell him about this snafu since his setup won't be watchable for at least a month and if I tell him he'll have me run to BB and spend god knows how much on 2 TOS cables when Monoprice has them for 4 bucks each.


 
no he didn't, he has no idea what he paid, I think 900 was for the receiver and the cables, he has a few monster cables and they are the really expensive ones, as opposed to the monster cables that are just pretty expensive. 🙂
 
I think I'm going to throw up...

(He could have easily gotten a receiver that can do the lossless audio formats over HDMI + cables for this whole system for $900... $600 even)

ok...

So if I was in this situation I'd talk to my friend about this and try to return stuff in order to buy products to give him a better overall experience.

Since I have a feeling that's not going to happen, you need to get additional audio cables for all sources as the 1708 has no audio HDMI capabilities at all from what I'm seeing online. They sure make this confusing and unclear though. I believe the 1908 is the lowest you can go and still get audio over HDMI.

EDIT: yeah, you'll need additional audio cables for all sources.
http://www.usa.denon.com/AVR_C...ities_xx08xx_v0408.pdf
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I think I'm going to throw up...

(He could have easily gotten a receiver that can do the lossless audio formats over HDMI + cables for this whole system for $900... $600 even)

ok...

So if I was in this situation I'd talk to my friend about this and try to return stuff in order to buy products to give him a better overall experience.

Since I have a feeling that's not going to happen, you need to get additional audio cables for all sources as the 1708 has no audio HDMI capabilities at all from what I'm seeing online. They sure make this confusing and unclear though. I believe the 1908 is the lowest you can go and still get audio over HDMI.

EDIT: yeah, you'll need additional audio cables for all sources.
http://www.usa.denon.com/AVR_C...ities_xx08xx_v0408.pdf
Click to expand...

Yes I was suggesting this to him, but he bought the stuff well over a month ago, he spent way too little on his receiver and way too much on the cables, his speakers are Mirage, which from asking around seem to be like the Best Buy house brand, they're supposed to be pretty decent.

Thank you for your help, this is how I will set it up

TV -> receiver via HDMI
BlueRay -> Receiver via HDMI & TOS
Direct tv -> Receiver via HDMI & TOS

I will make the best with what he has, the TV is fricking SWEET, the BluRay player is nice, the speakers seem good, the Receiver is, well it could be worse. And unless I'm reading wrong Best Buy has a Dynex Optical Digital Cable for $18 bucks, not too overpriced for a chain. Since he only needs 2 of these I might tell him to just get them from BB as opposed to Monoprice.

It's a shame the people at Best Buy out here are such tards, he would have had no problem spending more to get better. I'm still not sure why they told him to go with the 1708, it looks to be one of their lower end models.

thanks again for your help, sucks he didn't come to me before he bought everything I'm sure with your suggestions he could have had a mean ass system, oh well.
 
Originally posted by: Muadib
If you were really this guy's friend, you would tell him to return everything, & start over.
Click to expand...

He bought it all about 2 months ago, Best buy has a 30 day return policy, so there's nothing he can do at this point. It will end up sounding pretty good, he just spent too much for what he got.

The XBR is sweet, not my favorite brand I think Sony is too expensive but the quality of the picture is outstanding. So it's not a total wash.
 
Originally posted by: QueBert
Originally posted by: Muadib
If you were really this guy's friend, you would tell him to return everything, & start over.
Click to expand...

He bought it all about 2 months ago, Best buy has a 30 day return policy, so there's nothing he can do at this point. It will end up sounding pretty good, he just spent too much for what he got.

The XBR is sweet, not my favorite brand I think Sony is too expensive but the quality of the picture is outstanding. So it's not a total wash.
Click to expand...

I just had a problem with his receiver & cable choices. Paying $900 for a 1708 & cables should be a crime. You should tell him, so he will call you before he buys next time.
 
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