AV setup
#1
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AV setup
So which setup do you guys prefer:
Xbox 360 --> TV --> Reciever
or
Xbox 360 --> Reciever --> TV
I currently have mine set up the first way. What I don't like is that if I just want to play a CD on the Xbox, I have to have the TV screen on.
I considered switching to the second way, but then every time I use the Xbox for anything I'd have to have the receiver on and mess with another remote to adjust sound level. Moreover, my receiver is a Denon 2802 which does not handle HD video, so I'd either be passing SD video through the receiver, or trying to arrange things so that I could have VGA going directly to the TV and audio directly to the receiver.
Or should I just watch craigslist for a cheap CD changer that I could hook up independently to the receiver?
Xbox 360 --> TV --> Reciever
or
Xbox 360 --> Reciever --> TV
I currently have mine set up the first way. What I don't like is that if I just want to play a CD on the Xbox, I have to have the TV screen on.
I considered switching to the second way, but then every time I use the Xbox for anything I'd have to have the receiver on and mess with another remote to adjust sound level. Moreover, my receiver is a Denon 2802 which does not handle HD video, so I'd either be passing SD video through the receiver, or trying to arrange things so that I could have VGA going directly to the TV and audio directly to the receiver.
Or should I just watch craigslist for a cheap CD changer that I could hook up independently to the receiver?
#4
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Because my receiver doesn't have HD video input/output. And I like my receiver except for that.
Also, why do I care about surround if I'm only working with a 2.1 speaker setup anyway?
Also, why do I care about surround if I'm only working with a 2.1 speaker setup anyway?
#8
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But...if I broke that plastic collar and split the cable further back, maybe I could make it work...
#10
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Yeah...I think I'm screwed on HDMI though, because of my 2nd-tier TV. From everything I read online, my Olevia 232T will not display HDMI from an XBox 360 without a firmware reflash...which is no longer available for download because Olevia no longer supports the previous line of HDTV's.
#11
CD's? Are serious?
1st... rip your favorite CD's to XBOX harddrive instead of actually playing them.
2nd... what 2.1 speakers?
You actually do care about 2.1 through a receiver for movies. If you have a set of bookshelf speakers and a standalone sub, the receiver should still pass the LFE signal to the sub while playing stereo track through speakers. It's way better than passing full-spectrum signal to the sub and having the subs onboard low-pass filter have to do all the work like what will happen when playing a CD.
I'd just grab a new cheap Blu-Ray player to make things really easy. You can pick up a Panasonic BDT-210 on Amazon for $130... considered best b4b in 3D Wifi BR players.
You'll get the sweetness of onboard Wifi and all the online services, a BluRay player which you probably don't have... which is also a great DVD and CD player.
1st... rip your favorite CD's to XBOX harddrive instead of actually playing them.
2nd... what 2.1 speakers?
You actually do care about 2.1 through a receiver for movies. If you have a set of bookshelf speakers and a standalone sub, the receiver should still pass the LFE signal to the sub while playing stereo track through speakers. It's way better than passing full-spectrum signal to the sub and having the subs onboard low-pass filter have to do all the work like what will happen when playing a CD.
I'd just grab a new cheap Blu-Ray player to make things really easy. You can pick up a Panasonic BDT-210 on Amazon for $130... considered best b4b in 3D Wifi BR players.
You'll get the sweetness of onboard Wifi and all the online services, a BluRay player which you probably don't have... which is also a great DVD and CD player.
#12
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2nd... what 2.1 speakers?
#13
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Okay, I don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier, but rather than trying to split the VGA/RCA cable further back, I can just use some RCA extensions to get the audio straight into the receiver, right?
#18
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But!
I realized the XBox and my receiver both had optical connections, so now I'm running VGA straight to the TV, and optical audio straight to the receiver.
And yes, the sound is much, much better when it's not being passed through the TV (unless you have a digital pass through). Actual separation, not just a muddle of sound.
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Same deal on this end. I have a component cable instead of a VGA cable (I never even knew that the Xbox360 was capable of speaking VGA), but I have the video portion of the component cable plugged into the TV with the left/right connectors dangling uselessly, while an optical cable runs from the XBox to a converter that takes it to coax and then into the receiver.
(Well, it's slightly more complex than this, as I have two passive RCA switchboxes in series with both the audio and video wiring, as neither my TV nor my receiver have a sufficiently large number of inputs to accommodate all of the additional sources that I never even use anymore and question why I continue to drag around with me, but that's essentially the gist of it.)
#20
Xbox 360 --> TV --> Reciever
or
Xbox 360 --> Reciever --> TV
...but then every time I use the Xbox for anything I'd have to have the receiver on and mess with another remote to adjust sound level. Moreover, my receiver is a Denon 2802 which does not handle HD video, so I'd either be passing SD video through the receiver, or trying to arrange things so that I could have VGA going directly to the TV and audio directly to the receiver.
or
Xbox 360 --> Reciever --> TV
...but then every time I use the Xbox for anything I'd have to have the receiver on and mess with another remote to adjust sound level. Moreover, my receiver is a Denon 2802 which does not handle HD video, so I'd either be passing SD video through the receiver, or trying to arrange things so that I could have VGA going directly to the TV and audio directly to the receiver.
I got a brand new Sony soundbar and woofer from the holidays, which replaces a 5-10 year old hand-me-down Sony 5.1 stereo system. At least between these units in comparison, it's obvious from the layout on the receiver & clearly stated in the instructions that the soundbar/woofer unit should have all inputs pass through it before going to the TV. In fact, with compatible devices, the soundbar receiver will turn the TV/DVD/Blu-ray players ON & OFF once you shut off the input feed. It's a PITA still because you still need multiple remotes, but at least the cable routing is clean.
I like the hookup you used, mgeoffriau. RCA to TV : Optical to Receiver. Being able to use the TV volume instead of the full stereo system to reduce the volume or reverberating sound...say at nighttime while others are sleeping...is a great thing.