I’m looking at a new home-theater setup and looking at the backs of many TVs and receivers, I see they both have A/V inputs and outputs. So it seems I can plug my DVD Player and VCR into the back of my TV, and run only the TV out to the receiver.
On the other hand, I got to wondering if there is any reason NOT to do this - should I do it the other way around, and run the DVD/VCR/etc to the receiver first, and then to the TV?
Or the Audio stuff to the receiver, and video stuff to the TV? Granted, you’d have to make sure both the receiver and the TV are set to the right input, but that’s not too much work…
Is there a compelling reason to pick one configuration over the other?
IMHO, it is better to run the video and audio both through the receiver. That way you can just switch one device and you will have both the correct picture and sound.
There is one “gotcha” with this, however. Not all video is created equal. Depending on the type of device, you may have any of three types of video output (listed from lowest quality to highest).
Composite video - a single RCA jack (usually yellow, next to the red/white audio jacks)
S-Video - a round 4-pin connector
Component video - 3 RCA jacks for video (usually red, green and blue)
Most receivers will not “mix and match” video signals. In other words, if your input is composite, you have to use the composite output. Therefore, if your VCR has composite output, and your DVD player has S-Video, you still have to have 2 different cables to your TV, and you still have to switch the input on the TV set.
Many DVD players have both composite and S-Video outputs, so you could get around that problem by using composite for both, but then you are giving up the higher quality video signal.
If you’re planning to play music through this system, make sure to at least have the audio going straight to the receiver, otherwise you need the TV on to listen to a CD. I’d say to send the video straight to the TV, and the audio to the receiver. If you use the receiver to send the video signal, you’ll need extra cables, why bother with that if you don’t have to?
Fat Bald Guy makes some excellent points. His “gotcha” surprised the hell out of me when I was configuring my home theater.
One problem with this is if you want to use digital audio out of your DVD player to achieve 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sweet, sweet surround sound. Most likely your TV (unless super high end) will not input and output fiber optic or coax digital.
This is the way I would go. You have to buy additional cables but this gives you the cleanest set-up. One bonus that Fat Bald Guy didn’t mention, was that many newer receivers have on-screen displays. If your video goes through the receiver, the reciever adds it’s own display for volume and set-up. Since tweaking your surround is always a pain this is helpful.
When I had everything going to my TV first (as in satellite box -> TV -> receiver), I noticed lip sync problems with certain movie channels. The video was a second or two ahead of the audio. But maybe that was just my TV.
Using this method, how will you switch the video signals?
This is why it’s a called an A/V Reciever switch. So when you put on ‘Video 1’, you get cable tv + audio. Select ‘Video 2’, and you get your Xbox + the audio that goes with it, and so on, instantly.
Now if you route the video directly to the tv like you mentioned, you’ll have to 1. Select ‘Video 1’ for cable audio, then configure the TV for ‘AUX 1’, ‘AUX 2’, and so on… Just to get your video. Way, way too time consuming.
I don’t know if it exists or not, but do televisions exist with, for example, with a 600w A/V Reciever built in? With external speakers, and surround sound satelites? That would be sweet.
We have a 5.1 Dolby capable Sony receiver with this setup.
Video 1: PS2 (optical audio and video)
Video 2: XBOX (composite audio and video)
TV: cable running through the vcr (channels switch on the vcr, volume through receiver) Coax from wall to vcr, svideo and composite audio from vcr to receiver, coax from vcr to tv)
DVD: well, DVD player
MD/Tape: nothing
Phono: nothing, yet.
CD: nothing as we get surround from our dvd player playing cds.
I say put everything through the receiver. And get a good clean power supply/surger protector. They are worth the money.
When you guys say “receiver” you are referring essentially to an audio amplifier with a radio tuner built in, right? If so, how can you run video through an audio amplifier/reciever? And even if you can, why?
I don’t have a home entertainment system as I don’t watch TV or movies. But I do work in the television/film production business.
I look at it like this:
**television = video monitor ** (this is basically all I would use it for. It also has a small audio amp and speakers plus a broadcast tuner. But since most people use external speakers/amps and external video “tuners” [cable or satelite] it’s only really use is as a video monitor.)
speakers = audio monitors
receiver = audio amplifier
Run all of your video sources into your monitor, and run all of your audio sources into your reciever/speakers. If you have lots of different sources, use a video switcher and a small audio mixing board.
This way, it doesn’t matter how many things you ever add or subtract from you a/v system, the basic configuration remains the same. Nice and simple.
ParentalAdvisory, as mentioned before, if his VCR is composite video and his DVD player component or S-Video, he’ll likely have to switch the TV between sources anyway. If this is the case, I say go straight to the TV and cut 2 sets of wires and signal degrading switches out of the mix.
If you can consolidate the switching to just the receiver, then by all means do it that way and cut down on your complexity.
I actually have most of my audio and video going right to the TV, and use the TV speakers for daily viewing. I don’t need surround sound to watch Food Network. I have the digital audio output from my DVD going to the receiver for movies/CDs, and the TV audio out going there also just in case I want a bit more juice for a particular show. Ideal, perhaps not, but it saves on wear and tear for the receiver, and on my electric bills.
In the home theater world, a “receiver” is an audio/video switcher with a built in audio amplifier. Typically it will have video and audio input connectors for VCR/DVD/Cable box/Satellite Reciever/Aux and will also have audio only inputs for CD/Tape/Etc and generally an AM/FM tuner.
Video input/output for each device can be composite, s-video and sometimes component video. Audio inputs will be standard RCA L/R, or digital audio either coax or fiber optic. Audio output will have at a minumum 3 front and 2 rear speakers and a subwoofer output. A little more complex than just an audio amplifier.