My New Home Theater PC Setup - Questions

Hello everyone!

First time poster here, new to the world of HD goodness, looking to get some advice before I spend a lot more money then I already have...

I just bought a 46" Toshiba REGZA 1080p HDTV last night from my local HHGregg for $1150. (I feel like that was a steal)

I have a pretty beast PC. (at least it was a year ago!)

I'm looking to hook my PC up to the TV and use it as my new monitor and Blu-Ray player.

I'm looking to get an internal drive blu-ray player like this:
(can't post URL's until I've had 5 posts... ) Newegg Item=N82E16827136133

I purchased a DVI to HDMI cable to plug into my TV from the DVI port in the back of my video card. That should arrive at my house tomorrow.

My PC specs are:

Intel Core2Duo E6750
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB (it supports HDCP)
EVGA 680i SLI Mainboard
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair Dominator PC2 8500

I'm assuming that the DVI to HDMI cable will allow me to operate my PC at the 1920 x 1080 resolution on the TV, but I haven't seen anything that gives me a concrete answer to that. Anything else to it? or is it that simple?

In addition, when I put in that blu-ray drive, (and update the firmware) is it going to be as simple as installing the drive, use a program like PowerDVD and BAM it all works?

I also have questions about sound. I've got a really really old soundblaster audigy (1st gen) sound card that I don't even use, but I doubt that would be able to handle the sound needed for High-Def. Forget I even mentioned that card, I probably won't even use it. I was looking to purchase something like this: (can't post URL's until I've had 5 posts...)
newegg Item=N82E16829102024

That PCI-Express card will fit in my motherboard, and at that point it should just be a matter of getting a sound system to plug it all into, correct? Stop me if I'm wrong here...

I build computers on the side, so I know the ins and outs of PC's, but this home theater stuff is foreign to me. I'm especially clueless about the audio aspect of it.

I just want to be able to use my PC to play Blu-Ray movies on my new TV, and have some banging sound to go with it. I plan on getting something like a 5.1 system dropping the speakers from my cieling, and running the cords up in my attic. The TV is mounted above my fireplace mantle (no I don't use the fireplace).

Will a "home theater in a box" work? Will I be able to plug my PC audio into that, plug the PC video into the TV, and watch Blu-Ray in all of its glory? Or will I need to buy a receiver and speakers?

For audio I'm looking to spend about $450 max. (not including the soundcard I have listed above)

So, like I said, I'm clueless about this audio/video stuff, I'm just looking for advice. This is either a) going to be as easy as I think it is, b) I'm on the right track, but just missing a few key pieces of info, or c) I'm way off and need tons of help before I go out and waste a bunch of money.

Totals so far:
Internal Blu-Ray Drive: $150
New sound card: $100
New Home Theater Audio: (up to) $450

I definitely want at least a 5.1 setup. If I get that soundcard, does that mean I don't need to buy a receiver? (sorry for being clueless about this...)

Please help! I'll give more information, or whatever else is needed for some solid advice.

Hi,
I have a 42 Toshiba REGZA 1080p HDTV. To connect your PC is that simple. You must use HDMI 1, then I recomment to use exact scan and you get a perfect image of your PC desktop, incredible good quality.
I use the sund card of mother board conected to a Marantz HT amplifier and the sound is very good, of course you need some type of amplifier.

Awesome, thanks!

So that answers my PC to HDTV video question. One thing though... what is "Exact scan"? Is that a feature of the TV? A PC feature? I haven't heard of that before.

Questions I still need answered are:

-With my current setup, what is needed (or what is good to have) for some banging audio to accompany my new video? Component wise and speaker-wise. Some examples of actual speakers or setups would be nice.

-When I put in that blu-ray drive, (and update the firmware) is it going to be as simple as installing the drive, use a program like PowerDVD and BAM it all works?

-Will a "Home Theater in a Box" system fit my needs? I'll want my PC audio to come out of my 5.1 setup as well. Pretty much any sounds from my setup I'll want to come through my 5.1 speaker setup. I'm thinking a receiver is going to be needed to plug in all of these different inputs.... but I don't have any clue about receivers.

I spent months doing research before purchasing parts for my HTPC and home theatre setup. It's an ongoing process that I enjoy.

fuentesjm is right, you will need an amplifier of some sorts. The sound card is just transmitting the signal of the sound, and doesn't push out the power needed for the speakers to play.

I find that a receiver is basically a must have. ONKYO makes decent ones. I have an older one that doesn't have any HDMI inputs, but now most of them do. The best setup (IMO) is to have the HDMI sending video to your receiver, and then using an optical cable to send audio to it from your PC. Then, use an HDMI->HDMI cable from your receiver to your TV. You could route other devices like Xbox or cable box through the receiver.

On my setup I have a universal learning remote that have the channel changing programmed to the cable box, volume changing programmed to the receiver, and power button programmed to the TV. Depending on how versitle your remote is, you can put everything into one profile.

Essentially your blu-ray playback should work like you are thinking. Cyberlink has a BD/HD advistor http://www.digital-digest.com/software/CyberLink_BD_HD_Advisor.html that should come with the software on your BD drive. If there is a problem with your setup, it will tell you.

I also ran speaker wire through my attic and mounted my 7.1 system. It's a good feeling you have after you're done, but you will lose some weight in that attic if you do it in June like me :) We connected the wires to 2 faceplates with 2 speakers per plate, so 4 speakers total, plus the 4 (sub, center, R, L) near the TV.

1920x1080 should not be a problem. I will tell you that if you try to first hook it up with a resolution that your monitor doesn't support (like 1920x1200 or some other resolution with a different aspect ratio) then you will most likely see a black screen. If that happens, plug it into a real monitor then change it, then try again.

Audio is my weakest point when it comes to this setup, because I'm not familiar with the different formats and technologies. So, all you audio experts, please correct me if I'm wrong, or add additional info that I may be missing. Is this your motherboard?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188014 If it is, it has an optical out, which means the Blu-Ray software can just spit out the audio (digitally) in pass-through mode and let your receiver do all the decoding. This gives you the best possible quality, and means you wouldn't have to purchase a sound card. This is what I do with my HTPC, and I'm able to get the 7.1 audio to my receiver via optical pass-through.

I think you are on the right track with most of your asumptions. How you do plan on controlling the PC, via wireless keyboard and mouse? Check this remote out: http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2008/09/08/gyration-air-music-remote-with-motionsense-hits-retail-today/
I have that one (except an older model w/o the lcd screen) and it's good for HTPC setups because you can program your TV and receiver into the remote, as well as control your computer and computer's mouse by waving the remote in the air (like a Wii remote).


EDIT: I'm not sure about "exact scan". That terminology doesn't really go with the PC aspect, it could be something with your TV. Alot of TV's over-scan the image to make sure the TV is filled, so this results in some of the edges of your video being cropped a little bit. "Exact scan" could be a setting on your TV that disables it's overscan and spits out a 1-to-1 pixel mapping, like a regular LCD monitor (which is ideal). If you ever edit videos, a lot of video editing software has "safe boxes" to show you that if you put some content outside of these boxes, they could be overscanned and not show up on the TV.

Wow, thanks DexterMorgan!

-Yes, I do plan on controlling the PC with a wireless keyboard and mouse. I don't have one yet (still using a wired setup), but I figured that would be easy. I still want to be able to play a game or two using the ol' keyboard and mouse setup! I wonder how Crysis is going to look at 1920x1080 on my TV...

-One thing I forgot to mention, the HD Television that I have is through my cable provider, Charter Communications. I'm kind of bummed that they don't have a zillion channels in HD, but I'll take what I can get. I basically get a greatly reduced price in internet, and don't want to have the hassle of switching to Dish. They will arrive tomorrow morning to setup the HD cable.

-I saw that BD advisor, and I plan on running that on my PC... but I'm at work right now and can't do it yet!

-Yes, that is my exact motherboard. I'm not sure what the optical out consists of, or what is involved in that as I've never used it before, so I'll need a little bit more information about that if you've got a link or have time to explain it. What I'm gathering from your post is that there is a cable that I can plug into my motherboard that will connect to a receiver that carries the audio signal, and from there my receiver will push it out to the speakers?

-Does the receiver get my Cable input? Or does my cable box hook up straight into the TV? I hate asking questions about receivers... anyone have a good "receivers for dummies" link I can read to spin myself up?

Exact scan is a TV setting that gets rid of overscan. Other TVs have different names for the same thing like standard/fill, 1:1 pixel, etc.

I have one of those drives and it comes with a PowerDVD program to play all of the formats. If you upgrade the PowerDVD to the latest edition it has dropped the HD DVD playback ability, so I won't do that since I have both HDM formats. Your computer should be just fine for HD but to be sure you can get the CyberLink advisor (free download available here: CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Support (http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/bd-support/enu/index.jsp)) to have it check it out for you. It will do both a hardware and software check.

As far as audio goes I would use an optical connection to the surround equipment and yes, a HTIB will work as long as it has the optical audio input. I'm not a fan of those as you really don't need another DVD player which is usually included. I think a 5.1 receiver is a better deal, myself, but it is going to be your system so go to the stores and see what they have.

here is an optical audio cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123013 you can find these any almost any electronics sctore (CC, BestBuy, etc...)

here is an example of a home theatre setup in your budget: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120081 I'm not a connoisseur, but that one seems like a decent system.

So the optical cable connects from here:
http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l406/mrjspeed/opticalport.jpg

to here:
http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l406/mrjspeed/onkyoreceiver.jpg

Your HD cable/satellite will almost surely give you a box with an HDMI cable. Note that HDMI cables transmit audio AND video, so that one HDMI cable connecting your cablebox to your receiver will give you HD video and audio. The reason you would need the optical cable is because I don't think your graphics card is sending the audio through the HDMI, I think it's just sending HDMI only. Your receiver then plays all audio from all sources onto the speakers you've connected to it.

so yes, your cable, HTPC, and anything else should plug into your receiver, and then your receiver feed the video to your TV. This way if you want to switch from HTPC to cable, or to Xbox or something, you select "Video 1", or "Video 2" on your receiver and it will switch inputs.

As far as audio goes I would use an optical connection to the surround equipment and yes, a HTIB will work as long as it has the optical audio input. I'm not a fan of those as you really don't need another DVD player which is usually included. I think a 5.1 receiver is a better deal, myself, but it is going to be your system so go to the stores and see what they have.

Thanks rbinck,

I'm leaning toward a receiver as well, because you are right, most come with a DVD player, and I already have one of those in my PC. We'll see though. I have a feeling the audio and receiver is going to be a little more complicated that I would like... The video seemed easy enough.


Dexter,

I can't see those pictures, possibly because of my work firewall, so I'll check them out when I get home. Thanks for the link on that HTIB. That's definitely an option. Are the speakers you mounted in your room that big? What are you using?

I'm attaching the images incase my image provider isn't working right.

my receiver is 3 or 4 years old, but it's basically the same as the one I linked but without the HDMI inputs (which I wish I had :().

the speakers I mounted on the ceiling are the same size as the smaller 4 in the picture of the one I linked you. I think they look bigger than they really are, but keep in mind that they are pretty light weight because they are mostly hollow.

Alright, I like what I'm seeing here.

At Newegg I have the following three things in my cart right now:

ONKYO HT-S5100 Home Theater in a Box System $399.99
LG Internal Blu-Ray/HD DVD-ROM drive $149.99
Belkin Digital Optical Cable $7.99

Shipping - only $10.95... for everything to arrive UPS guaranteed third day service.

Anything glaringly obvious that I would still need before I make my purchase? I'd hate to start setting all of this up and realize I'm missing something and have to wait even LONGER! :)

So the items that I'll have out in my living room are:

-My 46" TV
-HD Cable Box
-My PC
-Receiver and speakers
-Nintendo Wii (I love playing Golf on this thing)

Reading reviews of the Onkyo HTIB, they are saying that a major con is: HDMI 1080P is strictly a pass through, video only"

What does that mean?

not really missing anything. you will need an HDMI->HDMI cable to connect your receiver to your TV. Also probably need 100ft of speaker wire, depending on your attic and room size.

I just want you to know that basically the only thing that is gonna take advantage of the full 7.1 surround is blu-ray movies. On anything else, or anything else 5.1 and less, you won't hear anything come out of those back speakers. Even during 7.1 those back speakers don't play that often (since most of the sound is centered forward), but when they do it is nice :)

here is the info on your speakers, you can see the surround ones are pretty light:

Dimentions:
Front Speaker: 6.13" x 14.63" x 7.81"
Center Speaker: 17.19" x 4.13" x 5.19"
Surround Speaker: 5.31" x 10.69" x 3.75"
Surround Back L/R Speaker: 5.31" x 10.69" x 3.75"
Subwoofer: 11.13" x 19.63" x 15.69"
Receiver: 17.13" x 5.88" x 14.5"

Weight:
Front Speaker: 6.4 lbs.
Center Speaker: 5.7 lbs.
Surround Speaker: 2.86 lbs.
Surround Back L/R Speaker: 2.86 lbs.
Subwoofer: 25.4 lbs.
Receiver: 18.5 lbs.



pass through only means it spits the video straight to your TV as if it were directly connected to your PC. I'm not sure why you would do anything else but this, or why it would be a con... They might mean that the HDMI output on the receiver only spits out video and not both video and audio. You really wouldn't need this unless you want sound coming out of your TV speakers, and most flat panel TV speakers sound horrible.

So something like this for speaker wire should be fine? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882379048

And I added this to my cart as well (HDMI to HDMI cable):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882021039

Ok, so passthrough isn't a big deal. I just didn't know what it meant, or why people consider that a "con".

Since I don't want to screw up the wires, I assume I'll be "splicing" the surround sound speaker wires, so do you guys have any links for a decent "how-to" on properly splicing the wires so I don't jack it up?

The non-pass through receivers will get the audio from the HDMI input instead of just passing it through to the TV. It would eliminate the optical cable, but they generally cost more and the optical cable will do just as well.

Saving a few hundred dollars to have just one more cable going from my PC to the receiver is fine with me.

yeah those cables and wires are fine. I think it's better to get HDMI cables off of Newegg then at places like Bestbuy because they are so much more expensive.


as far as splicing goes... I don't really know how you can mess them up... Just peel the 2 wires apart (positive and negative) and strip them maybe .5" or 1". Just remember the scheme you use to connect them. The wires have two colors: a color, and black. When I did mine I always paired copper with color, and silver with black. This way you know that you aren't switching the polarization of the wires.

You should run your speaker wires into the attic as much as they will go, connect some extension wire to them, run them down inside a wall next to your receiver and then connect the ends of those to something like this: http://search.beachaudio.com/search?p=R&srid=S1%2d6&lbc=beachaudio&w=Speaker%20Wire%20Wall%20Plate&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebeachaudio%2ecom%2fproduct% 5finfo%2ephp%3fproducts%5fid%3d70824&rk=1&uid=97141625&sid=2&ts=custom&rsc=ac3vMaDK1e31AIaq&method=and&isort=score&champ=1&refkeyword=speaker%20wire%20socket%20plate , then run some wire from your receiver to that wall outlet. That would be the cleanest method I think. Of course this depends on your wall and where you want things located.

Your receiver will have a button on the remote called "Test Surround" that will cycle through in a circle and play static air on each speaker. This is pretty useful to make sure all of them are connected and that they are in the right order.

Ok, so I bought these items today, and they should be here by the weekend:

BELKIN PURE AV AV20000-06 6 ft. Digital Optical Cable - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123013)
Rosewill RMS-A650 Black 30" - 60" TV/Plasma tilt wall mount - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824021099)
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)
Rosewill RCW-906R 10 FT. HDMI to HDMI Cable V1.3 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882021039)
ONKYO HT-S5100 Black 7.1 Channel Home Theater System (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120081)
BELKIN PURE AV F8V200-16-100 100 ft. Pro Series 16-Gauge Speaker Wire - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882379048)


Hopefully I'll get it all set up and take some pictures this weekend to show off my new setup!

Can't wait to see those photos as I have been following this thread. Congrats Shotty McPopgun on all of the great equipment you have.

Yeah, I'll be sure to post them when I take the pics.

BTW, my DVI to HDMI cable came in, and I've been using the TV as my new monitor...

All I have to say... Games look incredible on a 46" screen at 1920x1080 resolution. I thought my video card might studder a bit, but I was able to play Half Life 2 with all of the details up to the max, and I didn't have any video lag. I haven't tried many other games, but I'm really excited how this is turning out! It really was as simple as plugging the cable into the TV and computer, and BAM it worked.

On Friday Charter came out and hooked up my HD cable as well. I spent the entire weekend watching football and drinking beer.

I'm sure you will love every minute of it.

Alright, I got most of the stuff hooked up. It turns out my wife took my digital camera when she left me a month ago, so I'm going to have to borrow one, and only show you guys the end result.

I'm having an issue with my cable TV input though. From the HD Cable Box to my Receiver, I'm using component cables. From the receiver to the TV, I simply want one HDMI cable connected to it. I can't seem to get the component-in to shoot out through the HDMI cable.

Am I asking too much? Is that not possible with my setup? If so, I'm in trouble, because that means I'm going to have to buy another HDMI cable to go from the cable box to the receiver. I got the computer plugged into the receiver, and feeding into the TV just fine. But that is going from HDMI in and HDMI out.

Should I just buy another HDMI cable anyway? They are dirt cheap online, and I'm pretty sure I can get one here by Saturday in time for the "big game".

i didn't really think about that scenario. HDMI is usually better to have than component. It is a digital signal and it will get both audio and video to your receiver. If you use component, you will also need audio sent in the form of red and white RCA cables probably. Not only will HDMI be of better quality, but it will reduce clutter from 5 connections down to 1.

the problem might be that the receiver isn't converting the analog component signal to the digital HDMI. I would order another cable, but one thing you can try (if you have an extra set of component cables around) is hooking up component out to your TV.

Yeah, I figured that was the issue...

I don't have two two sets of component cables, nor do I have two HDMI cables... So since the receiver won't convert the analog signal into the digital HDMI-out, I can't have my cable TV going through the receiver with the cables I currently own.

Last night I ordered another HDMI cable from Newegg and it's going to be overnighted to me tomorrow. That wil solve my problem.

I was up until 2:30 this morning hooking up the receiver, the front speakers, center speaker, and sub to just about everything I owned... Just so I could hear a taste of what this thing can do. I got the optical audio out of my computer hooked into the receiver and was jamming music at 70% volume and it was so loud I thought I was going to break my windows (or have a nieghbor call the cops). Blu-Ray movies are going to be amazing. Turns out all of this stuff was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be. It's just a matter of plugging things in. That optical connection was really easy.

I guess I was assuming that my cable provider was going to provide me with an HDMI cable "out" from the cable box... instead he had that big huge 5-cable thing (component video and audio). Oh well, $20 overnight shipping lesson learned.

Turns out I found an old digital camera when I was going through some old things, so I can start taking pictures of the endeavor when I continue setting all of this up tonight. The speaker wire and TV mount should come in today (the surround sound system came in a day early!) so I should be able to mount the TV as well... THAT should be fun... Of course I'll bring a buddy or two over to help me.

I also got the blu-ray player in as well, but haven't installed that into the PC yet. My living room is filled with boxes, packing popcorn, couches, and electronics right now... I don't feel like opening up my PC with my house a mess like that. I'll be very busy tonight.

I guess I was assuming that my cable provider was going to provide me with an HDMI cable "out" from the cable box... instead he had that big huge 5-cable thing (component video and audio). Oh well, $20 overnight shipping lesson learned.

that's too bad. I would have assumed so too because our provider's box came with both the 5 cable and an HDMI cable. I guess it depends on the provider or the manufacturer of the cable box.


I also got the blu-ray player in as well, but haven't installed that into the PC yet. My living room is filled with boxes, packing popcorn, couches, and electronics right now... I don't feel like opening up my PC with my house a mess like that. I'll be very busy tonight.
I know that scene. I've built about 6 PC's for myself and friends and family. Everytime the shipment comes in, I go through the ritual of getting all my lights and tools in place. When it comes to the packing materials, I basically rip them off and chunk them in the distance. Who cares about a clean house, I wanna get this stuff put together!

can't wait to see pics, it's always interesting to see peoples' setups.

So last night I installed the blu-ray drive, updated the firmware, installed PowerDvD, patched it up to the latest free version, and threw in my first Blu-Ray DVD purchase of the latest bond movie.

I watched a little bit of the movie, and my whole PC ended up freezing on me about 5 minutes into the movie. It was about 1am at the time, and since I had to be at work at 7am, I decided to just shut it down for the night and work on it later.

I've got a few Halloween parties I'm going to tonight, so I don't think I'll be working on my setup today when I get off work, but I've got two buddies coming over tomorrow morning-ish (if I don't have a hangover) to help run speaker cable in my attic and mount my TV (if the mount comes in today... it's a day late). We'll be sure to take pictures during that process.

My Halloween costume this year is "Kip" from Napoleon Dynamite- after he meets his african american girlfriend!
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing/Napoleon-Dynamites-Kip-Kit/2663527/product.html

Oh I forgot to mention, I went out and bought an HDMI cable yesterday and hooked it up from the cable box to the receiver. Now I'm able to watch TV through the receiver. No more analog to digital problem, and a lot less cabling back there.

I'm having an issue with going back and forth from signals.

For instance, I'll start off in the morning using my PC, which I've assigned to AUX on the receiver. So the computer will start up and I'll see it on the big TV, but then I'll get some music going or whatever, and switch over to the TV to watch some sports. Everything is fine at this point. However, when I want to switch back to my PC, I get sound, but it says "unsupported video signal". I tried to turn the TV off and on, and the receiver off and on, but the only thing that works is to turn the PC off and then back on. Is there some setting I need to enable or some slick way I can hit some sort of refresh so that my TV can get the appropriate signal? Does any of that make sense?

i didn't really think about that scenario. HDMI is usually better to have than component. It is a digital signal and it will get both audio and video to your receiver. If you use component, you will also need audio sent in the form of red and white RCA cables probably. Not only will HDMI be of better quality, but it will reduce clutter from 5 connections down to 1.

the problem might be that the receiver isn't converting the analog component signal to the digital HDMI. I would order another cable, but one thing you can try (if you have an extra set of component cables around) is hooking up component out to your TV.

A common misnomer as they are essentially the same.

I'm having an issue with going back and forth from signals.

For instance, I'll start off in the morning using my PC, which I've assigned to AUX on the receiver. So the computer will start up and I'll see it on the big TV, but then I'll get some music going or whatever, and switch over to the TV to watch some sports. Everything is fine at this point. However, when I want to switch back to my PC, I get sound, but it says "unsupported video signal". I tried to turn the TV off and on, and the receiver off and on, but the only thing that works is to turn the PC off and then back on. Is there some setting I need to enable or some slick way I can hit some sort of refresh so that my TV can get the appropriate signal? Does any of that make sense?
You could try this: Got HDCP Connection Problems? (http://www.highdefinitionblog.com/?p=314) It worked for me. You put it between the PC and the receiver. You may need to connect it to the TV while storing the TV info, then reconnect it to be on the PC output. It basically makes the PC think it is connected to the TV even when the receiver is on some other input. For your case you will need a couple of HDMI to DVI cables, which is what I needed. Then connect the audio via the optical to the receiver.

I was trying to avoid buying anything else. I really don't see any reason why the PC video won't work switching back and forth... It seems like there should be some sort of refresh option without having to power down the system and powering it back up... I'll play with it some more and see if I can't make anything happen. Worst case scenario I'll just plug the HDMI cable straight into the TV, while keeping the optical audio cable plugged into the receiver.

Could my resolution have anything to do with it? I'm currently using the resolution one-below 1920x1080... simply because that huge resolution makes things so dang tiny I can't hardly read what's on the screen. Could it be that since I'm not using the native resolution it isn't switching back and forth properly? (This may have nothing to do with it... just thought I'd throw it out there)

I got pretty much nothing done this weekend with my setup. I'm still rocking two front speakers, the center speaker, and the subwoofer. My buddy didnt' end up coming over to help so I couldn't mount the TV, and I couldn't find the energy to get up in my attic to run wire by myself... I just ended up cleaning the heck out of my house and going out afterward. Now it looks good enough to take pictures, so you can expect some pictures soon. I did end up watching Casino Royale all the way through, and the system didn't freeze up, so I guess that first time was just a fluke. I borrowed a friend's Blu-Ray version of the new Incredible Hulk movie, but I don't plan on watching that until I get my four other speakers set up yet. Maybe my friend will come over tonight and help out.

the HDMI->TV and Optical->Receiver is actually what I currently do. Sometimes when I switch to the hdmi input on the TV, it doesn't see it, so I cycle to another input and then return back... works fine. Seems like a lot of devices either take a while to recognize a digital input, or decide to give up.

I would try at 1920x1080 first. Are you running Vista? I know Vista has an option to increase text size. That's what I did and I can see everything much better. I bet XP has a similar option. Besides, you'd want to use 1920x1080p to get the full resolution for the crispest video.

Not running Vista, XP Pro.

I've tried the larger text function in XP, but it made everything look wierd.

I know the native resolution will provide the crispest resolution, but I only go to the lower resolution when I'm surfing the web, or stuff like that. If I play a game or watch a blu-ray, I'll throw it on 1920x1080 to get it looking the best.

Oh one thing I forgot to mention...

I bought an HDMI cable going from my cable box to the receiver so I could get rid of the 5-cable monstrosity. However, the receiver doesn't play any of the sound from my TV cable. It passes straight through the receiver into the TV... Is there some sort of setting I can adjust, or am I going to have to bust out another "red/white" duo cable to run sound from the cable box to my receiver? It's kind of annoying to only hear sound from my TV speakers when I'm watching TV, and run sound from my receiver when I'm on my PC or watching a Blu-Ray. I want all of the sound to come out of my new 7.1 system. (I realize sound won't come out of all speakers all of the time... you know what I mean by this)

I have a four day weekend this weekend (taking Monday off) so maybe I'll stop being lazy and get it set up and take some pictures.

Oh one thing I forgot to mention...

I bought an HDMI cable going from my cable box to the receiver so I could get rid of the 5-cable monstrosity. However, the receiver doesn't play any of the sound from my TV cable. It passes straight through the receiver into the TV... Is there some sort of setting I can adjust, or am I going to have to bust out another "red/white" duo cable to run sound from the cable box to my receiver? It's kind of annoying to only hear sound from my TV speakers when I'm watching TV, and run sound from my receiver when I'm on my PC or watching a Blu-Ray. I want all of the sound to come out of my new 7.1 system. (I realize sound won't come out of all speakers all of the time... you know what I mean by this)

I have a four day weekend this weekend (taking Monday off) so maybe I'll stop being lazy and get it set up and take some pictures.

For audio you will have to connect either an optical digital cable (Toslink) from the cable box to the receiver, which will give you Dolby Digital or if the cable box doesn't have that the red and white wires (analog).