How to connect HD DVD player to your A/V receiver

[Ilya]

True, but there's no point in upgrading my A/V preamp (whenever the new formats are supported) until the format war is over...

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray support the same audio formats: DD+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD (and PCM). So, I think it should be safe to upgrade the AV receiver as soon as all three of these new codecs are supported, regardless on whether the format war is over or not.
In the meantime, you can enjoy DD+ (over 5.1 analog or 5.1 LPCM HDMI) with your existing AV receiver, thanks to Toshiba-provided DD+ decoder.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Oh, I may go ahead and buy a new AV preamp at some point...but I'm not touching the new HD disc hardware until there's a clear winner in the format war (which is absurd - look what it did to SACD and DVD-A).

 

[vurbano]

Unless you are unhappy with DD5.1, DTS or analog 5.1 theres no reason to upgrade after the winner is declared either. Unless you just want to throw away a another 800 bucks.

 

[CochiseGuy]

I have my XA1 coming this week. Will hook the video up to my Sony 57" RP HDTV via the Sony's HDCP compliant DVI input with a HDMI > DVI adaptor. I plan to connect both 5.1 analog and Digital Optical audio outputs to my Sony receiver. From what I've read here and elsewhere, the 5.1 analog output should give me the best results for HD DVD's (when using a non-HDMI capable receiver), but some standard DVD's encoded with DTS will output better on the digital optical audio.

My question, which I hope doesn't sound too dumb, is: Is it really worth buying good gold plated RCA analog cables for the 5.1 analog? Of course I know in general, the better cable the better quality. But it's been so long since I've used RCA audio jacks on anything, I'm not sure if cable quality is that much an issue with analog. And, I have a ton of old RCA jacks. I appreciate your opinions.

 

[Ilya]

My question, which I hope doesn't sound too dumb, is: Is it really worth buying good gold plated RCA analog cables for the 5.1 analog?

For analog connections quality cables are more important than for digital. And yes, the gold-plated connections will make a difference: if not immediately, then in a couple of years down the road. Having said that, I wouldn't spend $150 on Monster Cables. Buy.com has Acoustic Research PR-136 Pro II Series 5.1 cables for $38.99. Good deal!

 

[CochiseGuy]

For analog connections quality cables are more important than for digital. And yes, the gold-plated connections will make a difference: if not immediately, then in a couple of years down the road. Having said that, I wouldn't spend $150 on Monster Cables. Buy.com has Acoustic Research PR-136 Pro II Series 5.1 cables for $38.99. Good deal!

Thanks for the feedback & suggestion; the AR PR-136 Pro II's from Buy.com is what I went with. As I said, it's been a few years since I've played around with any analog connections. Hate to admit it, but I always wondered what that 'analog direct' setting was on my Sony receiver. Now I know - I select the 5.1 audio for input and the analog direct for sound effect settings, and the Sony receiver will pass through the 5.1 audio from the Tosh XA1 without trying to process it.

 

[Hoopnoop]

Is 5.1 audio fairly common on audio receivers? I have a 5 year old Onkyo system and haven't had a chance to check to see if it has it. Hopefully, it does!

 

[Ilya]

Yes, 5.1 analog inputs are rather common on AV receivers, though there might be some receivers out there that do not have them. Do you remember the model number?

 

[Hoopnoop]

I did locate the 5.1 audio analog inputs on my receiver and have my HD-A1 hooked up there. I have one additional question though. I have the standard red/white analog connectors hooked up to the 6 inputs. However, the center and subwoofer inputs seem to indicate that some type of different connection is appropriate somewhat similar to the kind of indicator that I see for a coaxial digital connection. My audio seems to be working fine but should I consider different connectors?

 

[Ilya]

Any interconnects will do, but higher quality cables may somewhat improve the sound quality. I usually recommend Acoustic Research PR-136 Pro II Series 5.1 cables ($38.99)
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90140151

 

[vurbano]

Any interconnects will do, but higher quality cables may somewhat improve the sound quality. I usually recommend Acoustic Research PR-136 Pro II Series 5.1 cables ($38.99)
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90140151

I bought those. A heck of a deal considerng the quality of them. Thats a lot of cables and connectors for 40 bucks!

 

[cebbigh]

I got my HD-A1 yesterday and hooked it up. My receiver (Onkyo TX-SR501) is equipped with the 5.1 analog inputs. But I don't know what settings to set the Onkyo to get the DD sound. The light on the Onkyo indicates Pro Logic 2. It sounds good but I'm not sure if I'm missing something. Any help is welcome!


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edit: NEVER MIND ... just discovered what the multichannel option does on the Onkyo.

 

[long_time_DNC]

If it's indicating Pro Logic 2, then you're definitely not getting DD5.1. Pro Logic 2 is a nice enhancement on Pro Logic, but that's it. You're braver than I am though. I'm not touching the hi-def formats until the war is over.

 

[cebbigh]

If it's indicating Pro Logic 2, then you're definitely not getting DD5.1. Pro Logic 2 is a nice enhancement on Pro Logic, but that's it. You're braver than I am though. I'm not touching the hi-def formats until the war is over.

just edited my post ...

 

[long_time_DNC]

Ah, multi-channel. That makes sense.

Still braver than I am. I got burned in the betamax vs. vhs war. Not putting myself through that early adopter hell again....

 

[cebbigh]

Ah, multi-channel. That makes sense.

Still braver than I am. I got burned in the betamax vs. vhs war. Not putting myself through that early adopter hell again....

Not brave here, curiousity just got the better of me. Like anyone else I've no way of knowing how the HD DVD v BluRay battle will work out. I suspect it will take some time and I think it's going to take a whole lot to supplant regular DVD as the dominant format. I do think Toshiba is making much better moves that Sony at this early stage. But I think either side is going to have more of a niche following for some time to come rather than being a dominant force.

 

[cebbigh]

Using the 5.1 analog is it best to use the receiver to tweek the adjustments or the setup menu on the HD-A1? I've left the settings as large/0 and not adjusted speaker distances on the settup screen and set my Onkyo to mirror the digital settings that I already have set up. Because my subwoofer setting on the receiver is 100hz I set it that way too in the HD-A1 settings.

 

[Ilya]

Not sure about your Onkyo, but most AV Receivers bypass individual speaker settings when using 5.1 analog inputs. Which means you must use HD-A1 speaker settings instead.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Not brave here, curiousity just got the better of me. Like anyone else I've no way of knowing how the HD DVD v BluRay battle will work out. I suspect it will take some time and I think it's going to take a whole lot to supplant regular DVD as the dominant format. I do think Toshiba is making much better moves that Sony at this early stage. But I think either side is going to have more of a niche following for some time to come rather than being a dominant force.

Ah, the curiosity factor. Yes, I'm curious too, but while I've seen demos and like what I see, I'm still not ready to plunk down the funds and try it out. There's not enough media available yet that I'm interested in yet either. And, as you said, it's going to take a lot to supplant existing DVD as the dominant format, leaving the HD formats as pretty much a niche format for probably 2 years or more.

With over 700 titles in my library, I'm not about to embark on replacing all but a few of my most favorite titles whenever I do take the plunge into the HD format anyway.

 

[cebbigh]

Not sure about your Onkyo, but most AV Receivers bypass individual speaker settings when using 5.1 analog inputs. Which means you must use HD-A1 speaker settings instead.

The multichannel setting was zeroed out for speaker adjustments on the Onkyo when I first looked at it. Because the day the HD-A1 arrived we had a brief power outage I figured the settings just got zeroed somehow when the power went out. I knew that wasn't suppossed to happen but I figured I'd just reset to the approximate numbers that I had the speakers set at. Later I saw the digital settings had not been lost after all ( the numbers were slightly different than the manually set numbers for analog). I then matched the analog settings to the digital settings. After turning it off/on the numbers remained.

I guess I'll just leave it as it is until I have more time to play around with it without driving the family crazy. Odd thing is for some reason they want to watch the TV and not play with the controls...what's the fun in that?