Need help wiring my system to full HDMI

digitalvideo

I need some help and advice on how to properly wire my home entertainment system and whether or not I'm getting full HDMI HD through my tv while watching tv and movies. I have Comcast cable. I'm wondering if my wiring connections are transmitting it? I'd like to keep my system as much HDMI wired as I can without the need of fiber optic cables to get all the latest from Dolby True HD, DTS Master Audio and so on.

I have got a 7.1 surround home entertainment system that consists of:

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma
Pioneer Elite SC-05 a/v reciever
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD (Soon to be replaced with an Oppo BDP-83)

7.1 surround speaker system:
Center speaker - Polk CSi A6
2 front tower/floor speakers L/R - Polk RTi A9
2 side speakers L/R - Polk RTI A3
2 rear speakers L/R - Polk RTi A3
Sub - Polk PSW 505 (Soon to be replaced with an SVS PB12 NSD)
Soon to get a Sunfire amp

My current wiring connections are this =

HDMI wire coming out of my Pioneer a/v going into the tv.
HDMI wire coming out of my Pioneer BDP going into the tv.
Toslink fiber optic cable coming out of my tv and going into the reciever.

I have all the proper speaker cables and sub cable hooked up.

Do I need to change any of my connections?

Erik Tracy

digitalvideo wrote: »

I need some help and advice on how to properly wire my home entertainment system and whether or not I'm getting full HDMI HD through my tv while watching tv and movies. I have Comcast cable. I'm wondering if my wiring connections are transmitting it? I'd like to keep my system as much HDMI wired as I can without the need of fiber optic cables to get all the latest from Dolby True HD, DTS Master Audio and so on.

I have got a 7.1 surround home entertainment system that consists of:

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma
Pioneer Elite SC-05 a/v reciever
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD (Soon to be replaced with an Oppo BDP-83)

7.1 surround speaker system:
Center speaker - Polk CSi A6
2 front tower/floor speakers L/R - Polk RTi A9
2 side speakers L/R - Polk RTI A3
2 rear speakers L/R - Polk RTi A3
Sub - Polk PSW 505 (Soon to be replaced with an SVS PB12 NSD)
Soon to get a Sunfire amp

My current wiring connections are this =

HDMI wire coming out of my Pioneer a/v going into the tv.
HDMI wire coming out of my Pioneer BDP going into the tv.
Toslink fiber optic cable coming out of my tv and going into the reciever.

I have all the proper speaker cables and sub cable hooked up.

Do I need to change any of my connections?

What do you have from your comcast receiver to your system?

Also, it seems you have your BDP wired 'backwards' by having it go to your TV first. You may be limiting yourself to the full audio by wiring the BDP->TV->fiber optic->AVR....some tvs do not pass full surround audio via the fiber optic output.

A 'typical' centrally configured system would have all sources connected to the avr first, then a single HDMI cable from the avr to the TV.

Exceptions do exist...as in having a combination of analog or fiber optic or digital coax connections from source components to the avr depending on preferences on what component does decoding of audio formats or if source components have better DACs than the avr.

But....in general....if you want an all HDMI setup it would be from source components->AVR via HDMI cables, then AVR->HDTV via single HDMI.

ymmv,

bdtae5656

"HDMI wire coming out of my Pioneer BDP going into the tv." Why dont you just run the hdmi back to your AVR from your blue ray

digitalvideo

Erik Tracy wrote: »

What do you have from your comcast receiver to your system?

Also, it seems you have your BDP wired 'backwards' by having it go to your TV first. You may be limiting yourself to the full audio by wiring the BDP->TV->fiber optic->AVR....some tvs do not pass full surround audio via the fiber optic output.

A 'typical' centrally configured system would have all sources connected to the avr first, then a single HDMI cable from the avr to the TV.

Exceptions do exist...as in having a combination of analog or fiber optic or digital coax connections from source components to the avr depending on preferences on what component does decoding of audio formats or if source components have better DACs than the avr.

But....in general....if you want an all HDMI setup it would be from source components->AVR via HDMI cables, then AVR->HDTV via single HDMI.

ymmv,

ok, thank you for clearing that up.

I have the Comcast cable wire going directly into the tv, there is no converter box.

I just disconnected the BD player HDMI wire out of the tv and plugged it into the reciever. There is only one HDMI cable wire going into the tv now.

Erik Tracy

digitalvideo wrote: »

ok, thank you for clearing that up.

I have the Comcast cable wire going directly into the tv, there is no converter box.

I just disconnected the BD player HDMI wire out of the tv and plugged it into the reciever. There is only one HDMI cable wire going into the tv now.

That should do you!

By the way - how come you are swapping out the Elite 05 BDP for the Oppo?

jinjuku

digitalvideo wrote: »

ok, thank you for clearing that up.

I have the Comcast cable wire going directly into the tv, there is no converter box.

I just disconnected the BD player HDMI wire out of the tv and plugged it into the reciever. There is only one HDMI cable wire going into the tv now.

If you are talking about the F-Style CTV cable going directly to your TV, you will need the converter box to get the HD streams.

Unless you are doing Cable Card. Are you doing cable card?

digitalvideo

Erik Tracy wrote: »

That should do you!

By the way - how come you are swapping out the Elite 05 BDP for the Oppo?

The new Oppo BDP-83 isn't out yet, but it's a true dedicated universal player.

Oppo DVD players upconvert DVD's the best I ever seen a player do and they put their upconverter into the new BDP-83. My friend's Oppo dvd upconverter plays DVD's better than my Pioneer does. It uses the same award winning Anchor Bay ABT2010 chip as Arcam, Denon, and others use in their extreme high end DVD players that cost thousands of dollars, the deinterlacing is top notch and even handles weird animie cadences.

Basically this system has pretty much the same features as the Denon DVD-A1UDCI that costs $3000+ and this Oppo will sell for around $599.

Check it out -

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

http://bitstream.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2008/12/oppo-bdp83-universal-bluray.html

Now compare it to the $3000+ Denon DVD-A1UDCI
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/high-definition-dvd-players-hd-dvd-blu-ray/denon-dvd-a1udci

digitalvideo

jinjuku wrote: »

If you are talking about the F-Style CTV cable going directly to your TV, you will need the converter box to get the HD streams.

Unless you are doing Cable Card. Are you doing cable card?

Comcast told me that I don't need a converter box to recieve HD channels, they said if my tv has a built in HD tuner/HDTV ready and is 1080p that I will recieve HD broadcasting on certain channels. I have the top tv on the market (Pioneer Elite Kuro pro-111fd) that is 1080p HD Tuner/HDTV built in. Even many lower end tv's have that feature built in. Some or even many hannels might not come in at 1080p yet regardless of a converter box or not. I understand about the national grid and not every channel will come in at 1080p for some time.

But what's the point of making all new tv's HD ready with built in HDTV tuners with 1080p if you still need a converter box? By law cable companies have to send you HD channels. If the technology isn't there yet for cable companies across America to offer full 1080p through the national grid I understand that, but they shouldn't keep the channels that are HD away from you if you can recieve them.

Erik Tracy

digitalvideo wrote: »

The new Oppo BDP-83 isn't out yet, but it's a true dedicated universal player.

Oppo DVD players upconvert DVD's the best I ever seen a player do and they put their upconverter into the new BDP-83. My friend's Oppo dvd upconverter plays DVD's better than my Pioneer does. It uses the same award winning Anchor Bay ABT2010 chip as Arcam, Denon, and others use in their extreme high end DVD players that cost thousands of dollars, the deinterlacing is top notch and even handles weird animie cadences.

Basically this system has pretty much the same features as the Denon DVD-A1UDCI that costs $3000+ and this Oppo will sell for around $599.

Check it out -

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

http://bitstream.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2008/12/oppo-bdp83-universal-bluray.html

Now compare it to the $3000+ Denon DVD-A1UDCI
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/high-definition-dvd-players-hd-dvd-blu-ray/denon-dvd-a1udci

Hmmm...specs say it uses the Cirrus Logic (aka "Crystal") CS4398 DACs -same one used in a Bryston CD player..hmmm.....

But the upcoverting chipset is ABT...isn't that Anchor Bay? I thought they were a step down in upconverting quality compared to the Realta chip?

jinjuku

digitalvideo wrote: »

Comcast told me that I don't need a converter box to recieve HD channels, they said if my tv has a built in HD tuner/HDTV ready and is 1080p that I will recieve HD broadcasting on certain channels. I have the top tv on the market (Pioneer Elite Kuro pro-111fd) that is 1080p HD Tuner/HDTV built in. Even many lower end tv's have that feature built in. Some or even many hannels might not come in at 1080p yet regardless of a converter box or not. I understand about the national grid and not every channel will come in at 1080p for some time.

But what's the point of making all new tv's HD ready with built in HDTV tuners with 1080p if you still need a converter box? By law cable companies have to send you HD channels. If the technology isn't there yet for cable companies across America to offer full 1080p through the national grid I understand that, but they shouldn't keep the channels that are HD away from you if you can recieve them.

Comcast has some basic tier HD programs transmitted in Clear QAM. You will need either a cable card or converter box to get any premium content in HD since it's QAM is encrypted.

digitalvideo

jinjuku wrote: »

Comcast has some basic tier HD programs transmitted in Clear QAM. You will need either a cable card or converter box to get any premium content in HD since it's QAM is encrypted.

I'm not familiar with a cable card and how it works, how much is it, will it add to the monthly cost?

Also, I was told that if I wanted to get HD in premium content that they add on an additional $5 bucks on top of what I pay now?

digitalvideo

ok, I just read Comcast's website and FAQ's page, they said a converter box (set-top box) will give you more options, features, channels instead of just having a cable card. With the converter box you get ON-Demand, Pay-Per-View and other Comcast specific content.

For best picture quality should I hook the converter box directly into the tv or into the reciever? (Pioneer SC-05 a/v) I only got one HDMI wire going into the tv now from the reciever as was told above.

jinjuku

digitalvideo wrote: »

ok, I just read Comcast's website and FAQ's page, they said a converter box (set-top box) will give you more options, features, channels instead of just having a cable card. With the converter box you get ON-Demand, Pay-Per-View and other Comcast specific content.

For best picture quality should I hook the converter box directly into the tv or into the reciever? (Pioneer SC-05 a/v) I only got one HDMI wire going into the tv now from the reciever as was told above.

If they support cable card 2.0 then you 'should' get everything the set top box offers. Unfortunately Cable Companies have been fighting cable card non-stop. They have a significant revenue stream in leasing set top boxes.

Earlier cable cards were downstream only and couldn't talk back to the head end. That is why on demand and PPV works. There is a return communications path to the NOC (network operations center).

The irony is: If you have a high end set top TIVO like box there is most likely a cable card in it.

digitalvideo

For best picture quality should I hook the converter box directly into the tv or into the reciever? (Pioneer SC-05 a/v) I only got one HDMI wire going into the tv now from the reciever as was told above.

mantis

digitalvideo wrote: »

For best picture quality should I hook the converter box directly into the tv or into the reciever? (Pioneer SC-05 a/v) I only got one HDMI wire going into the tv now from the reciever as was told above.

The best way to wire a HDMI system is all HDMI to receiver then one HDMI to tv.
So I suggest you get a Comcast HD cablebox with DVR, now you will have all kinds of features you didn't have before. Not to mention only one cable out just HDMI. I see you changed your Blu Ray player to the receiver, this is the correct thing to do as you will not get the new audio formats any other way unless you wire analog, and who wants to deal with that mess not to mention analog will change the overall sound good or bad. Eff that.

So once you have everything wires the right way, just make sure all your cables are of proper length and pass HDMI high speed testing. Once this is achieved, you will receiver everything your system can do.

Nice system by the way.

Dan

digitalvideo

Thanks for the help.

I contacted Comcast and will be getting the box next week.

The HDMI wiring I like to keep as simple and short as possible. I have the tv hung on the wall and the entertainment system is right under it that has the reciever, BD player in it and the Comcast box will also go in it so it's only around a 3.5" foot distance from the boxes to the tv. The complicated wiring IMO is the speaker and sub wiring because I have a 7.1 surround system with speakers all over the room and the sub in the corner, soon to add a new SVS sub.

Off topic but Comcast is pretty slow, and customer service from them isn't the greatest. I lost cable for 12 days and they finally sent someone who did a poor job wiring it, the channels came in staticky and I called them again and they sent someone 3 days later who said the other comcast serviceman did a horrible job wiring it together and had to rewire it again. I have been contemplating switching over to satellite tv, I can get more channels for a cheaper price. Either Direct TV or Dish Network. But let's talk about that on a thread devoted to cable versus satellite.

bsoko2

mantis wrote: »

The best way to wire a HDMI system is all HDMI to receiver then one HDMI to tv.
So I suggest you get a Comcast HD cablebox with DVR, now you will have all kinds of features you didn't have before. Not to mention only one cable out just HDMI. I see you changed your Blu Ray player to the receiver, this is the correct thing to do as you will not get the new audio formats any other way unless you wire analog, and who wants to deal with that mess not to mention analog will change the overall sound good or bad. Eff that.

So once you have everything wires the right way, just make sure all your cables are of proper length and pass HDMI high speed testing. Once this is achieved, you will receiver everything your system can do.

Nice system by the way.

Dan

Mantis is correct - all HDMI cables to the reciever HDMI "IN's", and one HDMI cable HDMI "OUT" to the TV. Let the reciever do all the work for audio.

Bill

superjunior

digitalvideo wrote: »

ok, I just read Comcast's website and FAQ's page, they said a converter box (set-top box) will give you more options, features, channels instead of just having a cable card. With the converter box you get ON-Demand, Pay-Per-View and other Comcast specific content.

For best picture quality should I hook the converter box directly into the tv or into the reciever? (Pioneer SC-05 a/v) I only got one HDMI wire going into the tv now from the reciever as was told above.

I have the 92 elite which is basically the same as your 05. From what I've read the pioneer does a way better job at upconverting standard def tv than most screans can. But you can't upconvert with hdmi, just pass through. So by running componant and optical from cable box to avr, let the avr do the upconvert, than hdmi from avr to tv, works really well for me. Than I just run an hdmi from bdp to avr. This is the only configuration I've tried, but on my panny pz5085u, everything looks amazing, even standard def t.v. Btw, I also run another hdmi from cable box directly to tv(keeps the wife away from av gear and gives another option of watching tv with avr off) simply change input selects on avr.

ny12345

I have the pioneer 111fd as well. There is no cable card slot on the TV...so you can't use a cable card even if you wanted one. I do have a cable card in an sharp lcd but its a one way communication card (cant order pay per view). Cable companies don't like the cable cards because they charge about $2 per month for the card as oppose to $12 for the box...and you can't order other services from them because its a one way communication. A 2 way card may be out in the future...but don't hold your breath.

I am waiting for the oppo to come out as well. Don't have a BD player at this time. its really hard waiting for it to come out when you have an amazing TV in your living room.