Hello to everyone,

I have been on this site lurking now for at least a year. I finally took the plunge and ordered the 990/7700 combo. I have just began to set up mew system and just wanted some opinions on how to cable.

Here is what I have:
Toshiba 50HM66 DLP TV. 2 HDMI inputs. Toslink and component out as well as S-video etc.
Outlaw Audio 7700 Amp
Outlaw Audio 990 Pre/Pro
Denon DVD2800. Component and toslink out.
Sony XA20ES CD. Optical out.
Direct TV HD reciever HR20. HDMI, component, toslink out.
Playstation 3. HDMI out.
Nintnedo Wii. Composite out.
Marantz DLP projector. Component in.

I realize there are a # of ways, just wondering which one would be the best for me. Right now I ran the satelite and PS3 with HDMI directly into the TV. I was going to run CD, DVD and nintendo into the 990, then tie the tv into the 990 using component and toslink. I also have a marantz DLP projector, not sure on that one.

This is a truely great site and has provided a huge amount of info to me for some time. Thanks in advance to everyone.

My biggest problem is my TV has no digital audio inputs except for HDMI. It only has one digital output. No way to bring the sound from the 990 into the TV via digital. Thanks.

Or...Does it not matter unless I use the sound from the TV speakers???

My goal is to use the 990 as my main controler and have eveyting pass thru it. Would also like to be able to turn on Direct TV and watch without turning on the 990, same for the PS3 if that is possible.

That's a sweet assortment of new toys, vp8000 - PS3, Wii, 990, and 7700!

I generally recommend against folks trying to use TV speakers in surround systems specifically because the wiring and use gets so complex so quickly that it ends up being simpler to rely on the surround system for audio all the time. Plus it sounds better. After all, if you are trying to get audio from the 990 to the TV, you've already got the 990 turned on. Is there a reason I'm missing to want to get audio of any sort into the TV? If so, is there a reason that it has to be in the digital domain?

The satellite and PS3 video going straight to the TV should work fine. You could run both through the 990's DVI switching, which could reduce the amount of switching between TV inputs you had to do - but you'd still need to switch from one HDMI input on the TV (for the satellite and PS3) and one component input on the TV (for the Denon 2800 and Wii).

You'll want to have an optical cable handy to run from the PS3 to the 990, just like you're doing with the satellite receiver and 2800. The Wii, I believe, only has analog audio out, so it'll go right along with the composite video into one of the 990's inputs.

The projector does present a video challenge. I can come up with a few schemes that would get at least some of your sources piped to the projector, but it would come at the expense of having them readily accessible to the Toshiba. Are there any specific sources that you most want available to the projector?

By connecting the satellite and PS3 HDMI outputs directly to the TV, you should be able to get their audio straight to the TV over those HDMI connections and then have optical or coaxial digital audio cables run to the 990 so it can get audio from them as well. You would need to remember to disable the TV's speakers when using the 990 (either by turning the volume down on the TV, muting the TV, or even disabling the speakers entirely).

That is correct, if I understand your question correctly. Your HDMI connection on your TV is also your digital audio connection, so you are covered as far as TV sound using your current method.

Looks like you only have two devices with HDMI outputs and 2 HDMI inputs in your TV. I would leave those connected directly to the TV, that way you have the option of using your HD receiver and your PS3 without needing to turn on the 990, amplifiers, subwoofer, etc.

I would connect all digital audio outputs from everything to the 990 (toslink or coax) including those already connected to the TV via HDMI.

I would also connect all component output to the 990, then run the component out to your projector or to your tv (or to the projector thru your tv).

Then, for good measure, connect at least one analog video from each source to the 990 (s-video, composite) and run that to the tv via s-video.

Those are just some quick suggestions, and may not even be the best depending on how you plan on using the system.
Have fun.

I run all my video directly into the TV mainly because I am a big fan of having the TV on but listening to some type of music source. I have a DVI input on my TV but as of yet no video source with a DVI or HDMI output.

If I ran video sources through the 990 I think I would be limited to the audio on the video source.

Thanks so much guys, huge, huge help. I am only using the projector for DVD watching. I have a 40 foot monster component video cable that I will run directly to the component out off the 990, does sound correct???

Actually, if the audio source you want to listen to is really just an audio source (CD, Aux, Tape, or the tuner), you can switch from a video source to that audio source and the 990 will continue to pass the video from the previously-used video source. I do it all the time with the cable TV and a CD or my Roku SoundBridge. Drives the wife nuts because the picture and sound don't match up. I've also used it with CD's played from a DVD player by switching to the DVD input then to the CD input so I can get the player's on-screen display while using the CD input's stereo settings...
If you are only using the projector with the Denon DVD player, that leaves the two HDMI sources and the one composite source (Wii) to contend with. Do you want to watch DVD's on the Toshiba using the Denon? If not, you can run the video straight from the Denon to the projector.

Hey Guys, tell me if this would work?

Satellite HDMI out to DVI cable into DVI input 990. Toslink out from satellite into 990.

PS3 HDMI out to DVI cable into DVI input 990. Toslink out from PS3 into toslink in on 990.

CD digital coax out to digital coax in 990.

DVD component out to component in on 990. Toslink out from DVD to toslink in 990.

Nintendo Wii set of analog video/audio out to same on 990.

TV HDMI in to DVI out on 990.

Projector component in to monitor out on 990.

I think this will work out if I choose not to use the speakers on my DLP correct??? Projector has none as you know.

Thanks again.

In this scenario, the Wii and Denon DVD video signals will only go to the projector. That's the only thing that worries me about it - otherwise it will work fine.

If this above setup works, I can use the 990 to control everything, correct...Or did I miss something...Or do you think it would be better to leave the sat and PS3 directly going to the tv via HDMI??? Thanks.

In my previous setup I only used the projector for DVD watching. I will not buy any Blue Ray or HD DVD's until the format war is over.

Or could I run component cables from the sat and the PS3 with the digital audio???

I will want to watch DVD's on the Toshiba TV as well as the projector. Down the road the Denon DVD will be replaced by a HD player when the format war is over.

Should I run component out of tv also to 990?

Or, should I just run component video on all video sources except Wii?

How about this scheme?

- Denon DVD component video straight to the projector with digital audio to the 990.
- PS3 and satellite HDMI straight to the TV with digital audio from each to the 990.
- Wii audio/video to the 990.
- CD digital audio to the 990.
- Component video from the 990 to the TV (for the Wii and any other analog video devices that might get connected to the 990).

In this scenario, the 990 handles all of your audio, with the option of using the TV for satellite or PS3 audio if you really wanted to (since the HDMI runs straight to them). The Denon only works with the projector, so if you wanted to watch a DVD on the Toshiba you'd need to use the PS3 as a DVD player (which it is capable of).

Other variations on the above that exist but may not be any better would be:
- Use component instead of HDMI for the satellite box and run it to the 990. This probably will be about equal to using HDMI, but I'm not familiar enough with the DirecTV gear to know just how the H20 does with component vs HDMI. You would also have to have the 990 on for audio with satellite.
- Stick with HDMI for satellite as well as PS3 but use the 990's DVI switching. This would let you leave the TV on a single HDMI input unless you needed to change to the component input (which would be for either the Wii or the 990's setup menu), which would be a nice convenience feature. You'd need to have the 990 on all the time for audio in this case - which you'll probably end up doing anyway once you hear it.

Personally, I'd lean toward the layout described at the start of this post but with the second option (DVI switching in the 990) because it keeps the system as easy to operate as possible without sacrificing performance.

Thanks so much guys,

Let me just run this by you.

Sat-Comp and opt out to 990.

PS3-Comp and opt out to 990.

DVD-Comp and opt out to 990.

CD-Opt out to 990.

Wii-Analog video/audio out to 990.

TV-Component in to 990.

Projector-Component in to same spot as TV, use a spliter.

Please tell me this will work. Thanks. I kind of like the idea of having everything run thru the 990.

Satellite
HDMI->DVI->990-DVI1
Toslink->990-optical1
I would run video SAT-HDMI->TV-HDMI1.
This would give you video and sound, even with the 990 turned off. If what you are trying to do is consolidate remotes to do everything using the 990's remote, buy something like a Harmony remote. There's no reason to limit your creativity just to eliminate a remote

PS3
HDMI->DVI->990-DVI2
Toslink->990-optical2
I would run video PS3-HDMI->TV-HDMI2. Same comments as the Satellite section.

CD
Coax->990-COAX1

DVD
Component->990-Component
Toslink->990-optical3

Nintendo Wii
set of analog video/audio out to same on 990
Some kids just have all the toys... :rolleyes:

TV video input
990-DVI->TV->HDMI
I would add at least an analog connection (i.e. S-video) from the 990 for OSD and for the Wii.

Projector video input
990-component_out->component_in
You could run component directly from the DVD to the projector for improved cable management.

What I suggest above saves you 2 HDMI cables and associated adapters and at least one set of component cables.

Looks like gonk beat me to it.

Will a component or s video signal going into the 990 come out thru the digial DVI on the 990. Will an anolog audio line going into the 990 go thru it and come out one of the digital outs???

This would work and would give you the option of viewing all sources on both displays. The trick is finding a splitter device like this - you can't just split the cable without messing up the signal. Here are three devices that would split the component video signal from the 990 to at least two devices while boosting the signal enough to compensate for the split:

- Shinybow 1-to-2 , $169
- Gefen 1-to-3 , $179
- CE Labs 1-to-4 , $104

Any one of these between the 990's component output and the two TV's (Toshiba and Marantz projector) would work very nicely.

Thanks so much to all,

I am looking forward to visiting this site often.
I am now going to go over all these scenario's and see what I come up with.
Not really a matter of remotes but want to run everything thru the 990 to make it easier. Turn on the 990 and switch it to whatever input you are going to be using. No changing inputs on the TV. Thanks again.

Composite and s-video are transcoded to component video out, but none of the analog video sources (composite, s-video, component) are transcoded to digital (DVI). The DVI switching is purely a switch between the two DVI inputs.

I don't recall if analog audio inputs are available at the digital audio outputs or not - it's not something I've ever used, and it's really only useful if you have a recording device with a digital input (which means basically some MiniDisc recorders and that's about it).

I think this approach is a good one - the 990's switching is clean enough that you lose nothing by doing it, and the convenience factor is significant. If you do go with the scheme you described at 4:00PM today (all analog video inputs) and get a splitter/booster for the component video signal you'll have a very convenient setup: the 990 will take care of all of your switching, and you'll be able to view any video source on either display.

Thanks so much guys. Just got home from work, long day and I am going to go over all this great info and make a decision and start wiring in the AM. I have been a audio/videophile for about 25 years or so. I have more cables then I know what to do with. Thanks again. I will let you guys know how I make out. I am sure I will have many questions when I go to fire up the system. My oold pre/pro was an acurus act 3.

Hey guys,

I have decided to go with my 4:00 PM post cable scenario. Just wanted to make sure I am not missing anything. What advantage would I have by adding any more cables??? Should I run the opt out on the TV to the 990???. Or leave both HDMI cables (I already own them) on the sat and PS3 also. Then I could switch imputs on the TV and use either of them without the 990 on. Same for the DVD??? Thanks again to all of you guys.

The reason to add an optical out from the TV would be if you planned to use the TV's built-in tuner. If you had an antenna (I use a Zenith Silver Sensor, but in some cases you might need to use a larger antenna on the roof or in the attic depending on how far away the broadcast towers are), you could use your TV's HD tuner to pick up local HD stations. If your DirecTV receiver is set up with its own over-the-air HD tuner, however, there's no reason to set up the TV as well.

If you use the arrangement from yesterday at 4:00, you'll need a splitter/booster before you can hook up both the HDTV and the projector. That approach is the best way to get video to both displays that you have. If you switch back to running HDMI straight to the TV, you'll lose that ability.

Hey gonk,

I will use the spliter and go with the 4:00 arrangement. Thanks. My question is can I also leave the HDMI's from the sat and PS3 going driectly to the TV? Then I can just turn on the TV and either sat or PS3 and not have to turn on my 990. Thanks.

How come the spliter has a booster on it when all you are really doing is blocking out the signal from going to another path? Thanks.

You ought to be able to do that, yes. My HD cable box has an unfortunate quirk in that it disables the component output when the DVI is connected, but I think that's become less common on newer equipment so your satellite box and PS3 should be able to output through both component and HDMI at once.

When you divide a signal, the signal's strength drops (by about 3dB I believe). The splitter divides the signal and boosts it to compensate for that, then sends the signal to both (or all three, or all four) outputs at the same time. A switcher (with multiple inputs and only one output) just steers one of the inputs to the output and disregards the other.

Awesome, time to get wiring. I will let you know how it all works out.

Thanks again to gonk and all the others who helped out!