TV Setup Advice....

Ok, here's the deal. I just got a brand new Hitatchi 57 inch DLP TV. I'm reconfiguring how I have my setup to be able to get the most out of this. For starters, my DVD player is now hooked up to the HDMI input (only 1) on the TV and looks FANTASTIC! Now for the second part.

I have a DVR cable box (sort of like Tivo, but from my cable company). The DVI box offers Composite Video out, standard RCA Video/Audio out and S-Video out (the composite Video is Video/Audio and uses the Red/White RCA audio jacks on the DVR box). The TV will accept any of the 3 just fine, that's easy. The problem is my DVD Player is also a DVD Recorder/ VCR and the HDMI is only a 1 way connection. I need to have Audio and Video input to the DVD in order to be able to record either from the TV or the DVR. Here are what I see as my options:

1) Use the 5 cable (RCA Plug) Composite output to the TV, but Y-Split the L/R audio with the second split going to the DVD Audio input and then use the RCA single Video out from the DVR to the input of the DVD.

2) Use the Yellow/White/Red RCA out from the DVR to the TV and split all 3 with the second going to the DVD.

3) Use the S-Video out from the DVR to the TV, use the Yellow RCA Video to the DVD and then split L/R audio with the second going to the TV.

If the DVR had a HDMI out and if the TV had a second HDMI in, this would be a no brainer, but that is not so.

Prior to this I had everything running through my stereo, including the video, but the video quality with the new TV in that configuration downright sucked. Right now the sound out from the TV runs to the stereo via Red/White RCA, but I will be moving that to optical Audio shortly as the stereo has optical Audio input.

So all of that being said, which would be the best configuration, 1, 2 or 3 above? I'm leaning towards either 1 or 3 since they don't mess with the video (splitting). and even more towards 3 since I suspect the S-Video will be better quality than the Composite Video.

On top of all of this, my DVR died on Friday and I'm getting a replacement tomorrow. Right now I'm using another cable box from another room just to watch TV on the big screen. This box ONLY has Yellow/Red/White RCA out and it won't the HDTV channels, but that is just temporary.

I know with as tech savvy as some of you are here that someone will be able to give me some quality advice.

Have you thought about a distribution amplifier? You can basically split the signal from one device so that it can run into several other devices without losing signal quality. The link I've provided only works with composite and S-video, so anything in HD is out of the question, but I think something like that may just be your best solution.

It will basically do what you wanted to do in option #2 but without the signal loss associated with signal splitters.

That might be a good addition to #3. I suspect the S-Video will still be better than the Composite Video, so that with the S-Video and the RCA R/W Audio might work well. Thanks!

Congrats on the new screen. Hitachi makes some nice equipment.

1 and 2 you will find are out with an HDTV. For anything that you will be wanting to watch on the 57", you will want to totally move away from composite to the s-video connections at a minimum.

Agreed with TheCustomer99, and using only s-video to all devices. And of course the audio. You will soon find in relation to this TV, composite is dead to you.

Aside from the video quality of composite, many devices will not output a signal on both the s-video and composite simultaneously. If you plan on recording from the DVR to the DVD while simultaneously watching the DVR - once you connect the optical to the TV, you will need to verify that the DVR will output sound simultaneously through the optical and RCA connections.

As you continue with the upgrades for this new TV, ultimately you should have an eye towards the elimination of everything less than component input, especially once you become accustomed to HD.

More later, procrastinated long enuff, have to get to work.

As for sound, the DVR has an Optical Audio out, but the TV has and Optical Audio out as well. No way to get Optical from the the DVR to the TV that I can see. I thought of Optical DVR to Stereo, but I need to check, as you said, that the DVR will do optical and RCA Audio out simultaneously.